Chuck Plaisance is recognized as a pioneer of 3D spatial sound recording and production. In the early 1990s, he founded Sonic Holographics / 3D Sound Inc. in Hollywood, California, launching a career-long mission to transform how human beings experience recorded sound. His guiding philosophy is simple yet profound: "Music and sound for a better life quality" -- educating the public on what sound quality really is, rooted in physics, physiology, neurology, psychology, and architecture.

How It All Began

The path to 3D sound started in 1987, when Chris Currell of the Michael Jackson "Bad" Band hired Chuck to manage his Synclavier Studio and handle international tour support for the three Synclaviers used on the second leg of the legendary "Bad" Tour. Working alongside Audio Cybernetics, Chuck immersed himself in the world of advanced sound sampling, editing, and programming. He mastered the Synclavier Sound Library created by Mark Birmingham and was subsequently invited to be one of the sound editors who created the ProSonus first-ever Sound Sample Library -- a landmark moment in digital audio history.

This deep immersion in spatial audio technology and digital sampling ignited a vision: what if recorded sound could faithfully recreate the three-dimensional experience of being in the room with the musicians?

The World's First 3D Virtual Instrument

In 1993, Chuck achieved a breakthrough that cemented his pioneer status. He created the world's first 3D Virtual Instrument for stereo samplers: a Boesendorfer 9-foot Grand Piano, painstakingly sampled from the player's position, the singer's position, and the big band position, each captured in soft, medium, and hard velocities with sustain. By layering these multi-perspective recordings, the instrument faithfully recreated the actual Grand Piano in three-dimensional space.

The "Piano" was released on CD-ROM and was compatible with the leading samplers of the era -- Akai S-1000/S6000, EMU, Korg, Kurzweil K-2000, SampleCell, Ensoniq, and Roland -- making spatial audio accessible to studios worldwide.

Landmark Productions in 3D Sound

Chuck's spatial sound work spans an extraordinary range of projects:

• "Sacred Earth" -- Gaden Shartse Monks of Tibet: The Monks specifically requested Chuck to record and produce their second album as a gift to the Dalai Lama upon winning the Nobel Peace Prize. The healing chants were captured in full 3D spatial sound.
• Hollywood Bowl Orchestra -- "Gershwins in Hollywood": Chuck served as 3D Sound Engineer, recording the orchestra's first record live at Columbia Sound Stage from the conductor's perspective. This unreleased 3D collector's version remains a legendary artifact.
• Planet Earth IMAX Feature: Spatial Sound Recordist for the Hollywood Bowl Choir segments.
• Ernestine Anderson: Spatial Sound Consultant on two Grammy-nominated albums -- Now and Then and Blues, Dues and Love News -- with Quincy Jones as Executive Producer and Stixx Hooper producing.
• Bob Clearmountain -- "Drums II": Chuck served as Spatial Sound Consultant on what became the number-one selling Drum CD and CD-ROM of its time.
• Gary Wright -- "The Dream Weaver" Virtual Instrument: A recreation of Gary Wright's famous Fender Rhodes Piano and DreamWeaver Analog Synths, co-produced with Gary Wright himself.
• Disney "Earthquake Simulation": At Disney Towers in Burbank, Chuck served as Producer, Designer, Recordist, and Actor.
• Toyota Motor Corporation: Audio Consultant and 3D Sound Engineer to the President of Toyota Motors USA.
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: 3D Head Mic recording session with Craig Garfinkle, capturing a string ensemble with meticulous spatial detail.

The 3D Nature Sound Libraries

Perhaps the most ambitious body of work in the Sonic Holographics catalog is the vast collection of 3D nature recordings. Chuck traveled across continents -- from the bayous of Louisiana to the rainforests of Brazil, from the Big Island of Hawaii to the Angeles Crest Forest north of Los Angeles -- capturing the natural world in immersive spatial audio.

The catalog includes:

• "Sounds of Nature" Series -- 21 CDs featuring Ocean Waves, Southern Swamp, Rainstorm, Desert Oasis, Forest Morning, Thunderstorm, Song of the Whales, Rainforest, and many more.
• "Tranquility" Series -- 21 CDs combining 3D nature sounds with original music, including titles like Zen Garden, Bayou Plaisance, Sacred Forest, Thunder over Shasta, and Cosmic Night.
• "Extreme Nature" -- 6 CDs capturing hurricanes, tornadoes, wind, rain, and volcanoes.
• "National Park Adventures" -- 13 CDs recorded across America's national parks.

Recording locations span from the Back Bay nature reserve in Newport Beach, California, to the base of Mount Tijuca beneath Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, to the Silver Banks where humpback whales sing beneath the waves.

Technology and Studio Design

The Sonic Holographics studio itself is a work of art and intention. Chuck employs an Aachen Head binaural recording system, a custom 3D surround monitoring setup, and a Stevenson Interface Electronics 24x8 mixing console with a historical connection to Frank Sinatra. The studio design incorporates sacred geometry principles, crystal grids, and intentional spatial arrangement -- reflecting Chuck's belief that the environment in which sound is created and heard matters as much as the sound itself.

As Nikola Tesla said, "If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration." Chuck Plaisance has spent over three decades doing exactly that -- pioneering a technology that brings listeners not just closer to the music, but inside it.