SpinArt Co-Founder Dealing Ecstatic Electric, Vintage Microphones
HOBOKEN, NJ: For nearly 20 years, gear fanatic and collector Joel Morowitz funneled his passion for music and recording into running SpinArt Records, the now-defunct NYC indie label that released albums by The Apples in stereo, Clem Snide, Frank Black and Michael Penn among others. By the time he and co-founder Jeff Price made the tough decision to fold SpinArt in ’07, Morowitz had personally amassed a large collection of recording equipment, much of which he’d acquired with the label’s recording projects in mind.
“The SpinArt offices were in DUMBO and we had a lot of space, which I basically filled up with equipment I was collecting,” Morowitz describes. “Vintage recording gear, keyboards, organs, etc. Our office looked like a used music store. A lot of our bands used to record at home and didn’t have a whole lot of money. So I’d pack up some equipment and send it off to them, they’d make the record and send the equipment back.”
Ecstatic Electric: "It's not just pro audio...it's love."
Moving on from SpinArt, both co-founders turned their attentions to the larger music community — Price founding Tunecore, and Morowitz starting up specialty pro audio retail and rental companies: Ecstatic Electric and the recently-launched VintageMicrophones.com.
“I’ve always really loved the technology side of music, and the process of making records,” says Morowitz. “After SpinArt, I really wanted to find a way to work in the field, so I started Ecstatic Electric, selling mostly smaller boutique pro audio lines. I was getting so many requests from people saying I love this product but I really can’t afford to buy it right now; can I rent it from you? That planted the idea in my brain that I should have a rental company as well.”
He started out renting to people he knew he could trust with his gear, operating under the name Cinnamon Sound. But increasing demand urged him to setup formally. “I happened to know the guy who owned the VintageMicrophones.com domain name, so I got it from him and started the site. Ecstatic Electric is still going strong, and now Vintage Microphones is open to the public for boutique microphone and pro audio rentals.”
Ecstatic Electric carries a select roster of audio brands, including A-Designs, Charter Oak, No Toasters, Thermionic Culture, Shiny Box, Retrospec, Valvotronics and Vertigo Sound. “We really like to focus on small brands and we do not have a retail shop, which is very intentional and part of our sales philosophy. If someone wants to try something, we’ll deliver it to them for free,” Morowitz explains. “You have to put a credit card down to secure it, but then you can take the time you need to try it out — if you like it, great, we’ll sell it to you; if not, we’ll come pick it up.”
So not only do Ecstatic Electric customers not have to leave their studios, they also don’t have to wait for shipping. “We want to eliminate all the barriers to getting gear into people’s hands. Allowing them to try it out in their own studios has been great,” Morowitz shares, adding with a laugh, “It’s almost too great — I seem to be spending all of my time driving equipment around.”
Have Gear, Will Travel: Vintage Microphones & Analog Outboard Delivered To Your Doorstep
Vintage Microphones, A-Z
With Vintage Microphones, Morowitz has reinvented the SpinArt equipment loaner-system for local artists and producer/engineers, serving what he sees as a growing market.
“You go to Brooklyn, throw a stone and you’re going to hit a recording studio and so many of these new rooms have opened in the last 3 or 4 years,” Morowitz notes. “I’ve been selling to a lot of these studios as well as to artists making records at home through Ecstatic Electric — the rental company is a natural extension of that.”
And like Ecstatic Electric, he’ll deliver the rental gear directly to the customer. “Basically if you’re within 40 miles of the city, I’ll come to you,” he notes. “I’m in Manhattan and Brooklyn every day, so I’m never too far away to swing by and drop something off or pick up.”
Morowitz’s microphone collection includes a “pristine” Brauner VM1-Klaus Heyne Edition (rated in the top 5 by Heyne himself, out of 100 manufactured), a Telefunken ELA-M 250 that came from Shelly Yakus’ Tongue & Groove Studios in Philadelphia, a matched pair of the new Lucas CS-1 mics, and Eddie Kramer’s Neumann U47 from Electric Lady.
Vintage Microphones, A-Z (cont'd)
His large collection of mic pre’s and outboard gear is also available for rent. This means: LA2As, LA3As, 1176s, DBX 160’s, Pultec EQ’s, Telefunken mic pres, and gear from Neve, API, Chandler, Thermionic Culture, Inward Connections and Shadow Hills Industries.
By making his personal collection available for rent, customers now have access to some real specialty items. “At the end of the day, does it make any difference that you’re using the 47 that Mick Jagger used? Not at all. Though it’s really cool,” Morowitz opines. “But nothing sounds like a well-maintained 47. And so many musicians will never have the chance to own one of these microphones because a good 47 costs $13,000 today. It’s such a gorgeous microphone and now you have a chance to use one for a reasonable price.”
Morowitz mentions Alexi Murdoch as a recent client. Recording at Saltlands in DUMBO, once home to much of Morowitz’s gear, the LA-based singer/songwriter rented the Wagner U47W microphone for use on his last record.
More A-Z
This is one of the last Wagner U47Ws hand-made by Gunter Wagner, a former Neumann employee who built U47 replicas. “A lot of people make U47 clones, but the Wagners are really a cut above,” Morowitz explains.
“It’s like taking a time machine back and buying a new 47. It’s just a stunning microphone. When I decided I really wanted another U47, I wondered if I should get another vintage one or buy one of the Wagners. I did a lot of critical tests — listening to many vintage U47s and then to the Wagner, and his was as good or better than any 47 that I’ve ever heard.”
Vintage Microphones also has a matched pair of the Greg Hanks BA-660 mic pre/compressor which Morowitz points out as a rare rental offering on his website. “We also carry a large inventory of API 500 series compatible modules,” he adds. “We can custom assemble a “lunchbox” or rack for you.”
In the Studio/Shop: Manufacturing, Weathervane Music
Beyond distribution, Morowitz is also starting to work on the manufacturing side, partnering with studio technician Ken McKim (Allaire, Hit Factory, Trouble Report) on the re-manufacture of his Retrospec Juicebox, which Ecstatic Electric is distributing.
Retrospec Juicebox
“The Juicebox is an amazing tube DI box that hasn’t been available for years,” he explains. “And he has another great product called the Squeezebox, which is an LA2A compressor in a guitar pedal that we’re going to be manufacturing as well.” Morowitz is in the early stages of collaboration on a few other new products as well,
Morowitz also sits on the board of Weathervane Music, a non-profit organization run by producer/engineer Brian McTear out of Miner Street Recordings in Philadelphia. Weathervane produces/curates a program called Shaking Through, a series of audio and video recordings featuring great independent artists, their music and artfully produced video of the actual recording sessions that went into making that music.
“My primary function so far has been lending Brian gear for the recording sessions,” says Morowitz. “It’s an honor to be involved with it. They bring in wonderful and deserving artists and give them the opportunity to record in a high-end studio at no cost. Brian has put his heart and soul into this project, so I do everything that I can to help him out.”
For more on Joel Morowitz’s Ecstatic Electric, visit http://www.ecstaticelectric.com and check out his new rental company at http://www.vintagemicrophones.com.