At Studiospares, we go above and beyond as a supplier of professional audio equipment and delivering premium studio installations. Our mission is to provide tailored solutions that address the specific requirements of every client.
The Royal Greenwich Music Service got in touch with us to design and construct a full commercial-quality studio build and install. This was part of an initiative to invest in long term tech provisions and a music hub for young people in the borough aged 6-16. This was an opportunity to make sure young people developed skills that could see them be at the forefront of the music industry for years to come, so we were excited to be involved.
Unfortunately, their budget had to change but we were still able to deliver a high-quality recording studio installation, ensuring the project had the gear and attention it deserved. As well as this, the room earmarked for the work was in disrepair and was rather old as the space was originally a portacabin in the 70’s.
When assessing the room for the build we noticed that all the windows would have to be removed as they would cause huge amounts of reflections and would make the room acoustically untenable. This was solved by arranging the building of two partition walls and flooring that would make the space functional. We revised quotes several times to ensure that the key functions of the studio were still deliverable as were set on delivering to the highest possible standard.
Acoustically treating the room
The room had to be acoustically treated to be able to record without any negative acoustic qualities such as reflections, bass frequencies, echoes and standing waves. As this was an old portacabin the ceiling was not a particularly hard surface so had to be acoustically treated with SnowSound IN ceiling panels to help absorb reflections and higher frequencies. Next, the walls needed to be treated with two lots of StudioATK-42 Acoustic Treatment Kit Black by Studiospares which would also help tame unwanted acoustic qualities.
Finally, we set up a Portable Vocal Booth by Imperative Audio which would help with recording anything from spoken word to voiceovers and even guitar amps, as it reduces reflections to 0.07 and provides up to –28.4dBa of noise reduction making it just as good as any other booth.
The PVB comes in either black or white with three high performing layers of acoustic treatment and the roof. The PVB’s lightweight aluminium patent pending design largely eliminates the issue of standing waves found in the corners of other vocal booths. And the acoustically treated roof has a built-in 30cm channel allowing for a microphone to be lowered into the booth for comfortability and enhanced vocal recordings.
The Studio Gear
The first piece of equipment to be put into the freshly treated studio was the workstation. The workstation is one of the most important parts of any studio because you use it so often and has a big impact on the user’s workflow.
This is why the Zaor Onda Angled Oak Studio Console was chosen as it was wide work surface and comes equipped with two 2x 6U racks. We filled these racks with the EVO by Audient EVO 16 USB Audio Interface with Rack Mount Kit to handle the routing, low latency cue mixing and be used as a standalone mic preamp, an Audient EVO SP8 – 8 Channel Smart Preamp handling the I/O, a Mackie HM-800 Headphone Amplifier with 2 Beyerdynamic DT770s for headphone monitoring, a CP9 Power Conditioner and Rack Light by Lambden Audio to handle the power conditioning, and a Signex CPT96D25 Bantam / D-sub Patch Bay.
Next to be put in was a Pro 16 in 4 HP Return 20m Stage Box to help with multiple microphone and instrument inputs and speaker outputs. As well as this we set up an Apple Mac Mini with a 32” curved screen with Logic and Native Instruments Komplete and two Focal Alpha Twin EVO Active Studio Monitors for pristine and professional sound recreation.
Impact on Audio and Music Facilities for the Royal Greenwich Music Service
The studio installation for Royal Greewich Music Service typifies the high standard of work we perform in the realm of studio installations. A lot of pride is taken in delivering the highest standard customised solutions that address each client’s unique needs. By working together with educational initiatives like that from the Royal Greenwich Music Service, we help shape the future of the audio and music industry by offering young people the opportunity to learn and grow in environments comparable to professional studios.
We are immensely proud to have carried out the studio installation for the Royal Greenwich Music Service to deliver a customised solution that benefits inquisitive young people and showcases our dedication to quality and innovation.
Installation List
The state-of-the-art recording studio for the Royal Greenwich Music Service is equipped with an extensive list of top-tier gear and equipment, ensuring young people have access to industry-standard tools for their audio and music production education. Some of the equipment and gear used in the installation include:
- Zaor Onda Angled Oak Studio Console Angled with 12RU and Work Surface
- EVO by Audient EVO 16 USB Audio Interface
- Audient 19-inch Rack Mount Kit for the EVO 16
- Audient EVO SP8 – 8 Channel Smart Preamp
- Apple Mac Mini – M2 Pro 8 core CPU and 10 core GPU, 24 GB RAM, 1TB SSD
- 32″ curved screen for Apple Mac
- Mackie HM-800 Headphone Amplifier
- Pro 16 in 4 HP Return stage Box 20m
- 2 x Focal Alpha Twin EVO Active Studio Monitor
- Double Cross Keyboard Stand by Studiospares
- Overhead Heavy Duty Microphone Stand with Wheels by Trojan Pro
- Warm Audio WA87R2 Condenser Microphone Nickel
- SSL UF8 Advanced DAW Controller
- Signex CPT96D25 Bantam / D-sub Patch Bay
- Logic Pro X
- RODE M5 Matched Condenser Microphones
- CP9 Power Conditioner and Rack Light by Lambden Audio
- Audient Nero Desktop Monitor Controller
- Beyerdynamic DT770 Pro (80 Ohms)
If you have a project you would like to dicuss with our team, you can contact us here.