Ted Etheridge at the Digidesign console

Ted Etheridge at the console of Music Box Studios

Having worked in some of the finest studios in the US, I had serious reservations about the quality of recording facilities I would find when I moved back to eastern North Carolina. 

When I first spoke to Ted Etheridge by phone a couple of years ago, I was just imagining some minor league facility stuck out in the boonies with a 4-track mini-disc recorder and a couple of microphones.

Boy, was I wrong!  I walked in Ted's Music Box Studio and met a young man who was to become a very good friend.  He was someone that I could actually speak the 'studio' and 'music' language with and not need an interpreter.

The facility is well-equipped with the Digidesign C-24 console with Focusrite preamps, Adam monitor speakers and a great selection of mics. For keyboards, you've got the Motif and a couple of Rolands plus an acoustic piano. When it comes to drums, there's a set of Pearl Masters.  By the way… Ted is a great drummer.

I've worked in studios from Hollywood to Atlanta and I have to say that the atmosphere in this studio is as laid back and conducive to creativity and recording as any I've seen.  Ted makes it that way with his easy-going personality.  But don't let that laid-back appearance fool you. He is a full-blown citizen of the tech world and knows his stuff when it comes to recording and music. If you screw up a track, he'll tell you so and suggest that you re-do it.  Ted feels that if you don't do your best, it reflects on him.

Being a producer/engineer and musician, I've recorded in some studios that have a cold, mechanized aura that can put a damper on getting the right vibe or feeling when you trying to lay down some tracks. It's always been hard for me to let someone else handle the mixing when I'm involved in a session.  Not so with Ted.  I would just mention the kind of sound that I'm trying to go for and he delivers. One of the reasons for his success behind the console appears obvious when you see his CD collection. It consists of every kind of music available. He studies the different sounds that artists around the world are putting down, analyzes them and if you mention a particular artist's sound that you like, chances are that he will be able to help you create it.

The studio is located 12 miles north of Williamston just off of Highway 125. Coming from Williamston, just make a left at the only traffic light in Hamilton and head out of town a few miles. The studio is on the right with a small sign in the front next to the road.  You can call Ted at 252-798-1310.