Biography of a Recording Studio
In 1992 Route 44 first opened its doors to the Northern California music community in the quaint little town of Healdsburg, CA. From that point on until Spring 1996, it was mainly a 16 Track ADAT Studio with some Analog Gear thrown in for vibe. Harry & Jon Jones (BC Sound) recorded many local and national recording artists and built a following of loyal return-customers, offering quality production, rates & rehearsal space.
During this period, Harry established a close friendship with Charlie Musselwhite that led to many cool sessions including work with The Jimi Hendrix Foundation, John Lee Hooker’s daughter, Zakiyah Hooker’s album, Mark Hummel, The Aces, Ansley Dunbar, Warren Haynes, Bloodline, and many more would stop in to use the humble little studio off the railroad tracks on Foss Street.
In Spring of 1996, (with an impending demolish scheduled), the historical train depot that once housed Route 44 Studio, BC Sound, Ribbecke & Cerletti Guitar Lutheries was near extinction, Harry and the other tenants eventually moved onto greener pastures. Harry relocated the studio to a new spot in Rohnert Park, CA operating as Route 44 West. A name combined from Elvin Duncan’s previous studio named Record West. This version of the studio boasted all hardwood floors, high ceilings, and a pair of matching vocal booths. A welcome addition which gave way to some great ” live room sound” recordings. Harry continued to work (now using the Pro Tools DAW) with the same talented clientele, but also branched out into new territory with groups like The Sorentinos, Solid Air, Johnny Vernazza, Roy Rogers, Shana Morrison and many others.
After 9 years in RP, and with new technologies giving way to advances in gear and superior recording mediums, plus the chance to build a private and custom location on 2 acres in Sebastopol, Harry again moved shop deeper into the woods. Fast forward to Spring of 2005, working in complete solitude of the West Sonoma County redwoods, Harry was able to design and construct (with the help of Alter Eagle Construction & Sheetkicker Entertainment) the studio that is now Route 44 Studio, Sebastopol. With a larger, tuned control room, vocal booth, drum room equipped with amplifier iso closets, floating floors, dropped ceilings, dual and triple walls, a classic Soundcraft Ghost console, the studio had grown to the ideal facility Harry had always wanted. Many of the same clients continue to return, and new ones continue to find out what an engineers dreams are made of. Harry offers the expertise of a technician, the ears of a musician, and remains a humble, yet knowledgeable, faithful ally to his clients.
Now entering his 30th year in music as a performer, and over 25+ years as a professional recording engineer/producer, Harry Gale & Route 44 Studio bring solid musical production, chops, analog vibe & dedication to the digital recording medium. We hope you will check us out and see why we stand out as one of the quality production studios in the Northern SF Bay Area.