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Welcome to Crackle & Pop!

Founded in 2006 by Johnny Sangster & Andrew Smith with a small collection of instruments, some recording gear and a desire to be a community hub for affordable high quality audio projects, Crackle & Pop! has since grown to become a full fledged analog recording facility. 2018 saw a new chapter for the studio with an expansion into a larger space plus a huge upgrade to our signal path. We are now the proud caretakers of an original Spectra Sonics console built for Stax Records in 1969. Also we can now offer analog tape recording with both 2” 16/24 track and 1/4” mix down decks.

The studio has contributed to projects by Mudhoney, Maggie Bjorklund, Mark Lanegan, Earth, Jesse Sykes, Ken Stringfellow & Jon Auer, Cobirds Unite & countless others. We are proud to have become the home of many local producers & engineers. We've created the "Live @ Crackle & Pop!" video series supporting artists we love and taken on countless creative projects.

 
Our Spectra Sonics Console was custom built for Stax Records in 1969 and has since been at Ironwood and Egg Studios in Seattle WA. It is currently undergoing a complete refurbishment with the expert help of Timothy Herzog.

Our Spectra Sonics Console was custom built for Stax Records in 1969 and has since been at Ironwood and Egg Studios in Seattle WA. It is currently undergoing a complete refurbishment with the expert help of Timothy Herzog.

What's New

2018 was a transformational year for Crackle & Pop! After many years in our cozy little room, the stars aligned for us to move the studio into a larger space. We raised a good part of the capital through a Kickstarter campaign and commenced construction of completely new space. We now have a fully realized recording facility that can be used in several configurations from loud to quiet. The rooms sound fantastic (thank you Ed Brooks) and the flow and feel of the place is exactly what we were hoping for. 

One of the features we are very excited about with the new room are the adjustable "wing" traps that lower off of our live room walls.

Our live room with adjustable “wing traps”.

Our live room with adjustable “wing traps”.

Our Control Room - pictured here is our 1984 Harrison Raven Console.

Our Control Room - pictured here is our 1984 Harrison Raven Console.

Our Booth which comfortably fits several players or a drum kit.

Our Booth which comfortably fits several players or a drum kit.

We are extremely blessed to have an original Tim Kerr mural in the studio. Tim has been a friend and inspiration to us for many, many years and he kindly agreed to make a donor painting for our Kickstarter campaign. We didn’t realize how far above a…

We are extremely blessed to have an original Tim Kerr mural in the studio. Tim has been a friend and inspiration to us for many, many years and he kindly agreed to make a donor painting for our Kickstarter campaign. We didn’t realize how far above and beyond he would go. Celebrate Your Time Here! Read more about Tim Kerr here.

Recording Gear

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Recording Consoles

At the heart of our recording chain is our Spectra Sonics console built for Stax Studio in 1969. Our Harrison Raven offers the flexibility of a larger format console with 36 channels & 24 busses.

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Recorders

We are proud to offer 2” 16 and 24 track analog tape recording. We can mix down to 1/4” 15 or 30IPS. For our digital chain have 40 channels of I/O with ADAII (Radar) and Aurora Lynx Converters.

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Outboard gear

Being avid DIY enthusiasts we have many custom built items at the studio. We monitor with Adam S3A and Avantone speakers. Mics by AKG, Coles, Royer, Shure, SoundDeluxe and more.

Instruments

Crackle & Pop! is the home of multi-instrumentalist and producer Johnny Sangster. As such many of his instruments live at the studio and are available upon request. We also have curated a growing collection of keyboards, drums, percussion instruments and toys. For a full list of what’s available at the studio click here. Full Instrument List.

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Drums

As part of our 2018 Kickstarter campaign to expand the studio, our supporters pushed our campaign over the goal to purchase a set of drums for the new studio. We are now the proud owners of a 1972 Rogers kit.

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Keyboards

We are proud of our real keyboard instrument collection. From our Emerson upright grand, to the Hammond A102, Wurlitzer 200A and on. The studio has many excellent options.

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Guitars & Amps

One of the things we’ve always been proud of is our collection of great sounding amps and wonderful guitars. Check out the Full Instrument List for details.

Artists

Over the course of our history we’ve had the pleasure of working with a diverse group of amazing artists. For a full list of who’s recorded at the studio click below.

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Mudhoney

Digital Garbage, Mudhoney’s ninth full-length album, is their most cantankerous yet. Singer/guitarist Mark Arm vents his spleen in many directions, but the religious right gets most of his anger on “21st Century Pharisees,” “Prosperity Gospel,” and “Messiah’s Lament.” - Spin Magazine

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Maggie Björklund

"Summer Romance" is a highlight of this very strong album, sounding like a long lost pop hit from the '60s that could have been recorded by Nancy Sinatra or Dusty Springfield. This is one of my favorite new records of the past year and I highly reccomend it. It was produced and mixed by Johnny Sangster and Mastered at RFI/CD by Ed Brooks. - Tape Op Magazine

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Rusty Willoughby

Cobirds Unite is a beautifully lush record with Willoughby’s acoustic rounded out by slide guitar, organs, violin, banjo and most importantly Flotard’s voice which nearly trades line for line and is a great match. Cobirds Unite is a solid release from front to back which hopefully will gain Rusty Willoughby the recognition he deserves. - Riviler.org

IMAGES

Instagram

View fullsize Here's one from the vaults, a previously unreleased PLFC album from Seattle's beloved Jim Hunnicut, Lisa King, Scott Sutherland and Justin Williams. Recorded & mixed at Crackle & Pop! by Johnny Sangster in the fall of 2012 but eventually shel
View fullsize Nick Riffbrokers - the Steel Beans of folk rock™.
View fullsize It's the return of The Purrs! Back at Crackle & Pop! to add 5 more gems to their upcoming full length album. Seattle psych at its finest! @thepurrsband @johnny_sangster @cracklepopstudio
View fullsize Congrats to all these 2023 releases and to the many artists, producers & engineers who spent time at Crackle & Pop! this last year. It was an honor and a pleasure! The Rallies @the_rallies Infinite @emmanuelf.o Red Dress Minus 5 @the_minus_5
View fullsize Xmas came early - thanks @teachingmachines We are very excited to explore the sonic possibilities of the Wellspring!
View fullsize A true thrill to have @marina_albero_music in for overdubs for @ellenphoffman . We're very excited for this collection of songs featuring @gi_gi_1958 @keith_lowe_bass @azsmith @johnny_sangster The world might not be ready for the Pianjo™ tho.

VIDEO

 

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Music

Various Artists Featuring Crackle & Pop!

 

Fine Print

At Crackle & Pop! we welcome independent engineers. The following rates are for the studio without an engineer or producer. Please contact us for engineer producer rates.

 
 
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Rates & Rules:

  • Crackle &Pop! is $350 a day or $35 an hour without an engineer.

  • There is a 4 hour minimum for hourly sessions.

  • For new engineers we recommend one of our folks to be onsite for setup. Contact us for rates.

  • Full days take precedence over hourly sessions on the weekends.

  • We might ask you for a deposit, depending on a few factors. If we do, the deposit is fully refundable up to 1 week prior to the session. From 7 days to 48 hours prior to the session we will refund 50%. Within 48 hours the deposit is not refundable and will go towards our mic locker (or liquor cabinet).

  • We sometimes have used tape to purchase and rental reels for sessions. Contact us about the current stock and prices.

  • Crackle & Pop! is not responsible for your data. Expect to purchase two hard drives, one for a work drive and one for a backup for your session data.

Persons:

  • Johnny Sangster and Andy Smith are the founding partners at Crackle & Pop! Andy is our resident tech genius and “live @ C&P!” video guru. Johnny engineers and produces many records out of the space.

  • Jon Roberts is our house engineer. He has many years of experience and has helped build the new space from the ground up.

  • Other engineers who frequent the studio are Rachel Field (of Resonant Mastering), Floyd Reitsma, Matt Brown, Ryan Leyva, Randall Dunn & Matt Bayles.

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Contact us

Please shoot us an email - info@cracklepopstudio.com or call Johnny Sangster - 206.229.4057 for questions about:

  • Rates

  • Availability

  • Contacting one of our engineers

  • Rental rates for special instruments

  • Tape availability

  • Piano tuning

  • Any other questions you might have about working at C&P!