Spectra Studios: A Tale of Two Consoles (and a Venue)
Hi! Would you first please tell us a bit about yourself?
My name is Charlie Kramsky. I am the head engineer at Spectra Studios in Cedar Park, TX.
Can you please tell us about the studio? Where it is, when it opened, what makes it unique?
We are located just north of Austin, TX. We opened the studio in 2022. One thing that makes our studio unique is the amount of sightlines and separation. There are 7 isolated recording spaces, all with great sightlines to each other. It makes band tracking very productive and efficient.
Who was involved in the studio’s design & build, and its configuration & equipment installation?
Our acoustic designer was Dan Hemme, who was fantastic to work with. Preston Keilers from Monark Builders was the GC on the build and he really poured his heart into this studio construction. Erik Engh oversaw the entire operation and pushed everyone to make this studio unlike any other. Bryan Hagemann, Will Harrison and myself were very instrumental in the final design and functionality of the studio.
How about the venue, and the connectivity between it and the studio? Could you tell us a bit about that setup?
We ran a 500 foot fiber line from our music venue (HauteSpot) to the studio and have made MUCH use of that connectivity. We have broadcast concerts, moon landings, charity events, press conferences and more. Having a turnkey audio and video production activation for concerts has been a great way for bands on tour to create content and even make a live album with video! We use 4x RMP-D8 boxes at our stage to send Dante over fiber to the studio. That dumps onto the 5088, so we are able to do studio quality multitracking and broadcast mixes live from our stage.
How did you first hear about Rupert Neve Designs, and the 5088? What made it the right choice for the studio?
I first learned about the 5088 back when I was living in New York. I was an assistant engineer at Avatar Studios and an opportunity came up for a head engineer position at Blue Rock Studios in Wimberley, Texas. Billy Crockett (producer/owner of Blue Rock) was looking to install a new console, so we discussed console options and the 5088 at great lengths. Once I moved to Texas, the fine folks at Rupert Neve Designs sent us a small 8 channel 5088 to try out. We were floored by the console. It was a no brainer at that point.
You have two 5088s at Spectra – a rarity – can you tell us why?
Rare indeed! Our main control room has a 5088 that the studio owns. Our second control room is Steve Chadie’s personal control room. He just so happens to have a 5088 as well. Same speakers and converter too, which makes it pretty seamless if I need to pop into his room to do work when our main control room is booked up. Both control rooms connect to our stage as well. Isn't Dante amazing?
Steve Chadie in his ‘Shroom Room’ at Spectra.
How does the 5088 / its modules sound? What’s your favorite thing about it?
I would describe it as HiFi. There is a very pleasant feeling you get listening to playback on a 5088. Things stack together well, nothing builds up in a muddy or harsh way. It's just an easy feeling.
On Silk: are you Team Red or Team Blue? Why?
Team Red for individual channels. Team Blue for the mix bus, but just a touch!
What does the name ‘Rupert Neve’ mean to you?
To me, the name Rupert Neve means reliability. The best sounding mic pre doesn't sound very good when it fails in the middle of a take. Rupert always knew the importance of over-engineering his products to be something that you could really lean on when you need them to perform.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Thanks for doing what you do!
