Professional Audio Design Client Projects: Featured Installations

Matt Sorum's Home Studio

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:13:41 +0000

Matt Sorum's Home Studio (6 images)

Matt Sorum's Home Studio

Boston Skyline Studios

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 17:07:10 +0000

Boston Skyline Studios (5 images)

Boston Skyline Studios Relies On Professional Audio Design For New Studio Installation

From its highly successful grand opening party to Epic Records recording artist Smoke Bulga booking time for a new project, Pete Peloquin and Todd Harris, the owners of Boston Skyline Studios™, are very enthusiastic about their new facility designed by Professional Audio Design (PAD). Studio A features a Solid State Logic 4064 G Plus console, and raises the benchmark for studio service in New England.

“We had a dream to build a world-class studio in the Boston area and the folks at Professional Audio Design helped us put it all together,” says Peloquin. “We knew we needed an SSL board and top-shelf recording, editing and outboard rack equipment, but wanting and actualizing are two different things and that is where PAD came in. They literally took our dream and helped to create a high-end professional environment to serve the entire music industry. We couldn’t be happier with the results.”

The top priority for the studio was creating a comfortable space to work projects ranging from solo piano to a full-blown band. While PAD handled the system integration, design and wiring installation, Munro Acoustics was recommended by PAD to develop the control room layout and acoustics treatments.

“Choosing Munro Acoustics was a brilliant stroke by PAD,” said Harris. “Munro fulfilled our
primary objective of creating the best room in New England. The studio room has wonderful

acoustics that enhance the performance value of our clients and is set to handle nearly any size job. The control room is highly accurate in its sound reproduction, allowing engineers to capture and shape the sound they want without coloration.”

Studio A consists of a large recording room with two isolation booths attached (a third is under construction) and the control room. This room features the SSL 4064 G+ console, Dynaudio M4+ monitors, a Studer two-inch analog tape machine, Neve pre-amplification and equalization equipment and a Pro Tools HD recording/editing system. Studio A was completely rebuilt for this upgrade.

“I had experience working with PAD while teaching audio and media, and was impressed with their capabilities, so choosing PAD to design and equip Boston Skyline Studios was a ‘no brainer’,” explains Peloquin. “Besides suggesting pieces of gear to round-out our vision, they are expert technicians with SSL equipment. We feel SSL provides the industry’s finest consoles and we demanded SSL-quality for our new studio.”

“PAD delivers high-quality professional service from the start and throughout the entire design, construction and start-up process. But perhaps most importantly, PAD continues to service and support Boston Skyline Studios as it begins its commercial operation. The live room is great, the control room is great, but the job isn’t finished with PAD. They continue to back-up all of the systems with the professional support and expertise required by a world-class, commercial recording studio,” concluded Peloquin.

“People and groups are coming to look over the facility and are awestruck by what we've created,” states Harris. “Our hats are off to PAD for their great work.”

NYU

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:52:07 +0000

NYU (1 image)

Clive Davis Department Built at NY University

When the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music, now a fixture at New York University’s Tisch School of Arts, was still in its planning stages, Clive Davis (chairman and CEO of BMG North America) approached Troy Germano of the Studio Design Group to discuss his part in the project. Davis' goal was to build a studio for a university course, which would provide students with a well-rounded background in the inner workings of the recording industry. Knowing that the classroom facility should resemble a high-end professional studio, Germano brought in longtime colleagues Dave Bell of Whitemark LTD in England and Dave Malekpour of Professional Audio Design (PAD).

“The idea was to build an educational facility for recording that also had a strong emphasis on the overall studio process and business,” said Germano. “We wanted the students to get a good cross-reference of what goes on in the record industry from how an artist is signed and lead by an A&R person to the technical aspect of engineering, as well as day-to-day studio life.”

Germano knew that the gear needs for this type of educational environment would be a little different than in a normal recording studio. Solid State Logic's 24-channel XL 9000 K Series SuperAnalogue Series console made the most sense because NYU wanted SSL quality without overwhelming the students with an intimidating 96-channel console.

“The idea of the school is to have a hybrid of both analog and digital,” commented Germano. “The marriage of Pro Tool|HD with the SSL console is the right combination for enabling students to acquire practical experience.”

PAD's Malekpour and his team aided with the equipment selection, provided all of the gear (with the exception of the SSL console, which was supplied by SSL), installed it and also provided some training on the Pro Tools setup.

“After a great experience while working with the Tisch School about a year ago when we sold them an SSL 4040G+ console for their music department, we were excited to be a part of their new project, which accrued this level of equipment in a school setting,” Malekpour said. “We are happy about our relationship with the people at the Tisch School and would like to continue helping them with anything they need.”

PAD continues to service and support this facility as it begins its operation. “When the project is over and the school has to function on its own, Dave and his team are still there,” explained Germano. “He has always had an ongoing relationship in terms of maintenance and technical support, which is often something you don’t see from other equipment dealers.”

Fernando Garribay's F2 Productions

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:49:07 +0000

Fernando Garribay's F2 Productions (1 image)

Fernando Garribay's F2 Productions

Johnny K's Groovemaster Recording

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:48:08 +0000

Johnny K's Groovemaster Recording (1 image)

Johnny K's Groovemaster Recording

Groovemaster Recording in Chicago, owned by producer/engineer Johnny K, recently upgraded its studio with an SSL 4080G+ certified by Professional Audio Design (PAD).

In addition to the G+, PAD supplied Groovemaster with Dynaudio Acoustics/Custom Munro C4+ main monitors with custom 3x12 subs finished in natural cherry with Chord Electronics amplifiers and XTA crossovers. PAD’s technical group also assisted in the wiring and integration for the new console upgrade. Since the completion of the construction, Groovemaster has recently hosted sessions for P.O.D., Sum 41, Simple Plan, and 3 Doors Down. Johnny K also tracked the latest album for the metal-rock band Disturbed on the SSL.

“Johnny knew from the beginning the type of board he wanted,” says Dave Malekpour, president of PAD. “We went through all of the options available keeping in mind where he wanted the studio positioned in the future. He had done some mixing in other studios on SSL’s and really liked they way the music sounded. Johnny has some high profile clients and we wanted him to be able to provide the best gear suitable for his customers. Groovemaster is a state-of-the-art facility in the heart of Chicago, with many luxurious accommodations and top-of-the-line gear.”

Neil Finn's Customized Neve

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:44:43 +0000

Neil Finn's Customized Neve (6 images)

Neil Finn buys classic restored Neve "Ramport" console

When Neil Finn, lead singer and multi-instrumentalist for Crowded House and The Finn Brothers, decided to upgrade his New Zealand based studio, he knew that he wanted a special, one-of-a-kind console. Always a fan of classic Neve consoles, Neil fell in love with a classic Neve that had come out of Bearsville Studios in New York, a console that had originally been built for Pete Townsend of The Who. This unique desk was finished in black, with irridescent legending, so when the lights were lowered and the black lights went on, the console would glow! PAD completely restored and upgraded the console, including all new internal wiring and patch bays, custom switchable phantom power for each mic-input, balanced buffered meter drivers (so audio wasn't flowing directly through and being colored by the meters), and installation of Flying Faders.

Cotton Hill Studios

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:09:07 +0000

Cotton Hill Studios (2 images)

Cotton Hill Celebrates Anniversary with Upgrade

MIX Magazine - December 2005

In honor of its 10-year anniversary, Cotton Hill Studios in Albany, N.Y., completed an overall system upgrade, which included installation of a ProTools HD3 Accel system, a Trident 80C analog console and an Aviom Pro16 Monitor Mixing System, all provided by Professional Audio Design in Rockland, Mass.

“We decided that the best scenario for us here in this facility was to have some type of a large format analog console along with a digital recording system,” says Ray Rettig, president and owner of Cotton Hill Studios. “Among other modifications, PAD created a card that is inserted into the back of the console to take the audio signal from the Trident 80C and output it to the Aviom gear and the other digital equipment.”

The card, created by PADtech turns four channels of unbalanced audio into balanced audio and four channels of balanced audio into unbalanced. Six of these level-adjustable cards were installed as fully balanced pre-fader inserts in the monitor section. The first 16 channels of these tape monitor insert sends are normalled directly into the Aviom headphone system. One of these balanced conversion cards is also installed in the master section, balancing the mix and control room outputs, and unbalancing the stereo tape returns. In addition, PADtech designed and installed a 4-output, silent-switching speaker selector. The upgrades at the Walters-Storyk–designed Cotton Hill, which took place earlier this year, also included Langevin and PAD–Enhanced Focusrite mic-pre/EQ modules and compressors.

Butler University

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:06:52 +0000

Butler University (3 images)

Butler University Upgrades with Professional Audio Design

MIX Magazine - April 2007

At Butler University in Indianapolis, the $12 million Fairbanks Center for Communications was recently upgraded by Professional Audio Design (PAD). The PAD team worked closely with Butler to convert a former classroom into a hybrid analog/digital recording and mixing studio centered around an Audient ACS8024 analog console with a Digidesign Command | 8 control surface.

“PAD shared our vision as an educational facility,” says Cutler Armstrong, a lecturer in Butler’s media arts department. “They helped us to take full advantage of the studio space, and their experience working with universities allowed them to understand our objectives, as well our budget. PAD really listened to our needs and put together an unbeatable package for our students and staff.”
PAD’s Technical Services Group handled the wiring for the console as well as all the gear that accompanied it to provide Butler’s staff and students with a complete system that was fully functioning from the first day.

PAD specified the Audient ACS8024 console after consulting with Butler to determine the faculty’s particular educational approach. “From a theoretical standpoint, instead of just using plug-ins to get the sound, we want to show students how to use a console and outboard processors," explains Mark Harris, facilities manager, for Butler’s Media Arts department. “The board is approachable and has taken the fear factor down so that they feel comfortable with mixing and recording. PAD told us, ‘We can get you the pieces of gear that you need,’ and they came through. They also did a great job wiring the new room to our existing TV studios so that we could use them as recording spaces. We have a complete studio that’s very useful.”

“Our choice of the Audient is an example of how PAD’s experience with colleges and universities was helpful to Butler,” says Dave Malekpour, president of PAD. “It has a signal flow like a high-end analog board would so that people can get hands-on with production, but it’s still integrated with Digidesign’s Command | 8 console and Pro Tools HD, all at a good price. That allowed us to balance the budget against the comprehensive wiring and systems integration we provided, and execute the job within a tight timeframe. These are the complete services that we believe sets PAD far apart in realizing the objectives of education, post, broadcast and record/mix facilities, personal studios and beyond.”

Integrated Studios

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:02:30 +0000

Integrated Studios (4 images)

Integrated Studios, New York NY

MiIX Magazine - July 2006

How many spins remain on the concept of the ultramodern studio? To see the very latest, a visit to Integrated Studios in New York City's low-key TriBeCa district is in order. Step inside the front door of a building on one of downtown's quiet, old cobblestone streets and find yourself immersed in a highly functional blend of audio, video and style.

A carefully networked combination of spaces, Integrated includes a soundstage, video editing suites, a spacious rooftop deck, a skilled staff, futuristic aesthetics and — oh, yeah — what just might be New York City's new crown jewel: an SSL 9000 J Series/Augspurger mix room. For those who understand where owner/founders Derek and Eliot Ferguson are coming from, working here will be a memorable experience. “I never wanted this to be a high-throughput place, and I never wanted it to be an ordinary place,” Derek Ferguson explains. “I wanted the Integrated ethos to be distinctive and have people say, ‘Wow, I had a really good time making a classic record there.’”

Studio consultant and systems supplier/integrator David Malekpour of Professional Audio Design teamed with studio architect John Storyk (Walters-Storyk Design Group) and WSDG-Europe's room and system tuner Dirk Noy using SIA Smaart testing software and proprietary room tuning algorithms developed for the system to maximize Integrated's appeal to the audio set, beginning with the arresting Orange Room control room helmed by music director and producer/engineer Carlos Bess (Wu-Tang Clan, Majestic 12). A relatively small but comfortable space, the interior is dominated by a 58-channel SSL 9000 J Series SuperAnalogue console, flanked by hot rod orange — painted custom Augspurger 4×15-inch monitors with an 18-inch sub, matching Yamaha NS-10s, five Genelec 8050APM monitors in a surround configuration and a full array of outboard goodies, all inspired by an abundance of glass and a magical view of the Hudson River and New York City's downtown.

“The end result is pretty stunning,” Malekpour says. “When I saw that room, I thought, ‘If you put the right tools in there, no one's going to want to leave.’ There's something about being in there that makes you feel special.

“George [Augspurger] designed the monitors for a small footprint, so they're vertically oriented rather than horizontal,” Malekpour continues. “They have a great sound — John and I agree that this is one of our favorite Augspurger systems. For R&B and hip hop clients, they wanted extreme volume, accuracy and good low-end content, and we designed the system around [those requirements]. When we tuned the system up, we made sure the room could handle it well. With 125dB peaks and a 120dB average, that should be enough for everybody.”

While the newly minted edition of Integrated fits like a glove, things were less than perfect when the design team came onboard in 2005. The Fergusons had purchased the building known as Stable Studios in 2000 and oversaw an initial makeover where the underused live room had the amazing view and the adjacent control room was set back down the hall. “They had things upside down,” Storyk observes. “Their control room was a sideways, misoriented room that was not capturing the view and you entered the wrong way. They woke up one day and realized that the studio needed to be the control room and vice versa. As a business, they didn't need a live studio; what they really needed was a mix room. So we came in and created a cool, small but really professional SSL mixing/tracking environment with great views and windows.”

For those who ask for more than just a million-dollar look at the Hudson, Integrated backs up the diverse technical plant with a strong commitment to the client experience. The pro attitude of the personnel, including chief tech Kevan Griffin and in-house mastering guru Larry Lachman, was enough to attract a talent on the scale of Bess, who, with his multi-Platinum engineering, mixing and producing credits, could arguably have chosen any studio on the East Coast as his home. “I appreciated the innovation and flexibility of the space; it's built around the mentality of an artist or a producer,” Bess says. “It's a very quiet and remote location that plays a major role in setting the vibe. You can focus on your music here. I also liked the fact that we made the studio a hybrid between analog and digital, with an SSL and Pro Tools HD. The custom Augspurgers make for an extremely heavy sound: I liken it to atomic weight. My clients demand that type of power and strength.”

Whether it's possible to fly under the radar and still be a humming beehive of multimedia activity is an interesting question — one that Integrated Studios is looking forward to answering. “This is a salon-type environment that works for the artists who want to come in, take the space over and benefit from the multiple disciplines we offer,” Derek Ferguson concludes. “You can have your business people set up on the second floor while you're tracking/mixing on the fourth floor, people editing video on the third floor and then have a record release party on the roof. You're with family, but it's like a little secret. I think people will respond to that.”

Erik Kretz's Bombsheter

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:57:03 +0000

Erik Kretz's Bombsheter (1 image)

STP Drummer Goes to PAD to Upgrade Bomb Shelter

MIX Magazine

Eric Kretz, drummer for Stone Temple Pilots, originally was hesitant about undergoing the extensive construction on his private facility, Bomb Shelter Studios. Dave Malekpour, president of Professional Audio Design, visited the facility and advised him how to create a professional studio for tracking and mixing.

Kretz originally gutted the 100 year-old brick building to create a private studio two years ago. “I’ve really enjoyed recording and producing small gigs in my own studio and was ready to take it to the next level,” says Kretz.“PAD upgraded the overall layout of the room by adding private spaces for producers, a business office and created a fun place for musicians to hang out and enjoy themselves while they are here recording for a month to six weeks at a time. It has a very home-y vibe. PAD did an incredible job with everything.”

The newly refurbished Bomb Shelter Studios allows Kretz the space to record larger bands. The 16-foot ceilings and brick walls of the tracking room are large enough to fit a 44-piece orchestra and boast an amazing drum room with 60 feet of mic distance. The studio also features three separate iso booths. The control room is complete with the full blown Pro Tools HD|2 and SSL 4048 G+ as well as some classic outboard gear from Neve, Pultec, dbx and modern staples such as Empirical Labs and Tube Tech, just to name a few. PAD also added a number of amenities to the facility such as a full kitchen, full bathroom, parking, a basketball half-court, satellite TV/DVD/VCR, a large loading dock and a pool table.

“One of the main challenges was finding the best way to use the environment and to adjust the project to meet Eric’s goals,” says Malekpour. “PAD strives to help studio owners see market trends and musicians expectations of studios. Eric’s goal was to utilize the 6,000-square-foot area efficiently, keeping the space open without clutter. Personal touches are what make a studio. He’s an aesthetically tasteful guy and we were able to assist him in achieving the look he wanted.”

Kretz recently tested out his creative space playing host to Fu Man Chu and mixing the new album for 2 Cent Penny, which he produced and played drums. Kretz continues, “For me, the studio was about being able to work and complete records in a first-class facility.”

Big 3 Commercial Studios

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:54:46 +0000

Big 3 Commercial Studios (5 images)

Big3 Commercial Studios Furnished By PAD

MIX Magazine - July 2005

St. Petersburg, FL (March 22, 2005)--With a growing list of high-profile clients including Mario Winans, Destiny's Child, Cheap Trick and Usher, Big3 Studios has come a long way in a short amount of time. The 7,000 square foot facility started off with one tracking and control room and two mini-suites four years ago. Now the full-service recording facility, opened to the public last summer, features three studios with state-of-the-art equipment, furnished by Professional Audio Design (PAD), and provides multitrack audio recording, mixing, production and mastering services.

Paradise Garage

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:45:52 +0000

Paradise Garage (2 images)

Paradise Garage

Producer/composer Robert Clivillés’ home studio is aptly named, as it is built into his 500-square-foot, two-car garage. Acoustic treatments include a pair of ultrathin perforated membrane Clearsorber™ panels from RPG positioned between the rear of the speakers and the rack room doors, creating an absorptive boundary to reduce SBIR (speaker boundary interference effect). Equipment for the studio was provided by Professional Audio Design.

Equipment: Digidesign ICON console, Pro Tools HD3 Accel Core system, Apogee converters, custom Augspurger main monitors, Yamaha NS-10 near-fields, Dolby Lake Contour DSP-management system.

Studio Name: Paradise Garage
Owner: Robert Clivilles
Location: Westchester, N.Y.
Date Open: May 2007
Designer: John Storyk/Walters-Storyk Design Group
Photo: Robert Wolsch

Timbaland

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:34:27 +0000

Timbaland (7 images)

Timbaland Studios, Virginia Beach, VA

MIX Magazine

A series of coincidental collaborations have led Professional Audio Design founder Dave Malekpour and Walters-Storyk Design Group co-principal John Storyk to a new co-venture with interesting implications for the pro audio community.

“We’ve known each other for years, and frequently bumped into each other at various trade events, but working together on a series of recent projects inspired some interesting conversations,” Malekpour explains. “When PAD was retained by Platinum hip hop producer Tim Mosley and his engineer Jimmy Douglass to provide the gear for their new Virginia Beach-based Timbaland Studio, we found the facility was being designed and built by WSDG. Numerous meetings with John Storyk and other WSDG team members over the course of the installation proved illuminating on many levels.”

Not long after their unintentional Timbaland collaboration, PAD and WSDG found themselves working together on Studio Metronome, a showplace destination mixing studio on a mountaintop estate in Brookline, N.H. “Once again, our conversations about design, system integration and hardware not only aided the client’s decision-making process, they impacted on our thinking about many of the facility’s needs,” Storyk adds.

When called in to equip a private studio for Boston-based supergroup Aerosmith, Malekpour knew WSDG would relate to their needs. “People who build recording studios are generally smart, high-profile and opinionated,” he says. “They’re not walking into a haberdasher and buying a jacket off a rack. They’ve got legitimate creative and aesthetic issues that need serious consideration.”

Initial meetings with the group soon led to an acoustically and technologically outstanding room, which inspired Malekpour and Storyk to consider a more formal strategic alliance. “Time and again we’ve seen the value in brainstorming and sharing our insights with clients at the earliest stages of a project,” Storyk says. “Decisions about infrastructure, wiring, equipment packages, room design and acoustics are much easier when they are explored in an integrated fashion during design development. Since we were already working together in a casual way, we felt a more formal relationship would be to everyone’s advantage.”

The two firms have been working together on architectural, acoustic, equipment and systems development for several interesting projects for more than a year. These include: Talking House, a high-end, 9,000 square-foot music creation, development and production center in San Francisco which will feature multiple control rooms surrounding a common tracking room and a custom “hybrid” large format analogue mixing console. Design and equipment selection has also begun on a facility for New Orleans-based producer David Fortman of Evanescence fame, and a private studio on Long Island, NY for R&B singer/songwriter Alicia Keys.

Choice Studio Gear:

Augspurger Monitors

Universal Audio LA-2A

Alicia Keys' Oven Studios

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:30:17 +0000

Alicia Keys' Oven Studios (5 images)

The Oven Studios

MIX Magazine - October 2005

When old school hooks up with new school, watch out. That's exactly what has happened at The Oven Studios, a world-class facility created for Alicia Keys and Kerry "Krucial" Brothers, founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises. Designed by Keys, Krucial and a dedicated team, the facility successfully builds on a pre-existing high-level recording studio in the New York area and puts it into a 2005 context, perfect for a nine-time Grammy®-winning songwriter growing increasingly skilled in her role as a producer.

"I've always written, I've always played the piano, and when I heard these songs in my head, I would know what I wanted the feel and the sound to be," says Keys, who produced or co-produced 11 of the 15 tracks on the 2003 multi-Platinum The Diary of Alicia Keys. "Krucial was one of the first people to encourage me to take things into my own hands. That's why producing is so important to me. I'm able to hear my thoughts and voices, and I can present it as only I know it should exist."

After the smashing success of Songs in A Minor and Diary, KrucialKeys decided that a purpose-built recording studio was in order, with a choice between renovating an existing facility or building one from scratch. Realizing that vibe settles in like a vintage wine, the partners opted for the former and purchased an established facility built into an old house, with a quiet town setting and calming shade trees just outside.

"The basic idea is that we've always been very hands-on and always been working in 'The House,'" states Krucial, referring to Keys' early demos that were recorded in a small Harlem apartment. "We're both into the old sound and we don't mind the big studios, but there's something about the home environment that's more comfortable, so we figured the best way was shaping the studio so it's an extension of the home."

KrucialKeys got the process going by huddling with longtime engineer Ann Mincieli, who started working with the pair at New York City's Quad Studios in 2000 -- a relationship that officially went full-time during the recording of Diary. Mincieli did her research and built a tight, top-tier team capable of guiding the studio's extensive renovations and rebirth: Krucial; Keys; Dave Malekpour of Professional Audio Design; and John Storyk, Beth Walters, Dirk Noy and Chris Bowman of architectural and acoustical design firm Walters-Storyk Design Group.

"Everyone's input went into it," Mincieli stresses. "Everything in the pre-existing structure would lead us to ask, 'Why do we need that? How do we revolutionize this? How do we change the face of the industry? How can we be a leader ourselves?' We had the team, and if you look at the rooms, they're from everybody's input and decisions. It was nice because someone else would frequently have a way of looking at things that you might not have thought of.

"Creating The Oven was a big experiment, really," Mincieli continues. "Our mic panels aren't everyday mic panels, for example: They have our logo, and the Mytek headphone system built into it has been modified so the noise from the power supply is in the basement, not the live room. All these details we came up with wouldn't have gotten to that level if we didn't have the whole team helping each other. I've been to a lot of studios, but I haven't seen one with a thought process like this -- constantly asking, 'What can we do that's unique?'"

The Oven answers that question first with its relaxed atmosphere, accenting the house environment with green hues and earth tones in the rooms and corridors that surround the fully outfitted upstairs production rooms -- Studio B and Studio C -- and the heart of the facility, Studio A on the first floor. "My first decision was to get an SSL AWS900," says Mincieli. "It's a dual-function desk: 24 channels of SSL mic pre's and EQ with a DAW running as a HUI. The design of the modules on the desk is the same as on a K or an XL, but the signal path is shorter, so it sounds even better than an XL. I'd love a K, but I don't have the real estate. This little AWS900 came out and it was perfect, so I made that my foundation."

Adding to the 230-square-foot control room is a wide selection of mic pre's, including the 24 ultralow-noise preamps in the AWS900, plus four more external SSL mic pre's, 16 additional channels of API and two original Neve 1073s. The highly flexible SSL patchbay was custom-made by PAD for The Oven, laid out to maximize integration between the console and the 24-in/48-out Pro Tools|HD system, while keeping all cables concealed via an under-the-floor routing scheme. The Augspurger and Yamaha NS10 monitors, multiple mics and myriad other gear build on a perfectionist attention to detail within the recording space, sporting a matched look with Aston Martin Metallic Silver 2001 paint selected from a local car dealership.

Everything is set up to capture the magic that awaits in the adjoining live room, a 535-square-foot space with a stone wall and a staged floor plan created especially for Keys' vocal and piano mastery. "The pianos in that big live room have such a clear, crystal, gorgeous clarity," Keys says. "At the same time, we can set up anything else we want. It has the stones on the wall that gives a more intimate, personal feel. The point of the room is to capture a multitude of sounds." Also on The Oven floor are a 160-square-foot drum room and 80-square-foot iso booth.

When hard drives are rolling, Mincieli frequently employs a Telefunken Ela M 270 stereo mic for recording Keys' Yamaha piano and a Telefunken U47 or Sony C800 for her vocals. "Knowing that there's going to be a piano in the room and that the other primary instrument will be a world-class vocalist, you do things differently," says Storyk, lead acoustician for the project, of the live room. "You make this room as reverberant as possible, while still ensuring mid- and high-frequency reflection control. Most pianists like a wood floor, and so does Alicia. Some people think that the resonators we used for low-frequency absorption are meant to look like the black keys on a piano, but the rhythm of their placement stems from the fact that they're affixed to columns in the walls. The end result is an appealing mixture of architecture, acoustics, aesthetics and ergonomics."

Is the melding of living spaces and workspaces an emerging trend? "I would hope so," Walters adds regarding Studio A's aesthetic. "They spend a lot of time here [in Studio A], and their work branched out into the rest of the facility, as well. This is definitely as much of a living space as it is a workspace."

The team that built The Oven. Front row: Keys and Brothers. Back row, from left, Beth Walters of Walters-Storyk, engineer Ann Mincieli and Dave Malekpour of Professional Audio Design
photo: Courtney Spencer

Studios A, B and C combine to make The Oven a full-service facility -- not just for KrucialKeys, which recently mixed Keys' Unplugged here for J Records, but for their collaborators and select outside clients such as Donna Summer and Keyshia Cole. Especially enticing is the Pro Tools|HD3 -- equipped Studio B, where dark wood and natural light combine to create a naturally meditative state and an extremely attractive destination for writing, recording and pre-production. Studio C offers a complement of Korg and Roland synths and Akai MPC workstations to add to the available sonic palette.

According to Malekpour, The Oven is a perfect example of the direction that accomplished artists are now taking with their personal facilities. "At PAD, what we've seen happen is a shift from larger-scale commercial facilities to artists wanting their own larger-scale personal-use facilities. They're built around a person's way of working, and they want to be in there without the clock ticking so that even if they go away for two weeks on tour, they can get right back to working the way that they want to work.

"This studio has ramped that up: It's a pro facility that's privately owned, and they've considered how to use it for session work when they're not using it themselves," he continues. "I won't be surprised if we replicate this kind of studio in the future: a mid-sized room with great acoustics and everything in the control room within easy reach designed around production and creation as opposed to having this giant object there. The SSL AWS900 has such a small footprint that it allows you to do a lot more.

"It's also exciting to work with someone who really cares about the end result. Alicia's a unique artist because she's involved with all aspects of her production, and when you see her perform, you see that this person is deeply devoted to her craft. She's also surrounded herself with some good people, and that's a key component to every studio environment."

With the creation of The Oven, it seems that one of the world's most successful performers is happy to find herself fully immersed in the science of recording. "When it comes to songwriting, the essence is the voice, the song and one special instrument," Keys reflects. "So it starts in this simplistic way, but when you get into the audio aspect of making a record -- not a song, but a whole record -- it really makes a difference; not just the people you're working with, but the types of things you're working on. A good song is a good song whether you have good audio engineering or not, but it does enhance the experience. We're blessed with having so much to create the best audio experience for the listener."

Jay Z's Roc the Mic Studios

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 11:10:52 +0000

Jay Z's Roc the Mic Studios (6 images)

Roc the Mic Studios

MIX Magazine - October 2007

Bearing the trademark prefix of hip hop impresario Jay-Z's Roc-a-Fella Records, the brand-new Roc the Mic Studios in New York City caters to the label's extended family of artists, producers, engineers and songwriters who make hip hop and R&B music. This is the second studio venture for Jay-Z's longtime business collaborator, Juan Perez; they also own Manhattan's 40/40 Club. Perez sold their previous facility -- Baseline Studios -- to Roc-a-Fella producer alum Just Blaze when Jay-Z put his solo career on hold in 2003. But, as Jay-Z returned with Kingdom Come last year, plans for a bigger and better studio were already well under way.

Perez found a totally raw space on 27th Street and got in touch with Professional Audio Design president Dave Malekpour, who had set up Baseline. "With Roc-a-Fella's roster of artists and all the production development going on, it made total sense that they build a studio catering to the label," says Malekpour. "And Juan decided to make it a commercial studio because of the current market conditions. There aren't many rooms like this available in New York City anymore."

Malekpour recommended that frequent PAD-collaborator John Storyk of Walters-Storyk Design Group (WSDG) be brought onto the project as designer and acoustician. "They have their entourage of golden ears and knew exactly what they wanted," says Storyk. "Two spacious comfortable studios, each with an analog desk, very loud, very accurate monitors and private lounge inside the sound lock. They also wanted a small writing room, which through the design process actually grew into a producer's suite and booth -- a mini version of the main rooms."
Proportionally, the 4,500-square-foot space splits up visibly to urban music production code: smaller tracking spaces, larger control rooms and sizeable lounges. Clients can shoot pool and hang out in the main common lounge, or keep completely to themselves via private access to both main studios, each with its own similarly sized tracking room and private lounge. Technically, the rooms feature the classic tools of the genre. The only marked difference between the two main studios, known as the "J Room" and "G Room," is the choice of SSL consoles of heavy-hitting Roc The Mic house engineers Brian Stanley (9000 J) and Young Guru (4000 G+). PAD worked with these engineers to develop the rooms' equipment lists, a combination of new and PAD-refurbished classic gear, including Avalon 737s; Lexicon 480Ls, PCM 81 and 42s; Distressors; Eventide H3000 and TC Electronic reverbs; and Summit dual-compressors that stack up in split-island producers' desks.

The J Room houses the 9080 J console from the Hit Factory, completely refurbished with upgraded electronics by PAD. An inaugural session with Beyonce opened J back in January, kicking off nonstop action at Roc the Mic. "Everyone's been here," says Perez, running down the list: "Mariah, Puff, Timbaland, Timberlake, Rhianna, 50 Cent, will.i.am, Ne-Yo, Jay-Z." The J Room and surprise-hit production studio -- equipped with Control|24 and Pro Tools HD -- have been running full time for several months, and by the end of summer the G+ was undergoing final commissioning.

The studios are distinguished by their thumping sound systems, a design requirement Perez stressed from the get-go. "This is a hip hop environment; people want to really crank it up to see how it's gonna knock in the clubs," he explains. "You'll have 10 guys in here bopping their heads. This is the culture; this is how hip hop gets played."

Developed by PAD and George Augspurger, the custom monitoring systems comprise Augspurger horns, dual 15-inch drivers and dual 18-inch subs per side, driven by massive Bryston 14B power amps. "These are loud and efficient systems; they're getting about 127dB peaks, continuous at around 123 dB," says Malekpour. "It's really a second-to-none main monitoring system, and we scaled it down to fit the smaller footprint in the production suite. So that's a much smaller room, but it has the big Augspurger sound."

Storyk's designs incorporated extreme isolation and bass trapping to accommodate such a big and bass-heavy sound. Working with less-than-ideal ceiling height, Storyk explains, "We did all the low-frequency trapping with thin-membrane absorbers, using both stretched-rubber and metal plate absorbers throughout the room -- above the clouds and behind the fabric on either side of the rear-room resonators."

Guru, who recorded Jay-Z's verses for Rhianna's "Umbrella" and T.I.'s "Watch What You Say to Me," among many other projects in the J Room, attests. "I'm not an exceptionally loud mixer -- I'll mix loud in the beginning to get the drum and bass relationship together and then I'll move to near-fields -- but the clients want to hear it loud," he explains. "These rooms are clear at those really loud volumes; we love that we can turn it way up and maintain the consistency of the mix."