Walter Edmond Sear, born 27 April 1930 and died 29 April 2010, was an American recording engineer and musician, as well as an inventor, composer, and producer of film. He was a pioneer in the invention of the synthesizer, and an expert on vintage equipment. Sear owned the Sear Sound recording studio in Hell’s Kitchen, which was well-known for its large collection of vintage analog equipment. This studio was frequented by many artists, including Steely Dan and Sonic Youth. Sear was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He moved to Jackson Heights, Queens with his family at the age of 1. Sear began his long and varied career in classical tuba playing. After four years at Curtis Institute of Music he was hired as the principal tuba player of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Later, he worked as a freelancer in New York City. He played for six years with the Radio City Music Hall pit orchestra, The Symphony of the Air and The Goldman Band. He became interested in tuba design in the late 1950s and began to import European tubas from De Prins and Mahillion, as well as Czech company Cerveny. These tubas were sold from a Manhattan showroom. These tubas were popular due to their unique design, low prices, and high quality workmanship. The bells were often engraved with “Walter E. Sear NYC”. Sear estimates that he imported/produced around 2000 of these instruments. Sear’s background in chemistry (Temple University, with a BA degree from George Washington University) was a major factor in the development of metallurgical processes. He also had a B.M. He also received a B.M. from the Catholic University of America, and he completed doctoral studies at Columbia University. Robert Moog became a friend of Sear in the 1950s when he purchased parts for a homemade Theremin. Sear, who had connections in the music industry, became Moog’s business partner and sales agent in the early 1960s. Sear encouraged Moog’s synthesizers to be more practical. This eventually led to the creation of portable synthesizers that could be used in live performances. Sear was also a popular performer and composer, using the Moog synthesizer for many movie soundtracks, including Midnight Cowboy. Sear’s pop compositions can also be heard on The Copper-Plated Integrated Circuit, a Command Records album. In 1964, he built his first studio; it was one of the first commercially available studios for electronic music. Sear Sound is New York City’s oldest recording studio. It has more than 285 vintage microphones and four Studer recorders that were rebuilt by the Beatles. Also, Sear Sound also owns one of the earliest Moog synthesizers. Sear was awarded an honorable discharge from the United States Air Force, with the rank Staff Sergeant. Sear was stationed at Bolling Air Force base in Washington, D.C. Sear passed away on 29 April 2010, in New York. From Wikipedia
