Astral Sounds Recording
San Jose, California
Opened 1977, Closed 1996

Astral Engineering Staff, 1984. Apparently color film hadn't been invented yet.
From Left - Hector Toro, Bill Hare, Randy Musumeci, Jeff Tracy (seated)

The old 16 track console - Quad-Eight/Electrodyne custom built for Capitol Records
Hollywood (Studio B), used to record Steve Miller's Joker Album in 1972 and
many hits thereafter. Retired from Capitol and brought to Astral in 1984.

Bill and Jeff behind the console. Piano in foreground is the same one in Bill's current studio.

The live room (AKA "The Chop Shop") with a 16 foot ceiling and full stage.

3M M56 16 track, serial number 17 (1970) and our 816 point patch bay.

Bill does some backing vocals. Note the 1970s old-school headphones!

Recently discovered rare pic of Astral's "middle years, 1986-1989.  We had removed the shingles
on the control room wall and replaced with redwood sheets.

Bill Hare, Mad Engineer, 1986

Here's one in color, finally!

 
Control room revamped, 1989
Soundtrax CMX 4400 32 channel console + Otari 24 track tape machine installed.
Still not a computer screen to be seen!

Views of the main recording room


Client Lounge upstairs

Kitchen off client lounge

Ad from Ricoh featured in Mix, Electronic Musician, and other trade magazines
every month in 1994-95. Note a 2X CD recorder for an "attractive" price of $1095!
I got one free to pose for this pic, so I was glad to be their poster boy!