This is a brief story, but the experience was one I will never forget. In the mid 1980s I often did service calls for Indigo Ranch Studios. Founded by Richard Kaplan and The Moody Blues in the 70s, Indigo was high in the hills above the beach city of Malibu. You reached the rustic facility by turning off Pacific Coast Highway and following a narrow winding road past the ranch owned by actress Mary Crosby (Bings daughter). After leaving the oceans edge, it was a long steep climb. I usually glimpsed rabbits and deer on the little road, and driving it in a heavy rainstorm could be quite an experience.
Digital recording was still unknown and the worddiscrete had not yet entered the audio lexicon, but even then, the Ranch was known as a treasure trove of vintage gear. The racks were filled with Pultecs, Fairchilds, and Teletronix models including an LA-2 (without the A suffix), and even an ultra rare LA-1. The tape machines were 3M and the console was a custom Aengus, designed by Deane Jensen, founder of Jensen Transformers.
One afternoon I was in the main control room, repairing an LA-2A, with my tools and test gear sitting atop the producers desk. With my mind occupied by test voltage numbers and fault finding theories, I didnt really pay attention when someone quietly stepped into the room and took a seat at the back. Like a mechanic in an auto shop, I often found myself being observed by curious strangers as I worked. Usually, I tried my best to ignore them.
Thats the end of the story, but I must add a personal comment. Though my parents were folkies in the 60s and I was a big fan of rock and soul while growing up, somehow, though he was an icon for my generation, I knew little about Dylans music, and owned few of his records. Writing this story at the age of 55, I find myself a recent covert to his discography, amazed at the depth, genius, and sheer quantity of songs the man was written and sung. Though Ihave been lucky to meet many artists and celebrities over the years, few have affected me as much as this brief encounter did. Meeting Bob Dylan was a real honor and it gives me pleasure to think that for a short while, my small repair task somehow captured the interest of the man. (Indigo closed in about 2005 and sadly, the original building was destroyed by the big fires that ravaged Malibu in 2007.)
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© 2002 Studio Electronics. Burbank, California. Tel: 818-843-7981
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