TTG Studios

Studio

"TTG" stood for "two terrible guys." The studio was at 1441 North McCadden Place near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue, in Hollywood section of Los Angeles. The studio was notable as one of the first to be equipped with a 16-track Ampex tape recorder at a time when 4-track recording was still the norm, and for the very competitive rate of $55 per hour. Due to its high decibel level threshold, their studio became popular with the up-and-coming rock musicians of that time, including The Monkees, Eric Burdon, Frank Zappa with The Mothers of Invention, and Alice Cooper. Burdon introduced Jimi Hendrix to the studio and Hendrix "raved" about the studio's sound. Some parts of The Velvet Underground & Nico were recorded at TTG in May 1966. In the present day, the building that once housed TTG Studios is home to Studio 1444, a photo and video rental production studio facility owned by photographer Alen Lin, and WAX LTD, the multi-platinum production and songwriting record label of Wally Gagel and Xandy Barry.

Tom Hidley

TTG Studios' co-founder was Tom Hidley. He was born May 27, 1931 in Los Angeles, California. As a teen, he spent long hours playing the saxophone, clarinet, and flute, until ordered to cease by his physician after a physical breakdown. He then turned to non-performance aspects of music, and spent nights recording at clubs and days working at loudspeaker and tape-machine companies.

In 1959, "Madman Muntz" hired Hidley to assist in the development of the first car stereo. Among the first to own a Muntz car stereo was Frank Sinatra, the famous singer and actor. Through Sinatra's purchase, Hidley became known to a Sinatra associate Val Valentin, who invited Hildley to assist in the building of a new recording studio in New York. In 1962, they built the MGM/Verve studio. In 1964, Phil Ramone hired Hidley to work at his A&R studio as the audio technical manager. Also employed at that time by A&R was Ami Hadani. Hidley went on to found Westlake Recording Studios in the 1970s, a facility which was highly influential in standardizing acoustic design in the recording industry and which has been used by a large number of prominent vocal artists.

Ami Hadani

TTG co-founder Amnon "Ami" Hadani was born August 19, 1929. He was credited as Omi Hadan on some records. Hadani's association with MGM/Verve artists preceded TTG and his work with rock groups. He engineered albums by jazzmen Ray Brown and Milt Jackson, actress Lainie Kazan, and location recording for standup comic Shelley Berman. According to Bruce Botnick, Hadani was a General in the Israeli Air Force, and had to leave for weeks at a time when Israel was at war. Ami was married to actress Ellen Weston and they had one child, Jonathan Hadani. They were divorced when their son was 6. Ami remarried Christine Ermacoff, a studio cellist. Ami died in September 22, 2014 in Los Angeles.