Revitalizing a Studio from 1965!

[miscend]

I just wanted to say that your Youtube video is awesome. Your studio reminds me alot of Toe Rag studios in London, another retro vintage 60's style studio.

[nnajar]

Originally Posted by 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.

Bob,

a dear dear friend of mine is a bass player who was with Ellington for most of the sixties. He will be 79 this year. He plays in my local trio and we do a lot of duo things together. He makes comments like yours ALL the time.

I just turned 31.

N

[Bob Olhsson]

I disagree with the idea of turning it into just another overdub hotel. There is a real shortage of good studios where one can record live.

Today's artists are not going to camp out for months to build tracks in that kind of a studio and most don't have the budget to use 2" tape for anything other than quick demos. What would be tremendous is a room like that where live tracking could occur with any editing or overdubbing taking place elsewhere. Live to stereo could be a very good business as would doing live broadcasts.

[Ostrong Audio]

Incredible much response here. When I first stepped into the control room I felt like beeing in the recording-studio-heaven. It seems I´m not alone with my feelings.


To answer and comment some of your posts:

The hanging ceiling with can be pulled up is a great idea for the small 50m2 anteroom. There is the need to make nearly all mobile/moveable because the recording hall, the anterooms and the garden is also rented for other things like concerts, banquet, festival,.....

Yes, we have a Fairchild-Rack with 2x 660 and 1x 670, beeing one of the next things that needs to be checked/serviced.

Before the thread I was thinking of 24 track tapemachine but know I´m more and more into 16 tracks, because this would perfectly fit the 16 channel desk and if somebody wants do record big amount of tracks it has to be done in Pro Tools. But Protools in a vintage furniture....I really love this idea!!!

Installing a IZ Radar is easy, because I have one at home : ) The problem is we want to have a digital system for interchangeability and Radar is not the most used system, for sure exchange is possible but not as fast and easy as with Pro Tools to Pro Tools.

The main idea to have Direct Outs and the possiblity to record 16 tracks digital is that people can track 16 tracks on Pro tools in Casino Baumgarten and than go to another studio for editing and mixing. Multitrack Analog is indented for making Multitrack Recordings and Multitrack Mixdown for AAA Vinyl Releases. Overdubs are not the main interest here (excluding vocals).
I have worked many years for broadcasting here in Austria and we have done nearly all direct to stereo but there was always heavy editing of the stereo/5.1 recording; exept "live" but this is not very often.

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[babooino]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

I disagree with the idea of turning it into just another overdub hotel. There is a real shortage of good studios where one can record live.

Today's artists are not going to camp out for months to build tracks in that kind of a studio and most don't have the budget to use 2" tape for anything other than quick demos. What would be tremendous is a room like that where live tracking could occur with any editing or overdubbing taking place elsewhere. Live to stereo could be a very good business as would doing live broadcasts.

[Ostrong Audio]

Here you can see the Direct Out modification:



I tried to make it in the vein of WSW but clearly visible as modification.

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[Ostrong Audio]

A few well known persons were video-interviewed in the control room like John Paul Jones.



David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[Rascal Audio]

NICE!

Joel

[babooino]

Originally Posted by Ostrong Audio

A few well known persons were video-interviewed in the control room like John Paul Jones.



David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

BTW i've been working on this site/blog for some time and i had already listed this studio there.
Check it out: ANALOG RECORDING STUDIO DATABASE

[nnajar]

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

I disagree with the idea of turning it into just another overdub hotel. There is a real shortage of good studios where one can record live.

Today's artists are not going to camp out for months to build tracks in that kind of a studio and most don't have the budget to use 2" tape for anything other than quick demos. What would be tremendous is a room like that where live tracking could occur with any editing or overdubbing taking place elsewhere. Live to stereo could be a very good business as would doing live broadcasts.

this is a good point.

speaking of which, when we do our european tour next summer, I'll take my trio in and we can do a direct to stereo recording.

N

[radiocity]

Fantastic studio, absolutely incredible!

I think you could need:
a good drumset (Ludwig)
some nice guitar and bass amps
Roland space echo / Binson echo

Then it´s an excellent idea to have a 60ies looking furniture (should be called Giftschrank (poison locker)) for ProTools, I would add one stereo parametric EQ and one digital reverb.

I have two WSW transformer looking exactly like the one´s in the directout mod picture, pm me, if you need it.

All the best with the studio!

[Ostrong Audio]

Should be add a digital Reverb? During the 90ies their was a Lexicon Reverb regulary used by the now retaired engineer. The desk has the connections for a portable reverb installed in the left foot. I personally have a Lexicon 200 and a AKG ADR 68k (same like Ursa Major Aurora). The AKG would have the benefit that the remote is small enough to make a fixed "hiddingstation" under the console if people dont want to use it.
On the other hand the EMT 140 Tube is quite good sounding and it is the question if a further reverb is really needed.

I know, bringing digital stuff into this place is destroying it in some way but on the other had, this studio was one of the firsts studios doing digital recordings with portable digital recorders owned by the engineer like a Sony PCM F1 at the beginning and later portable DAT-Recorders. The console was modified in the 80ies with extra outputs for the digital stuff.

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[monkeyxx]

If you're bringing in Pro Tools you've already gone Digital, I wouldn't worry about a reverb being digital. Looks like there's room for other things too in the Fairchild rack area

[Ostrong Audio]

The live room seen from upside the stage.



I´m trying to regularly upload photos of Casino Baumgarten to show you the steps in development of the studio.

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[Ostrong Audio]

Repairing and serviceing some console PSUs. The WSW console has 11 (Eleven) PSUs and 2 PSU-Managmentsystems.





David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[O.F.F.]

That live room is absolutely beautiful!!!

I wonder if you could make some screens which fit into the arches so you could separate temporary drum and vocal booths off it.

[drbob1]

I'm sure you've read "Recording the Beatles" and "Abby Road to Ziggy Stardust", but there's some ideas in there that might be applicable. In particular, EMI/Abby Road had a lot more acoustic treatment than your rooms, not sure how practical that would be?

Also, while a digital reverb or two might be helpful, that room is your best weapon for reverb. Money might be better spend in making sure the mic locker is up to snuff, and getting the good drum set/cymbals and guitar/bass amps.

[sameal]

i quit.

[PRobb]

Damn, that is just gorgeous.
But it does look like you're going to need some kind of system of gobos or moveable walls to create more controlled recording environments.

[nznexus]

thats cool for the people whom never seen a studio for 1965 like me

[Greg Curtis]

That room's acoustic is your biggest liability.

Look at the acoustic treatments used in similar rooms like Air Lyndhurst and Ocean Way Nashville.

[Deltones]

Originally Posted by Greg Curtis

That room's acoustic is your biggest liability.

Look at the acoustic treatments used in similar rooms like Air Lyndhurst and Ocean Way Nashville.

No offense man, but how can you know this unless you've been in that room and heard what it sounds like?

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally Posted by Deltones

...how can you know this unless you've been in that room and heard what it sounds like?

[Herc]

Who else wants to record there without knowing what the concert room sounds like??

You wouldn't have to ask me twice - that place is beeeutiful!!!!!

[Greg Curtis]

Originally Posted by Greg Curtis

That room's acoustic is your biggest liability.

Look at the acoustic treatments used in similar rooms like Air Lyndhurst and Ocean Way Nashville.

Originally Posted by Deltones

No offense man, but how can you know this unless you've been in that room and heard what it sounds like?

Originally Posted by Bob Olhsson

Originally Posted by Deltones "No offense man, but how can you know this unless you've been in that room and heard what it sounds like?"

Originally Posted by Herc

Who else wants to record there without knowing what the concert room sounds like??

You wouldn't have to ask me twice - that place is beeeutiful!!!!!

I was offering some advice:

-"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."

-"We have a big amout of Gobos but all in very very poor condition (some are dangerous for musicians), we are at the beginning of our work. We think about "Overhead" Gobos to place over the drumset.
The retired in house technican has said a loud/fast drumset isn´t recordable in the recording hall, he work their since end of 1950ies. Also some other engineer had problems in the last years (they recorded with their own gear). I need to make some test recording,"

-"i've been visiting it 2 years ago... 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"

It's got bare plaster walls, wood floor, plaster ceiling, glass windows, every major surface has a parallel, arches, partial barrel ceiling.

It's a freakin' beautiful old ballroom, guys! Yes! Let's celebrate the fact that it's an awesome treasure trove of groovey gear and gooey point-to-point handwiring goodness; but at the end of the day you have to be able to leave with some quality work in the can. Otherwise what's the point?. Something to justify an hourly rate that will be necessary to keep this amazing place alive. I really want to see this place stay alive.

The examples I gave are similar (although Lyndhurst is much larger) rooms that kept their charm and created acoustic environments that people sought out. Now imagine having that control room AND a great live room? You could do some juicy film scoring there, actually, if it sounded nice.






I also built a similar sized room.

This is a professional forum, right? We all know how tough it is out there for a dedicated, commercial studio to survive. I want these guys to kick some ass. it would be a shame to bask in the warm glow of the Fairchilds while the room sits empty.

Greg

.

[Ostrong Audio]

This acoustic elements in your first photo looks realy amazing, this could also be a art-installation from an artist. I think thats the way we should go, building a acoustic treatment looking more than a piece of art than a piece of shit.

Because of the quite long reverb in the big live room we thought about making mobile acoustic elements for the anteroom of the control room for haveing a second much dryer room.

We are going to speak with a recording studio acoustic guy and see what he says.

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[Ostrong Audio]

The actual look of the control room:




Some finished powersupply ready for the next 50 years




Console with Joachim Roedelius und Lloyd Cole



David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten

[The Spark]

Mother of god....

Dont...
Touch...
A...
Thing.

...but the recommendation of an iZ Radar isnt a bad one. They can output wave files on DVD or over a network via ethernet so the files could be taken to another studio if needed. Its quality of converters would come close to doing this amazing room justice, not to mention its tape like work flow, and you wouldnt have to install a computer monitor if you dont want one.

[O.F.F.]

"…not to mention its tape like work flow, and you wouldnt have to install a computer monitor if you dont want one."

That workflow thing was one of the reasons I suggested the iZ.
As Oscar Wilde said: I can resist everything but temptation.
And with protools the temptation is great to do editing in a way which would not befit the rest of the studio.

But may be David has a stronger character than Mr Wilde… or myself.

[Ostrong Audio]

Hello People!

Today we had a meeting with our acoustician. After some discussion he appeared with a really good idea. Instead of making the anteroom (problems with carnoise) an acoustic useable room for drums and other loud instruments, its much better to make the stage in the big live hall closeable to have a drumroom/isoroom with much much shorter reverb than in the hall. The stage is far away from the street and so carnoise is also no issue. In the stage it is also possible to hide the moveable doorelements so the optical look is also not disturbed. We are going to think in this direction.

At the end of this photo you see the stage, the room "in" the stage is about 4x 6,5m.


The acoustician also liked the really good sound of the live hall, he said (as we now) for classical music its just perfect! Only for drums/popular/loud music the reverb is to long. But with a closeable stage we could solve this problem.

Today we also measured the height of the ceiling in the live hall: 9,96m, about 400inch.

David
In house technician at Casino Baumgarten