IGUANA STUDIOS
Enters the World of Immersive Mixing
The Famed Studio Installs the First commercial Genelec Atmos Room in Canada BY KEVIN YOUNG | PHOTOS BY NEAL BURSTYN , NTBCREATIVE . COM
IGUANA STUDIOS ’ NEW GENELEC ATMOS MIXING ROOM
For 28 years , Iguana Studio ’ s owner and president , Vic Branco , has prided himself on running a recording facility “ built by musicians for musicians .” Recently , the studio has added substantially to their ability to serve clients by installing a Dolby Atmos / Sony 360 Reality Audio Mixing system comprised entirely of Genelec loudspeakers .
The decision to upgrade was predicated on what Branco believed was the maturity of the technology – and perhaps , as importantly , its applications for average listeners . “ I was approached about doing this in 2018 , but in my opinion , the technology wasn ’ t there ,” he recalls . By that , he means , again , for widespread consumer use via people ’ s cell phones and computers . “ Then , it was still more of a home theatre vibe . But , in November 2021 , out of left field I started to see a little more of it and decided to look into upgrading again , so the pivot began .”
Essentially , Branco felt the time had come , the upgrade was viable , and he and Iguana could be ahead of the curve .
One problem , he says , was supply chain issues . “ I was like , I ’ ll buy speakers , only to realize I wouldn ’ t get speakers until May 2022 . That was not fun , but it ’ s worked out , and the system ’ s in . We ’ re working on a project with The Trews , doing some stuff with Honeymoon Suite , and a local up-and-coming band , A Short Walk to Pluto .”
It very much represents an extension of what Iguana ’ s always done . “ For 28 years , I ’ ve had a saying for when someone ’ s working there , they ask , ‘ What do you think ?’ And I go , ‘ It sounds like a record .’ So we kept that essence while installing these speakers .”
Branco demoed various loudspeaker options but ultimately felt that Genelec fit the bill best . “ We ran tests with a number of
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