Quad Sound Studios (QSS)
In the late 1980's, during the mastership of Woody and Hanna Hastings at North House, two sophomores approached Woody to provide some practice space for musicians. Woody asked Bob Doyle if a sound studio might complement HRTV in the basement of Holmes Hall.
Bob liked the idea and did a rough renovation of the old Radcliffe Radio Station control room and adjacent studios. He installed some basic tape recording tools - an 8-track 1/2" analog tape recorder, microphones, stands, etc. and provided a Macintosh computer so the students could keep accounting records and run the studios as a self-supporting student venture. In recent years Bob provided modern Digidesign digital recording tools.
Quad Sound Studios is now a student-run recording studio, an affordable alternative to the very busy recording studios in the Music Department. Members are trained sound engineers capable of recording music of all genres, from a capella and classical to rock and hiphop.
What kind of equipment does the studio have?
QSS is a complete 16-track digital recording studio:
ProTools LE running on a Digidesign 002, ADAT XT20, and Apple G5 workstation
24-channel, 8 bus Mackie mixing console
Two Steinway grand pianos in a great acoustic space
large enough to accomodate most ensembles
Two more soundproofed recording rooms and a separate
control room for recording flexibility
Mics: Rode, AKG, Sennheiser, Nakamichi, Shure, and more
Summit TLA 100A Tube leveler, dbx and aphex compressors
TC Electronics, Lexicon, Ashley, ART, Ensoniq effects processors
Whether you want to make a demo tape, record a CD,
or learn the details of professional audio recording,
Quad Sound Studios can accomodate your needs.
Who can use Quad Sound?
Anyone. We are open both to Harvard students and to the general public, so everybody can take advantage of one of the most affordably priced recording studios around!
Whom do I contact?
To schedule a recording session or to inquire about participating in the comp to become a student engineer, contact Jonathan Lee (jplee@fas.harvard.edu). (Please note that we generally require a week or two notice to schedule a session)
Student Officers
President: Jonathan Lee
Treasurer: Maxwell Drummey
Comp Director: Sam Ellison
Samples of Studio Recordings:
