A 5060 For Manhattan’s SECOND TAKE SOUND
“Revamping Studio B gave us the opportunity to expand its capabilities, and completely re-outfit it to transform it from a simple vocal-overdub room to a state-of-the-art overdubbing, mixing, and mastering suite.
The control room attaches to a large booth (capable of holding one or two vocalists, or various amplifiers), and so we began by redoing all of the acoustic treatment of the control room. This included installing a custom built wood diffuser, building a cloud to hang over the mixing position, and completely treating all of the walls, floor to ceiling, with tack and fabric covering.
With the room sealed tight and sounding beautifully balanced, we moved to the gear decisions, and this is where things got interesting.
Given our desire to have the room serve equally well for overdubbing, mixing, or mastering, we knew we needed a space-efficient setup that would allow for quick and intuitive digital or analog routing, whether someone is in the studio to record an audiobook or is looking to take on a weeks-long album mix project.
After an entirely unhealthy amount time spent deliberating, reading reviews, etc., we settled on the RUPERT NEVE 5060 Centerpiece as the heart of the room.
Why? Because it offers everything we needed from a functional standpoint (monitor control, talkback, out-of-the-box summing, and more), while also offering the SOUND and creative inspiration that fuels all great projects. We added the RUPERT NEVE 5254 as a bus compressor, and a pair of Grace Pre-Amps to ensure crystal-clear recording for our audiobook and podcast friends.
Additionally, we massively over-engineered the patchbay with room for expansion: 12U of space ready for rackmount units, and 8 500-series slots eagerly awaiting new toys.
In the first few weeks of Studio B’s opening we’ve already had a flurry of mastering, mixing, and vocal sessions, and everyone reports the same thing: the RUPERT NEVE 5060 blows them away! It’s one of those things you have to hear, or have your hands on, to really appreciate the quality of — so, come on in, and we look forward to seeing you.”
