In Mix’s “Class Of” annual look at studio design, we present some of the most exciting new or refurbished recording studios that have opened during the past year. Included are innovative new workspaces for composers, musicians, engineers and producers all around the globe. Text by Steve Harvey.
Composer’s Writing Room (anonymous) | Los Angeles area
nonzeroarchitecture, Peter Grueneisen, FAIA
This writing and mixing studio in an existing guest house is the fourth studio project by Grueneisen in over 10 years for the film composer owner, and complements his main studio in a commercial building. Grueneisen says the design by the nonzero team, which included Ava Grueneisen, Alex Paik and Rax Wan, illustrates how low-key intervention can create a highperforming space. The quiet location required only minimal soundproofing, while the room acoustics were addressed with a ceiling cloud below the cathedral ceiling and drapes along the windows. An adjacent room serves as a recording space, and a walk-in closet becomes a machine room. A partial raised wood platform provides cable management over the ceramic tile flooring.
ATC SCM50A Pro main monitors are supported by an ATC SCM45A Pro center speaker, ATC SCM20 Pro rears and a JL Audio F112v2 sub, with Neumann KH 120 and Auratone options.
District Audio | Boston, Mass.
Malekpour Design Partners
Advertising-focused audio post house District Audio, opened in Boston’s South End in May, features four control rooms. The flagship, Studio X, is a dedicated 5.1/7.1 creative environment for facility owner Michael Secher, an accomplished voiceover artist and composer. Design lead Dave Malekpour worked with Michael Bashkhangy, who handled architecture and design, and acoustics consultant João Vieira of Jocavi. Ken Simon and Eric Anderson handled technical integration. Studio X features an Avid S6 in a Sterling Modular custom console with a custom surround monitor system of Augspurger Duo12MF Sub212, Solo 12 (center) and Solo 8 (surrounds, rears), powered by SXE 4D amplifiers, integrated into the front wall design. District Audio is located in a nine-story residential building, requiring extensive acoustic planning and a comprehensive isolation strategy, including IsoRaft decoupling systems.
Dubbing Brothers | Burbank. Calif.
Malvicino Design Group, Horacio Malvicino and Fabiola Mena
French dubbing studio Dubbing Brothers, with locations in Belgium, Germany and Italy, upgraded its U.S. outpost in Burbank with two new rooms for ADR, voice recording, editing and critical listening. The rooms, designed by Horacio Malvicino and Fabiola Mena, alongside project manager Jerome Malaize, offer a symmetrical layout, ensuring optimal stereo imaging and an accurate listening experience. The front wall is anchored by a central visual display and fabric-wrapped wall panels providing controlled absorption across mid and high frequencies, minimizing early reflections and enhancing intelligibility. The rear wall manages lowfrequency energy and eliminates unwanted resonance, while suspended ceiling clouds further refine the acoustic response. Audio equipment includes Avid S-1 and Dock surfaces with 5.1 JBL Studio monitors and ADAM Audio subs.
Lone Scout | Savanna, Ill.
Hd Acoustics, Jeff Hedback
Having worked together more than a decade ago, Spanic Boys co-founder Ian Spanic contacted Hedback to design a control room and tracking room within the lower level of his residence near the Mississippi River. The challenges of the space included structural reclaimed wood support beams and other irregularities. Hedback’s detailed low-frequency sound pressure mapping studies led to positioning the tracking room behind the rear wall of the control room to allow the best mix position and space for the tape machines and rack bays. Both rooms feature a reclaimed wood theme. The shaping of the wall in front of the automated API 2448 console and Genelec 8361 and 8380 monitors was dictated by the depth of custom-tuned 30 Hz trapping and broadband absorption. The general contractor was The Thistle Group; Simplified Acoustics provided the stretch fabric interiors.