Unleash Your Sound with Our NEW On-Location Services

Your Sound, Our Expertise

At Waterfall Recording, we specialize in recording, mixing, mastering, and publishing. Our studio offers on-location 32-XLR Mics and limitless tracked sessions, ensuring your music is captured with the highest quality and professionalism.

Crafting Your Sound

Elevating Your Music

With a passion for music, our team is dedicated to bringing your vision to life. Experience unparalleled service and creativity at Waterfall Recording, where every note matters and your sound is our priority.

Recording Services

Expert recording, mixing, mastering, and publishing services for your music projects, on-location or in-studio.

Mixing Mastering

Professional mixing and mastering services to enhance your sound and bring your music to life.

On-Location Sessions

We offer 32-track on-location recording sessions, capturing your music wherever inspiration strikes.

Our publishing services help you distribute and promote your music effectively in the industry.

Music Publishing

Lewett LCT 440 PURE

Shure 52A BETA; 'KICK'

StudioLive Series III 32R Rack Mixer

Lewett 240 PRO

100 x 24 x 8 SNAKE

Shure 58a BETA

Mr. Stair, along with Jim Fagan (a skilled songwriter/performer) and, financier, Judge Bufford Lewallen built the first Recording Studio in 1967 in South Clinton, TN with the equipment being purchased from RCA in Nashville as it was removed in an upgrade of the famous and popular RCA Studio "B", where it had been used by many big hitmakers over many years. It was based on an upright Ampex Model 300-3 ½” tape transport and 3-track Ampex tube electronics. Other components in the studio included a tube-based Model BC3B RCA recording console, a three-channel rack mount UA audio Compressor and two RCA 77DX microphones. The recording equipment was removed, loaded into a pickup truck, and driven to East Tennessee. Many world class artists recorded their hits there (47,000 songs) including: Elvis, Chet Atkins, Dolly Parton, Duane Allman, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Anita Kerr, the Everly Brothers, and Roy Orbison. During this time, Mr. Stair attended several RCA Studio "B" sessions of popular artists and learned the skill of Producing and Session Engineering from their Engineers (Chet Atkins) and assistants, as well as at the Bradley Quonset Hut Studio on Music Row with each being the chief architects of the "Nashville Sound".

After returning to South Clinton with the equipment and installing and testing, we went on to record 100's, maybe thousands, of artists, songwriter demos, and groups many of which were being promoted by the extremely popular WNOX 99 Radio disc jockey Johnny Pirkle in locations throughout East Tennessee, primarily in schools and gymnasiums as 990 Enterprise. Mr. Stair, then, became a lifelong friend with Pirkle, until his recent passing. The South Clinton studio also recorded many songs for local artists including Norris High School Coach Carl Bean and Jim Fagan, primarily as a great songwriter with: "Blue Ribbons for the Blue", "From Heaven's Door", "Ballad of the Bootlegger King", "Bet You My Bible", "There's a Diesel on My Tail" and many others released by Hank Snow, David Allen Coe, Red Sovin, David Frizzell, Jim and Jessie, the Louvin Brothers, Skeeter Davis, and other popular artists of that time. Waterfall Publishing, first his father's and now his, handled the publishing rights and registration for many of these and others in the area.

After the South Clinton Studio period, Mr. Stair started recording local bands and talent on 2-track professional (Radio) recorders like Revox and Studer, at various radio stations (large studios back then) as recording Studios throughout the 60’s-70’s mostly Rock, Country, Bluegrass, Soul, Jazz, and Gospel. By this period, his father had as many as fourteen stations, mostly in East Tennessee, so these sessions continued to serve the many Rock groups from the 990 Enterprise Locally and Regionally.

From 1968 to 1975, James was a DJ at various stations and frequently Music Director (selecting which songs got played), so therefore was invited by Country Music Association to Nashville for the CMA Conventions and Shows each October. After becoming acquainted on an elevator, he managed to convince Tammy Wynette to introduce him to Billy Sherell who produced her blockbuster hit "Stand by your Man". Stair and Sherell then became big friends for decades, in and out of various Nashville Studios and Sessions. Also, during this era Stair met Nelson Larkin who was a major producer in Nashville and knew everyone.

About 1975, Stair became employed fulltime in electronics engineering at a firm in Oak Ridge and traveled the U.S., as a Field Service Engineer. While in the Los Angeles area he frequented the Troubadour Club on Santa Monica and in a chance meeting at the bar, met producer, agent, manager, and artist, "J.D. Souther" and became friends during his frequent West Coast trips. J.D. had several less popular hits but went to Number One with "When You're Only Lonely". J.D. actually formed the “Eagles” making them the backup band for Linda Rondstat (who he was also dating). After a few years, the Eagles went on to be Number One as a band and Linda Rondstat was the Number One Female Vocalist. The Eagles asked J.D. to join their group but he refused. During these trips, Stair was in and out of many of the West Coast Sound Studios with J.D. and learned many recording, mixing, mastering tricks and techniques with primarily Rock Music.

In all the years since the 60s, Mr. Stair was operating a Radio consulting firm called StairCom Associates. Under this Company, he acted as Chief Engineer for over forty stations in East Tennessee, Western North Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, and the Virginias. As such, he installed and maintained the electronic equipment that kept the stations on the air and being heard and made sure they were in compliance with Federal Rules and Regualtions. He, also, acted as a consultant on a host of FCC matters ranging from applications, allocations, petitions, and research in Radio and Television. Mr. Stair went through the studying and testing and was licensed as a 1st Class FCC Engineer at the early age of fourteen. During this period, Mr. Stair was involved in the early development of WDVX radio in Knoxville, licensed to Clinton making the initial hike up Cross Mountain (with two other engineers, Don Burgraph and Joe Chastain, to install the transmitter and other equipment and the antenna on his tower from a previous use.

After building several Powerplants in his early life, in 1985, he went back into that line of work. After several plants, he had ceased having enjoyment of the work and then most all work was shutdown....

During the COVID lockdown starting in 2020, he was approaching retirement age and was also mentally tired of the Electrical Power Plants he had been building or reconditioning over the last several years. More than that, he was sick of the constant travel.

Mr. Stair remarked that each new day he had gotten up and studied various possibilities, but the only thing that stayed positive and that made him happy was "Music and Sound". In order to make himself happy (as a hobby) he bought a little 4-XLR, 12 total channel, analog / USB mixer (Berhinger) and installed the Audacity DAW on a Laptop and set on a course to recall his history in Recording, Mixing, and Mastering and what the masters of that time kept and threw away. He had a lot of fun and managed to learn most of the important new things brought about by "Digital" Methods and Computers.. After a while he had studied to the point that he was ready to "get serious".

But, after an unseen turn, he made an attempt back into radio, however after working for more than two years to acquire a pack of six stations in SE Kentucky, his partner in the venture passed away and the bank they were dealing with got more and more difficult to deal with. So; he got out; deciding that he would just retire...That was between two and three years ago.

He decided in 2022 to "dive-in" and do the studying to come up to date on modern techniques and equipment in Sound Recording and Producing, but soon learned that his setup was not teaching him half of what he needed to learn. The Berhinger/Audacity setup only had a two channel output and could only save Two Channels. This made the greatest modern technique..."Multitracks" unavailable. This is when he purchased the highly rated software package (DAW) to do outstanding and professional work with multi-track files called StudioOne Pro 7+ which is also integrated into Universal Control. This software has hundreds of plugins and effects and is capable of virtually endless tracks. After working with SO7 for a time, he knew he had to have more live channels and finally purchased the StudioLive Series III 32R Rack Mixer which is fully capable of 32 XLR Microphone FAT Channels simultaneously with an array of Compressors, Expanders, Limiters, Equalizers, Reverb, Delay, and many other effects as desired on EACH Channel.

Over a two to three year period Mr. Stair studied and consumed over a dozen top quality books written by the greatest talents in the business who are producing and engineering the best hit music in the industry. Of all the reading, the best and most valuable is "The Recording Engineers Handbook" by Bobby Owsinski. This book is a good over all guide to Producing and Engineering good songs; but it is also "in-depth" about the intricacies of unimportant and non-exotic 'sounding' topics like 'specifications of microphones', 'preparing the drum kit for recording', 'miking instruments', 'miking vocals', and Overdubs. He is a true genius; in a session, he always looks at everything within "the human equation". He also teaches the concept of "Reference Songs"; where a good producer-engineer will continually keep and frequently listen to a list of songs that compare to the current mix and were well done and demonstrate the good and new techniques in all phases of production and in all genres that are planned such as: Rock, Country, Bluegrass, Folk, Gospel, Jazz/Pop.

Also, during this time, Mr. Stair met a truly top notch professional in the business who has worked with a plethora of stars and superstars and was willing to coach him along to his own Producer-Engineer Sessions. Special thanks to SEVA, Chief Engineer, at Sequoyah Studios for his encouragement, support, and knowledge in this endeavor.

James Stair is the principle and Producer-Engineer for WaterFall Recording, Mixing, Mastering, and Publishing and has been in the business (one way or the other) since 1965 as a Radio DJ, Music Director, Program Director, Station Manager, Chief Engineer, FCC Consultant, and Owner. He also played saxophones in earlier local groups. His father was lead with the "Skyliners" gospel group, who appeared frequently on Mulls Gospel Convention TV Show and played in Regional "Singings" throughout the South with such groups as the Blackwood Brothers, the Statesmen, Bill Gaither, the Goodman's, and the Stamps Quartet. At these "Singings", the icon of the Stamps, J.D. Sumner (super bass) would often "babysit" James as a toddler while his father appeared on stage. The Stamps went on to sing backup for and travel with Elvis. Many of the "Skyliner" songs were published by Waterfall Publishing. Mr. Stair is a big fan of Southern Gospel, as well as anything else that has a melodic line.

It was 1964; Stair was twelve (12) years old. His father owned an Radio Station and, for the most part, Stair “LIVED” in that Station. (Although he had a home!). He had already mastered the equipment, the On-Air “Board”, the Production “Board”, the Teletype, and the remote transmitter controls and meters and he had a lot of time on his hands. In that period, he studied songs on primarily the Country (on the AM Station) and the Rock/Pop/MOR genres from signals coming from nearby competitive market stations. At that point in time everything was evolving quickly. Earlier in his life, Country or ‘Country & Western’ music was mostly simplistic, some said hoaky?, and was occupied by what some called “Hillbilly” music. In the middle to late sixties Country started evolving into a mix Country/Pop, more sophisticated sound on its way to becoming the "Nashville Sound" and closer to what it is today with producer/sound engineers like Owen Bradley and Billy Sherrell, both of which had Country and Pop roots and both of which Mr. Stair watched and assisted in many times the performing of their engineering sessions.

Analog/USB Hybrid Mixer!

Pictures of Vintage Tube Recording Equipment; 1967

AMPEX 300-3 1/2" Tape Recorder

UA 3-Channel Compressor

Model BC3B RCA recording console

2- RCA Model 77DX Ribbon Microphones

Complete On-Location 32 XLR FAT Channel Studio: 2024

Complete Monitoring System

Waterfall has a modern and complete monitoring system for participating artists with an IEM (In Ear Monitoring System) for leading players such as Lead Vocalist, Drums, and the band leader. (four in total). The system works wirelessly (UHF) and is very high audio quality and range and offers different mixes as needed. Then, Speaker Monitor Feeds for monitoring by others with existing active speaker monitors is provided for the remaining band members.

Customer Reviews

See what our clients say about their experience at Waterfall Studio.

Waterfall Studio transformed my song into a masterpiece! Highly recommend their services.

Emily Carter

The professional team at Waterfall Studio captured my vision perfectly. Their 32-track sessions are top-notch! I wouldn’t go anywhere else for audio work.

Jake Turner

★★★★★

★★★★★