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| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music Recording |
| Founder | John Fry, John King, and Fred Smith |
| Headquarters | Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Divisions | Ardent Records/Ardent Music |
Ardent Studios is an American recording studio located inMemphis, Tennessee,United States. The studio was founded in the late1950s by John King, Fred Smith, and John Fry. Over time, it has become a commercially successful recording studio.[1]
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Ardent Studios was founded byJohn Fry, John King, and Fred Smith, in 1959. Initially, it was a studio in John Fry's family garage, where he recorded his first 45s for theArdent Records label. Equipment in the studio included an Altec tubemixing console,Ampex 2-track tape recorder, aPultec equalizer, andNeumann microphones.
In 1966, the studio moved to a commercial location shared with a bookshop.Tom Dowd was consulting with Auditronics on an early multitrack console for nearbyStax Records, and Fry ordered the same input modules for his second mixing board. When the studio upgraded to aScully 4-track tape recorder, Ardent became the first 4-track studio in Memphis.[2] It was also the first studio in the area to useEMT plate reverbs.
Looking towards the future, on October 25, 1968, Fry Acquired the 2000 Madison parcel of land and broke ground on the future home of Ardent Studios, marking the beginning of a new chapter in its evolution.[3]
On Thanksgiving weekend, 1971, Ardent Studios fully moved to its current location on Madison Avenue, consisting of two studios, A and B.[4]
In 1980, Ardent expanded once more, Adding studio C.[5]
In 2022-24, Ardent underwent a large-scale renovation in all of its control rooms and common areas, keeping the live rooms original and intact.[6]
Ardent currently has four studios and one vinyl mastering suite.[7]
Studio A: 72 Channel Neve 88RS.[8]
Studio B: Solid State Logic Duality Fuse 48 Channel[9]
Studio C: Neve BCM 10 MK II 32 1073 type modules.[10]
Studio D: Solid State Logic UF8's Dangerous Music Summing[11]
Mastering Neumann VMS70 lathe.[12]
All rooms have Pro Tools HD with Prism Converters and Studer 827 Multitracks.[13]
The studio is co managed byJody Stephens part time, the drummer forBig Star, an early Ardent group whose first two albums appeared on the Ardent Records label in the early 1970s. All three Big Star albums were inRolling Stone's500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The song “In The Street” from their first album became the theme for “That 70s Show.”
In the 2000s, younger artists such asThe White Stripes,3 Doors Down,Cat Power,North Mississippi Allstars,The Raconteurs,Low Cut Connie, andGuy Sebastian recorded at Ardent. The soundtracks forHustle and Flow andBlack Snake Moan were also produced at Ardent.
As of February 2024, there are four studios available, each corresponding to the first four letters of alphabet and differing in and musical gear, mixing and recording capacities.[14]
Ardent Studio recordedSam & Dave,Led Zeppelin,Isaac Hayes,Leon Russell, andthe Staples Singers, and in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s recordedJames Taylor along withZZ Top,The Tragically Hip,George Thorogood,The Allman Brothers,Bob Dylan,Gin Blossoms,R.E.M.,Joe Walsh, andJimmie andStevie Ray Vaughan.
Ardent became home to youngproducers andengineers such asJim Dickinson,Terry Manning, Joe Hardy,John Hampton, Paul Ebersold, and later Skidd Mills, Jeff Powell,Brad Blackwood, Pete Mathews, Jason Latshaw, and Don Bell.
The studio also helped record soundtracks forHustle and Flow andBlack Snake Moan.
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35°8′15″N89°59′40″W / 35.13750°N 89.99444°W /35.13750; -89.99444
