I don’t have much from my old studio days. We had a few photos, but Robert (Graves, studio owner) and I can’t seem to find them. The equipment, of course, is long gone… I especially miss the Neumann U87 and KM84 that we had. About all I have to prove I was there is a small number of test cassettes and a portfolio of graphic designs. (This includes one OnLine Audio “Don’t Worry, We’ll Fix It In The Mix” T-shirt… my best design.)
Up until the last year or two of the studio’s operation, I held two jobs… I’d work at the studio from about 10AM-2pm, then drive across the bridge to do the news at Channel 2. So for many years, I would do daytime sessions, and Robert would do the nighttime. (though for the last year or two, I had resigned from the station and worked at the studio full time… Robert was getting really tired of being there every night during our busy periods.) Most of the serious musicians wanted to schedule at night. And since he was the owner, Robert got first right of refusal on sessions. That meant I did a LOT of rap music and people who had never been in the studio, so many of the projects I did were… well… not so notable.
But some were. I believe that my very favorite project where I did the majority of the album was the Archetypes. I can’t remember how it came to pass that I got this one and not Robert, but if I remember correctly, I did most of the tracking and mixing on this album. Perhaps not all of it… I think Robert might have done some work on it as well.
The Archetypes, circa 1989
Since nearly all of our artists were self-financed, we did all the basic tracks… guitar, bass, drums, and usually vocals… on the same pass, since setting up and tuning a drum kit could take a couple of hours. We’d cut eight songs in a single day. The bass was recorded direct, drums in the drum room, rest of the group in the main studio. (Though we learned later to put the guitar amp in the drum booth, then record the drums in the main room, which was big and “live…” maybe 18×25 or so, with high ceilings and hardwood floors…) OnLine Audio was in a business incubator at 701 East Bay St., in the shadow of the old bridge to Mt. Pleasant. The place has gone condo now.
Once the basic tracks were laid, we’d do overdubs and punch-ins. Our Otari MX80 was great at this, and is another machine I wish I could afford.
An Otari MX80, 24 track version… a sweet machine.
While this method keeps the studio time affordable, it also tends to make mixdown a little harder, since you have the same basic sound to work with, and I remember having to struggle a bit in order to get the songs on the album to sound “good but different.”
Two of the songs from this album have been posted on ReverbNation, and you can listen to them here. If you like the songs, buy the album (and tell them I sent you!)
Hurricane Hugo in 1989 put an end to the studio. While we were mostly able to repair the water damage and held on until 1990, the drop in business volume and rising monthly costs forced us to throw in the towel. I went off to grad school, and Robert went into real estate and renovation, where he was very successful until the market crashed. Unfortunately, tinnitus has severely limited his recording activities, but he made some really good records at OnLine Audio.
The Archetypes in 2010
Read an article about the Archetypes from 2003 in the Charleston Post & Courier here, another from the Charleston City Paper here.
POSTSCRIPT: If you recorded at OnLine Audio, please drop me a line… I’d especially like to get a copy of any photos or music that you might have. Thanks!
BGilbertSound 
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