The Score Magazine August 2019 issue! | Page 44

ST U D I O TO U R R&B STUDIOS Tell us about the space We have two Studios, Studio A being our primary rehearsal space where we can fit in 7-8 musicians and even record some quick sessions in the control room especially designed for production and programming purposes. Studio B is our post production, 7.1 mixing and mastering studio with a large live room where we can multi-track live bands and conduct dubbing and recording sessions. should be in constant use and well maintained. The entire team, from the Engineers to the studio staff, should be well trained and experienced. It is not necessary to have a lot of gear, but very important to know how and when to use them. A spacious Live room with ample of natural light is a must. A cosy space to get some fresh air, a pantry, restrooms and other such facilities should be a part of every studio. Take us through the process of setting it up What equipment do you use? Building up a studio involves a lot of planning and implementation especially if you are setting up a 7.1 mixing room. The importance of room acoustics has always been the core belief of our studio building process. If the live room sounds good, you can have a great take even with a minimalistic setup. A well-treated control room makes mixing precise and spot on. However, creating a well-balanced sonically pleasant room is a challenge. Understanding the room setup, what kind of Absorption & Diffusion is required, and deciding what materials are to be used can be a task and often a point where people tend to make mistakes. In the live room we have a long list of equipments available: Orange, Blackstar, Markbass, Vox, Hartke, naming a few. Both studios have Tama Drum Kits. In Studio B we have Universal Audio Apollo X series audio interfaces with 16 Inputs and Universal Audio Twinfinty preamps. We use Genelec 8040 and 8030 as our 7.1 setup. A Benq projector and screen is installed for mixing movie projects and web-series. In Studio A we use Audient id44 and Focusrite Clarett 8pre along with our Dynaudio LYD 48 studio monitors. An ensemble of Neumann, AKG and Shure microphones are used in both studios. Under the guidance of Mr. Balaraman Ponthenkandath who has a vast experience of over 30 years in this industry, we at R and B also undertake sound treatment and studio designing projects. Both Studios A and B are designed and created by our team of experts in this field. For recordings we want to invest next in API and Neve preamps. For production work NI Komplete Kontrol S61 would be our next buy. Acoustics and Aesthetics, both should be well built and balanced. When an artist walks in, they should to not only hear good, but also feel good at the studio. So, we created a space which feels positive and lively. We selected Andheri West as our studio location, which is considered as the heart of our music and entertainment industry. What are some of the studio essentials you would recommend? 42 The Score Magazine highonscore.com All the equipments from monitors to microphones What’s your next buy for the studio? Tips to aspiring owners of studios Be it home or professional studio, always invest in good acoustic treatment. Seek professional help. Ready to use acoustic panels won’t serve the purpose for every studio. Customised panels and treatment can at times be more cost friendly. Invest in limited but quality gear. Bespoke acoustics and high- end equipments might set your budget a bit high but will not only help you up your game, but also maintain the recording industry standards upto a certain level.