John Osborne Of Brothers Osborne Upgrades Studio With Focal Monitors

Half of the country music duo Brothers Osborne, John Osborne has been building out his Nashville-based studio over the last several years. While working on the band's fourth studio album (released in September), John upgraded his studio with a few sets of Focal studio monitors.

We recently sat down with John to catch up and hear how the new monitors are working out. Read our conversation below to learn more about John's process in the studio, some of his favorite pieces of gear, and how Vintage King's Kevin Schuck has helped him each step of the way on his journey to becoming a studio owner.

Tell me a little bit about your studio and the types of projects that you're set up for there.

My studio is on the same street that I live on, fortunately, so it requires very little travel. It's in a 2,000-square-foot log cabin called Pine Box. It was just a house that was nearly built for a studio, but the builder didn't know it. It was just perfect, how it was laid out. There's a finished sunroom that had a window looking into it that I just turned into the live room. The living room was just perfectly laid out for a console and then a couple other bedrooms that I'm using for isolation. So it's a full tracking studio that I built out of a log cabin.

In your studio, you've got several pairs of Focal monitors, including Solo6s, Trio11 BEs, Shape 65s, and the Sub6. How do you integrate them into all of your workflows?

Well, you have to have the big boys, just mostly for fun and low-end. They're really fun to listen to. When you have people over, you want to be able to blare their music through the big system. That's where you really feel the gut punch from it. In terms of recording and editing and mixing and stuff like that, I like using the Solo6s, just something that's smaller, not as loud, that's a really clean balance, and doesn't wear your ears out over extended use. So I work on those mostly.

I’m quite cerebral when working. So, when it's cerebral, like, neck up stuff, I like to use the smaller monitors, but when using larger monitors, that's when your neck down, that's when you're in your field, if you're tracking a guitar in the room and you want it to feel like you're in an arena. Or you want a person to hear a mix and you want it to feel like you're in a club, that sort of thing. It's all kind of like what part of the body resonates the most. And then, you know, the sub is there. I just want to make sure that I'm picking up all the information that I want.

What drew you to the Focal monitors?

Initially, when I got into production, it was more out of curiosity than anything, and a friend of mine gave me his. This was, I want to say in 2008, maybe? He gave me his old Macintosh Tower with an old version of Pro Tools on it, a screen, and some monitors. I can't remember, I think maybe Rokits or something? He had upgraded all of his stuff and then he sold that to me for really cheap. So that was my way of getting my, you know, kind of like dipping my toes in the water to see what it feels like, and to see if I enjoyed it. I absolutely fell in love with it. I loved working in a box. I loved tracking my own instruments. I loved editing and comping and all of the things that maybe some people don't love to do. I just love it.

As I progressed, I went from having a cheap no-name microphone with an Mbox, to years later, the Apollo Twin when it came out. When I bought that, I decided that I wanted to upgrade my monitors. I had a little money. I was starting to make some money in music and I wanted to get an SM57, a newer iMac, the Apollo Twin, and some new monitors. I knew I was going to be using this setup mostly for writing and recording, but mostly for writing. So I wanted something that sounded big and exciting but wasn't large and didn't need a sub.

I looked at a bunch of monitors and I really loved the Focal Shape 50s and, for no reason other than I just preferred the way they sounded. That was really the long and short of it, and that's what I used for years. I ended up working all the way up to the Ashley McBride Lindyville record that I produced. I used the Shape 50s to work on when I produced and tracked this song, “Younger Me”, that my brother put out and ended up winning our first GRAMMY with, all using the Shape 50s. I was just very happy with the brand in general.

Fast forward to me buying the studio and me deciding to invest a large amount of money and to this next year, this next step. So, I went to Kevin at Vintage King, whom I've known for a long time, and it was very helpful. He helped me get my wheels on the right track and I already had Focal in mind because I was so happy with the Shape 50s, and I ended up listening to a lot of different smaller monitors just because I wanted to make sure I was spending my money correctly. Sure enough, I loved the Focals again and it made sense to me—if I liked the Focals in one just to get the whole set? Honestly, I love the way they sound and the aesthetic. Should it matter to us musicians and producers? We'd be lying if we said it didn't matter. And it just looks great in the studio. I love the Solo6s too, so I just decided to make my whole system Focal.

What kind of setup are you using now? Are you purely analog console or do you have some sort of hybrid situation going on?

Yeah, I definitely have a hybrid setup. I'm using an API 1608 with the expander on it, which gives me 32 channels. And I have eight extra channels of the BAE 1073s for the Neve sound. I love all the Capi BT50 EQs. Capi makes amazing stuff, and I have that in most channels with the exception of a few API 560s for microscopic EQs. I've got a bunch of great outboard compression as well. I've got, a low serial number LA-2A. I've got two 1176 Blue Stripes and all that stuff.

I do have an analog console but I run that through the UAD Apollo and I use those as my converters. I do a lot of work in the box as well because that's how I cut my teeth. I learned how to do everything in the box first and then I slowly integrated analog as I went along.

Do you find any benefits to working that way, in the hybrid way?

I don't know if there are benefits or not. It's just how I prefer to work. It's how I learned how to do it. It's what felt natural to me. I would imagine, you know, most people are probably going that way now because, when we shifted from analog to digital, people had to go that way. So many great engineers, producers, and mixers learned on the desk—and then they had to transition to in-the-box. Then you look at people like Andrew Scheps who mixes entirely in the box now. I know a lot of people have a one or two-input setup that goes right into their laptop. And that's how they work. So it's kind of shifting the other way. If you wanted to get into bigger production stuff I think almost everyone would use a hybrid setup. Now, I don't really know many people that go entirely analog to tape anymore. I'm sure they're out there, but it’s something that we just don't see very often.

Do you have any separate converters that you're really into right now or that you find crucial to your workflow?

I really like the converters in the Apollos. I'm sure that there are, you know, sonic sommeliers out there that would maybe turn their nose up to it. But simple old me doesn't know. I think it sounds great. Once the product is done, I listen to it and I'm very happy with it. I've looked into getting BURL converters, but for a while there, they were hard to get. They're obviously very expensive, but I never feel like I fall short with the Apollo converters.

What microphone do you find yourself using the most often and what on?

The first really nice microphone I bought was the Soyuz 017 Tube mic. I love them. A friend of mine named Jeremy Ferguson, who has a studio at Battletapes used that on a vocal, and I just loved the way it sounded. I ended up using it on an acoustic guitar, and it was just blowing my mind. It was picking up everything. It sounded beautiful. It was warm but clear and crisp, and it just gave you everything that you want out of a tube mic. So that was the first nice mic that I bought.

When I bought this new studio, I ended up buying every Soyuz mic they have. So now I have a pair of the Soyuz 017 Tubes for the rooms and I use it on vocals. It's very flexible. And then you have to have an SM7 for vocals. Everyone seems like they track on those these days, at least in Nashville—especially male vocals. I love Stager ribbon mics, which are made out of Nashville. I've had a lot of luck with those. I love the Stager ribbon and SM57 combination on amplifiers. I have a U67 that I just throw and go mic that just stays by the console and my tracking room. So, if I want to put an acoustic down, I can if I want to do a vocal there. I can just do everything with the 67.

But I think the most important microphone in history that every producer, engineer, and studio owner should have a bucket of— just simply SM57. I mean, those microphones are like the most utilitarian mics that have ever been made, and they're so cheap. I've tracked everything through them. There’s a famous Volvano track through an SM57. I've tracked acoustic guitars, and it sounds really cool. It doesn't give you the big shimmery, but it sounds awesome and honky in a great way. You could use it on every mic on your drum set. You might miss out on a little bit of low-end and a kick drum, but if you're just starting out and you don't have much money, just get a few SM 57s. It's amazing what those mics will do. They wear well, too. I mean, I've got 57s now that I've had for 15 years and they look like absolute shit and they work perfectly fine.

Do you have any favorite pieces of outboard gear in your studio or that you're thinking about getting?

Honestly, this is a little cliche, but I really love the Distressor as an outboard compressor. They're fun, they're flexible, and they sound really cool when you crunch them. The harmonics that they give off are really fun. I like how dirty they can get, but still usable. I've always loved the Distressors. I know some people want to hate on them because maybe they're so popular, but they're popular for a reason. They're really awesome.

Then you've got to have some 1176s. I just bought my second Vintage UREi Blue Stripe as an investment piece, but also as a tool that I'm going to have for my studio. You got to have I have a vintage LA-2A. Then there's the Empirical Lab Fatso—but there's a mod, the UBK EL7 mod, which sounds insane on either overheads or stereo room mics for drums. I also bought a Retro 176 compressor that just sounds great on everything, especially vocals.

In terms of outboard, though, I have my 1608 console predominantly with the Capi BT50 3-band EQs. They’re absolutely great when you want to boost any frequency. They're just beautiful sounding. For more acoustic, harmonically rich instruments, I do have some API 560s in there that I really love on acoustics. They get just a wonderful sparkle. But that's all my outboard stuff. It's mostly EQs and compression. Anything that is done with effects, like delays and reverbs, that's done within UAD console.

Do you have a preferred chain for recording or do you use something different each time?

There is a preferred chain that you like to start with. I think there's no right and wrong way to do anything when it comes to art, right? And you don't want to get yourself tied into doing the same thing every time because it works. But there is a good starting platform and I do have, a template set up in my studio. So everything works when you open up a session. When I open Pro Tools, everything is live and ready to go. All you have to do is arm the track. There's always a good starting point; I have my EQ set to my kicks, and I have certain compressors on for certain things, but my patch bay is easy. I am not an engineer—I'm kind of an idiot, so I have it wired so other musician idiots like myself can use it. It's very friendly so you can go from there. I don't like to overthink things, there are certain mics that I absolutely love. I have a vintage AKG D112 that I just pretty much leave on the kick because it's my favorite kick mic, but if someone uses the studio and they want to pull that off and they want to shove a 57 on it, I don't care. I think you should have a baseline, but you should be willing to change at a moment's notice.

How has it been helpful in terms of picking out these different pieces of gear to have somebody like Kevin working with you over the years?

Honestly, it's good to have someone in that world to help me, who is a guitar player and songwriter. My greatest asset is just pure curiosity. I'm always asking questions. I'm always curious, but that is coupled with this kind of very romantic, dreamy idea of running a studio. When I went in to talk to Kevin about it, I told him what I wanted to do, and in my mind, I thought, "I want this microphone. I want some big boy speakers. I want some medium speakers. I want a sub and all these things," and he just said, “Hold up. Let's start with the cables and then we'll work our way through everything. Well, do you have mic stands?” I'm like, “I have like, three mic stands.” “Do you have all of these really boring things,” (that I just do not care about)? The answer is no. And he was very pragmatic in his approach to helping me with putting my studio together. Because if I was the one in charge of doing everything, I would have bought all the fun stuff first and had no way to plug anything in. So he was great about about walking me through the process of assembling a studio in the most logical manner.

Can you tell us a little bit about what your typical day in the studio is like? Do you have a specific routine?

It just depends on what I'm doing in the studio. I use my studio a lot to write in as well, and those are two different things. I wired my studio in a way that my brain would understand and remember, but I also built it in a way where I never have to go into another room to work and I have everything set up. For example, if I'm sitting at the desk, I've got my session open to start building something to write a song. I don't ever have to leave my seat to play a guitar part or to put a vocal down. I've got microphones there ready to go. If I want to play electric guitar, I have all my electric guitars right there. Everything is within arm's reach. If I want to play piano, I have to get up and walk three steps to play piano and everything's ready to go. So that's one way that I use it. If I'm writing with someone who likes to play drums, I've got that ready to go. At a moment's notice, all I have to do is hit record and it's ready to go.

Typically, whatever the song asks for that day is what happens. I let the song lead the day, and the tools are there if we need them. Now, when it comes to actually producing a track, it's a very natural approach and I think the studio approach in general is, you've got to be prepared. I'm über prepared. I like to make sure that everything is up and running, sounds great, and feels great in the cans before anyone shows up. The last thing I want to do is chase down an issue while we're in the middle of tracking the first song. Because I know from being on the other side of this as a musician who has played on records it is very distracting and sometimes those creative light bulbs can go off in an instant. So you want to be able to catch lightning in the jar and you do that by being prepared before anyone gets there and it typically consists of let's listen to the song.

I usually like to chart the songs myself so I have a great understanding of how the songs go, what the artist is going for, and what the arrangement is going to be like. It allows me to sink my teeth into it a little better. And we all sit in the room and listen. We all get on the same page and fortunately, I get to work with some fantastic musicians who have ridiculous intuition. We get the click going and then the drummer counts it off and then hold on—that's, that's where the fun begins.

Are you working on any exciting projects that you can share with us right now?

Well, right when the studio was finished, my wife gave birth to our twins. So it's been quite limited in the studio, but what little time I've had, we've written a lot of songs in there. We've tracked a few demos, and I produced some songs recently that are just in the process of being mixed. I'm currently set up to track a record for an artist named Caylee Hammack who was a guest feature on the Lindeville record that I produced, so it's all very much fresh. It's all up and running but the studio is still quite green at the moment. I can't wait to get in there and break it in.

If you’re interested in purchasing Focal studio monitors, or any of the gear mentioned in this blog, contact a Vintage King Audio Consultant via email or by phone at 866.644.0160.