It’s been a busy few months putting the finishing touches on the studio and main house but I’m happy to say that everything has turned out better than I expected.
Studer A800
I recently spent the day with local analog guru Allan Garan as we fired up our Studer A800 24-track tape machine. Most everything was working great on this nearly 30-year-old machine thanks to the meticulous restoration performed by the Bay Area’s Michael Gore. I loaded up a track from a recent Crow Eats Man session and the Studer imparted a warm punchy vibe the the track. I’m looking forward to using it on upcoming projects.
ATC SCM 100
The ATC SCM 100 monitors sound incredible in the room with better than expected low-end extension. Mixes created on these speakers translate perfectly to other systems. No more running out to the car to listen to a mix to see if there is too much low end, or unwanted surprises when listening on small speakers.
The Philips Hue lighting system is working well and provides nearly infinite lighting options from bright work lighting to dim mood lighting. I’m still experimenting with hardware controls but I’m having some success integrating Apple HomeKit and the new Philips Hue “Smart Dimmer Switch”.
I’m very pleased that we switched to Dante for audio distribution. This was a last-minute change and the folks at Lynx systems were happy to refit our 3 x 32-channel Aurora (n) systems from Thunderbolt to Dante. The Dante systems are connected directly to the studio LAN and the only problem I’ve had were some brief periods where the Dante clock was not sync’ing. Once I configured the switch to prioritize Dante packets correctly, everything was working fine.
All-in-all the studio has exceeded my expectations and I want to give a final shout-out to the folks that made it possible:
- Wes Lachot Designs – Studio Design
- Brett Acoustics – Acoustical Treatment Design and Installation
- Olson & Jones – GC & Primary Construction
- West Side Electric – Electrical Systems
- Lewis Audio Video – A/V & Computer Integration
- Pro Temp – HVAC Systems
- Canova Audio – Studio Wiring Design and Implementation
- Pro Audio Engineering – Electrical & EMI Abatement Design
You can see a few more pictures of the studio on our virtual tour page and feel free to contact us if you have any questions about the construction process or want to book a session or tour of the studio.