Studio Dual News

We've also added four more channels of API mic-pre magic with the API 3124+ Mic Preamp.

A new Kurzweil PC1X-L replaces our venerable Kurzweil MIDIBoard in our keyboard station. It features wonderful weighted 88-key piano action and an incredible aresenal of sounds indcluding grand pianos, Rhodes pianos. Mellotrons, orchestral instruments, jazz sections and more.

Chandler's Germanium Preamp features aggressive feedback and overdrive capablity for radical sound-sculpting work.

We're very happy to add the Soundelux U99 tube microphone to our roster: it's a contemporary classic. This gorgeous example is from the highly-regarded original edition, now out of production, and refitted with a vintage Mullard EF86 tube made in 1959.

For those occasions where only the original will do, we've fully restored our 1974 Fender Rhodes Stage Piano (we bought it new in 1974) to better-than-new condition: it plays like a charm and sounds simply tremendous. The difference between any synthesized or samped Rhodes and the real thing is night and day. Ask for it!

Freelance engineer Kevin Partridge has been doing lots of work here in recent months, with many bookings in place for the coming summer as well. Kevin's been doing great work here, and we're happy to have him on board.

And: Studio Dual is at MySpace. Check it out!

Rupert Neve is designing some of the best products of his long and legendary career. The Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5043 is a flexible, incredible-sounding compressor/limiter, great on strereo mixes and as a tracking comp. A stellar, simply stellar unit. The Neve Portico 5042 emulates the warm distortion of analog tape through the use of actual tape heads, and adds all kinds of mojo to tracks.

OUR FREE MASTERING PROMOTION CONTINUES

Effective immediately, any project recorded on Studio Dual's Radar 24 system qualifies for free basic mastering. This offer won't last forever, so book your session now!

SPL's Transient Designer 4 sculpts the dynamic texture of sound. What does this mean: slammin' drums, punchy bass, percussion that sits in the track, piano that cuts.... the list goes on and on.

The Aurora Audio GTQ2-MKIII is a world-standard micpre/EQ deisgned by Neve veteran Geoff Tanner. This is a wonderful, compact powerhouse which updates the classic sound of our Neve 1084's with contemporary focus and sheen.

A first-rate Beyer MC 740 microphone, rebuilt for us by Beyer in Germany, has entered our mic locker. Often compared favorably to the Neumann U67, the 740 shines on vocals and general-purpose applications.

We've just installed a Channel Strip Add-On processing package into our Yamaha 02R96 console/ This adds powerful vintage-emulation compressors and equalization, capturing the sounds of some of the best processors of the 1960's and 1970's in software. A big enhancement!

Two silky punchy Chameleon Labs 7602 preamp/EQ's add powerfully Nevesque tone and flexiblity to our lineup.

Audix makes killer drum mics. We've had one of their D6 models here for years, and just added a D4 and three D2's to our lineup.

The Red Type B mic body expands our mic locker considerably, permitting us to use our wonderful B.L.U.E. B6 & B7 capsules at the same time: one on the Red, and one on our super-high-end B.L.U.E. Bottle system.

Our new pair of Microtech-Gefell M930's are diminutive large-diaphragm monsters with superthin 3-micron 1-inch diaphraghms, a spec usually only available on rare hand-modified mics. These are great overall mics which shine in a variety of applications. Their tiny size is a real plus when space is tight, and their sound is amazing. They have excelled on drum overheads, room mic applications, acoustic guitars and toms. We're very impressed!

We couldn't help ourselves! The new M-Audio Sputnik was just too cool to pass up!

This is a very inexpensive vacuum-tube mic which totally rocks. Super-clear, present: real. We love it!

A lovely 2000-vintage Mahogany-top Martin D15 now hangs on our guitar wall, along with an 80's-vintage Guild Pilot bass (not pictured). Artists are welcomed to request these fine instruments for their session work.

"My 1926 Steinway "M" grand piano has been an important part of my musical life since I was in my teens. It's a wonderful piano with a warm, rich, clear sound and exquisite action. Over the past couple of decades this Steinway has followed me into most of the studios I've worked in, all the while receiving comprehensive overhauls and regular maintenance from my longtime friend and former bandmate, piano technician Paul Rice.

When Studio Dual was built, it became clear that the "M" would occupy more space than we could afford. It went just upstairs, into our living room. A Kurzweil MIDIBoard and Kurzweil PC2R module provide excellent piano sound and keyboard action for our clients, but there has been continual interest in using the Steinway for those times where only a real grand piano will do.

Now I've figured out a way to make that possible.

For "quick and easy" piano sessions we've installed a pair of Crown PZM-30 microphones under the Steinway's lid. Originally intended for rock overdubbing and similar work., this mic setup, combined with an RPG Abfussor acoustic panel, provides a shimmering, present sound and works for all sorts of applications, especially when we work in our standard configuration: lid-up. (With the lid down, singers or instrumentalists can work with the piano in the room, permitting small ensemble recordings.) It's also possible to integrate this setup with multi-instrumental tracking and micing in our main rooms, so "live" piano tracks can be recorded while other musicians use our studio space downstairs.

For more demanding, 'classical master' sessions, additional RPG acoustic panels from the studio's collection are brought upstairs and deployed for maximal treatment of the "piano room". Selected microphones and preamps are brought up to the piano: by placing the critical mic preamps as close to their sources as possible we transmit a line-level signal of maximum audio quality down our multipair snake to the control room, for mic placement and mix decisions. This more complex setup is rarely used here: most clients find the 'quick and easy' setup more than adequate for their requirements. But the 'full out' option is an attractive one, especially for classical music recording.

I've wanted to provide "real" piano recording at Studio Dual for some time- now I've found a way to do it."