Today we’d like to introduce you to Elliot Koenig.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Elliot. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started out much like most do. My parents gave me a guitar for my birthday at a very young age, and over the years, I became more and more intrigued by music. Not just playing it but making it as well. I had a double cassette recorder that had a microphone input and a boom box and I’d sit in my room and pretend I was a radio DJ and I’d introduce songs, then dub them in. I learned that I could record stuff and if I held the pause button almost all the way down, it would speed up playback, which made for some very funny voices and versions of Beatles songs. Anyhow, In the late 90s I had the chance to go to a real recording studio with my band and cut my very first album. We were called Fixxer, and we weren’t as good as we thought we were haha!! The most interesting part of the process was watching the engineer set up microphones and mix. I remember being so focused on what he was doing during the mix process. The engineer, Chris Whiting, actually remained a long-time friend and when that studio closed its doors, I adopted some of the sound fixtures which now live on at my studio! I was hooked and spent as much time as I could in studios. I was lucky enough to record in amazing studios with incredible engineers and I made sure to take as many mental notes as I could. Flash forward a decade or so and you’ll find me recording a full-length album with my current band, Sixstep. We spent a lot of time and money on the record and a certain studio, and it turned out to be a pretty rough situation. We decided to move into a commercial space and make a little private studio for us to work in. Next thing I know, I have people booking studio time, I have a studio name, and I’m running a recording studio. Eight years later, I have the highest-rated recording studio in Orange County, and I’m booked solid making music with some of the most talented musicians in the area!
Has it been a smooth road?
Nothing is ever smooth about running your own business. I built the studio without taking out credit cards or loans. I worked with what I had, reinvested into better gear, did better work, reinvested, built an amazing team, and I keep putting work into improving what we have.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Hear No Evil is a full production studio. We offer audio recording, mixing, mastering, songcraft, arranging, production assistance, video service, musicians for hire, podcasts, and a large selection of high end and vintage instruments. We are known for providing an enriching and relaxed work environment and a professional final product at a reasonable price. The studio is a very vibrant and creative space covered in artwork and murals. Our instrument selection includes three amazing drum kits, a dozen snares, an entire room of beautiful guitars, a Hammond B3, Leslie 122, and a Steinway Boston Piano. We have two large live rooms, two isolation booths, a control room packed with analog gear, and a dedicated hybrid digital/analog mastering suite.
As cliche as it is, I’m proud of everything that I’ve worked on here. I’ve had the privilege of recording Eric Henderson playing Andres Segovia’s Ramirez, Donald Palmer playing on his father’s (Earl Palmer) drum kit, recording voice overs with Brett Waterman for DIY Network’s “Restored”, tracking the ever-talented Johnny Christmas from Reel Big Fish (as well as the whole RBF horn section!), and Don Preston (Frank Zappa, John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix)! I’m also very excited to work with some of the incredible talents that’s up and coming.
Do you feel like our city is a good place for businesses like yours? If someone was just starting out, would you recommend them starting out here? If not, what can our city do to improve?
I’d say go to another city. There are a lot of amazing studios in this area already. Find somewhere with a great music scene and no real recording options. For Hear No Evil, we’ve been established here for eight years and I picked the spot because it’s accessible from the 5, 55, 57, 22 and 91 freeways. I don’t think you can get more centrally located than that!
Pricing:
- $60/hr
- $300/6hr day
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hearnoevilstudio.com
- Phone: 714-655-6226
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @hearnoevilstudio
- Facebook: Facebook.com/hearnoevilstudio
- Twitter: @hearnoevilaudio
Image Credit:
Personal photo – Harmony Gerber
Studio photos – Huxley Berg
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David Dykstra
December 8, 2019 at 01:08
My name is David Dykstra and I am the songwriter for The Royal Half Circle. I have been recording at Hear No Evil for over 6 years. I have recorded 2 full length albums there. Elliot produced both of them. While the studio is steeped with all kinds of amazing gear, from vintage to state of the art, it’s best feature is Elliot himself. His encyclopedic knowledge of music (all styles) has been essential and highly responsible for the quality of my work. He is extremely easy to work with, as he is committed to your project as much as you are.