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Welcome to Crackle & Pop!

Crackle & Pop! is a full fledged digital and analog recording facility located in the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. Founded in 2006 by Johnny Sangster and Andrew Smith with a focus on quality instruments and recording equipment, the studio has grown organically to become a destination for independent local, national and international artists. 

Pairing an original Spectra Sonics console and an API The Box console with Radar Converters, our signal path is blend of the best in analog and digital. We can also provide fully analog recording with 2” 16/24 multitrack tape and 1/4” mixdown decks.

We have been fortunate to host the likes of Mudhoney, Neko Case, Mark Lanegan, Dean Johnson, Mavis Staples, Bryan Ferry, Young Fresh Fellows, Jesse Sykes, Presidents of the United States of America, Maggie Bjorklund & countless others.

 
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 API The Box console adds another 20 analog channels with sends and inserts, analog summing that pairs perfectly with the Spectra. Two Avid S1s and an Avid Dock provide tactile surfaces for in the box mixing.

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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 32 channels of Radar Classic 96 converters running over Dante. Our Aviom Headphone mixing system also runs over Dante providing easy access from within the DAW.

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Outboard gear

Our outboard racks contain many classics like Emperical Labs Distressors, Spectra C610, API 5500 EQ and 1176s. You’ll also find several tape echos (Roland 301, Maestro Echoplex) and spring reverbs like the Master Room and the amazing Teaching Machines Wellspring. We also have a outboard mic preamps and custom DIY processors.

Full Gear List

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.

Full Instrument List

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

More C&P! Artists

IMAGES

Instagram

View fullsize Very excited to have the studio and Johnny Sangster featured in the latest @tapeopmag . If you don't know already, TapeOp is the best recording magazine out there with the focus squarely on the humans involved and the creative process. Check it out -
View fullsize Happy Halloween everybody!
View fullsize It's record making season!
View fullsize The Gibsons and Rickenbackers had a family reunion today. @small_yards session @johnny_sangster @fathersir
View fullsize A real treat to host Neko Case and her band for two days of rehearsals for tomorrow's show with @davematthewsband at the Gorge, Wa.
View fullsize Crackle & Pop! is selling it's much loved and much babied Harrison console. Read on for the details. Harrison MR-4 (Raven) Console 32 Input Channels + 2 Stereo Channels, 1 Stereo Cue send and 4 Aux Sends, 4 Aux returns. This is an inline cons

VIDEO

 

STREAM

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!