Show Off Your Studio: The best studios of July 2019

Matt McDavid

Studio owner Matt McDavid
Contact info@mattmcdavidaudio.com | mattmcdavidaudio.com

Key kit

• MacBook Pro
• UAD Apollo 8
• Yamaha HS5 monitors
• Komplete Kontrol S49
• Maschine MK2

Tell us more about your studio…

My studio is located in Sonoma, California and it’s fairly new. I recently moved back here after living in Nashville, Tennessee for the last four years, really dialling in my craft and learning from the masters. The idea behind my studio is to be a place of relaxation and creativity, a place where artists feel at peace and present in the process. When people walk in, the first thing they feel are good vibes.

What’s your favourite DAW to use lately?

My main DAW is Pro Tools, however, I recently took the time to learn Ableton Live and it’s incredible! I use Live for composing due to its quick-and-easy clips view section and Pro Tools for editing, mixing and mastering, mainly because I am so familiar with it.

What is your favourite piece of gear in the studio?

I love my UAD Apollo setup! I have the Apollo 8, Apollo Twin, and the UAD-2 Satellite all chained together for a super-powerful production workflow. I really take the time to dial in my sounds when I’m recording, so I can get it right at the source. I love that I can commit to tape with amazing plug-ins as well as control my monitors and cue mixes, all with zero latency and onboard DSP. I also have to mention my Woven Audio analogue summing mixer, which is my secret weapon for mixing and mastering.

What has using this studio taught you about recording and production? 

I have learned a lot about mic bleed and how to use it to my advantage. This is an old house so isolation is not really there, but I built some gobos and acoustic panels that really help. I love the sound of bleed now, as it really fills in the empty spaces.

Can you share your top piece of production advice?

Don’t be afraid to experiment. I love to reamp vocals, drums, even soft synths through my pedalboard and layer them in parallel to create a rich sound. You never know what it will sound like until you try and it may be exactly what you were missing.

Read the full interview here.

Baum Studio

Studio owner Dennis Bøg aka Resoe, Dennis Uprock
Contact info@resoe.dk | resoe.dk

Key kit

• MPC Live
• NI Maschine Studio
• Elektron Octatrack
• Ableton Live
• Modular rig
• Roland System-8

Tell us more about your studio…

Baum Studio is located in Copenhagen, Denmark and it has been in this location for more than five years. The idea behind the studio is that it’s a semi-professional studio that I use for my work as an artist, but also for the projects I do for advertising as Dennis Bøg Sound Design & Music Curation. I’ve also built separate workstations, which can either be controlled by itself from the specific area, but also altogether from my Mac Pro.

What gear are you most proud of and why?

It has to be my Roland SRE-555. I’ve always been in love with it and I’ve been looking to buy one for many years. I was so lucky two years ago to find a unique, almost-in-mint-condition unit in Tokyo, which always has been in a flightcase. It still has all the original replacement tapes inside! I was on a holiday in Japan with my family when I found it, so I ended up carrying it throughout the trip.

What gear do you use the most and why?

That will have to be my MPC. I’ve always been into MPCs since the 90s and it was the first hardware sequencer I really learned how to use after I sold my Atari. Since I upgraded to the MPC X, it’s gotten so much easier to use because of the MPC software. I do also use my Roland SRE-555 on all my productions these days, and especially when I produce dub techno.

How do you use your studio?

I use the studio professionally as a producer, but it’s also the main hub for my record labels Baum Records and Baum LPE. I record dub techno, dubstep music under my monicker Resoe, and deep house as Dennis Uprock. I have a project together with my best friend Kenneth Christiansen from Echocord Records called Pattern Repeat, which also is our own record label under the same name. Then I do library music, advertising work and also sound design under my real name.

Read the full interview here.

Stefano Mastronardi

Studio owner Stefano Mastronardi
Contact info@waveaudio.it | info@stefanomastronardi.com | waveaudio.it | stefanomastronardi.com

Key kit

• Apple Logic Pro X
• Yamaha NS-10 studio monitors
• NI Komplete Kontrol S61
• Roland Juno-106
• Elektron Analog Rytm
• Waldorf Blofeld

Tell us more about your studio…

My studio is located in the city centre of Milan, Italy. It has been here since 2012. The studio initially started as my own personal studio, but throughout the years, I’ve opened the space to other artists and media/advertising productions.

How do you handle drum recording in your room?

I produce mostly electronic drums. In the studio, I own an acoustic drum kit, but I use it essentially as a source to sample for creating loops, drum hits and percussion.

Which piece of gear are you most proud of?

I own a Soundtracs 24-channel mixing desk from the 90s. Even though I use a lot of plug-ins and VSTs, I have always tried to combine analogue and digital sounds. I still record the audio signals through that and it gives me a vintage analogue feel.

How much time do you spend in your studio per week?

I’m here from Monday to Friday, about 10 hours a day.

How do you use your studio?

It’s a multi-purpose studio: I use it to create and produce my own music since I work as a full-time composer for film, TV and media. I also recently started working as a sound designer for sample packs. Other times, I use my studio to record and mix other artists’ music and to record speech from voice talents for the media and advertising industry.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone starting out building a studio?

When I started the studio, I bought a lot of equipment and gear. But then over time, I only kept what really works and adapts to my production chain. Just keep what you really need and value and let go of the unnecessary.

Read the full interview here.

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