Moonshine Records1) A circa 1940
Raytheon RC10
tube console
2) A circa 1940 RCA
44B microphone3) Munich-based
saxophonist and
composer Chris Haller4) A 1930s RCA 44A
ribbon microphone with
original microphone
fl ags from KSO Radio
5) A ribbon crimper
machine – our photo
shows repairs on an
RCA 44BX ribbon
microphone6) An original RCA
repairman’s trunk
from the 1950sS
tepping inside Moonshine Records is
an otherworldly experience, one that
instantly transports you back into the
distant mists of musical time.
The studio, which is based in the Feldafi ng
municipality of Bavaria, is fully decked out in
authentic recording equipment from the 1930s to the
50s and the brainchild of Christian Krüger – in fact,
it’s been his passion project for the past decade.
Inspired by his father’s vinyl collection, from the
age of eight Christian immersed himself in the likes of
Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Johnny Horton. By
16, he’d learned guitar and was playing in a rockabilly
band. But it was after importing an authentic 50s
guitar amp from the UK that Christian was bitten by
the collecting bug and a lifelong passion was born.
However, his fi rst brush with vintage equipment
wasn’t an ideal start: “The seller told me that it was
a microphone preamp for recording. I now know it
came out of a simple reel-to-reel tape recorder.
It was awful, really noisy, and I couldn’t get the kind of
sound out of it that I wanted. From then on, I began to
study US recording studios and gear from the 40s and50s. After years of research, I built up a network
of collectors and experts and started to import gear
from the United States.”
With his day job as an agent dealing in luxury
interior fabrics and with a keen eye for interior
design, an idea for a full-blown studio began to
percolate once Christian had amassed a large enough
collection of gear. “I began to create an authentic
room for the studio. For the perfect feeling and vintage
vibe, I needed photos of the artists of that era. I’m a
perfectionist, I don’t like photocopies, so I started to
collect autographs from hillbilly and rockabilly artists.
I now have a really nice collection, with original
signed and rare photos from Johnny Horton, Elvis,
Roy Orbison, Warren Smith, Billy Riley, Slim Rhodes,
Luke McDaniel and Grand Ole Opry artists like Faron
Young, Jimmy Dickens, Ernest Tubb and many more.”
Among the mass of vintage kit that Krüger has
collected are two tube recording consoles, a 1945
Raytheon RC10 and a 1957 RCA BC-3B. For artists
who are recording at Moonshine and after an
authentic Sun Records sound, there’s a rare Presto
A900 tape machine, the same model used by Sam4
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