Nice Rooms and Halls in NY?

[bove]

Hi!

I would love to compile a list of all the nice halls and studio spaces in the NYC area to record acoustic music... classical, Jazz, etc... Places that have a nice sound, whether it's wet, dry, huge, medium sized or whatever.

I'd love to hear some opinions or thoughts on the places you guys have hung out in!

[ajfarber]

Originally Posted by bove

Hi!

I would love to compile a list of all the nice halls and studio spaces in the NYC area to record acoustic music... classical, Jazz, etc... Places that have a nice sound, whether it's wet, dry, huge, medium sized or whatever.

I'd love to hear some opinions or thoughts on the places you guys have hung out in!

Masonic Temple on 23rd street. Wynton Marsalis' CD "Blood on the Fields" and Marcus Roberts' "Gershwin" Cd (with Orchestra of St. Lukes) were recorded there. Bring your remote rig!

Manhattan School of Music: Room 610. This large rehearsal space is just like a great studio from the golden age. Think RCA studio B or C. Perfect for big band.

KAS: Kaufman Astoria studios. This is a great room for recording. Bring Ribbon and tube mics and pre's. They've got all the solid-state stuff and a Neve VR.

The studio at Jazz @ Lincoln Center is a great space. Unfortunately it is priced out of reach. Your better off going to KAS or Legacy A509 38th st. (Formerly Right Track).

Sear Sound: Great gear, okay room. Nice piano in studio A. Great for small group jazz! Analouge all the way baby!

[RobAnderson]

Some places that come to mind for smaller classical ensembles:

The Academy of Arts and Letters - great acoustics but BYO piano

LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College

Judson Memorial Church - across the street from Washington Square Park

Church of the Holy Trinity - 88th Street off Second Ave

Not in NYC, but worth mentioning is the Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase

[David Rick]

Originally Posted by RobAnderson

The Academy of Arts and Letters - great acoustics but BYO piano

This is actually an advantage... provided the client is a Steinway artist!

David L. Rick
Seventh String Recording

[Jim vanBergen]

The mainstage theatre at the Julliard School. I recorded an opera there and was VERY pleased! And it's very cheap compared to Lincoln Center. Good sized pit and stage, allows for flexibility with large acts or projects.

Small studios: John Kilgore (johnkilgore.com) in the film building. Great intimate live room, fabulous mixing room. When I want bigger than this in midtown I go to Avatar or Sony, but I've tracked a choir of 16 in this studio, with grand piano. Oh, the instruments are VERY well maintained!

Downtown resource: Kampo Cultural Center, the room is good and the SSL4000 G is in good shape. I've had great results for chamber groups here.

Great thread & resource!

One day I will start a thread lamenting the great spaces that are NO LONGER in NYC.

[locosoundman]

Did Sony close yet?

The scavenger (vulture?) in me is wondering if they might be having a garage sale...

[Jim vanBergen]

Originally Posted by locosoundman

Did Sony close yet?

The scavenger (vulture?) in me is wondering if they might be having a garage sale...

Scheduled to close in August.

[bove]

Originally Posted by Jim vanBergen

The mainstage theatre at the Julliard School.

With their construction, and Alice Tully Hall being out of commission, the Juilliard Theater is only handling Juilliard events these days.

Originally Posted by ajfarber

Masonic Temple on 23rd street. Wynton Marsalis' CD "Blood on the Fields" and Marcus Roberts' "Gershwin" Cd (with Orchestra of St. Lukes) were recorded there. Bring your remote rig!

I recently spoke to the folks over at the the Masonic Temple, and they removed the wood floor in the auditorium and installed carpeting. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like an option anymore.

Originally Posted by RobAnderson

Judson Memorial Church - across the street from Washington Square Park
Church of the Holy Trinity - 88th Street off Second Ave

What is the external noise situation like at these two churches? Any personal experience?

[Legacy]

How about Ethical Culture Society on 64th and the Park? A beautiful sounding wet space. Has some noise issues but is a grand place.

St. Peter's Church in Chelsea is a very nice small church and is relatively inexpensive but can be noisy.

For studios I like the medium sized room at Skyline Studios - all wood and warm.

Bennett Studios in Englewood, NJ also has a really nice main room.

BiCoastal Music in Ossining is as near perfect a studio as I can imagine - REALLY fine monitoring - the best I've heard in a recording studio by a long shot. Very nice medium-sized room with a 9 foot Steinway.

-Silas

[thedoner]

Originally Posted by ajfarber

KAS: Kaufman Astoria studios. This is a great room for recording. Bring Ribbon and tube mics and pre's. They've got all the solid-state stuff and a Neve VR.

I'm curious, did this place used to be Master Sound Astoria? It was in Kaufman, and was very solid state-centric. Awesome room for jazz and classical, but when I was there in the early 90's the console was a V3 with Discmix 3 automation of all things. Ben Rizzi was the owner.
-G

[Remoteness]

Yes indeed, it was Ben Rizzi's Master Sound Astoria at Kaufman Astoria Studios.

Sometime after Ben's passing, the studio was sold to Kaufman Astoria.

[MBishopSFX]

This could be a stretch for the "NY area" but Allaire Studios (Shokan, NY) Great Hall is a fantastic-sounding room with a wonderful board, too!

[RobAnderson]

Originally Posted by bove

With their construction, and Alice Tully Hall being out of commission, the Juilliard Theater is only handling Juilliard events these days.



I recently spoke to the folks over at the the Masonic Temple, and they removed the wood floor in the auditorium and installed carpeting. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like an option anymore.



What is the external noise situation like at these two churches? Any personal experience?

Church of the Holy Trinity isn't bad on a weeknight - it is far enough off the beaten path and far enough from the subway.

Judson can be a crap shoot - it is right across the street from Washington Square Park. During the day I wouldn't even try it, but if you can catch a relatively quiet evening...

[bove]

Originally Posted by MBishopSFX

This could be a stretch for the "NY area" but Allaire Studios (Shokan, NY) Great Hall is a fantastic-sounding room with a wonderful board, too!

That room looks beautiful!

The size of the "Great Hall" looks almost similar to a small recital hall, does it sound similar? How reverberant is it? That ceiling is really high.

[ajfarber]

Originally Posted by thedoner

I'm curious, did this place used to be Master Sound Astoria? It was in Kaufman, and was very solid state-centric. Awesome room for jazz and classical, but when I was there in the early 90's the console was a V3 with Discmix 3 automation of all things. Ben Rizzi was the owner.
-G

Right! As Steve said, Ben has passed away.

The room is the best in town for jazz and other types of acoustic music where isolation is not needed. The problem is, as you've mentioned, the all solid-state signal chain. If the had a collection of tube and ribbon mics, plus some high-end tube mic pres, the place would be "gear slut heaven". The Neve is in questionable shape.

What would be perfect in that room would be Walter Sear's gear.

[MaestroNYC]

I was at Kaufman Astori Studios last year and recorded an orchestra CD of my music. The main engineer is Joe Castellon, who seems to have worked with everyone in that room. I was asking him about the board, and he said he reworked each channel strip a few years back. He used a ton of Neumann's on the session. + 2 Iso booths. You can hear samples on my site, any of the tracks 1-4 labeled "Orchestral Ballet Score" at Patrick Soluri & Soluri Music

[bove]

A few halls that could be nice for chamber music:

Originally Posted by RobAnderson

Some places that come to mind for smaller classical ensembles:

The Academy of Arts and Letters - great acoustics but BYO piano

LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College

Not in NYC, but worth mentioning is the Performing Arts Center at SUNY Purchase

Anyone have interesting info or experience using the halls at Purchase? I've been in the Concert Hall (big), and the School of Music Recital Hall, but never in the Performing Arts Center Recital Hall. It looks like it might be a great space for chamber music.

How about LeFrak Concert Hall at Queens College? Any comments from folks who have been there?


The Academy of Arts and Letters is currently dealing with some construction/demolition next door to the hall, and is currently closed to new recording projects. This makes for a challenge to find an easy place to record in Manhattan!

[Legacy]

Hey Andy!

Indeed - it's tough with the Academy under construction...

Purchase PAC Recital Hall is a very nice place to record chamber music. It is about 400 seats - lots of wood. It is very clear and perhaps a bit bright but in a pleasant way. The RT is a bit too short so the tail needs lengthening in post usually. Their pianos are outstanding and fairly inexpensive. One of my favorite spaces for new music as you can get lots of detail and clarity. The 'control room' is under the stage so lots of running up and down the stairs during soundcheck.

LeFrak is also a nice sounding space with a decent piano. However it is in the middle of a very busy school building surrounded by hallways and practice rooms (percussion...). Noise is often a serious problem. Airplanes are also quite audible. It can be difficult to load in and out especially after hours as the non-alarmed entrance is really far from the hall and security couldn't care less... There is no 'control room' unless you can book the school's studio live room across the hall which is what many end up doing.

Hope this helps.

-Silas

[mpdonahue]

We've always used Theater C at SUNY Purchase. The recital hall is a little small for anything but a solo instrument and doesn't cost that much less.
One of the things to watch out for at Purchase is the stagehand bill. After 8 hours they go into overtime. On a piano sampling session we did there a couple of years ago it increased the stagehand bill by a full 30%! Make sure that if you are just using them as babysitters that they don't gouge you on the overtime. Always ask for a shift change after 8 hours.
All the best,
-Mark

[nnajar]

I'm partial to NOLA on W57th street because it's really easy to work there. Clinton Studio A is one of the last real "big" rooms in NY and is a really great sounding room. their studio B is a good sounding small room for jazz and acoustic stuff too.

N

[aracu]

St. Peter's church at 54th and Lex, modern design with non-parallel walls.

[rstreber]

Funny about the Juilliard Theater (now called the Peter Jay Sharp Theater.) I work at Juilliard (composition department, not recording) and have recorded some orchestral rehearsals in there. It's a really great space, really the only useable one in the whole building, but I had no idea they ever rented it out for recording. Now with Tully opening back up I'm very curious to see if it will be available again and what the rates will be...
Interesting!