ABD Mobile is a solar powered mobile recording truck based in Los Angeles, CA.

 

Our goal was to build a classic mobile recording truck operated by experienced engineers using great and well-maintained gear.  Additionally, one that can go anywhere using renewable power to simplify logistics and unlock new and unique recording spaces for artists and bands. 

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ABD mobile is our updated take on the recording trucks of the 1970s.  These trucks, such as the RSM, RLM, RAK and Wally Heider's mobile truck, recorded a tremendous number of albums ranging from Led Zeppelin IV and The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street to Johnny Cash's Live at Folsom Prison and The Who's Quadrophenia.  (Yes, all those records were recorded with mobile trucks!)

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These trucks became less prominent as digital recording took over and the size and scope of equipment required appeared to shrink.  However, there's a reason engineers and producers are still using the old equipment in top studios around the world... the sound! 

 

Most home and mobile setups tend to suffer from compromised or misleading monitoring, insufficient isolation and noisy or inconsistent power.  There's also the inescapable reality that a 1000+ lb. large format analog recording console, which is still the best tool for making great multitrack recordings, is not especially mobile without it being built into a truck.

 

Our mobile truck operates all studio equipment using solar power. Unlike other trucks and current mobile setups which rely on an outside source to power their equipment, our studio can be powered and working even if there is no power available on-site whether day or night.  Our truck can also supply power to musical instruments and equipment used by performers such as amps, keyboards, laptops, etc. 

 

What all this boils down to is a self contained mobile production environment that allows an artist, band, or producer to bring a fully equipped recording studio with them to wherever they choose without having to compromise between the sound, the gear, or the location.

 

Aside from the endless creative possibilities, our mobile can solve technical or logistical problems with things such as: 

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• location of the performance (venues, rehearsal spaces, houses, places of worship, cabins, empty swimming pools...) 

• recording instruments that can be challenging to capture by home recordists (acoustic string instruments, piano, drums...)

• Ensemble performances or overdubs (jazz ensembles, strings, horns, choir)

• Supplemental equipment for larger ensembles or full bands working outside a traditional recording studio

• Uncompromised monitoring for mixers working from home  

• Capturing instruments like piano or drums in interesting sounding and unique spaces or situations

• other things folks generally aren't prepared or equipped to do on a laptop

 

In contrast to the traditional recording studio: you're not locked in to one recording space, the mobile costs roughly 1/3 the price of a traditional LA studio and there's a lot of creative possibilities when your recording setup doesn't need the grid for power. 

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The mobile is operated by a handful of engineers, each of whom have at least a decade worth of experience working in top studios in Los Angeles and NYC for major label artists and producers as well as with countless independent projects.

 

The mobile exists to make recordings that sound great from the first playback, are easy to mix and give the artist unrivaled creative freedom to focus on making the best music they can.