RSR543 - Travis Harrison - Recording Guided By Voices, Built To Spill, The Men, and Tons of Garage and Punk Rock in Brooklyn, NY
Recording Studio Rockstars
Lij Shaw
4.8 • 543 Ratings
🗓️ 30 January 2026
⏱️ 127 minutes
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Summary
What actually happens when you stop isolating everything and just let a band play together in the room?
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My guest today is Travis Harrison, founder of Serious Business Music, a Brooklyn-based studio known for capturing raw, honest performances from real bands. Travis joined me to talk about how his studio and workflow evolved over time - from early audio-only recordings to embracing video, hybrid setups, and modern tools - while still staying rooted in classic recording approaches.
We talked about recording bands live in the room, why Travis embraces bleed instead of fighting it, and how capturing the energy of a performance often matters more than perfect isolation. He shared how he'll use simple setups like a single M 160 ribbon mic on drums, how preparation and adaptability become critical when recording larger bands, and why letting musicians interact naturally can shape the sound of a record in ways plugins never will.
Travis also broke down his hybrid workflow, using tape as a tone-shaping tool rather than a rigid format - running tracks through a tape machine for color before moving into Pro Tools for editing and mixing. We discussed mic choices like using an SM57 on bass cabinets for midrange growl, routing and flexibility with a Soundcraft Ghost console, and how his Brooklyn studio has been shaped by real-world challenges like soundproofing, space limitations, and evolving technology. Throughout the conversation, we kept coming back to the balance between tradition and innovation - and why great records still come down to musicians, rooms, and decisions made in the moment.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of RSR is brought to you by Isotope Native Instruments, S-A-E-Institute, Adam Audio, Spectra |
| 0:09.8 | 1964, Grace Design, and Picker. These are tools that I use every day in my studio from the Spectra |
| 0:18.0 | 1964 STX-600 and Native instruments complete 15 to isotope ozone and |
| 0:25.7 | RX, atom audio monitoring and headphones, and the central hub for my studio, the Grace Design |
| 0:33.4 | M701 audio interface. Check out my studio profile on the Picker app |
| 0:38.8 | on iPhone or Android, |
| 0:40.7 | and follow the sponsor links in the show notes. |
| 0:43.7 | Grab my free mixing course at mixmasterbundle.com, |
| 0:47.6 | and remember to like this video |
| 0:49.3 | and subscribe on YouTube |
| 0:51.1 | because it's a great way to help support this show. |
| 0:54.0 | Now, get ready to rock. |
| 0:56.0 | I am an SM 57 on the bass cabinet, man. |
| 0:59.0 | I like it because there's a growl situation, the mid-range. |
| 1:04.0 | I'm a big fan of mid-range. |
| 1:05.0 | Me, what I don't want it on a bass cabinet is like a beta-52 or some way, |
| 1:09.0 | like in a live scene where they put on like a bass drum |
| 1:11.3 | mic on the bass cabinet right right what's going on i like how the 57 is really mid range heavy |
| 1:18.2 | and then i also feel like the proximity effect is fine it's base i'm like mic it close yeah it's never it's never like, Mike it close. Yeah. |
| 1:27.9 | It's never like, |
| 1:29.2 | oh, |
| 1:29.5 | it's so thin sounding. |
... |
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