INTERVIEW: Robby Krieger of The Doors on his LA studio

Guitar legend Robby Krieger has been speaking to API‘s sister title MI Pro about The Doors, his latest projects, and his new recording studio in LA.

Best known for his work with the rock band, Krieger recently teamed up with his sound engineer and tour manager, Michael Dumas, to design and build a brand new studio facility located in Glendale, Los Angeles.

“It’s very traditional,” Dumas told Daniel Gumble – former Audio Pro International editor, now deputy editor of MI Pro. “We have a large tracking control room with a vintage API in it, big iso booths, large tracking rooms, high ceilings. We also have a mix room; we bought a console out of Westlake Studios – Studio D, the Michael Jackson room – which is a 72-channel Neve. That will be in our mix room and set up for 5.1 and/or stereo.

The studio is well equipped with a choice selection of amps and instruments, or tools, as Krieger and Dumas prefer to call them.

“My studios have always had tools,” Dumas continued. “You’ve got to have the tools to make a record. If you’ve got a guitarist that’s been playing a Strat for the whole record and you go ‘this is screaming for a hollow body’, it’s nice to have that and be able to get that classic sound. So, for that reason, we’ve got a lot of classic, older instruments in the studio.”

Though the studio may be equipped with a wealth of vintage instruments from the ‘60s and ‘70s, Krieger has maintained a relatively streamlined assortment of guitars and gear over the years, remaining loyal to a small but strong arsenal that has served him well throughout his career.

Krieger added: “I have a ’67 SG, which I use most of the time, and I have a couple of semi-hollow bodies and 355s. I mainly use Fender amps – mostly Devilles. With effects, I try to keep things to a minimum on stage; simple is what I like. I’ve been using this ten-year old Boss ME-10, but apart from that, I keep trying all these new ones and none of them do it for me. But I’m open to anything.”

To read the interview in full, click here.

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