The Rome Story

The walls of Rome Recording Studio once displayed reminders of the country greats of the past. Fond memories of stars who have recorded at Rome include the late actor Forrest Tucker, Ricky Skaggs, Ryan Pelton, Red Allen, Bizzy Bone, Dick Unteed, Sonny Curtis, and many others. Local artists quickly discovered that Rome was a state-of-the-art studio with a family touch.

Jack and Joyce Casey, the founders of Rome Recording, spent their lives in the music business. Jack started with nothing but a guitar and starry eyes and travelled the country looking for his big break. Soon he found himself at the Grand Ole Opry. "Once there, Marty Robbins, Bill Monroe, Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb… all of them gave a helping hand," remembered Jack. "They were all fine people." Jack performed on stage with many well know celebrities. In fact, he and his band opened for Patsy Cline the night before she died in a plane crash.

In January 1965 an auto accident changed the Caseys' future. Jack's back was broken and the doctors said, "No more travel!" Due to this, a studio and practice room now known as Rome Recording was started on East Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio. "The people in Nashville said I'd never get sound out of that old building," said Jack, "but my friend would bring groups up from Nashville because the sound was so good." Rome was later relocated to 3970 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio, in 1991.

Another change came when Jack became a Christian. When that happened, all he wanted to do was record Christian music. "Then one day when I was working, I heard real plain that what I found in my life could help people, so I decided to work with whoever came in my door," Jack recalled. "There are a lot of bad practices in the music business, you almost hate to say you're a part of it, but it pays in the long run to be honest and up front with people." Jack continued to operate a successful studio for many years.

Then in 1999, tragedy struck. On October 30th, 1999 Jack Casey passed away. His death left a big void in all the lives he touched. Joyce Casey took over the big responsibility of running the studio, relying heavily on the help of studio manager Barbara Curtis (wife of Sonny Curtis), Joyce's son Johnny Lyle, and Dean Inboden (engineer). Jim Jackson became an important part of Rome when he took over the duplication department. After a few more years Joyce was ready to retire and move back to Virginia to be with her family. After much consideration she decided to sell Rome Recording to David Keller. While there were others interested in purchasing Rome, Joyce decided that David was the best fit to continue the tradition of Rome Recording's family friendliness while bringing in the needed upgrades to the studio. Joyce said that David reminded her of a young Jack Casey, full of dreams with a Christian heart to help others.

The new era of Rome Recording began on April 1, 2003, when David completed the sale with Joyce. The first year brought about many changes. Gone was the faded old yellow sign out front, replaced with a large, lit sign featuring an all new logo. The studio was modernized with hardwood floors, fresh paint, new carpet, and acoustic treatments. The equipment upgrades included Protools HD4, known to be the very best digital recording equipment available. The 24-track 2" tape remained for those who desired its classic sound. David also merged his mic collection with Rome's, thus creating one of the best mic collections in the area. Rome also expanded its preamp and outboard processing gear to complete the package. Not long after, a headphone mixing system was added so musicians could each set up their own headphone mixes. Finally the duplication department was outfitted for CD Duplication, including color laser printing and CD thermal printing. Behind the scenes upgrades also included a 5 station computer network and new phone system.

In 2004, Jeffrey Farner was added as a key engineer with an impressive background and resume. His experience ranges from studio recording to live sound; he has experience working with major label artsits and has been awarded 2 national "Addie" awards for jingle production. Jeff has taken over formDean Inboden, who has moved into semi-retirement in order to slow down and have more free time. We greatly appreciate Dean's work here at Rome and the legacy of excellence he helped build. Dean has been passing his prior clients onto Jeff and every single client has been extremely pleased with his work and his Mic-side manner. Jeff is highly respected by his peers and is one of the best Pro Tools engineers in the state of Ohio.

In 2004, David DeFelice was brought on as a knowledgeable assistant engineer and musician. David also helps out with duplication and scheduling in the office. Jim Jackson, in addition to being Duplication Manager, has also taken on a larger role in the management of the office and studio scheduling. This year saw us discontinue our tape duplication service, as cassettes are going the way of the dinosaur.

2006 witnessed the opening of our new Studio B, a smaller room that looks to merge home studio affordability with Rome's professional expertise. Late in the year, Eric Tippett was added as full-time staff engineer. 2007 marks our 40th Anniversary and looks to be a big year for Rome, as we continue to plan equipment upgrades, expansion of services, and more.

While maintaining uncommon friendliness, the studio has taken on a new face of professionalism and openness to all styles of music. Rome still does the best Country, Bluegrass and Gospel, but also does the best Rock, Jazz, Classical, Hip-hop, Christian Contemporary or whatever you like. There is simply no better studio in Columbus or Ohio. See our website for more details.