I'll try
to find some time to write a more proper bio soon, but until
then - the quick scoop!
I've been recording since the mid 1970s, first on my Dad's
many high quality tape decks (I grew up around the stuff in the
60s and 70s), and later in 8-track studios around San Jose, CA.
One of these studios, Astral Sounds, came up for sale in 1984
(due to the owner unfortunately coming down with terminal Leukemia.)
Along with my mother Joan Hare, plus our friend Randy Musumeci
and his 2 brothers, we formed a partnership and were suddenly
owners of one of the four main recording studios of the South
San Francisco Bay Area! At this time, "home recording"
wasn't a reality yet, so you had to go to a studio to do any
"real" recording. Over the next few years, my Mom and
I bought out the Musumeci Brothers, upgraded the studio to 16,
then 24 tracks (at that time the top of the "Pro Studio"
world!)
At over 2000 sq. feet, Astral was a good sized studio, and
by 1996, with my focus shifting more toward the A Cappella market
and not needing all that space, plus new, affordable technology
coming onto the market which made home recording available to
the masses (though mostly the instrumental market), we decided
to close Astral after 12 years, at the height of our success,
so my mom could retire, and I could build a smaller facility, Bill Hare Productions, at home and specialize in the newly emerging
A Cappella market.
Pictures
of Astral Sounds, 1980s
Pictures
of Bill Hare Productions 1990s
I ran the next facility from 1996 to 2001, starting with a
32 track ADAT system, then moving to a 64 track ProTools system.
My current studio, designed by Michael Blackmer and Associates
of Boston, MA, was opened in November of 2001. Click "Equipment
List" on the left to see what I am using these days!
SERVICES
Recording, Mixing, Mastering... plus I make a great Caffe Latte!