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.
DON’T MISS PART 1, PART 2, PART 3, and PART 4!
Liam Hopkins Studio | Saskatoon, Canada
Haverstick Designs, Gavin Haverstick
Haverstick Designs’ Gavin Haverstick and Tracy Roberts, alongside 2H Interior Design, partnered with Liam Hopkins to bring his dream home studio to life with a 725-sq.-ft. live room and 333-sq.-ft. control room. The control room is equipped with Kii Three BXT monitors and customized acoustical treatments, including bass trapping, wood slat absorption panels and ceiling clouds. The adjacent live room, with views of the Canadian countryside, offers a versatile setting for rehearsals, recording sessions and video production, facilitated by Blackmagic Designs cameras and switcher. It incorporates adjustable curtain systems, custom ceiling clouds within a vaulted ceiling and a custom-designed QRD diffuser spanning two walls for balanced, dynamic acoustics. Studio Economik supplied the audio gear which was integrated by Facca Audio.
Poe Mill Music | Greenville, S.C.
Steven Durr Designs
Opened about a year ago, Poe Mill is a 5,300-sq.-ft. modern, multi-purpose creative hub where music, media and community converge. The facility’s capabilities span recording, video podcasting, teaching studios and The Listening Room, a multipurpose, industrial-chic venue—all of which were designed by Steven Durr. A vintage Trident TSM 40-input console, originally from The Plant in Sausalito, Calif., and Addiction Studio, Nashville, Tenn., anchors the control room, which houses racks of analog outboard gear. The soffited main monitors feature TAD components and horns with Bag End subs. A stage box splitter allows for live recording from the venue’s stage.
Fletcher B Studios | Hillsborough, N.C.
Wes Lachot Design Group
The new ground-up recording facility, owned by John Boggess, includes living space for musicians who want to work near North Carolina’s Research Triangle. Designer Wes Lachot worked with Brett Acoustics on the construction. The facility was designed by Lachot with Aaron Kelley sharing in acoustical design and handling drafting, modeling and project management. Audio and wiring was installed by Canova Audio.
The control room features a Reflection Free Zone design employing ATC SCM150 Pro in-wall monitors with 15-inch ATC subs. The console is a restored vintage Quad Eight 3650. A large live room offers adjustable acoustics plus three iso booths and houses a large collection of vintage instruments.
Sweetwater Airstream Studio | Fort Wayne, Ind.
Russ Berger Design Group
The Sweetwater Airstream Studio Edition is the first professionally engineered, Dolby Atmos-compliant mixing room built in a production Airstream trailer. Designed by Russ Berger Design Group on a 25-foot chassis, it is a mobile, reference-quality, 7.2.4 immersive monitoring environment. The control room is 79.5 inches wide, in a North/ South configuration at the trailer’s center.
RBDG led the acoustic design and interior finishes, working with Sweetwater on a system built with Avid, SSL and PMC technologies. Also involved were Sweetwater’s Mike Picotte (integration), and contractors Josh Gifford of Airstream and Frank Rose, Cinematech.