GilderSound

Audio Recording Studio

GilderSound History

The Early Years

Randy Gildersleeve moved to the Twin Cities area in 1977 to attend college and pursue a career in music. By the early 1980's, he was teaching guitar and bass and playing in rock bands. Having caught the recording bug in college, Randy began to acquire a few basic pieces of equipment, but the turning point came in the summer of '84 when he bought his first multitrack - a Tascam 4 track portastudio!

Soon he was recording demos for his band and his own songs, but in 1986 came the next big step - a friend's band hired Randy to record them. That went pretty well and other bands and songwriters followed. An 8-track reel to reel tape machine was purchased and soon Randy had a serious case of GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) which has not really been cured.

From Home Recording to GilderSound

Many recordings later, the home studio in the little house in Columbia Heights needed room to grow, as did the Gildersleeve family. So, in 1995 a studio was built in Forest Lake and, conveniently, a house was built on top of that. It was a nicer and much more professional space, but the recording hobby was starting to become a real business, so a name was needed.

Several names were considered, but Randy's good friend Scott Marrs suggested that the uniqueness of "Gildersleeve" be put to use so by early '96 GilderSound became the official title.

The new studio was equiped with a Yamaha 02R digital mixer, ADAT recorders, a computer for MIDI recording, and the place was busy. In 1997, GilderSound purchased its first Apple Macintosh computer which brought digital editing and CD burning to the studio. By the end of the decade GilderSound was a 24 track studio with automated mixing, an ever expanding list of equipment, and Randy was adding mastering to the recording and mixing services offered.

Recording in the Digital Age

In the new millennium, the computer became the center of all things in audio recording, and Digidesign's Pro Tools became the dominant format. GilderSound invested heavily in this direction and currently has a very powerful Pro Tools HD Accel 3 system capable of up to 96 tracks.

Add to that a great selection of mics, preamps, effects, instruments, monitors and associated gear and GilderSound is one of the best equipped studios in the region. The newest addition to all of this is a portable Pro Tools rig based around a MacBook laptop computer. Randy has come full circle - he's back to a portastudio!

These days you can find almost any kind of session happening at GilderSound. A group of musicians recording, a mixing or mastering session, editing for dance or theater groups, a score for a film or commercial, or a book on CD coming together. The portable rig may be recording a concert or capturing a client's piano in there own home.

So, give us a call or drop us an e-mail to find out if our services meet the needs of your project. Randy and the GilderSound team will be happy to discuss recording options and do whatever we can to provide you with a great recording experience.