Thomas Zartler, Jr. is Woodcrest Studio's owner and Chief engineer. Tom started his audio recording career in high school by stealing his older brother's 4 track Fostex recorder. It took months for his brother to realize it was missing and by then Tom was already on his way, having found what was infused in him as a child; sound and song.
Born and raised in a family of musicians, stepping forward in to the experimentation and study of sound and song writing was a natural step for Tom. His homework was in his bedroom waiting for him to get home and press record. Tom lived this way for the remaining time he had in high school. After graduation, he attempted to do what others thought he should - go to college and study for as long as it takes to find out what he was to be. Fortunately, he worked at a music store during this time selling much of what is used in studios and found what he was: an audio engineer and a performing singer / song writer.
Immediately Tom began buying gear. Starting with a Sansui wsx1 in 1991 and then moving up to boards and reels, he had his place behind a mixing board next to a rack of preamps and effects tangled in wires, hunched over, digging through a crate of microphones to find that one that would complimentary capture the source. Two years later he found a job interning at a studio housed in the basement of West Chester Music with James Celentano, West Chester's shelter for musicians.
Sweat filled rooms packed with musician's music adhered to the carpet-covered walls, saturated in energy - Tom interned here as long as he could. During this time he worked with many local musicians and writers, in the beat of this music college town. His interning came to a close with James' departure to New York City and Tom took over the studio. Several years later, West Chester Music was sold, closing it's studio and driving Tom to open his own.
Tom then rented a small commercial space in West Chester for about 3 years, all the while wanting a habitat for music that a commercial space could not offer. With his lease coming for renewal, Tom chose to buy a home for music to take form, a place he calls Woodcrest. Ten times larger then the previous studio, he offers a habitat where music grows, seeping out of the wood of Woodcrest after every completed session, continuing his passion of capturing the energy of sound.
Tom is known for his humor and lightness along with his ability to enable artists to bloom at Woodcrest with his innocent ear approach. Tom built a warm, creative and comfortable habitation where musicians come to have their song's essence captured for others to hear and feel. Nestled in the woods, Woodcrest Studio pulses the sound of artists' soul and fuels this man's life of capturing that pulse which felt and unseen.
