Universal Audio UAD Plug-Ins ver.7.5 - Manual (Page 316)

UAD Powered Plug-Ins Manual - 316 - Chapter 29: Ocean Way Studios
Putnam moves
to Los Angeles
In order to be a proper studio, Sides needed a recording console. This is
where the story of Ocean Way truly begins; How Sides ended up purchasing
Western Recorders' original tube console and came face to face with M.T.
“Bill” Putnam. Putnam was a true renaissance man in the world of sound and
music. His combined skills as a record producer, audio engineer, songwriter,
singer, electrical engineer, inventor, studio owner and businessman are un-
paralleled to this day. Putnam owned and operated the largest independent
recording facility in the country, Universal Recording in Chicago. But with a
large chunk of his business moving west, clients like Frank Sinatra and Bing
Crosby urged him to open a Los Angeles facility. Finally in 1957, Bill moved
to 6050 Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood and started constructing brand new stu-
dios for his newly named studio enterprise, United Recording Corporation.
The ultimate result was in 1961, when he purchased the neighboring West-
ern Studio at 6000 Sunset, creating the United/Western Recorders studio
complex.
Get This Stuff
Out of Here
So how was it that Allen Sides and Bill Putnam come together at this key mo-
ment? Sides explains, “I needed a console. I heard that Bill's factory manager
Ray Combs needed to clear some space-much of it occupied by all the old
tube equipment from United/Western Studios”. Allen was a runner at
United/Western in the late 60's and knew everyone, but had never met Bill.
“I knew Bill was out of town, so I went to Ray and said, ‘How about I give you
$6,000 for all this junk including the trailer in the back with the old Western
console in it.’ He said, ‘I'll take it; get this stuff out of here.’”
A young Allen Sides in his natural element