New Mastering Room Launches
After a 2 year build, Puget
Sound Studios (www.pugetsoundstudios.com) is finally up and
running! Owner/Engineer, Bruce A. Brown, along with his wife
Rene, have brought the Pacific Northwest a Mastering facility
it can be proud of.
Bruce tells us some of the details of his
dream studio:
As a long time musician and audiophile, I’ve always
dreamed of someday building my own studio. About 5 years
ago, we started searching for a home what would be a viable
solution to build our dream. Our first priority was to find
a space, preferably on a slab, that provided enough ceiling
height that could facilitate the demands of acoustical de-coupling.
We found a builder that would work with us and after moving
in, we contacted Chris Huston (Led Zeppelin, The Who, WAR)
to create a design what would meet our needs. This would
be a cost-no-object assault; incorporating high-end building
practices within the confines of a daylight basement.
I wanted a multi-use facility that included a Mastering room,
Post Production room, Iso booth and a separate area for all
the computers and noisemakers. To accommodate our client’s
needs, the Mastering room can double as a tracking room.
We
were fortunate enough to find contractors that were musicians
and understood the rigors of undertaking such a project.
The first thing we had to do was to remove windows and seal
up every stud, joist and crevice with 27 cases of acoustical
caulking. We knew a studio lives or dies on it’s infrastructure,
so an Equi=tech balanced electrical power system was installed
utilizing 800 ft. of high-end JPS Labs In-wall electrical
cable and Oyaide receptacles. We thought enough ahead to
separate the electrical system into Left channel, Right channel
and Digital, into each of the rooms.
All rooms feature floating
floors, ceiling and walls that are decoupled from the outside
structure utilizing Kinetics Noise Control systems. About
2 tons of R-22 Roxul was used for all stud and joist cavities.
Walls are hung on damped resilient channel by ASC with 2
layers of 5/8” drywall and Green
Glue.
We wanted the studio to be as aesthetically
pleasing as it was functional. All floors are Maple with
solid surfaces being Birdseye Maple. Solid core Maple doors
are used with Zero International seals and cam-lift hinges.
Walls are covered with 1” O.C.
703 and fabric done by Snap-tex. RPG Diffractals, also in
maple, round out the acoustical treatment. To tie everything
together, Allen Larsen of Cascade Productions was called
into service to custom build all studio furniture in solid
maple with walnut inlay.
Symmetry plays an important part when dealing
with acoustics and these rooms set the standard at +/- 1/16”.
Separating the Post/Mastering rooms are 2 pieces of laminated
glass at 1” and ¾” that are mitered at
15degrees at the center to keep from having parallel surfaces.
Not resting
on our laurels, the equipment had to reflect the detail that
went into the build. Starting in the Mastering room, Wilson
Audio WATT/Puppy and WATCH surround system was called into
play powered by Pass Labs XA-160 monoblocs. All cabling was
provided by JPS Labs, using their top of the line Aluminata
and Super Conductor 3 series. For monitor control, a Crane
Song Avocet Surround ed. ties everything together. Based around
a Rupert Neve Masterpiece 2 by Legendary Audio, the room also
features converters by EMM Labs and equipment by Manley, TC
Electronics and Weiss. Puget Sound Studios is the only purpose-built
facility in the Pacific Northwest that can record, edit and
master multichannel DSD/DXD projects for SACD/DVD-A Surround.
The
Post room is built upon a Pro Tools HD4/Accel workstation
using the Control24 as a controller. Digidesign 192, PRE,
Sync and Digidelivery system round out the ensemble. An Avid
video workstation is used in conjunction with Pro Tools to
create a seamless workflow. Monitoring is done using the
new Focal Twin6 Be, Solo6 Be and Sub6 in a calibrated 5.1
configuration. Speaking of calibration, the renowned Bob
Hodas worked his acoustical magic to round out a truly high-end
operation. “
Finally
the Seattle audio industry has a world class Mastering facility
they can call their own!
