Show Off Your Studio – Part Four

Welcome to the feature that’s taking the studio world by storm. We ask you to show off your studio, and here are the results…

So popular has this feature become – where we ask you to send us pictures of your studio via Facebook – that we have considered making a whole magazine out of the huge response we’ve received. Maybe one day, but in the meantime enjoy three more of the most interesting studios sent in, plus interviews with their respective owners…

The Freq Zone

Interviewee: Nathan Hamiel
Contact: freqzone.com / nhamiel@gmail.com

Home or away?
It’s custom built and attached to my house. Travel consists of walking out the back door and into the studio.

Kit list?
API The Box, Shadow Hills Quad GAMA and compressor, Focal SM9s, Manley Massive Passive Stereo Tube EQ, Dangerous Music Master, BAX and Liaison, Rupert Neve master buss processor, Empirical Labs FATSO EL7x, API 5500, Apogee Symphony I/O, Universal Audio DSP plugs and much more.

Which DAW do you use and why?
Cubase 7.5. It gives me the flexibility and power to do what I need to do when editing audio or creating new material – my workflow’s much faster. I also use Logic, Pro Tools and Ableton Live.

Favourite gear and why?
Tough to choose just one! I like my API console and having that console sound, but it’s hard to ignore the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor. Everyone who sees it says, ‘What the hell is that?’ and wants to hear what it does immediately. They are both great pieces of gear.

How often do you use your studio?
I try to spend about three days a week in there. I’m a musician as well so I have practice with my group and other occasional distractions.

What do you use your studio for?
A little bit of everything. It’s pretty new and not many people know about it. The goal is to work on finishing material – so mixing and mastering for others – plus time dedicated to my projects and other weird things I come up with.

Perfect or room for improvement?
A couch. I need a couch for the back of the room. My studio was designed and the acoustic treatments were recommended by an expert, so acoustically I think I’m there, which was a big concern of mine. I’m always tinkering with gear ideas so I may come up with something, but for now I think it’s perfect for me and what I want to do.

Next on your studio shopping list?
I love gear, so once again I’m not sure I can choose just one. I’d like a Thermionic Culture Phoenix Mastering Plus, and I’d also like to try a Tree Audio The Branch preamp.

What is your dream piece of gear?
I’d probably say a Fairchild 670 since it’s considered to be the holy grail of compression. It seems like it would be fun to just start running sources through it and see if it was worth all the money.

Any advice?
Choose what’s important to you and start from there. Everything in a studio is a personal choice, from your DAW to your monitors. Where possible, try before you buy, and when it comes to more complex topics like acoustics or room design talk to an expert who will be able to guide you through the process and make life much easier.

Stylex Studio

Interviewee: Carlos López
Contact: www.stylexstudio.com / contacto@stylexstudio.com

What are the key components?
Mac Pro, Adam S3XV, Yamaha HS80M, Avid Artist Mix & Artist Control, Mackie Big Knob, RME Fireface 800, Focusrite OctoPre Dynamic II, SSL XLogic Alpha, Maselec MLA-3, Avalon 737 & 737sp, Empirical Labs EL8-X Distressor, Neumann U 87, Sennheiser drum and guitar kit, Shure SM57, AKG C4000 & D112, Røde NT5 matched pair, Traktor S4, American Audio HTD 4.5.

Which DAW do you use and why?
Logic Pro X. I have been using it for years and feel comfortable with it.

Favourite piece of gear and why?
My pair of Adam S3XV monitors. They make a defined and clean sound.

How do you use your studio?
I’m recording bands and single artists. We do professional mixing and mastering, and produce soundtracks for films, TV and video games. We make different styles of instrumental music and also clean and digitise old tapes and vinyl.

Next on your studio shopping list?
A new hardware limiter. We’re thinking about an SSL limiter.

Dream piece of gear and why?
An SSL mixer!

What advice do you have?
Get a good pair of speakers. They are the most important items when you start a new studio.

Aisling Brouwer Music

Interviewee: Aisling Brouwer
Contact: www.aislingbrouwer.com / music@aislingbrouwer.com

Main components?
MacBook Pro, Roland FP-4, Ibanez guitar, djembe (from Indonesia), WD Books II with my libraries and plug-ins (EastWest, Spitfire, Kontakt), FastTrack interface, AKG K271 headphones, and Adam A7X, JBL Control 1 and Samsung monitors.

Favourite piece of gear?
The Adams are incredible. My mixes have improved and they shed a new (not always positive) light on older compositions. I also love my Roland FP-4: I’ve dragged it all over England and the Netherlands (where I’m from), and it’s still flawless.

How often do you use your studio?
I sometimes leave it to buy food.

What do you use the studio for?
I work full-time as a composer for TV and film. I’ve done series for BBC and Channel 4 and love doing short films or jingles. I also write and produce my own tracks, of which I intend to release an EP of next year.

Next on your studio shopping list?
A DAW controller like Mackie Control Pro. I had one but sold it to a friend.

What is your dream piece of gear?
A ROLI Seaboard. It’s just the most fun thing I have ever seen or heard.

Any advice?
Be patient. You learn more about what you really want not by having it all, but by working with the basics and crafting your style.