Featured Member Hotrodguy: Producer to the Stars

AUDIOGON: Could you give a little background on what you do, where you live, and how you got into audio?

Hotrodguy: I live in Los Angeles, CA and have worked in the entertainment industry since 1986 after graduating from the Institute of Audio Research in Greenwich Village, NYC and began my career as an audio engineer. Currently I am an actor, producer, and an iTunes account representative at Warner Bros. in Burbank. I also operate my own home theater installation company, consulting, designing, installing and calibrating audio and video systems. From 1987 through 2010 I worked in post houses in many facets but most notably as a mastering engineer for audio cassettes, (remember those?), a video editor for Pioneer where we manufactured laser discs (remember those too?), and a DVD/BD producer working with many celebrities over the years. The best part was when the studios upgraded their equipment and being in the right place at the right time, I could get my hands on a lot of high-end gear for cheap or free, which you’ll read about below. I have been into audio since my childhood, growing up I always had the best stereo system amongst my friends even if it wasn’t high-end. In my teens, I always had the best car stereo too, constantly upgrading when I could afford it.

: So what celebrities did you get to work with?

Hotrodguy:  As a DVD/BD producer, I have produced literally thousands of DVD’s, movies, TV shows, documentaries and concert DVD’s. I have worked with many celebrities over the years and since this is Audiogon, I’ll refer to just the musicians I’ve worked with on the concert DVD’s. The first big DVD I produced was back in 1999 and was with Peter Frampton on his Live In Detroit disc, and it went on from there. I’ve also worked with Justin Hayward, Graeme Edge, and John Lodge on the Moody Blues: Lovely To See You DVD.  I’ve worked with Dave Mason on Live at Sunrise, which by the way has reference quality audio that was sweetened by Dave and Producer Phil Bonano, as well as Ray Manzarek on The Doors VH1 Storytellers disc and Chick Corea, Dave Weckl, and Victor Woonton  on Chicks Rendezvous In New York box set to name just a few. I have a lot of pictures of me with them but they were taken on film cameras, (remember those as well?) so I have taken a digital picture of the film picture of one of my favorites, Mick Fleetwood (Two Sticks and a Drum DVD) and I next to my car, (hence the user name hotrodguy). He’s 6’7″ and I’m 5’8″ – what a great picture, looks better without the flash though. There are many others but too many to list here.

: How did you get your room the way it is?

Hotrodguy: While I do work a lot, I am not wealthy by any means but having worked in post houses most of my life has afforded me the opportunity to get my hands on some serious gear. I put together my dedicated theater room, which is set up for both movies and music, from the equipment I have gathered over the years.

: What room treatments do you use and how do they help?

Hotrodguy: The room has been tuned acoustically with RPG Modffusors (free from a post house), Michael Green Audio Room Tune TunePak, and homemade 1st and 2nd order reflection panels tuned down to 250 Hz. This combination works wonders and creates an accurate direct radiating sound without being overly reflective or too dead. Listening to some of my multi-channel DTS 5.1 CD’s, DVD-Audio discs or SACD’s is just mind blowing – the clarity and accuracy allows you to attain audio nirvana, especially in the reclining seats with the shakers. Ahhhhh!

: What is your favorite component and why?

Hotrodguy: That’s a hard question to answer with so much cool gear but I guess if I had to pick one, it would be the B&W speakers (OK, that’s more like 9 favorite components, but you get the idea).

: What is your favorite music to listen to?

Hotrodguy: My favorite music to take advantage of this incredible room would be any of the high resolution audio discs in surround sound, the likes of Steely Dan: Gaucho on a DTS 5.1 CD, Fabulous Thunderbirds: This Night in L.A. on DVD-Audio, Pink Floyd: Dark Side of the Moon on SACD and Chris Botti: Live With Orchestra on Blu-ray and many more.

: Is there any rule, theory, or advice you abide by with the set up of your system that you’d like to share?

Hotrodguy: Yeah, I have a few. No food or drinks, don’t touch the equipment, shut up, sit down, and hold on!… Just kidding – it’s there for pure enjoyment, and so far, everyone has experienced just that. I also have a two channel system in the living room with more incredible gear but that’s another story.

Thanks, Hotrodguy!  Would you like to share your story as our next Featured Member? Submit your information here.