By drums (208.251.209.82 - 208.251.209.82) on Thursday, February 14, 2002 - 08:58 pm:

Hello all!!

I have one insignificant question for today. Does anyone remember a studio called SuperDisc. It was on 8 mile road near Gratiot!! I recorded there a long time ago and I am trying to find out if it is still there.

I've also heard that P-Funk did do some cuts there but I am not sure which ones!!

Thank you guys!!

Daren Metz

By Rich (162.33.234.196 - 162.33.234.196) on Thursday, February 14, 2002 - 09:35 pm:

Hey Daren,

There's "The Disc, Ltd" in Eastpointe (East Detroit) which is where P-Funk mixed a lot of their recordings. It appears that a lot of the sessions that they recorded at United Sound Studios and even Hollywood Sound Studios were mixed there. They began recording there as well beginning in '78 thru '82. Don Davis was probably lookin' for the back rent, so they had to move on from United - lol
Peace

By Ian W (213.122.6.136 - 213.122.6.136) on Thursday, February 14, 2002 - 11:43 pm:

Wotcha Daren,

Superdisc is imprinted in the runout groove of some Detroit records (eg Drew and GeNeva) so I guess it might be a pressing plant too!

Ian

By mandyandmarty (67.217.183.218 - 67.217.183.218) on Wednesday, March 06, 2002 - 05:49 pm:

Okay guys! Superdisc was ALWAYS on 9 Mile,just west of Gratiot. You're right. It's now called The Disc. It was Never a pressing plant. However,they also house the Detroit Recording Institute. Yes,George Clinton did a lot of recording there. He still comes around a lot.

By phillysoulman (205.188.192.161 - 205.188.192.161) on Wednesday, March 06, 2002 - 05:59 pm:

In addition, Superdisc/ The Disc used to be known as GM studios back in the day and it was where Dennis cut Scorpio. Thom Bell recorded The Spinners' vocals at GM for the first album that he did with them. The female parts were done in Philly at Sigma. I believe that The Platters' Love you 1000 times was done there as well.
The Superdisc on the runout was because they mastered there as well and mssssastering houses usually incribed the info with a special tool on the stamper.

By phillysoulman (205.188.192.161 - 205.188.192.161) on Wednesday, March 06, 2002 - 06:00 pm:

oops, my finger slipped!!!

By david, glasgow, scotland (213.107.27.25 - 213.107.27.25) on Wednesday, March 06, 2002 - 06:54 pm:

welcome to the forum mandyandmarty.

bumpshops gm studios was based at 14611 east 9 mile road.

i'll be over there to photograph the building in april.

By drums (208.251.209.82 - 208.251.209.82) on Wednesday, March 06, 2002 - 08:13 pm:

Hey guys!!

NO wonder I couldnt find it on 8 MILE !! I hadnt been to Detroit since 1994 so I got my roads mixed up!!

Anyway, Bobby, did you ever record in there?? Or did any of the forum members record there as I did?

Daren Metz

By mixedbyDLM (67.114.129.184 - 67.114.129.184) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 03:43 am:

Hey folks:
The studio fomerly known as Superdisc, which was formerly known as GM (what in freak-a-zoid did that stood for? Great Music? Genareal Motors? Genearal Mills? Groovy Music?) has a webpage, thedisc.com. Same location out on that Nine Mile Road.

Another item that bugs this California native who's never been to Detroit, what about another studio called The Sound Suite, which was out on Puritan Av.? Artists like Was (Not Was), Five Special, or Michael Henderson recorded hits there.

Derrald Leo Mote

By acooolcat (211.72.121.66 - 211.72.121.66) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 04:38 am:

The guy's name was/is Guido Marasco (sp), he had a bumpshop (car repair) business next door and had two record labels called -surprise surprise - Bumpshop and GM.
Graham

By david, glasgow, scotland (213.122.85.221 - 213.122.85.221) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 08:39 am:

derrald
i'm sure ronn matlock mentioned it too on an e-mail.

must dig that out.

if anyone has the precise address on puritan, please let me know.

By david, glasgow, scotland (213.122.85.221 - 213.122.85.221) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 08:59 am:

ian i'd love to see a scan of that geneva label.

any addresses on it?

By Ralph Terrana (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 04:20 pm:

Derrald,
the Sound Suite was owned by Michael Grace and John Lewis who were former Motown Engineers.

My very good friend Fred Saxon did quite a bit of recording at GM and is still in touch with Guido these days.

By T O G (64.12.106.31 - 64.12.106.31) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 04:40 pm:

Yo Ralph,
It's GUIDO!! The other, REAL one.

Nuff said paisano you sure are in touch with me.

By Ralph (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 10:31 pm:

Wait a minute....Guido Who????? Can it possibly be???

By Ian W (213.123.47.214 - 213.123.47.214) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 11:35 pm:

David

I have two records on GeNEVA, the later one (Mike Jemison - Bright Light Baby - GE-512) has only 'Detroit, Michigan 48219' but the earlier one (Mike Jemison - Quick Change Artist - GE-512) has '743 Virginia Park, Detroit, Michigan 48203'!

In my listings, I've also got '7106 Greenfield Street, Dearborn, Mich' against the earlier one but I can't remember why. Old age eh! Label is owned by Ernest Kelley - another possible topic?

Ian

By Ian W (213.123.47.214 - 213.123.47.214) on Thursday, March 07, 2002 - 11:39 pm:

Oh I forgot!

I'm unable to scan labels at the moment as my scanner is now an ex-scanner. My cat ate most of the power cable and, after I bought a new transformer and cable, the machine won't work on the new PC. If I can persuade the missus, I'll buy another soon and possibly a cd-rewriter to record some of my vinyl. There's always something more practical to buy though - food, clothes etc. It's a hard life!

Ian

By Ralph (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 12:56 am:

Ian,
Sometimes you have to take the " musicians approach " and buy it anyway. I can't tell you how many times I opted for the equipment over some of life's essentials. My guitar player of choice for sessions here on the West Coast is Thom Ayres.He could get into buying guitars. One time he picked up a rather special Gibson Les Paul when money was a little tight for him. His wife ( a very talented singer ) questioned his sanity considering their financial situation at the time. Tom's answer to her, to me, sums up the entire complex musician's attitude at times...his reply to her was " But Angelina...listen to it. "

By Ian W (194.75.128.2 - 194.75.128.2) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 07:56 am:

Ralph,

I'll take your advice. I'll badger the missus (that's not an English sexual innuendo!) for one.
I have a pal who buys road cycles and has about 8 at the moment - same excuse as your friend Thom - they all have, supposedly, a different use. That's enthusiasm for you!

Ian

And now it's back to work. And there's much more new stuff to see on the website!

By Ralph (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 03:02 pm:

Ian,
I'm not trying to play devil's advocate. Don't get in trouble with your wife.However, if she agrees than you can " badger " her real good. Methinks we've coined a new term here Ian.

By david, glasgow, scotland (213.107.27.25 - 213.107.27.25) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 06:49 pm:

ian
7106 greenfield is the address of pac3 studios.

thanks for the virginia park address which was very close to the infamous algers motel incident in which 3 black kids were shot dead by police in 1967.

By david, glasgow, scotland (213.107.27.25 - 213.107.27.25) on Friday, March 08, 2002 - 06:53 pm:

does anyone have a copy on black nasty's 45 on big hit 'cut your motor off'?

i need to confirm the 'james couzens' street number thereon.

By motesartsound (66.122.52.86 - 66.122.52.86) on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 11:06 am:

A question for eveyone:
What about another studio called Cloud Bourne Productions in Grosse Pointe? Who was the owner back in the day then... Or is it like another Detroit studio gone dead (hmm, think of The Automatt here in the SF Bay Area)

To Mr. Terrana, I thought of the same looking scenariao as the above-mentioed studio, as to the Tera Shirma infancy. Unlike 827 Folsom St in San Francisco, which was the old CBS Recording studios until 1977, I think of Rainbow in Detroit was ran for a short period until TS ran the show in the late 1960's.
But here, when CBS ceased its shop he in the Bay area, The Automatt emerged, credited by David Rubison, another CBS staff producer (Chambers Brothers, Herbie Hancock, Pointer Sisters, Cold Blood, etc.) Then again, who owned the building by way of the lease? Francis Ford Coppla as an annex to his Zoetrope Films Corp.
I begat to think of what Tera Shirma was (not quite) The Automatt. Currently (as of this Bay Area native), it is a parking lot.

Ahhh, what a nice earthquake we had in 1989 here!

A food-cooking fool,
Derrald Leo Mpte

By Dennis Coffey (64.12.97.11 - 64.12.97.11) on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 01:48 pm:

Hi Folks. Last year my son James and I took some classes at the recording institute at Super Disc. Bob Dennis, a former Motown engineer, runs the studio. The classes were held in the same studio room I recorded Scorpio. My son was impressed. Bob's son also teaches there. A few years ago, I did a session for Ron Banks at Sound Suite Studios on Purtian. I used to live close to that area.

Dennis Coffey

By John Lester (213.1.134.59 - 213.1.134.59) on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 01:57 pm:

Soulful Detroit member Julian has been taking classes with Bob Dennis too......

Julian acknowledges that he has learnt from the greats of this life.

By Ralph (209.240.222.130 - 209.240.222.130) on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 02:11 pm:

Derrald,
I remember the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake very well. It rocked Monterey also.

By Ian W (213.122.61.243 - 213.122.61.243) on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 05:26 pm:

Chatbusters magazine ran an article on Bob Dennis - it's a 'must read'. He has a website - www.recordingeq.com - which documents his time at Motown - click on 'Motown recording review articles' to see a potted history a la Ralph! I particularly enjoyed the Four Tops recording.

Ian

By mixedbyDLM (66.127.78.145 - 66.127.78.145) on Saturday, March 09, 2002 - 05:49 pm:

For Dennis Coffey (and others)

Thanks for bringing up Bob Dennis' name! I remember seconding a cople of recording sessions with him here in the Bay Area (at the long-gone Starlight Sound in Richmond...Timex Social Club's tune "Rumors" put that studio on the map) with another former Detroit resident who was a percussionist, Muraga Booker (remember "Nubian Nut" by George Clinton?), who brought along his wife Shakti and thier daughter. Lo an behold, these were the nicest folks I've ever been with.
Then again, does anybody know where was Cloud Borne studios in Grosse Pointe? Any recollection, memories... Anything?

Hating Califorina since 9/13/63 (my birth),
Derrald Leo Mote

By david, glasgow, scotland (213.107.27.25 - 213.107.27.25) on Wednesday, March 13, 2002 - 07:40 pm:

graham sends in this scan of gm bumpshops 45