Serge Tsai On Platinum Sound's Recent Dolby Atmos Upgrades

The Platinum Sound Recording Studios Dolby Atmos Suite control room with two screens displaying the studio's logo, a desk with an Avid Dock control surface, 500 Series studio gear, and three sets of studio monitors.

Serge Tsai has been a staple of New York’s recording scene since the mid-90s. Having arrived in 1989, he got his start interning at Chung King Studios whilst studying at the Institute of Audio Research. Several Grammy nominations and multi-platinum records later, he can still be found at Platinum Studios working alongside Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, production partner to Wyclef Jean. Some notable credits he’s amassed over the years include Shakira’s “Hips Don’t Lie”, Estelle’s “American Boy” and the Hotel Rwanda soundtrack.

We got on a call with Serge to talk about the recent developments at Platinum, but also covered some of his early days in the industry and other studios he’s worked at.

You worked as a live music engineer during your early years in Suriname. Can you talk about that period and how you got your professional start?

My work in the 80s was mostly with local acts like South South West. A friend of mine was a drummer in that band and they recruited me to be one of their engineers, which is how I started in this business. I had no previous audio experience, so I had to learn on the job from my other friend who was their main sound guy. He would often travel to places like Brazil for live music gigs, which gave me a chance to gradually take over his role and learn his job. That’s how I realized that I wanted to work with audio. After four years of recording local bands, I moved to New York to attend the Institute of Audio Research in 1989.

What was it like interning at Chung King Studios alongside your studies?

It was a culture shock (laughs). Chunk King was doing mostly Def Jam work, so artists like LL Cool J and Run DMC were coming through. My English wasn’t as good back then and I wasn’t used to that kind of environment, but it was a great learning experience.

Alongside my studies and the internship, I was also doing side jobs like installing wireless transmission systems for companies like AIW. We’d install them in buildings where multilingual conferences would take place. Whenever a speaker was talking, translators would sit in nearby booths and the audience could choose whatever language feed they wanted from whoever was translating.

You returned to Suriname after your studies but eventually came back to New York in 1995 to work at Funky Slice Studios. How did you get a job there?

I had a friend who knew the owner, Yoichi Watanabe, who’s currently a Professor at the University of Trinidad. My friend got me an interview and I played Yoichi some of the stuff I’d recorded in Suriname. Most of the records featured native drumming from the local acts, and the CD I played was from a band called Sukru Sani. Yoichi hired me on the spot after hearing it.

What kind of acts did you see coming through Funky Slice during your time there?

We got a lot of Caribbean and Haitian acts, like Machel Montano, the soca singer. I also met Jerry Wonda during that time thanks to Don Guillaume, the drummer for the Fugees. Don was an engineer and night manager at Funky Slice, so after going on the road with the Fugees for a year, he came back with Jerry and introduced us. Jerry would later invite me to his studio in New Jersey called the Booga Basement. I suspect it was partly because they had the same Sony MCI console as the one at Funky Slice, and I knew how to use it.

This was also during a time in the late 90s when things were transitioning away from tape but hadn’t yet gone over to computers. There was a period in between when the DA88s and ADATS became popular, which served as a bridge to using Pro Tools. One of the first things we did at Booga Basement after I started was buy Pro Tools, a computer rig, and near-field speakers. As a result, I also became one of the Pro Tools guys that Jerry could rely on. But most of their major projects were actually done out of Sony Studios or The Hit Factory. Platinum Studios was later set up in 2000 because Jerry and Wyclef Jean were getting so much work that they needed a bigger facility.

Engineer Serge Tsai posing with singer Angelica Vila at Platinum Sound Recording Studios.

When you look at pictures of Platinum Studios from the 2000s, it’s clear that your facilities have changed. Can you elaborate on some of those changes and the new gear selection?

We’ve moved locations. We used to have big rooms with 80-channel SSL J and K consoles, but as time went by, most of our incoming projects didn’t require us to use the boards. Probably only 5% of the music we worked on made use of the SSLs, but we still had to keep them turned on, which consumed electricity. It’s just hard to maintain an 80-channel desk, so once the pandemic hit, we decided to reduce our footprint both in terms of gear and space, and we moved to a new building.

Jerry is very aware of what’s happening in the industry and is always informed on the new equipment. We try to be forward-looking and our team of engineers is always discussing new developments in the industry, as well as what we should be using. Whether or not we buy anything also depends on the relationships we have with gear companies.

Platinum Studios has three main rooms. Let’s talk about the first one, dubbed The Platinum VIP Room. What gear do you have in there?

We have an SSL AWS 900, which is as powerful to me as the SSL J console because it's more up-to-date with modern workflows and digital controls. It also works well with my plugin suite.

We have Augsburger speakers, which are the best monitors in the game, especially for the type of music we do that has lots of low-end. The ones in the Platinum room have dual 12-inch woofers. Jerry chose them when we were at the old location because they were used at Sony Studios and The Hit Factory. In the 90s, many of the major American studios switched over from boxed models like the Urei 813s to Augsburger. We also have some Yamaha HS nearfields, along with Reftones speakers and a Grace Design as our monitor controller.

Outboard-wise, we have some LA-2As, 1176s, Distressors, a Bettermaker, a GML EQ, Neve preamps, and a Symphony I/O. We’ve also just installed an Apple M2.

A close-up of the faders and pots on the SSL AWS 900 console in the Platinum VIP room at Platinum Sound Recording Studios. A close-up of the Universal Audio 1176LN and LA-2A compressors.

When you compare the new setup to what you had at the old location, do you feel like you've lost anything sonically?

No, we didn’t lose any quality in our sound—I actually think we gained. We’re more modern now and we even added a Dolby Atmos room. The only thing we lost was the size of our control room, but we’re working on getting a big room since there’s some demand for that.

At what point did you decide to build a Dolby Atmos room? Was it in your plans when you moved to the new location?

We had no intention of installing Dolby Atmos when we first moved, but we were convinced with time. Jerry is part of the Producers & Engineers wing of the Grammys and they talked about it a lot, so we eventually decided to include it in the facility. It felt like a natural progression, though it took some getting used to. You’re mixing into a 9.1.4 system with fourteen speakers instead of two, and you have to be mindful of the rendering too. But the sound is more open than regular stereo because you have a 3D environment that lets you place things all around.

Platinum Studios was also an early adopter of Dolby Atmos, making us one of the first studios to install it. We recently mixed some French Montana records in Atmos, and we expect that more of such work will come.

You’ve installed an Avid S1 in the Dolby room, correct?

Yes, we actually have three of them, which gives us 50 channels of S1 alongside the Avid Dock master section. The Dolby room is relatively small, so we didn’t need an analog console and the S1 was a better fit. The faders are really smooth and the whole system is well-integrated with Pro Tools.

We initially considered the Apogee Symphony as the audio interface for the Dolby room, but it wasn’t as compatible with Atmos as the Avid MTRX, so Dolby advised us to go with the latter, which we did.

Why did you guys opt for Genelec speakers in your Atmos room?

Dolby recommended that setup, probably because there weren’t many options at the time. Genelec was one of the early companies that made speakers and mounts for Atmos, so we went with them. We have the 8330a’s and the 8340a’s, as well as the 7370 sub-speakers. We also have Augsburger in the Dolby room with dual 10-inch woofers, along with analog gear like 500 Series preamps from SSL and Neve.

A screen showing the Platinum Sound Recording Studios logo with white Genelec studio monitors in the background. A close-up of a rack of studio gear including an API 500 Series lunchbox with AMS Neve and SSL preamps, and other rackmounted gear.

The China Room is your smallest studio. What kind of equipment do you have in there?

There we have an Avid S3 with a Symphony I/O and dual 8-inch woofers Augsburger. The outboard includes Neve mic pres, LA-2As, and 1176s. We also have the Antelope Satori as the monitor controller.

The Platinum Sound Recording Studios China Room, featuring a screen with the studio's logo, an Avid S3 control surface, an Apogee Symphony I/O, and Augsburger studio monitors. A close-up of the Avid S3 control surface, Apogee Symphony I/O interface, and Universal Audio 1176LN and LA-2A compressors in the Platinum Sound Recording Studios China Room.

What kind of relationship has Platinum Studios had with Vintage King over the years?

Vintage King is great, and we've been working with them for a long time. We had a VK show at the old Platinum Studios where they sent us gear to demo. We also did an AES show with them when Peter Kehoe worked there. It mainly involved speaker shootouts with units like Barefoot and Focals, as well as displays of outboard gear like Antelope Audio’s 10MX Atomic Clock and units from Shadow Hills.

Do you have any projects that you’ll be working on during the rest of the year?

I can’t share what the projects are until they’re announced but some of them are with major artists and others are with indie acts. Either way, we work every day here. Some of my team members come in three times a week and others are here six times a week, but we stay busy either way. Personally, I work every day and I love it.

Engineer Serge Tsai pointing at the camera, sitting in a chair in the Platinum Sound Recording Studios Dolby Atmos Suite. A hallway in Platinum Sound Recording Studios. A hallway showcasing a colorful painting in Platinum Sound Recording Studios. A close-up of a MID keyboard in Platinum Sound Recording Studios. A mic stand with a headphone amplifier and a pair of headphones in a iso-booth at Platinum Sound Recording Studios. A close-up of a pedalboard featuring a BOSS CE-2w Chorus, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff Deluxe, MXR Vintage Bass Octave, and wah-wah pedal at Platinum Sound Recording Studios.

If you’re interested in purchasing any of the gear mentioned in this blog or want to build your own studio, we're here to help! Contact a Vintage King Audio Consultant via email or by phone at 866.644.0160.