Who says that studios built around large format consoles are dead?

[thethrillfactor]

Germano Studios:

SSL

Roc the Mic:

WSDG Architectural and Acoustic Design

I've spoken to others here in the city as well that are acquiring large format consoles for their music studios. Everyone says the same thing...their clients are asking for a bigger & deeper analog sound and not what they are used to at home.

Maybe the whole fad of ITB mixing for music is finally dying out or its found its place where it really belongs...working for ads & commercials.

Long live the analog console!!!

[84K]

Thrill, I think you may be the first person to reach 10k posts! You are getting close. Maybe we should throw you a happy hour.

[thethrillfactor]

Originally Posted by 84K

Thrill, I think you may be the first person to reach 10k posts! You are getting close. Maybe we should throw you a happy hour.

Nah...i've decided at 9,999 i will either retire permanently to lurker status or have Jules delete all of my posts and start over.

[Mike Caffrey]

I hope you're right, but I dont' think we're at that point yet.

[Mike Caffrey]

Then again, the cost of a new, large SSL 9K is pretty minimal these days when compared with the cost of rent.

[drBill]

Dead? Hardly.

Sick. Definately

Dying...probably - at least on a major scale. Of course there will always be large frame consoles. But....how many 9000's did SSL sell this year compared to say...2000.

[radu.ionescu]

real question is how many Duality's they've sold so far, not 9000's

[Empire Prod]

For me it's hard to justify paying for a room that doesn't have a console. If the studio isn't improving the sound in ways I like both from a live room and control room perspective then it's not the studio for me. I can run Pro Tools at home for free and top of the line preamps and converters are readily available for home use as well.

[EKG Productions]

Patchwerk in ATL recently installed a SSL duality also. Patchwerk Recording Studios

[84K]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

Nah...i've decided at 9,999 i will either retire permanently to lurker status or have Jules delete all of my posts and start over.

you are the y2k of gearslutz.

[stevep]

Who says that studios built around large format consoles are dead?

Probbly the people who cant fit one in there bedroom

.Long live the analog console!!!

Yes !!!


.

[computa]

those spots look great. I've actually been inside of ROC the MIC - gorgeous.

Can the industry still support $2200/day rates?

[nukmusic]

Originally Posted by EKG Productions

Patchwerk in ATL recently installed a SSL duality also. Patchwerk Recording Studios

u might see a bigger Duality in ATL

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by computa

those spots look great. I've actually been inside of ROC the MIC - gorgeous.

Can the industry still support $2200/day rates?

hahhah it was 3600 a day in 1986 in philly 2 ten hr sessions in A room at 180 an hr and everything was cheaper over head wise...

i'll keep my home room thank you..large format console are dinosaurs

[84K]

alive? dead? if you use it and it works for you than that is great. If all digital in your house/apartment works, than that is cool too. What ever is available to you and works for you.


that being said: If the option is available for a nice control room with a Neve sidecar and an E, G or G+ mixing board, my decision making time wouldn't even take one second.
But, I can and do work well on Pro Tools. No complaints here. When ever I spend time on any board I get to know it and then it works for me. In a perfect world, Pro Tools as a tape and editing machine, then a Neve 8068 to track and an SSL E, G, or G+ to mix.

[warhead]

I think it's the capability of paying for it that's dying.

War

[stevep]

Paying for the desk,commissioning, wiring ect...... and then the ongoing maintenance....

I do all my own maintence, if i had to pay a tech it would be tough, but still well worth the cost

special thanks need go out to NeilTdeal for the tech support and long phone calls )))

[jindrich]

wow, there must be lots of big pocket hip-hop clients in NYC to support such rooms. i'd never build a similarily equipped facility in such a small place, with JUST those small booths and no daylight throughout.

the lounges are bigger than the recording spaces

[The Byre]

People come to us to get away from all that in-the-box thinking. ITB is fine for editing and similar tasks, but the industry is moving towards real music more and more and that means good tracking rooms.

But as the man says, getting smaller acts to pay for a real room is difficult, the busgets are just not there for weeks of lock-outs for bands.

Films are still OK though!

[Robert O]

Everyone says the same thing...their clients are asking for a bigger & deeper analog sound and not what they are used to at home.




That's also our experience here in London...

[GYang]

Originally Posted by Robert O

Everyone says the same thing...their clients are asking for a bigger & deeper analog sound and not what they are used to at home.




That's also our experience here in London...

Yes clients are asking...

But not paying.

So, we deliver analogue almost free of charge, for now

Is this way out
Only if you love it and have funds from other sources.

[Mgr]

Originally Posted by thethrillfactor

Germano Studios:

SSL

Roc the Mic:

WSDG Architectural and Acoustic Design

I've spoken to others here in the city as well that are acquiring large format consoles for their music studios. Everyone says the same thing...their clients are asking for a bigger & deeper analog sound and not what they are used to at home.

Maybe the whole fad of ITB mixing for music is finally dying out or its found its place where it really belongs...working for ads & commercials.

Long live the analog console!!!

Well i think that getting your studio built by WSDG is what really differences from what they are used to at home not the console...

As for the analog consoles, i love them, but i dont think the sales going to increase, computers are getting so powerfull, but time will tell

I personally would love to own a 24 channel Neve or API or Wunder

[Anderson]

Around here I've never seen so many people trying hard to get their new or old rooms fitted with an analog desk. A vast majority of all designs I've done for the past 2 years, clients have bought an analog console (new or second hand) or asked me to make sure a LFAC could be fitted easely in the near future.

What's interesting is also that the clientele moving to analog desks are people around 30-ish with some bagage in mixing that do hear a major difference between ITB and OTB and realize that for them this is a way to better their work.

Now as usual YMMV.

[Clueless]

Originally Posted by EKG Productions

Patchwerk in ATL recently installed a SSL duality also. Patchwerk Recording Studios

I think Duality vs. ICON is the next big issue in the studio I'm building. My model is that the studio is the first and last place you go, with lots of time (could be years!) in the bedroom/garage/den studio in between. It's the first place to go because you'll want to track in the Music Room. It's the last place to go because you'll want to mix/master on great monitors in a great control room (and here's where the analogue vs. digital comes in).

But we also want to support those who enjoy playing with their music, not only playing their music. ProTools seems to be the industry standard platform, and the ability to give people a recallable session, whether they recall in our studio or theirs, is important. If the ProTools recall is a defining aspect of the production, how much do we really lose (or gain) putting an analog console into the chain?

And before you say that I'm totally nuts about the idea of music never really being finished, consider On the Corner . That album was my first-ever exposure to Mile Davis, and was delivered courtesy of Russ Payne, an engineer for Columbia who recorded some of the sessions and a family friend. My parents hated it. Russ could only say it was "out there". I found it strangely compelling, and I grew to love it. But as I got deeper into it, I wanted to know more, to hear more, to "get it". But the album from Columbia (whether LP or CD) was all their was. Until now: Miles Davis, Complete On The Corner Sessions

I think the music industry is facing a crossroads: either make more stuff cheaply enough to sell at 99 cents, or focus on creating works of enduring quality that people will value enough to pay a fair price. Those who are passionate enough to pay the freight at Patchwerk today (or Manifold Recording in a few years) are going to value being able to go back to the goldmine. Does it make sense to limit access to the mine to a single studio, or to broaden access while maintaining the best for those ready to pay? And how much will the analogue console be the cherry on top or the albatross to this type of studio model?

[robmix]

Originally Posted by GYang

Yes clients are asking...

But not paying.

So, we deliver analogue almost free of charge, for now

Is this way out
Only if you love it and have funds from other sources.

Same problem here in eastern Europe. Clients are hearing the difference between home studio/ITB productions and large format analog consoles, but they're not convinced that they need to pay for it or that the consumer cares.

[Stitch333]

I think part of the lure of LFC rooms is the environment as well.
There is nothing like the vibe of sitting behind a 1/2 million worth of electronics (especially 'new' electronics) to make you step your game up and really listen.

+ I dont have a playstation so I have to book a big room to get my Metal Gear fix.

[razorz]

Originally Posted by robmix

Same problem here in eastern Europe. Clients are hearing the difference between home studio/ITB productions and large format analog consoles, but they're not convinced that they need to pay for it or that the consumer cares.

How many consumers listening to music on their iPods can actually tell you whether or not a mix was done on an analog console or ITB?

Honestly?

Audiophiles are a small percentage of the market.

[rainsinvelvet]

Originally Posted by Stitch333

+ I dont have a playstation so I have to book a big room to get my Metal Gear fix.

Thats a good one! I think I'm going to make it my new signature!

ERic

[StudioLogic]

It seems to me that the trend now in the industry is high end affordable consoles.

At the AES show there were so many consoles in the $50,000.00 to $100,000.00 range. API, Neve, SSL, Tonelux, Wunder, Daking...

But for the people who want a larger console the used SSL, Neve, API consoles are a little more than the new small format consoles. For about $200,000.00 you can buy a console that was almost $800,000.00 about five years ago.

If you are buying a console at such a reduced price from what they use to be do you really have to charge $2000.00 a day. Wasn't the whole point of charging so much so you could cover the payment on the gear every month?

I feel we are going to see a bunch of medium to large format console studios opening up because it is becoming more reasonable to do so.

I also feel we are going to see a bunch of studios opening up by people that are passionate about recording.

It use to be with the older large studios they would not buy gear unless enough people asked for it. Now I see studio owners wanting the best recording that the can possible get because there is a drive to achieve the best.

Just my two cents.

[Jim Williams]

For every large format studio that opens, 2 or 3 close.

Do the math.

Until the buying public demands better, record companies won't pay for better.

It's an MP-3 world now, the rest is window dressing.

Folks going for better quality are just doing it for themselves, the public for the most part couldn't care less.

Until that changes, it will be business (or lack of business) as usual.

Jim Williams
Audio Upgrades