The Studio I work at!

[erricrice]

Hello Everyone,

Now that I'm done hijacking Half-Saint's thread, here's the studio I work for(and helped build)








Info on all our gear can be found here, and I am in the process of updating the website, so the pics will be on there soon.

This is a professional level studio, on par with places like The Record Plant in hollywood, and Electric Lady in New York(the same guy who re-did the acoustics in Electric Lady designed our studio from scratch).
Feel free to ask anything you want about it!


Edit:  OK NOW, all the pictures are up, renderings are no more!

[elservo]

That place needs more knobs and switches.  More cedar, too.

[keyb_gr]

Sweet. If the acoustics are just half as good as the looks...

And it's clear as mud that the photos are pro stuff. Less than 20 mm focal length (full format), multi-second exposure, maybe even a bit of HDR thrown in.

[InSanCen]

Feel free to ask anything you want about it!

If I rocked up after hours, Topre bribe in hand, would I get in? ;-P

Lovely setup there. As I said in Half-Saint now OT'd thread, The last studio my previous band used was a hole, and charged almost double what you are charging. I'm actually surprised it's that cheap. Is that because it's new, kind of like an introductory offer? Or is there competition in your area?

[ricercar]

What kind of mics?
Pro Tools?
How many tracks is your biggest board?
How many isolation booths?
Do you have any portable rigs for on-site recordings?

[erricrice]

That place needs more knobs and switches.  More cedar, too.

Lol, it's Oak actually, good guess though!

Sweet. If the acoustics are just half as good as the looks...

And it's clear as mud that the photos are pro stuff. Less than 20 mm focal length (full format), multi-second exposure, maybe even a bit of HDR thrown in.

Acoustics are awesome, less than 3dB variance for the full range of frequencies, and no more than 1/2 dB for most of the human range of hearing.

And actually, what the photographer did for the lighting is set the exposure to like 15 seconds, then 'painted' dark areas with a flashlight...worked like a charm.  You can even enter the photo to get hard to reach areas as long as you keep moving and are wearing black lol.  I'm totally serious.

If I rocked up after hours, Topre bribe in hand, would I get in? ;-P

Lovely setup there. As I said in Half-Saint now OT'd thread, The last studio my previous band used was a hole, and charged almost double what you are charging. I'm actually surprised it's that cheap. Is that because it's new, kind of like an introductory offer? Or is there competition in your area?

Topre would be a suitable trade for me....dunno about the owner though, little less a fan of "all those damn loud keyboards you bring in here".  Lol he likes them, just thinks I'm kinda crazy though.

As far as price though, there is really no reason anymore to charge that much.  No more tape OPs to pay, no more tape to buy(except for the occasional replacement, for people who want that awesome punchy sound) and once you get everything set up, a single person can run the session.  We're much less digital than most newer studios, which leads to more work, but even with our equipment, there is very little to do once it's all hooked up!

I dunno if the price is going to go up, there is no plan to as of now, but like you said, for a studio of this caliber, there is no reason not to.  We shall see...

What kind of mics?

Everything.

Pro Tools?

Yes, HD3 System with 48 channels of I/O, but we also have a 24 track 2" Studer A827 through CLASP if you want that nice warm punchy sound.

How many tracks is your biggest board?

56 Channels, right now we only have two studios, A, which is very high quality, and B which is really a joke in comparison(just kept us alive while we funded A)

How many isolation booths?

2, one with more absorbing walls, the other with diffusing walls.

Do you have any portable rigs for on-site recordings?

Not yet, but we're considering it.  Gotta pay off the debt we have now though lol.

Best take a look here.

[erricrice]

Nice. I'd be turning knobs and flipping buttons all day, just because you can. Needs ambient lighting.

Absolutely everything has dimmers on it, so you can get a really nice funky get-down type lighting if you take them down.  They were just maxed out for the photos.

[clickclack]

I know nothing about anything that has been said and shown except the actual architectual photography, and to that I say well done =)

For the rest (as in what the photos are of)... all I can say is looks damn sexy and top notch!

Congrats man! Definately worth showing off and being proud of! Sounds (no pun intended) like a really fun gig too!

=)

...kinda makes me sad about my studio and the various studios that I work for and at =P

[erricrice]

Not bad at all. Working with my last band, we paid 150GBP/hr, and engineered it ourselves. and it was a hole compared to yours. Lovely old desk though, great sound but a ***** to use.

My Alesis
Picture
Quite pathetic when you bring out guns like yours!
I used to have my 7 Synths hooked up to it as well (2 mono channels per synth, one Vocal on mono, one guitar on mono), but since I got the Delta 1010, it's just used if a few people come round to jam. That's not often, as my neighbours tend to get annoyed at anything being played.

There is no such thing as overkill. Despite what my missus says ("Why do you need 7 keyboards?").

True. It would take me at least a day to wrap my head round what that setup can do, let alone get a handle on the effects. The patch bay alone looks scary!

Alesis makes good stuff, that's a nice little board there.

And yeah, until you have seen the labels for the patch bay, it is scary, but it's laid out pretty logically.  

Is there any available music that has been recorded in this studio?

We just started our first session yesterday, so not yet.  We are working on a 15 song album project for about the first month or so.

[erricrice]

I know nothing about anything that has been said and shown except the actual architectual photography, and to that I say well done =)

For the rest (as in what the photos are of)... all I can say is looks damn sexy and top notch!

Congrats man! Definately worth showing off and being proud of! Sounds (no pun intended) like a really fun gig too!

=)

...kinda makes me sad about my studio and the various studios that I work for and at =P

Thanks!

I gotta say I feel pretty good going there every day for work....and to think of it as work...lol

[elservo]

Where is your studio located?  Let us know, if you're permitted, what musical acts are recording in there!

[ironcoder]

Hello Everyone,

Now that I'm done hijacking Half-Saint's thread, here's the studio I work for(and helped build)

Fantastic and fantastic pics.

[erricrice]

Where is your studio located?  Let us know, if you're permitted, what musical acts are recording in there!

Our first project is a local artist, so no one you would know, but we are in sunny Clearwater FL!

We're working on a deal with RCA, so we may be getting some more work from them at some point, we gotta get our name out there, but luckily, the equipment mostly sells itself!

I'll keep you guys updated with any big artists!

You guys don't know light Not down lights, ambient lighting. So people don't look like zombies, with shadows on their faces.

Unlike point lights, the uplights use the walls and ceiling to scatter the light evenly across the room.

Ahh, I get what you mean, and that is a good idea!

Fantastic and fantastic pics.

Well thank you!

[itlnstln]

You guys don't know light Not down lights, ambient lighting. So people don't look like zombies, with shadows on their faces.
Unlike point lights, the uplights use the walls and ceiling to scatter the light evenly across the room.

This is something I really like and need to add to my house. I really prefer soft, warm light in a room compared to "well-lit."  I have floor and tabletop lamps throughout the house to mimc this effect, but wall sconces would be much better (I just don't feel like wiring them).

[ironcoder]

Floor-standing halogens with dimmers are a great compromise if you can get the right ones.

[keyb_gr]

Floor-standing halogens with dimmers are a great compromise if you can get the right ones.

Dimmers make some really "nice" broadband RFI sources though (high-speed voltage chopping going on there), and I doubt most manufacturers do much about that.

[chongyixiong]

Trying to off the topic for abit here, since you work at a studio environment, what studio monitors would you recommend for home usage that has a perfectly neutral sound spectrum?

Sub USD$500 range please.

Thanks!

BTW, killer setup, was ogling at the pics for at least 1 minute.. EACH

[ironcoder]

Dimmers make some really "nice" broadband RFI sources though (high-speed voltage chopping going on there), and I doubt most manufacturers do much about that.

That is very true (and so do halogens) but most people aren't going to notice.

[ironcoder]

Trying to off the topic for abit here, since you work at a studio environment, what studio monitors would you recommend for home usage that has a perfectly neutral sound spectrum?

Sub USD$500 range please.

Since he works at a studio, his speaker mounts probably cost 500 dollars. Each.

I'll be watching the answer to your question, anyway. Love hifi but have been away from it for too long.

[itlnstln]

Webwit, could you not use something like the bottom lamp for general room lighting (i.e. not task lighting)? I generally like lamps with a translucent shade to provide gentle, diffuse lighting in a room. I find it serves a similar purpose as uplighting. Check it:
 

 
It's not evident from the picture (bad photography), but these two lamps light the entire living room. I do want to off set them with floorlamps on the opposite wall. Perhaps I would be better off with sconces there (above and behind the couch), anyway, for more table room.

[itlnstln]

You're on taking focus away from the picture.  I think wall sconces there would fix both problems.

[erricrice]

Trying to off the topic for abit here, since you work at a studio environment, what studio monitors would you recommend for home usage that has a perfectly neutral sound spectrum?

Sub USD$500 range please.

Thanks!

BTW, killer setup, was ogling at the pics for at least 1 minute.. EACH

I'll ask the owner what he thinks would be the best for that, I don't have a lot of experience with different types of monitors.  Sub-500 you're not going to really be able to get a whole lot, but for home use many should be fine, and completely neutral isn't really the easiest to get, but I'll see what he's got to say and let you know.

[InSanCen]

And Ripster hit's what I worry about a fair bit. Given that I try to use decent kit when making music, making it sound good is down to me. But on playback on other peoples systems, then **** speakers, amps and sources climb into the mix. I therefore spend a lot of time listening to my output on crappy speakers through a crappy amp as a 128K MP3.

The difference is shocking. Most of the high-end detail is gone. Bass is loose and uncontrolled. It sounds very different. You can hear the basics, but things like playing round with variations on the higher pitched percussions are largely lost. Vocals... well. I'm not going there as I actually get annoyed by it. I wonder if I should release 2 versions. One for gear that I would use, and one for 1000W PMPO! OMFG! Blue speakers and flashy lights! Must have now! type systems. Maybe release it as DLC in FLAC?

[erricrice]

And Ripster hit's what I worry about a fair bit. Given that I try to use decent kit when making music, making it sound good is down to me. But on playback on other peoples systems, then **** speakers, amps and sources climb into the mix. I therefore spend a lot of time listening to my output on crappy speakers through a crappy amp as a 128K MP3.

The difference is shocking. Most of the high-end detail is gone. Bass is loose and uncontrolled. It sounds very different. You can hear the basics, but things like playing round with variations on the higher pitched percussions are largely lost. Vocals... well. I'm not going there as I actually get annoyed by it. I wonder if I should release 2 versions. One for gear that I would use, and one for 1000W PMPO! OMFG! Blue speakers and flashy lights! Must have now! type systems. Maybe release it as DLC in FLAC?

I'm glad to hear that other people can tell the difference between an MP3 and  CD quality.  It's something that most people apparently can't hear even if you tell them the differences as they're listening.  

And about mixing, unless you're in a perfectly designed room(not just treated, but built for mixing) it is a VERY good idea to listen on a number of different platforms.  In Studio B, when we would get to the mixing phase, we would use the client's computer, car, our cars, the monitors in the control room, decent computer speakers, home stereos and try to get a good average between all of them.

Cars are actually relatively good mixing areas(as long as they have decent speakers) because of all the soundproofing to keep the road noise out.  It absorbs stuff so you can really hear what's coming out of the speakers with no reflections.

[InSanCen]

I have been into decent Audio/Hifi for years. I don't go overboard, but I do have some nice gear (I'm making a Gainclone at the moment actually).

The difference between 128K MP3 and say (keeping it relevant) a FLAC is something that jumps out at me when played back on anything half decent. I think the problem lies in that I know what I'm looking for, but Joe Public has probably never heard audio played on a decent source, amp and speakers... and largely has no interest either. and the latter is the bit that get's the "stop talking ****, my £50 stereo is just as good as your system" as they are seemingly convinced that how much you piss off your neighbours is the data point you need to measure the system's effectiveness on.

[InSanCen]

iTunes...

*shudders*

[msiegel]

how much you piss off your neighbours is the data point you need to measure

one man's Garbage is another man's Nirvana... so to speak

[chongyixiong]

Amazon 256K VBR is not bad.  Not bad at all although I generally prefer to go Old Skool and have them ship me the CD and burn to FLAC and LAME V2 (Variable with target of 192K).  MP3 to my portables, FLAC for the house.

My son could care less and wants it NOW so Amazon MP3 Download it is.   I do not allow him to buy from iTunes at least.

Have any of you guys try Musepack, one of my friend swears by it though, although I have yet to find any VERY revealing differences between FLAC and the Musepack bit rate, unless I really scrutinise and I'm not rocking to the enjoyment of the music through USD$500+ customs.

http://www.musepack.net/

[talis]

The KRK RP8G2 Rokit G2 Powered Studio Monitors have a good reputation.  $500 a pair.

Show Image

But it all depends on what you want.  I enjoy my Mackie 824s for detail I don't hear even with headphones but then add a subwoofer bump and screw that nice flat frequency line all up.  My roommate long ago was a studio engineer and he mixed to those white speaker Yamaha things and I couldn't believe how awful they sounded to me.  He explained that if you could mix to those and cheap aluminum Radio Shacks AND car speakers that was a good mix.

I picked up a pair of the KRK RP5G2s the other day, and am really liking them.  They're a huge step up from the Yamaha PC speakers they replaced, but I haven't had time to put them against my linear mic and spectrum analyzer to flatten them out, or tune them up yet.

Biggest complaint is that the power cords don't fit very well into them... That, and I realize how crappy my current positioning is.

[itlnstln]

Amazon 256K VBR is not bad.

I was impressed with Amazon's offerings.  The price is right, too.  I like EAC to FLAC and LAME 3.something-or-other using -alt preset standard/extreme/insane (I usually use insane).

[itlnstln]

Wow.

[InSanCen]

Someone has some weird ideas about what a Gainclone can pull out of a PSU! Still, I guess it'll never burn out!

The Toroid is just as much overkill as the caps! I have no idea what you can run off that, but I'm betting it would be a damn sight more than I would be able to use!

[talis]

I picked up a pair of the KRK RP5G2s the other day, and am really liking them.  They're a huge step up from the Yamaha PC speakers they replaced, but I haven't had time to put them against my linear mic and spectrum analyzer to flatten them out, or tune them up yet.

Biggest complaint is that the power cords don't fit very well into them... That, and I realize how crappy my current positioning is.

Just in case anyone cared, I finally got around to measuring the response of the KRKs.

They've got a couple of dips around 2KHz and 6KHz and drop off pretty bad in the top end:




For reference the Vert scale is -10dB/divison, and the Horizontal scale is 2KHz per div.  The MIC I used is calibrated and is +/-.25dB between 2 and 20KHz, and +/-0dB from 0-2KHz

[keyb_gr]

You call a ~2 dB dropoff beyond 16 kHz "drop off pretty bad in the top end"? C'mon. In any case the speaker seems to be within +/- 2 dB over the whole sweep range.

One would need measurements at more angles (h and v) to say anything definitive. A log frequency scale would be quite helpful, too.

I didn't know people still used a scope for frequency response display. Most anyone has a PC-based setup for such things these days.

[talis]

You call a ~2 dB dropoff beyond 16 kHz "drop off pretty bad in the top end"? C'mon. In any case the speaker seems to be within +/- 2 dB over the whole sweep range.

One would need measurements at more angles (h and v) to say anything definitive. A log frequency scale would be quite helpful, too.

I didn't know people still used a scope for frequency response display. Most anyone has a PC-based setup for such things these days.

It's actually more like 6dB falloff post 16KHz, it's not horrible, and isn't too hard to EQ out, its just where it has the most problems in the response curve.  I guess I should have said, noticeable, not pretty bad.

It's actually a spectrum analizer, not a scope (just a very old one), and it's unfortunately not capable of doing any real smoothing or displaying anything but lin/lin or log/lin.

I took those measurements from listening position, so its possible some of the effect is coming from room dynamics as well.

[InSanCen]

-6db sounds a bit much.  Maybe the room is changing the measurement.

Mackies HR824s aren't very fashionable right now but I like they come with nifty little charts.

Now that's a neutral response.

Earmarked for future consideration when funds and the Other Half's mood allows.

[ricercar]

They never seem to get raves, but Mackie gear is definitely bang for buck.

[talis]

The KRKs claim +/-2dB 20-20 on the 5's and +/-1.5 on the 6&8's, so I'm going to go with room dynamics as being the bigger culprit.

[InSanCen]

As this seems to be sort of on topic...

Anyone used Ardour or Hydrogen (Linux apps?).

I have a new toy (A cheaply bought Akai MPD24), and fancy playing with it, but until I sort out my WinXP Installation, I have to use linux, and I have exactly Zero experience with it with regards to Music.

Any tips? I can get it to send triggers, and Hydrogen see it and responds, but that's it so far.