Stephen Jarvis

HiRes Recording & Mixing

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2 Reviews
Stephen Jarvis on SoundBetter

High-end audio recording equipment, microphones, remote recording & production resources for professional touring bands, w/ good songs, self-contained competent musicianship who'll make records in the San Francisco East Bay Area while they tour $$. My professional record tracking/mixing career began at Wally Heider Recording SF 1971-75 to today.

Recording, audio processing services, mixing and rental equipment available by day, week and month. Audio processing treatment for your recorded tracks through Vintage Analog Equipment here, then files may be returned to you.
Tracking rooms used in the San Francisco / Oakland / Richmond East Bay / Marin California: Skywalker Sound, 25th Street Recording, Airship Labs and Jarvis's own analog equipment processing & remote location recording services.

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

Credits

AllMusic verified credits for Stephen Jarvis
  • Emily Jane White
  • Mars Arizona
  • Matthew Herbert Big Band
  • Matthew Herbert
  • Michael Franti
  • Montrose
  • Street to Nowhere
  • Boz Scaggs
  • Boz Scaggs
  • Good Charlotte
  • Eric Thompson
  • Philip Aaberg
  • Eric Martin
  • Good Charlotte
  • Timothy Day
  • John Sebastian
  • Larry Graham
  • Montrose
  • Henry Robinett
  • Henry Robinett
  • Robert Schimmel
  • Yuri Kim
  • Viviana Guzmán
  • Christòpheren Nomura
  • Lara St. John
  • Tim Gorman
  • Sonos Handbell Ensemble
  • Gone Jackals
  • Rusty Zinn
  • Sonos Handbell Ensemble
  • Sonos Handbell Ensemble
  • Gonzalo X. Ruiz
  • Kavkasia
  • Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
  • Commander Cody
  • Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
  • Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
  • Clifton Chenier
  • Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
  • Pharoah Sanders
  • The Pointer Sisters
  • Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
  • Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen
  • Clifton Chenier
  • Dalton & Dubarri
  • Montrose
  • The Sopwith Camel

2 Reviews

Endorse Stephen Jarvis
  1. Review by Joe Rut
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Joe Rut

    I have used Stephen's gear on many occasions for both tracking and mixing and he is simply the best to work with. Impeccably maintained vintage and modern gear. Stephen set up the recording of my live album at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall. 12-piece band with every single channel bypassing the GAMH board through all GML mic-pre's!

  2. Review by Mark Willsher
    starstarstarstarstar
    by Mark Willsher

    Stephen has one of the best collections of high quality audio equipment around, and it is in impeccable condition. From classic tube mics and preamps, through high-end AD conversion, to the latest pro-tools. I have taken his gear around the world on demanding productions and he supports it the same whether I am at home or 1000's of miles away.

Interview with Stephen Jarvis

  1. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  2. A: ELAM251E, GML preamp, UNDERTONE AUDIO MPDI-4 preamp, Vintage LA2A tube, Vintage 1176 Rev D

  3. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  4. A: My professional recording and production career began as a staff balance mixing engineer working on 8 track 1" and 16 track 2" tape at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco in 1971. I did the first 16 song recordings of the Golden Gate Rhythm Section /Journey including their New Year's Eve remote recording at Winterland in 1973. I did the early demo and studio album work for Ronnie Montrose, Sammy Hagar, two albums Commander Cody, Sopwith Camel, two Clifton Chenier records. I was the backing engineer for Producer David Briggs for the Spindizzy releases of Kathy McDonald, Nils Lofgrin and Jerry Williams and some of David's work on Neil Young's "Tonights The Night". Boz Scaggs, Cold Blood, Y&T, Link Wray, Ed Michelle, WAR, Graham Central Station, Pharo Saunders, John Sebastian, Erik Jacobsen, Tommy TuTone, Turk Murphy Jazz, Ceasar's Latin Band, etc, among others. Some additional credits are listed under my name on the AllMusic.com site.

  5. Q: How would you describe your style?

  6. A: A classic analog microphone placement recording approach to Hi-Res Tracking Dates with competent musical players to achieve balanced artist performances captured for the Hi-Res digital record.

  7. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  8. A: I like to record analog, but my recording work is almost exclusively digital these days as most budgets don't have the ability to absorb the expense for the use of new tape stock. I'm not a fan of using used tape. The technical aspects of Avid HD ProTools have recently gotten good enough to match the sound of the originally expensive Sonic Solutions digital mastering systems of ten years ago. Clients have a creative expectation of being able to fix aspects of sound or performances immediately. This is often most difficult for the singers. There are virtually no track limitations in digital recording other than common sense and budgetary management sanity to make creative calls on performances. Audio today is held up to be close to perfect by so many as if it were a visual product. I want someone thinking about performance and not about being perfectly on pitch to make analog tracking performance acceptable. And A&R may continue to ask for updates for several weeks past the mixing sessions dates as there may be more than one decision maker who needs to sign off on the project's final mix acceptance. The reality is this. Recording studio's with analog mixing desks can't always remain tied up or subject to last minute recall set ups to cost-effectively allow the use of analog. If using analog desks for processing, it is not unusual for the faders to be set evenly across the desk with all automation moves being executed within Avid ProTools or some other digital software of the DAW being employed. In truth, emotionally inspiring musical performances are not alway about having everything being musically perfect in timing or execution.

  9. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  10. A: Spend sufficient time in rehearsals before you go into the studio. When you do track the recording or overdub, get the sound and the performance the way you want it to sound when you do it. Commit to a production decision and set the resulting track into it's proper place within the balance of the mix. Don't hold onto the expectation to be necessarily fixing anything in the final mix. Build the mix of the recording as you go.

  11. Q: What do you bring to a song?

  12. A: Professionally, I have been making records since 1970. While I understand how to lead the process, I also know how to take a support role as the assigned producer or engineer without disrupting the creative process. I bring a vast wealth of recording knowledge regarding microphone selection, placement and reading of room acoustics in tracking set ups.

  13. Q: What's your typical work process?

  14. A: Listen closely to the client's request, discuss the musical preparation and song material to be tracked, the preferred location based on the session requirements, acoustic treatments if needed, the participants who will be at the session, the session timeline or schedule of the project and the defined goal of the recording work being planned.

  15. Q: Which artist would you like to work with and why?

  16. A: Professional entertainers and performing songwriters / bands as they have some perspective of how their music is being responded to by their audience. I appreciate great drummers who know how to swing as well as rock at all tempos.

  17. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  18. A: Local music and early stage start-up performing musical acts at various stages of career development and recorded product releases. Recent equipment & remote recording projects: Nicolas Bearde, Skip The Needle, Paul Griffiths, Hardly Strictly Blue Grass, Billy Talbot Band Remote S.D., James Taylor, Boz Scaggs, Joe Satriani, Chickenfoot/Hagar, Machinehead, Thile & Meyer, Darlingside, Laurie Lewis, St. Lawreance String Quartet remote in Bing Hall on the Stanford Campus, Billie Joe Armstrong & Norah Jones, Meyer Sound, Narada Michael Walden, Taylor Eigsti piano remote, Gospel Whiskey Runners remote, Joe Rut Remote, composer George Peter Tingley piano, Cypus String Quartet, Well Tempered Productions and the remote Film Score Recordings of the last Two Hobbit films in Wellington, NZ.

  19. Q: What's the biggest misconception about what you do?

  20. A: That I simply rent boxes. It is a fact. No matter how much any vendor or service provider may choose to discount their facility, services or equipment, the customer will always expect to receive 150+% professional treatment and full service support in any production crisis at all times.

  21. Q: What questions do you ask prospective clients?

  22. A: What is the intent of our work? What is the budget of the project? What is the timeframe of the work to be done? When is the start date? Who will be playing on the basic tracks. To help me understand a creative perspective and expectation, provide me the names of five commercially released records that the artist likes the sound of and that may also be similar to the music to be recorded on the project.

  23. Q: What's your strongest skill?

  24. A: Bringing out the best of creative and talented individuals to work together cooperatively toward achieving the common goal in some level of engineering and/or joint production capacity.

  25. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  26. A: Professional recording services and high-end audio recording equipment resources and for a day, week or month, or longer per the studio use or remote location recording project .

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Gear Highlights
  • VINTAGE TELEFUNKEN
  • NEUMANN
  • AKG
  • SHURE
  • B&K
  • EV
  • COLES
  • SCHOEPS
  • SENNHEISER
  • BEYER
  • SANKEN
  • ECLAIR ENGINEERING
  • GML
  • NEVE
  • API
  • UNDERTONE AUDIO
  • DIDRIK DeGEER
  • MILLENNIA
  • EAR 660
  • SIEMENS V76/80
  • Melodyne
  • WAVES
  • many plugins
More Photos
  • David Bowie Tribute evening recording on March 22, 2016 in San Francisco requested by Gary OldmanMar 29, 2016

    32 channel GML preamp, 4 channel API preamp, Avid Thunderbolt HD Native 2ea. 16x16 I/O rental system, provided to Gary Oldman's sponsored recording of David Bowie Tribute evening, Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, March 22, 2016.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCifiF2YNLw