Quick Facts
Biography
Donn Landee is an American record producer and recording engineer. Much of his work as an engineer has been done with producer Ted Templeman. The pair worked with a wide variety of artists for Warner Bros. Records during the 1970s and 1980s, including Van Halen, and the Doobie Brothers.
In the late 1960s, Landee began working on recording sessions at TTG Studios on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood. The studio was owned by engineer Ami Hadani. The upstairs studio featured a custom vacuum tube console. Landee recorded "Sky Pilot" in this room for Eric Burdon and The Animals and created the phase effect used in the song "The Big Hurt."
Landee then worked at Sunwest Studios as an engineer in 1968, where he later became manager before moving on to Warner Bros. Records' Amigo Studios under Lee Herschberg and it was at Amigo that he gained a large number of music industry contacts. API desks designed by noted audio engineer Bill Putnam utilizing solid state microphone preamplifiers and mix systems were used at Amigo Studios.
In 1983, he helped Eddie Van Halen build his home studio, 5150 Studios. He also worked with Eddie on some instrumental scores for The Seduction of Gina and The Wild Life. The console Landee used in the Halen private studio was a UA featuring 1108 solid state mic pre-amps designed by Bill Putnam.