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Los Angeles-based producer/mixer/writer Erik Ron has a lot to celebrate this season. October 2025 marks the opening of a brand-new avatar of his Grey Area Studios, which he originally set up in 2013. It’s also the celebration of Erik’s 20th year in the music business, during which he has worked in the rock, pop, and hardcore genres with artists including Godsmack, Staind, Panic! at the Disco, and, most recently, Bush, Julia Wolf, and Maggie Lindemann.
Erik sat down with us to give us an inside look at what inspired his recent upgrades, what drew him to the Genelec 8341A and the ATC SCM110A monitors, what he learned from his last studio build, and why he switched from his old favorite Manley Reference Cardioid mic to something new after over a decade.
Tell us a bit about Grey Area Studios and the work that you do.
I built Grey Area Studios, and that name has gone with me wherever I've worked, because it's where my emphasis is. I work a lot in rock, but I work a lot in pop as well, and the whole premise of ‘grey area’ is that putting something in a box has never been my cup of tea. Nothing is black and white to me, and I like making music in the grey area.
I've been known for my work in the harder rock space with bands like Godsmack, Staind, Bush, Bad Omens, I Prevail, and things of that nature, but I'm just proud of being able to help artists grow and achieve their dreams—that's really what fulfills me the most.
What inspired your recent updates?
Having a commercial space in Los Angeles is actually pretty rare. I think the home studio has taken over, but that's never been how I liked working. I like having a separate place, I like artists feeling like they're not in someone else's home or in someone else's bedroom—I like having that separation.
When I wanted a new building, I really wanted something that could feel special in 15 years, and not just what looks good now. So when I started looking at designs and doing Pinterest boards, I really was looking at a balance of futuristic but also Japanese styles as well, so it’s minimalistic, it’s about not having clutter, and making sure that there were a lot of matte colors and limewashes. I wanted it to feel very creative, but using darker colors that I enjoy without it feeling gothic.
One thing you'll notice is that in my studio, there are no recessed lights; there are no shadows that will go over people's heads. It's all indirect lighting, and I really wanted a space that could photograph well, film well, that is also a creative space and doesn't feel harsh.
Sonically, what did you want to do differently from the previous iteration of Grey Area Studios?
My last build was 13 years ago, and it was built professionally, but I didn't take it to the next level with treatment. That’s what I did differently this time—I went the distance, so I got proper design by Gavin Haverstick, and I got an up-and-coming builder called Built by RoseTone, who knows the modern audio world but also can build something classic.
I really wanted to do something that sounds great and looks great, whereas with my last place, I mainly wanted it to look great, and then I could figure the rest out, which is what I ended up doing, but it ended up costing me more money in the long run, so I wanted to just do it right this time. I think a lot of people build studios, buy their first Auralex sound absorption and foam, put it in the corner, and they're like, “Now I can mix!” and then they learn the hard way that maybe it's better to do it from the ground up if you have that chance.
Tell us about the Genelec studio monitors you recently purchased.
I really needed something because in my last studio, I was very married to my ATC 45s, which I had for over ten years. When I got the ATC 110s that were in the wall for the new space, I knew I couldn't have the 45s, because it would be redundant.
I've always been a fan of Genelec but once I had the ATCs I kind of went away from that, so when I had the opportunity to think about what else I could have and what was missing from the space, I knew that the Genelecs would be a good secondary speaker and a good nearfield monitor for me, especially with the ability to be able to tune it inside of the technology.
I started with the 8331As but realized they were a little bit too small for the space, so I upgraded to the 8341As.
What has it been like working with the Genelecs and what are some of your favorite features?
It was a learning curve for me in general because it was a new room with two sets of new speakers, so I really wasn't setting myself up for instant success. [Laughs] I was relying heavily on the room being treated properly to kind of take the wheel, and I think that having a foundation that's proper and right always helps.
The Genelecs are showing me a midrange that the ATCs don't show, so they are a really nice counterpart to dial in some of the upper mids. Also, the low-end is very consistent between my speaker selections, so it feels nice and tight.
Then, once I used the room tuning software inside of it, it really corrected some of the things that I felt could be going on in the room. Sure enough, it did show me things that were different in my midrange than I was used to; it corrected those, and it really did surprise me with the improved version of the speaker after the tuning.
The kind of music I make is a very pop vocal inside of what can be a pretty intense cinematic track. You have guitars that have a harsh midrange by nature, with the distortion, so making sure I have multiple views of the midrange really helps to make sure I'm not scooping too much or adding too much. I really do need a reference of the midrange to make sure it's not getting too wispy and that I'm not tucking them to make them sound too pop because they really have an important place in the mix.
I can't necessarily comment on the headroom because I haven't blasted them because of how I’m using them, but the low-end is very fat. I intentionally don't use a sub; I feel like the average listener does not use a sub, so I kind of err on the side of not using it, and the monitors definitely help with the low-end.
Since you work for long hours, how have the monitors been in terms of ear fatigue?
I would say that I monitor somewhere in between quiet and loud, and I don't go home with my ears ringing, but if you ask my engineer, he would say I listen very loud. [Laughs] I think everyone has their threshold, and I like to feel it for sure, but the high-end is very smooth on these speakers, so I definitely have not experienced ear fatigue.
Let’s discuss the performance of the Genelec Loudspeaker Manager (GLM) system.
I was a little apprehensive to even use it because, like I said, I had built this beautiful room, so I thought, “Why should I need that?” I thought I shouldn't need it because the room should be good to go, and that was a short-sighted decision based on just how much construction went into it and how much I've seen behind the walls. [Laughs]
But I decided to give it a shot, and I was very impressed. All of the things that I suspected were adjustments I was making about the room did show up in the actual correction—it took down the midrange a little bit, tightened up some of the low-end, and left the top-end alone.
I was always impressed by the lows and the highs of the monitors, and I was a little concerned about the mids, and it very much corrected that. I was a little unsure at first, and then I started A/B-ing the original with the correction and also A/B-ing between my ATCs and the corrected Genelecs, and it really complemented it well.
What drew you to the ATC SCM110A studio monitors?
I've been a huge ATC fan for over ten years now, and they're such great speakers in terms of the low-mids and highs; they’re really special in the imaging; and they’re really tight and punchy as well. Overall, I mainly live on the ATCs at a fairly low volume, and then I use the Genelecs to kind of check my homework, as they say. The low-end and the high-end are fairly similar, but the midrange is where I get to pick my law of averages.
How do recordings/mixes on the new monitors translate to other systems?
So far, so good. I tend to mix primarily on the ATCs, then move over to the Genelecs, and then do a final check on my AirPods Pro because I know that's where I can check some of the really top-end things and the really low subs and how they translate. Between those, I feel really happy with where my mixes have ended up.
How have the new monitors impacted your workflow?
Living on the ATCs has been really nice because I can keep them at a fairly low level, but then when I want to really blow the client away, I just start cranking them up, and we all just dance around the studio and have a good time. It’s a very good hype speaker, but it isn't showing me things that don't exist in the outside world.
What drew you to the Sony C800G PAC microphone?
I've loved the Sony C800G for a very, very long time, but the Manley Reference Cardioid really took over for me in relation to its price point versus what I was getting out of it.
I gravitate towards a pop-sounding vocal—I like it crisp and clear—and I had really enjoyed my Manley for so long, but with this new studio, I wanted to do something different. I thought maybe, after 15 years of the same mic, it was time for something else, so I got the Sony C800G and I said, “If this doesn't feel better than my Manley, I'm going to return it.” I'm not pot committed here, I need it to show me something that's better.
My engineer and I tested the mic out, looked at each other, and said, “Okay, I get it.” It had a low-end that I didn't even think I was missing on a vocal, and the top-end is less harmonically distorted. It felt tighter, and there's just a silkiness to it that is hard to explain.
It's an impossible mod—you can't do an emulation, you just have to hear it. It’s also versatile—it really shines on the pop sessions I've used it for, and in the rock sessions, even with screaming, it's been an awesome experience. I'm getting ‘wows’ out of a lot of people.
What was it like working with James Good and the VK team during the selection and purchase of gear for the studio?
I've been working with James Good for over ten years—probably 15 at this point—and he is my favorite person to do anything pro audio with. He really will tell me the truth, even if it's less expensive, and you will not find people in pro audio that do that. If I ever have an issue, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten his voicemail... I really depend on him to help shape my sound.
He knows what would work great for me, and when I told him about this place, he was the first person really willing to say, “Let me know what you need.” He came by during the construction and was so helpful. If there was a resource we needed, he would connect me. He has always been extremely selfless, and I know when he recommends something that he stands by it.
I've got things I want to purchase with him in a few months that I'm not ready to get yet. I know that he won’t pressure me, and when I'm ready, it'll be there. I have so much love for James.
What are some of your other favorite pieces of outboard gear at the studio?
Something that's a huge part of my sound is my Shadow Hills Industries Mono GAMA mic pre. When I use a bright microphone, it really helps calm it down and gives it this thickness that I otherwise feel makes a bright mic too brittle.
I love my UA 1176 as well. So that's typically my go-to signal chain—I go from the microphone to the Shadow Hills GAMA to my 1176 and then into my Tube-Tech CL 1B, which is really more for color. It's maybe hitting 1 to 2 dB max, so it’s really just kind of a shaping tool.
Are there any plug-ins you want to highlight?
I've really been enjoying the new Waves plug-ins. Smack Attack is their transient designer, and I've been using it on everything. I'm excited about their new L4 Ultramaximizer as well, which looks really awesome. I haven't been able to check it out yet, but I really want to.
I still use a lot of the Softube stuff. I love their CL 1B—that’s what I use on my vocal chain. I also love McDSP’s 4020 Retro Equalizer. It’s very musical and is probably my favorite EQ.
For reverb, I've fallen in love with LiquidSonics’ Seventh Heaven, which is my go-to now. There are so many reverb plug-ins, and I know a lot of people love the Valhalla stuff, and it’s great, especially for the price point, but when you hear Seventh Heaven, you go, “Okay, finally a plug-in worth spending $300 on.”
What's a typical day like for you in the studio?
The beauty of what I do is that there is no typical day! Monday through Friday, it can be a different thing every day of the week. I usually get in between 12 and 1 pm. Today is going to be a writing session, whereas tomorrow I’m finishing up a project where I have five or six songs with the artist, and we're working towards an album.
Then, maybe Friday will be a catch-up day where I just need a couple of hours on some songs I was working on, just to button down the production, go over mix notes with my engineer, and things of that nature. So, the beauty of it is that there's never a dull moment, and that's kind of the best part—being able to be versatile and being on your toes. You never know what's going to come across the desk!
Are you working on any exciting projects right now that you're able to talk about?
I’m working on the new Staind album, which is always a slower process, but we're getting closer and closer, and I'm very excited for that one. I also have a couple of songs on the Maggie Lindemann album that's coming out that I’m very excited about.
There’s also a new project called Scatterbrain, by the former singer of I Prevail, that is going to be really, really special. So there’s that, and then a bunch of things that I can't wait to talk about!
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