Studio Tour :
Compass Box Studio Ahmedabad
1 . Tell us about the space
Compass Box Studio is about 5 minutes away from Ahmedabad airport and is tucked away in the tranquil scenery of the outskirts of the city . The space itself is almost hexagonal , which made the construction much easier since we didn ’ t have any natural right angles . This does wonders for drums , electric guitars and loud instruments , and is tight enough for vocal tracking without the need for an additional isolation booth , so it is just one live room . The studio can accommodate up to 7 people playing live – as seen on our YouTube Live Sessions , but again , feels cozy for single and duo tracking . We have been very fortunate in that all the artists that have come to record here love the vibe and the space , and since we are all musicians , we have created a space that we would like to spend time in , with the colours , lighting and mood all contributing to that comfort .
2 . Take us through the process of setting it up
The studio took me about 4 months to set up . The space was already there , so the acoustics , sound treatment , room calibration was all done by myself – thanks mainly to YouTube – meaning this was primarily a DIY project . The design , sourcing and contracting was all done right here in Ahmedabad - while it had the intentions of being a glorified home studio , I wanted to make sure it was on par with established recording requirements and conditions .
3 . What are some of the studio essentials you would recommend ?
It really depends what your studio is going to be used for . If you have a limited space , and you are sure you want to be able to record bands live , sacrificing your control room and allocating as much space to the live room is a good idea – which is what we have done . That will automatically determine the kind of gear and hardware you will get . I think investing in good quality stands and cables can definitely go a long way . Lighting is an often disregarded studio essential - I believe that since you and your clients will be spending time there , might as well make it look pretty .
4 . What equipment do you use ?
We are one of the few studios in Gujarat that is fully decked out to record a full band live with 16 channels of multitrack available . At the heart of our studio is a UAD Apollo x8p , with 8 unison preamps which can emulate anything from classic Neves to APIs and Manleys . We are also in
the process of upgrading our Focusrite ADAT extension to 500 series mic pres , which will be populated by Neve 511s , SSL and Focusrite to name a few . We have a drum kit , tube guitar amps , bass amps , guitars and basses – so basically everything you need to come down and record your single , EP or album . Our mic locker consists of Audix , Blue , Sennhiser , Shure , Audio-Technica , sE Electronics , Rode , Avantone , Warm Audio to name a few , ranging from active ribbon mics , matched SDCs , LDCs , dynamics and even tube mics .
5 . Pieces of gear you cannot live without
Probably our mics . The 2 workhorses end up being the WA-47 and the Rode NTR which have found their way on almost every recording we have ever produced here at Compass Box .
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