Pictured above are our studios and control room in the MCP DaviSound Studios, CIRCA 1984. The control room console is our first custom DS-24/16/2 SuperSystem console (built in 1981 and still performing beautifully) and with the exception of a FEW pieces of digital gear (and a new telephone!), the control room today is still very much the same as when this photo was taken!

The original, small studio built in 1970 was just the control room shown above (before remodeling- just carpeted cement block walls) and the adjoining small lounge which was then the tiny office area. Original studio equipment crowding the small room consisted of a classic Ampex 351 full track recorder, a 350-4 tower-rack four track and a couple of Ampex 601s for dubbing. There were just a few microphones and an outboard console rigged from an Ampex mixer and two small, portable Sony mixers. (2014 Note- See the "DaviScrapbook" link below for recently discovered photos of some of the old gear!)

During the mid seventies, the Ampex tube recording gear was sold (now regrettably!) and the changover made to the custom modified Tascam/Teac multi-track gear shown above. One old Ampex holdover still on premises is a converted experimental, video transport, obtained from a Cleveland TV station, converted to a 2" audio 24 track ... vintage gear aficionados can view an old, under construction, photo of it HERE.

The cozy studio area, added in 1971, is a classic seven-sided, live/dead room which has provided a relaxed, creative atmosphere for hundreds of sessions. More studio photos can be viewed at the link below.

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Passionate Beginnings ...

Our "heyday" for in-house productions was the 1970's but, while we still do some rare, select work for the broadcast and music industries ....
since 1979 our primary PASSION has been for the "tools" of our trade.

Born out of love and respect for the finest audio electronics attainable, we began designing and fabricating our own custom audio gear, first for our own use, and ultimately for other studios and broadcast facilities all across the country.

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WAY BACK IN TIME ...."Mother Cleo"...

Back in the early days (when the Analogasauras ruled the recording world!) we were very active with in-house, worldwide broadcast productions. This was a time when broadcast radio programming and production were considered true art forms. And, as such, stations were individually, creatively programmed and often exciting and entertaining to listen to as opposed to being the predictable, sound alike "jukeboxes", or the conglomerate owned propaganda machines, most have become today. You can still hear and sample some of this "good old days of radio" nostalgia here at an excellent site maintained by our old WIXE associate, Richard Irwin, REEL RADIO .

Amongst a list of over twelve hundred worldwide clients, were such giants as WNBC Radio, New York, The BBC (London and Bristol), Radio Luxembourg, WTBS Atlanta and many, MANY others.

We were particularly well-known in Canada for our novelty commercials and in England and all across Europe for our famous "Talking/Singing Moog" Synthesizer radio promo productions with agents operating in Ontario, London and Sweden (One of these agents happened to be Igil Aalvik ... who later became the infamous "Swedish Eagle" on "K-ROCK FM", Los Angeles!).

Among the many talented voices heard on MCP jingles over the years were native Newberrians ...
Kiki Kirkland (former Miss South Carolina/USA) ...
Brantlee Price (former Miss South Carolina and WIS television personality) and ...
Tommy Funderburk, (former member of the group, Airplay with Jay Graydon and David Foster and later a noted professional studio singer in the Los Angeles music scene who was also the composer of the number- one Starship single, "It's Not Enough").

Other talented Newberrians who frequently contributed to in-house recordings over the years were ...
Mary Ann Davis Hayes, Melissa Turbeville Crocker, Lloyd Brigman, Wayne Golden, Ryan Jones and
Bruce Wallace.

In the "Glory Days" of radio promos and jingles, some of our more popular voices were Newberry College Music Department students and they included Margie Fritz, Karen Hull, The Robinson sisters, George Liebenrood, Gary Griffith, Dean Yates and Michelle Herbin.

Many of the contributing studio musicians and vocalists over the years were from the neighboring counties of Union, Laurens, Saluda, Spartanburg, Greenville, Lexington and Richland. Some of those included, Mandale "Pickle" Eaves, Ronnie Hayes, Andre' Kerr, Freddie Vanderford, Don Reno, Curt Bradford, James Meadows, Lee Bogen, Lisa Miller, Sharon Dimmery, Bonnie Glenn and Vanessa Gaye.

We were also active in the southern rock recording scene with clients and associates such as ...
BILLY JOE ROYAL & ROYAL FAMILY, THE NEW CLASSICS IV, TOBY KING & CHOCOLATE BUTTERMILK, LUKE, PERCY SLEDGE'S SLEDGEHAMMER, J.TEAL BAND, SUGAR & SPICE, RAW MATERIAL, GINA & REMINISING, CIMMARONS, WHISKEY ROAD, HIGH COTTON and dozens more.

Used primarily for broadcast productions and as a demo studio for general music work, in-house record labels were also maintained and included Mother Cleo, Cleo and CUB Records with publishing wing Sweet Polly Music, BMI.

Our associations with outside producers/companies included Van Coble, Jack Gale, Barry Keel, Nelson Lemmond, Sonny Limbo, Shelby Singleton, Ron Weathers, Dick Wooley, Irwin Zucker, ABC Records, Double-Shot Records, Federal, Warner Brothers Records, Laurie Records, Playback Records and Lovey Music (in 1986 Jack Gale's Lovey Music, BMI, Miami, published and released Hayne Davis' original song,
"If You Want My Love", recorded first by Maura Sullivan [and later by Robin Wright], which hit upwards on American charts and topped airplay charts in Europe).

In the very early days, our production company was known as Mother Cleo Productions.
Later we incorporated the name into MCP DaviSound.
Today we are officially known, worldwide, as DaviSound.

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Thanks to writer Christine Kingsley for the following biographical excerpt:

Always operating with a comparatively small, full-time staff, MCP DaviSound has been the lifelong endeavor of Hayne Davis. Davis has been involved with the pro audio industry since forming his first rock band in 1963 at age 15!

He began a career in broadcasting in 1966, locally at WKDK, and did stints at several stations including WIXE, Monroe, N.C., a new station which he helped construct, in 1967, prior to serving as the station's music director and, ultimately, its operations manager. He was hired to go to Monroe by the new station owner and programming innovator, Dave Hedrick who was instrumental in inspiring and guiding Davis in the proper fundamentals of the art of professional radio programming and production.

In 1969, after returning to attend classes at Newberry College, he teamed up with the legendary, Lee Atwater and formed a small combo, featuring Atwater's blues guitar playing (along with Lee's loveable James Brown and Moms Mabley impersonations!) with Davis on Fender Bass, called Little Harvey (Lee's first name) & The Expressions. Chris Shope played drums and Glenn Robertson was lead vocalist.
The group played fraternity parties etc. around the southeast for a brief, but very successful, duration.

Then in 1970, while working on recording projects in other studios in Atlanta, Charlotte, Nashville and elsewhere, the first small MCP studio building was begun in Newberry. Later additions were added to the building in 1971, 1974 and 1979.

Davis has been active in many creative aspects of the media industry including record producing/engineering, songwriting/publishing, industrial film-making, advertising, broadcast consulting and syndication (including the construction and launch of his hometown's first FM broadcast station in 1989, WNMX, 106.3, ''Mix 106''). However, he says his primary "media love" nowadays is the ...
"creation of the tools that create the art"!

Today, while still, occasionally, writing, voicing and producing unique radio commercials when called upon, Hayne Davis primarily consults and troubleshoots for outside media centers, designs/fabricates/installs complete DaviSound audio and video systems and oversees every detail of the construction of his own designed "Tool Boxes" and other pro equipment. Each piece is individually signed by him (inside the box!) when it is certified for shipment.

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If you're interested in related background material ...
Then please check out ...

"DaviScenes Archives"
which features photos of some of the more esoteric,
original DaviSound handmade electronics equipment ...

Here are the oldest known photos of Mother Cleo Productions ...
found on an old B&W photo brochure
during the facility dismantling and move of 2013.
DaviScrapBook

AND ...

"News Archives - Anniversary Notes "
which reminisces further about our beginnings
on the occasion of our 30th anniversary in June of 2000 ...

More ''Hysterical'' (historical) Lifelong MEDIA Reflections ...
74th Birthday Reflections
a ''mini auto(audio)biography''!

Also see ...
MotherCleoProductions.com

See other pages ...

DaviScenes - Photo Tour of DaviSound as of 2013

DaviSound Main Menu

e-mail: DaviSound at DaviSound dot com

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