STUDIO A was put together with a small budget and a lot of hard work. We have a great-sounding live room and we use old-school analog recording methods.
Everything is recorded onto 1" 8-track analog tape, and transferred to DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) for additional tracks or editing. Overdubs are recorded through the tape machine into the DAW.
Our tape machine is an MCI JH-110C made in 1981, with very hi-fi sound, gapless punch-in circuitry, and 3 tape speeds.
Our console is a Wheatstone TV-600, extensively modified for recording use. It has 32 channels, 4 stereo groups, 4 stereo auxes, 16 parametric EQ's, 16 shelf EQ's, 16 hi and lo pass filters, and 16 transformer-input mic preamps. (If you own a Wheatstone TV, MPX, SP, or similar, click here for detailed information on modifying your console.)
We have plenty of outboard compressors, EQ's, and effects, including tape echo, tape chorus/flange, and rotating speakers.
We welcome freelance engineers. Email us for rates and policies. STAFF
Fenris Wulf -- Recording Engineer and Studio Technician. 18 years experience. Engineers most recording sessions, repairs and maintains the equipment.
Mike Clements -- Studio Manager, Producer, Assistant Engineer, DAW editing.
Anthony Leedom -- Assistant Engineer.
John Bologni -- Freelance Engineer and Location Recording.
For an additional fee, we can provide session musicians or a producer to help with arrangement and performance. THE STUDIO
Studio A was relocated in February of 2013 to the facilities of Rock Band University in downtown Davis. The live room is 38'x23' with 17-foot ceilings, and the control room is slightly smaller. We have 2 large isolation booths, or we can use moveable baffles to isolate instruments or eliminate room sound.
Tune in to "Live in Studio A" on KDVS 90.3 FM or kdvs.org every Thursday night at 11 pm to hear the studio in action! LOCATION RECORDING
Location recording is done by John Bologni on his portable digital system. RATES
$30/hour for recording and mixing, includes engineer
$1 each for CD-R with jewel box
$2 each for DVD-R with jewel box
$20/reel for use of tape (33 minutes per reel) STUDIO POLICIES
1. We always respect the sound and personality of your band. You're paying for studio time and you make the decisions about how you want your recording to sound. You can use your own equipment, or try out our drums, guitar amps, and keyboards.
2. We need to know the approximate budget for your project before you start. If your budget is $600 or more, you get a free 2-hour pre-production meeting with an engineer and producer, to run through the songs and work out any problems with the sound, performance, or arrangement.
3. We expect payment in cash at the end of every session. Please show up on time and give us 48 hours notice if you have to cancel. We don't require a deposit.
4. No alcohol or drugs. We have a smoking area behind the studio.
5. We have a microwave and fridge. There are 2 burger places, a 24-hour coffee place, a convenience store, and a motel within walking distance.
6. Everything is tracked to analog tape and mixed on the analog console. We can work very quickly this way. The DAW is only used for editing.
7. We give you mixes on CD-R and multi-track files on DVD-R. Optical discs can oxidize over time, and you are responsible for backing up your files so you don't lose them. As a courtesy, we maintain multi-terabyte backup drives with copies of every project, so they can be retrieved in the future.
8. We have a skilled DAW editor on staff, who can fix your performance with computer editing, quantization, sample replacement, pitch correction, et cetera. But you'll get better results by rehearsing the material and playing it right.
9. We can mix tracks that you recorded in a home studio, but in some cases it might be faster and cheaper to record everything from scratch in our studio.
10. We do basic mastering for every project. We don't do super-loud mixes, because it requires smashing the mix with a limiter and destroying the sound. If your budget is over $3000, we recommend a proper mastering studio with specialized equipment. EQUIPMENT
Outboard Equipment
ART VLA II stereo optical compressor
Toft ATC-2 stereo FET compressor and stereo EQ
Chameleon Labs 7720 stereo VCA compressor
Aphex Compellor broadcast compressor with Aural Exciter (2)
Shure SE-30 compressor (similar to Level-Loc)
Symetrix 528E vocal compressor/parametric EQ (3)
Symetrix 425 stereo compressor/limiter
Furman TX-4 stereo crossover for high-pass and low-pass filtering
Scully 280 microphone preamps (4). High-quality vintage preamps with germanium transistors and UTC transformers.
1979 Studiomaster console, 12 channels, used as outboard EQ
Coming soon:
DIY stereo optical compressor based on LA3A
Effects
Revox PR-99 1/4" 2-track (tape echo, 50 to 500 ms)
Tascam 22-2 1/4" 2-track (tape chorus/flange, modified with coarse and fine speed controls)
Lexicon PCM-90 dual engine reverb
Kurzweil Rumour reverb
Digitech RDS 8-bit digital chorus/echo
DIY rotating speaker with continuous speed control for guitar
Coming soon:
Sonovox -- a recreation of a 1930's talkbox from the original patent diagrams
Microphones
Condensers:
AKG 414B-ULS multi-pattern (upgraded with CT-12 brass capsule from Campbell Transmitter)
Oktava MK219 (2) and MK319 (modified for smoother frequency response)
Oktava MK12 with cardioid, hypercardioid, and omni capsules
Rode NT1A (2)
Rode NT5 (2)
AT 3525 (3)
AT 825 stereo mics (2)
Dynamics:
AEA R84 ribbon mic
Electro-Voice RE-20
AT ATM25 kick drum mic
Shure SM-5b
Shure SM57's and SM58's
Shure Beta 57's and Beta 58's (modified for smoother frequency response)
Various lo-fi dynamics
Instruments
Marshall JCM800 50w split-channel
Marshall JCM800 50w single-channel
Ampeg V4 2x12 combo
(all amps have NOS tubes for improved tone)
Peavey solid-state bass amp
Marshall and Ampeg 4x12 cabs
Gibson 2x10 cab (2)
2x15 bass cab
Peavey Radial Pro 1000 drum set with double kick, 4 toms, wood, brass, and steel snares, various cymbals
ProCo DI boxes (6)
Various distortion pedals
Reamp box
Coming soon: electric piano, full-size upright piano, drawbar organ CONTACT
To ask a question, schedule a tour, or book a session, contact Fenris Wulf.
fenris (at) fenrisaudio.com
Mike Clements, Studio Manager:
info (at) rockbanduniversity.com
John Bologni, Location Recording:
johnbologni (at) gmail.com
