Recording Studio

At Radio Galactic, his North Chicago studio, John Buehler does a variety of things: film scoring, music projects and immersive sound for apps including his own holographic audio app Naturespace, which provides vividly detailed high-res 3D recordings of natural spaces. There is a common thread that runs through all the work that Radio Galactic does – emotion and well-being. The emotional impact that sound has on the listener (and the creator of the sound) is fundamental to Buehler’s work. Recently, we had the pleasure of chatting with Buehler about his approach to recording nature, what it was like working with Vintage King Audio Consultant James Good while building out his studio, the future of immersive audio and his philosophy on audio production.  Continue reading →

Nick Chahwala is a Grammy-nominated record producer who has worked on records with Katy Perry, T.I., Mariah Carey, Gym Class Heroes, and more. Envisioning a new way for independent artists to take control of their own branding and content, Nick founded his own studio in 2014. Bravo Ocean is an Atlanta-based hybrid studio that specializes in a custom approach to hosting music, podcast, VO, and ADR recording sessions. Bravo Ocean recently unveiled their brand new Ocean Suite, which features the largest control room in Atlanta. Nick enlisted the help of designer Ulrika Chahwala and Vintage King audio consultant James Good to outfit the new control room with a Solid State Logic Origin inline recording console, a custom Augspurger monitoring system, and everything else needed to service today’s top stars in both the music and film worlds. We recently sat down with Nick to talk about what makes Bravo Ocean such a unique studio and got the scoop on what’s on the horizon for him and his team.  Continue reading →

Hughes Drive Productions is a recording, mixing and mastering facility located in scenic Huntington Beach, California. Led be head engineers Shawn Taylor and Ben Kanselbaum, the studio has hosted a wide array of musical acts, including New Leaf, Make West, Scrap Yard Aces and The Simpkin Project. For the latest in our Studio Spotlight series, we sat down for a chat with Shawn to discuss life at Hughes Drive Productions and talk what else... Gear! Continue reading to find out how the studio runs sessions, in addition to learning more about Shawn's favorite records, audio goals and more. Continue reading →

Since hitting the market in 2017, Flock Audio’s Patch has brought new innovation to the world of patchbays. The brand's unique software and hardware solutions allow for digital control over your patchbay without ever converting your analog signal to digital. No converters, no latency, no mess, no stress. Flock Audio now offers three different hardware patchbays to meet the needs of studios of all size. When paired with the the Patch App, engineers will save time when preparing to track or mix and ensure a smooth session without the need for constant trips to the patchbay. Let’s take a look at how Flock Audio does this. The Role Of Traditional Patchbays Vs. Flock Audio Patch Units In the traditional studio environment, the patchbay is your access hub for routing in and out of various equipment. This makes it so that users don’t have to manually plug in and out of a unit that is generally already stationed within a rack. Users set up a patchbay by connecting cabling from hardware to points on the back of the patchbay, and then utilize small patch cables to make routing decisions on the front. Continue reading →

The original version of this article appeared in the first issue of Vintage King's Playback. If you haven't subscribed digitally to our new magazine, you can do so right here. Here at Vintage King, we often get asked, “How do I build a studio for _____ amount of money?” This question is an interesting one, and we can certainly help you find an answer that fits within your budget. The starting point is most likely a question that you must ask yourself: “What is the goal for my studio?” In upcoming issues, we’ll be tackling how to build out several kinds of studios on a budget, but for the purposes of this article, we thought it best to start out with the essential gear needed for a basic recording and mix room. We’ll be covering three pieces of gear in particular: microphone, interface and monitors. Continue reading →

The DAD DX32R from NTP is an extremely handy piece of kit for all kinds of studios, including recording spaces, post production rooms and audio distribution installations. This summer, NTP is offering a special savings of 30% off the interface and router. This means you can save $800 when picking up the DAD DX32R and expand your I/O and so much more for less. So what all can the DAD DX32R do? At its core, the DX32R is a digital audio bridge. The interface can be used to expand your studio's I/O channel count and provide a bridge between AES/EBU, MADI and Dante IP audio networks. It does all this with near zero latency while offer flexible patching and routing of your digital audio signal. Continue reading →

When he isn’t mixing for film and TV, Louis DeFelice is building custom studio desks and racks for his new studio furniture company, Carpenter Studio Gear. Since starting the brand in 2020, things have picked up rather quickly for Louis. He's won over lots of fans with an aesthetic that blends simplicity and durability with a mid-century modern style. We recently sat down with Louis as a part of our Behind The Gear series where we talk to the makers behind our favorite pro audio brands. Continue on to read our conversation and learn how Louis got his start in woodworking and why he feels it's important to invest in good, affordable studio furniture. Continue reading →

At a young age, Jesus Martinez began learning the art of the requinto (a unique tenor guitar with Latin roots) under his father’s tuteledge. This passing of the torch moment would inspire a love for the music of his familial homeland and lead Jesus to study at the Berklee College of Music. After attending Berklee, Jesus became a founding member of Tres Souls, a group that embraces the sounds of 1940s bolero music. While plotting out an EP release, the budding engineer and producer decided to start his own studio and Decibel Studios was born. Continue reading →

For nearly 20 years, Trinnov Audio has been helping studios, post-production facilities and even cinemas optimize their sonic performance. How are they achieving this? By offering powerful room calibration and correction systems that ensure your monitors and room are offering an accurate representation of your audio output. In this Buyer's Guide, we'll take a closer look at how Trinnov Audio’s versatile hardware and innovative software can help improve your workflow. No matter whether you're working out of a large-scale commercial facility or a home studio, there is a solution from Trinnov that will fit your needs and keep your clients happy with your work. Continue reading →

When it comes to studio gear, engineers love experimenting with all kinds of microphones, mic pres, compressors, EQs and whatnot. The more flavors, the better. In terms of studio monitors, pro audio manufacturers strive to keep their designs sounding authentic as possible. This leads us to a common inquiry, “Why do I see so many pictures of studios with multiple sets of monitors? Doesn’t the engineer just pick the right set of monitors that works for them and do their thing?” Well, yes and no… First and foremost, yes, you do want to pick the right set of monitors that works for you. In a sense, speakers are a compass. We choose a set of speakers that we enjoy listening to and we learn them. How does our favorite music sound on them? How does the track you worked on last week sound? Last month? Last year? How do they sound when you turn them up vs. listening to them at a lower level? They become a window to how we hear what we’re working on vs. the rest of the world. Everyone has different opinions and preferences, but at the end of the day, you are the one that is going to spend countless hours in front of the speakers, so you want to pick something that you enjoy working on. Continue reading →