Revitalizing a Studio from 1965!

[donnylang]

Originally Posted by Ostrong Audio

Thanks for the ultrafast responses!

We want to leave it as original as possible but we need to make little updates to make the studio "workable", still I have installed 16 channel direct outs using original non-used connectors to make the update as soft as possible. We have 16 Channels but only 9 channels are fitted with the Line-Inputstage (I do have Original WSW Linestages from a other WSW desk), there are no permanent cables for bringing a headphone-mix into the recording hall, there are 16 inserts but only 2 at a same time are selctable, for drumtracking we only have the max. of 4 tracks,....
This are some limitations that bringing us to some problems.

@ Jules: The live room is more or less permanently available because we are also the lessors of the rooms So when the recording hall is not rented by somebody we have full access
...and we dont disturb anyone when tracking drums but actuall the room is too big for drums, we are thinking of a curtain (was installed in the 1960-ies) for making the room smaller or for making a second room for this. Of couse we dont have more than 4 tracks for drum tracking.

@ PRobb: Protools was also our plan to make us compatible to the world

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

That is the most beautiful place I have ever seen. putting Pro Tools or any computer in there would be a crime! nothing wrong with 4-track ... the limitations are part of what make it special.

The reason that the place is so appealing is because nothing has been changed. Imagine if it had been 'upgraded' and modernized back in the '80s? What would we think now? Well, years from now, the same will be thought of what you do to the place if you change it. You've already made modern modifications to the board ... too late for that I guess.

Any changes you make ought to be period-correct ... 1" 8-track max. if you need more tracks, bounce from machine to machine.

Seriously, this type of thing is so rare today ... you keep it original and people will come from miles around. Anything you change will only detract from the appeal.

I know this sounds extreme, but it needs to be said. Some people spend their lives trying to bring this kind of thing together ...

[kbshearer]

Here's Eric Valentine talking about the drum umbrella at Barefoot Recording on this YouTube video.

YouTube - - Pensado's Place - ITL # 18 Part 1 - Eric Valentine of BarefootRecording and UnderToneAudio

[MyCadaverDog]

Holy hell I'd easily dismember a few people for this place! Another vote for a 1" 8 track.

Beautiful.

Curious as to how ad where you acquired the Fairchilds...

[mrmistermissedhe]

Hello everyone. I'm new to Gearslutz. This is probably going to be an annoying question.... but here goes.
How do I start a new thread? I'm trying to start a thread about the Wunder CM7 fet.

Please Help!

[MadGuitrst]

Originally Posted by mrmistermissedhe

How do I start a new thread? Please Help!

In the top left hand side of the screen of a forum there is a button that says "New Thread". Hope that helps.

[MadGuitrst]

Originally Posted by Unclenny

Ooohh......

Whoa!!!

I think I just.......never mind.

I did the same.....well, at least I'll sleep soundly tonight.

Just....a....beautiful....facility.....

[livingstone]

Great to see that Preiser's studio is geting runing again !

i've been visiting it 2 years ago
wonderfull place and incredible vibe
and as i said to the owner keep it as close as that
add 16ch of prism ada8xr converters or a 16tr 2" or both
multitrack is all what it needs ! (plus technical repairs of course )
as for the studio maybe hire an acoustician to figure if there's a way to create a dedicated drum acoustic in some place of the room without ruining the look and use for concerts.
but having heard the room it's true that it's a prety long reverb for drums

i'll be i Wien late october maybe i'll stop by

[livingstone]

btw i've got some very nice b&w pics of the studio if you need

[Ostrong Audio]

Thanks to all of you for the input!

For the cosmetics of the room, we have all the original chairs, sofas, sofa chairs, tables. At the moment the sofa which should be behind the engineer has moved for a workingtable to fix the console, but the original furniture will come to the original places.

Hidding the Protools is a very good idea! I personally think that in Austria we have the need for a Protools in the studio because Protools is bringing clients. In Austria the recording scene/money is not as good as in USA, UK or Germany. In Austria some years ago the biggest radio station was proud to broadcast NO austrian songs! This led to poor musicians and poor studios, its getting much better now but the austrian soul is still a little bit like that: "Music from Austria cant be good, music from outside Austria must be good"

@ Bob Olhsson: Why the studio should not work with 16-track tapemachine? Using the WSW as "send to tape mixer" and the Studer 962 as "monitor mixer, headphones mixer"

@ donnylang: I made modern modification like the Direct Outs, but this modification was a modification you could also order at WSW in 1965. The EQ-modules-transformers have a second primary-winding for direct outs, but they don´t order it. Also like the Line Inputs for Channel 10 to Cannel 16, they were orderable but they dont order it. We are intended to make the modifications to the desk like it was orderable in 1965.

I´m also thinking of making a moveable side car extension with 5 further Line-Input-Channels. I privatly have a original WSW 5 channel line mixer in the same frame, same colour, same technology, same VU-meter..... all exactly like the mixer in Casino Baumgarten but without the EQs.

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[Ostrong Audio]

@ livingstone: YES!!!! We are very intersted in old photos from our studio

[livingstone]

There's a very nice avant garde scene and in Wien particularly,
Patrick Pulsinger used to record at this studio already ...
post rock band Radian is from Wien too

the thing is i've asked my friends musicans over there to figure if they new the studio, absolutely none had heard of it !! or extremely vaguely.

btw i remember a good joke we had about the studio ...

the most modern piece of equipment was that plastic telephone from the early 70's ...

[audionerve]

Yayks, this is beautiful!

For the live room I'd suggest you start building some mobile absorbing walls for the drumkit. Also, you could try working out a hanging ceiling system with Ecophon that can be pulled up...

Fingers crossed!

[Prick Up UR Ears]

Originally Posted by babooino

hmm i think i posted about that studio before! is it the same one?

yes, it is

[RiF]

Make sure you turn that telephone right next to the console into a talkback mic!

PS: Holy crap... did I see a rack full of Fairchilds?

[elmolemon]

Absolutely amazing!

You should keep it as oldschool and original as possible!

[Seamus TM]

Truly incredible.
I sincerely wish you the best of luck.

[piper]

Great video. As I was watching, after a few minutes, I though, well, interesting control room, but I wonder what the recordings spaces look like. When I saw that room I was floored. Wow. I bet that room would make me play better!

If I was going to put Pro Tools in, I would get a piece of furniture from 1965 to install the gear in. Maybe one of those console record players. Or whatever.

Good luck!

[Joao B.]

Absolutely stunning!

Please wear lab coats while recording bands.

[drbob1]

It is a really pretty room. The 50meter sq room you mentioned might be a good machine room to put the majority of the Pro-tools hardware in, so it's out of sight. You do have to have multitrack capability, and while 4 track or 8 track would be cool, it would hamstring most modern recordists, so 16 track tape seems a really good idea. Acoustic treatment to make the drums workable, even one of those portable isolation booths that you can break down and store somewhere else when not needed would work. It would also be cool to have a smaller room for overdubs and stuff that doesn't need cavernous reverb...

[Silvertone]

That is beautiful man... I wouldn't touch or change a thing. Your live room is as much to die for as the control room... just beautiful.

I'm in the process of building a 1960's tube 3 track facility based around an Ampex 300-3 and a 1963 Langevin (12x3) tube console with Altec 604 monitors and the works but man this place of yours is done. Complete with not one but three Fairchilds!

Good luck on booking it, as an "oddity" it should find some clients on it's own. Marketed properly (depending on price) I couldn't see people not wanting to give it a try.

Congratulations and good luck!

[drbob1]

Originally Posted by Joao B.

Absolutely stunning!

Please wear lab coats while recording bands.

At least at EMI/Abby Road it was the maintenance techs not the engineers that wore the white coats (just reading Abby Road to Ziggy Stardust...)

[Sir Chris]

I agree, don't change anything. I hope u don't mind but I'm going to pass this link around to some of my producer friends here in the US and see what they think. Some of them are old enough to remember working out of studios from that era lol.



Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Tapatalk

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally Posted by Ostrong Audio

...@ Bob Olhsson: Why the studio should not work with 16-track tapemachine? Using the WSW as "send to tape mixer" and the Studer 962 as "monitor mixer, headphones mixer"

You could but it would still be pretty compromised for serious production compared to a 16 track console comparable to what you have which is a state of the art 3 and 4 track studio.

I would simply record 3 track or offer Pro Tools for people that need crutches.

[slackstallion]

First ever boner from internal hand wiring

[Bob Olhsson]

Back in the '60s everything looked like that!

[Greg Curtis]

So awesome. What a find! Timecapsules like that just don't happen anymore.

Now, what are you going to do with it?

[Bob Olhsson]

You guys are making me feel so old!

It's funny, I've always had a lot of trouble imagining myself to be over 30 years old.

[SMARTGUY]

Originally Posted by Rikharthu

Nooo...don't make it into a modern 'moody' studio. Keep it clean and professional, just like it would've been back in the day. That's a large part of the charm, I think. But yes, keep that ProTools rig out of sight! And definitely go for a multitrack and some gobos-on-wheels. It's very inconvenient to not be able to move things around.

But by all means, don't pander to a modern audience. A PT rig is already pushing it, but I understand that it can be useful now and again for overdubbing and such. This is a niche. Exploit the **** out of it.

Look at us, telling you what to do with your studio. But seriously.

+1.
Don't change a thing outside of gobo's, a 16 track machine and an out of sight pro tools rig for bouncing. That's it. This would be the place to cut a straight to vinyl kind of project then bounce that vinyl sound to digital.

[O.F.F.]

You trying to kill me?

I nearly drowned in my own drool watching that vid!

I'd like to see a Hammond and its Leslie and would probably skip protools in favour of iZ RADAR.

[Deltones]

My mind, it is blown. I have no idea how you found/purchased/inherited/Marty McFlyed that studio but holy hell that's beautiful. And what about the craftsmanship when you showed off the guts. Wow.