The sound of music history

Producer Rick Hall built FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) studios in 1960. Funded in part by Rick’s first production, Arthur Alexander’s “You Better Move On,” the first sessions in the new studio produced Jimmy Hughes hit “Steal Away,” the Tams’ “What Kind of Fool” and Tommy Roe’s “Everybody.” Major labels were shocked to see a small-town studio produce such a stream of Top 40 hits, and the world quickly took notice.

By the mid-1960s, FAME had established itself as a unique destination for artists of all genres. Backed by the now-famous “Swampers” and “Fame Gang” house bands along with FAME’s legendary lead guitarists Duane Allman, Eddie Hinton, Reggie Young and Travis Wammack, FAME delivered hits for Etta James, Clarence Carter, Wilson Pickett, Lou Rawls, Little Richard and Aretha Franklin, cementing the Muscle Shoals Sound and FAME’s reputation for sonic excellence.

By the 1970s, FAME had established Muscle Shoals as an international draw, attracting artists from around the world. And FAME has stayed strong ever since, hosting talent like Alison Krauss, Demi Lovato, The Raconteurs, Steven Tyler, Ann Wilson, the Revivalists and countless more.

1. Little Richard - 2. Wilson Pickett - 3. Etta James

An entire studio’s worth of spaces in one plug-in

T-RackS FAME Studio Reverb offers a total of 9 spaces, with 2 live rooms, 5 iso booths, an EMT plate reverb and FAME’s newly-restored echo chamber, plus Modern and Vintage modes for each, giving you a full suite of reverb effects in a single plug-in.

Audition sounds faster with everything in a single plug-in, so you don’t have to jump between chamber, plate and room plug-ins to experiment with what sounds best.

A newly-restored part of music history

In addition to the rooms and plate, IK is proud to have helped FAME’s Rodney Hall restore one of FAME’s original echo chambers. Long out of use, this newly restored chamber is equipped just as it was in the ’60s and sounds every bit as amazing now as it did then.

That exact sound, instrument by instrument

IK worked hand-in-hand with FAME to precisely capture not just the mic placement used on all their iconic albums, but where the performers were as well. Select which instrument you’re processing and T-RackS FAME Studio Reverb instantly re-positions both microphones and source in the room, putting you right where the magic happened.

From Aretha Franklin’s setup on the piano to Duane Allman’s favorite spots for guitar amps, it’s all in here.

Iconic consoles for iconic spaces

Beyond using FAME’s extensive vintage mic locker, IK took care to capture each studio’s unique sonic signature.

Studio A boasts a Neve 8232 console, while Studio B, recently renovated and restored by Rodney and GRAMMY award-winning producer Glenn Rosenstein, offers an SSL 6056 E formerly loved by Stevie Ray Vaughan and used on his most successful albums.

Or, for a more vintage sound, you can switch either studio to use FAME’s original Universal Audio 610 console, hand-built for FAME, to precisely capture the vibes of FAME’s earliest decades.

Convenient tone shaping

T-RackS FAME Studio Reverb offers all the necessary controls to shape your spaces including reverb time, width and frequency controls, microphone controls (left, right, or both) and accurate leveling/monitoring of the mixed signals.

To offer even more realism, when using the two studio’s live rooms, FAME Studio Reverb offers two faders for mono room ambience, which can be mixed into the stereo signal or used alone, just as you could if recording at FAME itself.