Producer/Engineer
Jackpot! Recording Studio
I am the owner of Jackpot! Recording Studio, Inc., which began operations in 1997. In 2007 it moved into its current location in SE Portland, Oregon, next door to our pals at Hamptone. All audio wiring, audio treatment and studio design and layout was overseen by myself. The studio has been managed by Kendra Lynn since 2004, and is specifically designed to be friendly for freelance engineers. Jackpot! features a large, high ceilinged live room, three iso booths, 2-, 16- and 24-track analog tape decks, Pro Tools HD, a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console, many outboard devices, instruments and a wide selection of microphones.
From 1994 to 1997 I ran Laundry Rules Recording from my home, which essentially morphed into Jackpot! in 1997.
Freelance Producer/Engineer
Since 1994 I’ve worked on recordings for hundreds of artists, including Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, Jenny Lewis, M. Ward, The Go-Betweens, Stephen Malkmus, The Decemberists, Quasi, Richmond Fontaine, Cat Power, Portland Cello Project, The Walkabouts, Viva Voce, Death Cab For Cutie, System and Station, Jason Lytle, Wooden Shjips, Jolie Holland, She & Him, and Nels Cline Singers. These projects have been on labels like Capitol, Dreamworks, Kill Rock Stars, Sub Pop, Merge, K, Domino, Jetset, Bong Load, Hush, Cavity Search, Virgin, Matador, Rough Trade and Team Love. I have worked out of my Jackpot! Recording Studio in Portland, OR, as well as other studios in California, Arizona, New York, Washington, Oregon, Louisiana and Quebec. I’ve also worked on live remote recordings in Arizona, Nevada and Oregon.
As a producer I like to get very involved in the songs being recorded, working on the arrangements, choosing instruments and guiding the recordings along in more of an “old school” fashion. Engineering is second nature to me at this point. I’m comfortable with calibrating and running any sort of analog tape decks, tracking in Pro Tools, and have had a range of experiences in many types of studios. Recently I’ve been getting a lot of mixing jobs, from albums tracked in large pro studios to modest home recordings. Clients have been very happy with my work, and I feel my experience working on Elliott Smith’s back catalog has taught me a lot about restoring audio quality to “less than perfect” recordings and getting the most out of a mix. It doesn’t hurt that we have the fantastic Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console to mix through either! I moved back to Portland in 2012 and have been working out of Jackpot! all the time recently.
Incomplete discographies: AllMusic Discogs Album Credits
Testimonials:
“I haven’t worked too much in recording studios, but I have worked with other people before. I was amazed by your patience, professionalism and demeanor. If I ever make it in this business, I will point to those sessions and say that that was when things began to click.”
“These sound better than I ever could have hoped. Thanks for your time and energy. Better get your red tux ready for the Grammys.”
-BOAT
Check out my profile at SoundBetter.
Interviews with Larry
Fretboard Journal podcast 2017
Interview with Sound Design Live
Glorious Noise: Elliott Smith’s Archives (2009)
Glorious Noise: Elliott Smith’s Roman Candle remaster (2010)
Spinner.com and remastering Roman Candle
Glorious Noise: Elliott Smith’s New Moon (2007)
Fake Science (2005)
Anvil Media (2004)
Oregon Music Guide (2004)
NeuMu Music News (2002)
ProSoundWeb: A Guided Tour of Jackpot! Studios (2002)
Chico News & Review: Backbeat (2001)
Interview by Jack Tremaine about Walkabouts CD (2001)
Interview in The Red Alert (2007)
How I ended up recording The Go-BetweensAn interview with Octoberman talking about LC session
Mix Engineer
I love mixing records. Whether your songs were tracked at home on modest equipment or in a nice studio setting, I have the skills, tools, and experience to help bring the most out of your mix. At my Jackpot! Recording Studio I can mix from Pro Tools or 2-inch tape, through our fantastic Rupert Neve Designs console, and process tracks (as needed) with analog equipment (EQ/compression/tape delays/plate reverb/spring reverb). I’ve mixed thousands of songs and worked on hundreds of records – and I know what works. I’ve also mixed a wide variety of musical genres – rock, hip-hop, pop, dance, electronica, indie rock, country, songwriters, bluegrass, punk.
Artists I’ve mixed: Elliott Smith, Sleater-Kinney, The Go-Betweens, The Decemberists, Jason Lytle, Jolie Holland, She & Him, Quasi, Richmond Fontaine, Portland Cello Project, Viva Voce, Wooden Shjips, Summer Cannibals, My Sad Captains, The Shins, BOAT, Fault Lines, Minden, & many more.
“Larry Crane mixed Buttercup’s new record and we’re thrilled with the quality of his work. The recording was done quickly, without headphones and with very few overdubs. It’s basically a live recording of us in our rehearsal space. We knew the performances were hot, but our mixes needed help. Larry made the songs sound “whole”. Even with all kinds of 3D stereo depth, they’re cohesive: the instruments sit with arms intertwined and the voices sparkle. Over the course of mixing 13 songs, Larry’s gut impulses were always spot-on. We used his first mixes on every song. This is remarkable. Larry Crane has a musician’s ear for sonic detail, and an artist’s eye for the big picture. His tasteful use of vintage and modern gear give power to his mixes. We can’t recommend him enough!”
-Erik Sanden, Joe Reyes, and Odie of Buttercup
“It’s better than I thought possible. I am relieved to know that recordings done in my living room can sound this good.”
Wade Tyner
Email me for info on mixing and for rate quotes.