Studio vibe: hows, whys, likes, dislikes.

I can only have freedom of musical imagination in a tidy clean studio.

My dad taught me - spiritual freedom through discipline.

So I do Yoga, exercise, I'm highly organised and tidy and totally free thinking in my creativity.

But I'm left handed and that might be part of the way that works for me.

I made my most recent record in a handful of studios nearby, all of which were new to me. One of the studios was "in some guy's house." Or, really... it WAS his house. He had a dedicated control room built outside the house with your standard lava lamp and Bowie/Beatles posters on the wall, but all tracking was done in the living room. We got great drum sounds and everyone had a comfy whatever to sit on. Not clinical by any means, but certainly a practical space. Even when we landed on a great take, the feeling of listening back was always kinda matter of fact. There's something intangible that *wasn't* present even if the recordings were all keepers. 

The next place I used was more a proper space, though reliant more on its remote location for soundproofing than anything else. My wife knew the owner for his work as musician and while his studio tech tended to be a few hundred years out of date, he knew the gear well and the result we got were always really nice. His house kit wasn't fancy, but it just had such a righteous sound. It sat next to a chopped Hammond which seemed stuck in overdrive. Whether anything needed repair or not, the gear sounded fab. The tracking room was comfortably big, but still felt cosy. There was no talkback mic. When I was in the iso booth doing vocals, my wife would pop her head in to relay messages like "maybe do the second chorus again?" That's vibe! 

The third studio I used was the most "proper" space, owned by a fellow with a history of working with all manner of groovy weirdos. His place was great. I first worked there as guest musician on a friend's band's record. I knew from that session I wanted to do my own work in this place. My wife and I booked a full day, but the owner let us split the session across two half days so we could take advantage of his guest house for the night. We lived only 40 minutes away, but being able to immerse myself in the recording until wiped out and then slither across the driveway to watch an hour of Danzig videos before crashing was nice. The next day's work fell on the hottest day of the year... something like 115F! The 40 feet between guest house and A/C'd studio was a challenge. Anyway, his studio was wonderful. Instruments everywhere and of all sort, from classic to quirky. The sound of his main room was lovely. I could hear the air move around me yet still felt I was working in secret. I've mostly done all my own overdubs at home for years, but being able to record really loud guitars was a treat. Of these three studios, this was the one that got photographed for the album artwork, right? This was the place of all-vibe, all-the-time. 

The latter two studios are in Grass Valley, CA and the fourth studio, where we did the mastering, is in Nevada City. NC is thought of as a very vibe-y place in its own right and it felt good to wrap up the record there. I mentioned in a previous post that the ME's space was what inspired me to want to build a nice little studio in our basement at home. His studio was nothing but vibe. Much of that was on him - fascinating, responsive fellow. I've never worked with a mastering engineer who tunes into lyrics like he did. My first few records were mastered by the late George Horn at Fantasy. Classic, custom designed mastering zone. Working with a new (to me) ME in a room that was open and filled with books and daylight was in real contrast to other sessions I've attended. 

Long ramble from me, sorry, but I'm fascinated by studio vibe!

Tim Green's place is Louder, if that's what you mean! With the Danzig vids in the guest house etc. I loved working with him/at his place. Would happily go back for another long session with him. The mastering engineer in Nevada City was Oz Fritz, Grammy winner for his work with Tom Waits. He and Tim are pals, which makes sense. Both of them are solid people, which is a vital part of "studio vibe."

For me, the biggest thing was simply having most things connected and/or mic'ed up already so that we can act fast, move fast.

I'm sure I've posted more in this thread than elsewhere on the site, but my basement studio is nearly finished. And vibe is its main feature. You'd laugh if you saw it... my "desk" is a stainless steel med cart from a long-gone local mental hospital. One wall is painted bright orange to go with the purple door, the other wall is concrete blocks. Soundproofing - keeping sound in/out - isn't a concern, as we live on a farm. Sound treatment consists of a load of purple foam squares from Amazon. I'll never be a pro engineer, but I can make records on my own and I can now easily import musicians into a space that's comfortable and flexible. I've got Oz Fritz not far up the road willing to engineer, and a stellar drummer also into doing sessions here. Both of these guys have worked in the best studios around, but they're down with the "anything, anywhere, as long as it's good" approach. I have zero channels of API, but I've got a comfy sofa!

Would dig seeing pics if you feel comfortable sharing!

-09

Does white ever make anyone relax?

Does white ever make anyone relax?