space to very well treat. Let your
ears guide you. A workhorse
mic. Your first mic should be
one that can record anything
you can throw at it. A Shure
SM58 and Rode NT1A are both
great choices to start your career
with. Treat your space. Never
underestimate the importance
of a well treated space. Even a
simple bass trap goes a long way.
What equipment do you use?
Being a commercial studio
requires us to be equipped with
almost everything. From racks
of audio interfaces and AD/DA
converters to monitors, amps,
outboard gear, controllers, mics
and right down to the weirdest
cable converters. Our main studio
runs on the UAD Apollo system,
Genelec and KRK monitoring, a
selection of preamps from tube
to solid state and some choice
hardware compressors like
Daking and WA76. For mics, we
have a considerable collection of
dynamics and condensers ready
for any kind of sound source. For
someone eager to get more details,
our entire inventory can be found
on our website and facebook page.
Pieces of gear you
cannot live without
That’s a hard one. Every song
requires a different set of toys.
But our favorite gear that
makes us giddy with excitement
when we use it are the Daking
FET III, Goldmike SPL Tube
Preamps, WA-EQP Tube Eq,
Earthworks Mics and the
Egnater Tweaker Guitar Amp.
Oh! And we love our Genelecs.
Describe your work day
We start the day by flipping
on our UPS and Genset Back
up systems then testing them
by momentarily flipping down
the main power supply. After
that we power up the Studio A
workstation, interface, monitors,
controllers and set up the buffer
size depending on whether it’s a
mix day or a recording day. We
then take a look at the photos and
videos we took the day before and
plan out our social media posts
for the day. If it’s a recording
day, we plan out the production
and begin the work as mentioned
earlier. If it’s a mix day, we start
by prepping the mix, deciding
which outboard gear we will
use and patch them in. Then
we play some reference tracks
while we patch and look forward
to the best part about this job.
Philosophy or reasoning
behind gear choices
Many factors come into play
when we are deciding to buy new
gear. First and foremost, being in
India, finding authorized service
centers for a lot of pro audio
brands is difficult. We consider
the maintenance and repairs of
the equipment before we take
the plunge. Being a commercial
studio, we have to think about the
return on investments. Buying a
Marshall JCM 4x12 is not exactly
a smart choice even though it is
a legendary amp, as not every
artist coming in is a classic rock
band. That would be a great
choice for a classic rock band
that is building their own studio.
Versatility and build quality is
important for us. Before we buy
something, we ask ourselves, how
many artists who come to us can
use this? If we think that at least
half of them would be excited
to record with it, we go for it.
What’s your next buy
for the studio?
We just acquired the Earthworks
DK7 Drumkit Mic system and
we love the way it sounds. Clean
and beautiful mics, amazing
punch on the kick and snare and
crystal clear overheads. These
mics also respond exceptionally
well to Equalization.
Tips to aspiring
owners of studios
Choose your location wisely.
Away from construction noise
and in a well maintained building.
Make sure you have a lounge or
a chilling space, a kitchen and
an outdoor area or a balcony.
Start with minimum equipment
and build your way up once the
studio is in action. Invest in great
quality cables and connectors
and make your power signals
clean and well earthed. Maintain
an inventory of your gear and
organize it well. Take your
time. Draw out your plans and
work out a sound business plan.
Pun intended. It is a hard and
demanding business. Most of all,
never forget why you came here
in the first place. For the Music!
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
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