Rubber Tracks/ Williamsburg

Shane Michael Rose · Post by **Shane Michael Rose** » Mon May 09, 2011 4:00 pm

does anyone have any new info on this project? has anyone actually been to the location?

i met a band that recorded there but it was briefly and they didnt know much about the recording process.

fuzz · Post by **fuzz** » Tue May 10, 2011 5:19 am

Here is an article I've read:

http://www.greenpointnews.com/news/2707 ... -all-stars

So I guess they're opening a studio 5 blocks away from my place. Seriously though, WTF?!?! Opening a studio that records people for free to hype sneakers is complete bullshit.

A spokesperson was quoted saying, ?The brand is an advocate and catalyst for creativity in music and has an on-going commitment to supporting the music community." So I guess the musical community doesn't include the people whose income is based on recording , producing, and mixing music. Neat.

joel hamilton · Post by **joel hamilton** » Tue May 10, 2011 5:53 am

I am not sure, but when I first checked this out ages ago, it looked like they had some "interesting" licensing/paperwork that would be in place for anyone who recorded there.
Interesting idea.
I dont wear sneakers.

cjogo · Post by **cjogo** » Tue May 10, 2011 9:15 am

We have a studio nearby -- been recording for about 5 years. You record free and they own the rights......should you become famous down the road > it's payback time

BradG · Post by **BradG** » Fri May 27, 2011 9:46 am

There are no claims on anything recorded there. No publishing, no master rights, nothing. Bands walk with their hard drives.

The thing is that every band gets one day - 8 hours. This might easily lead to a lot of indie bands wandering around Williamsburg with projects they need to finish...

... somewhere?

jkelly222 · Post by **jkelly222** » Sun May 29, 2011 9:50 am

http://play.converse.com/?p=2809

This could be interesting. I mean there's no shortage of incredible musicians/songwriters/artist whom are broke as shit.

I wonder if anything cool will come of it.

I love sneakers. I think I have about eight pairs.

fuzz · Post by **fuzz** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:10 am

A session player we use frequently phoned me yesterday and said his band was recording at rubber tracks that day. So I finished my session at 6 and headed over. There's been talk about it and I wanted to see the place and a session for myself. Here's the rundown...

The place is huge, but the live room is not actually that big. A good size for brooklyn but they made the lobby bigger...

? The rubber tracks website shows videos of what I think is Nat Preists place (NOTE: a completely different studio) which has a Neve 80XX, Pultecs, Fairchilds, etc, but the actual studio has none of these. All the gear is brand new (ie UA reissues, basically an afternoon with the sweetwater catalog and a bunch of dough). They have an API 1608, but were only using it for summing and TB and instead setting levels in PT

? The track sounded fine, nothing great and nothing wrong. The guys I knew where happy to be there but hell, its FREE.

The reality is that it is a completely different vibe from all the other studios I've been in around the neighbourhood (Excello, Studio G, Mission, Strange Weather, Grand Street, Bunker, Vanity, etc..) Basically, those of us who hung our own sheetrock, waited years saving, searching, going into debt for gear, and loose sleep when the phone doesn't ring probably can't relate to rubber tracks. I mean they keep calling it "a community based recording studio"....like a title or something. I'm assuming they're trying to distance themselves from the obvious truth that they're a place that has enough money fueling it to be anywhere and exists so that unsigned artists will hand over they're best songs to be an unpaid sneaker jingle.

joelpatterson · Post by **joelpatterson** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 7:35 am

sings a-capella "...sneaker feelings, sneaker feelings, can't ever let those kinda feelings show!..."

fossiltooth · Post by **fossiltooth** » Tue Aug 16, 2011 6:30 pm

Here's the most comprehensive article I've seen on the new studio. (Janice Brown wrote it for SonicScoop):

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: Converse Opens A Free Recording Studio in Brooklyn

I was a little suspicious about the studio myself, so it was great to finally read more about it. I'm not really too worried about it. For the time being, it does seem like a pretty innocuous PR move. I hope it stays that way. I do believe in keeping on eye on big corporate entities, so if you experience anything to the contrary, let me know.

As far as its impact on the local recording community, their outlook is hopeful. We'll see. I suppose a free day of tracking in a decent studio could have the effect of spoiling would-be-home-recordists for the better, reminding them that real studios can be useful for certain things. That would be a best-case-scenario. (And of course it's only possible if they're hiring engineers who are great to work with.) As always, time will tell.

permanent hearing damage · Post by **permanent hearing damage** » Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:55 pm

i actually saw this place a couple weeks ago. didn't see the mic locker, but the control room was pretty sweet - all brand new stuff outfitted by guitar center - loaded api console, universal audio reissue stuff.

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Rubber Tracks/ Williamsburg

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