Jan 3, 2007 3:01 PM

Russ Berger Design Group (RBDG) designed a 1,700-square-foot recording facility within the Ft. Worth, Texas home of composer, arranger and freelance bassist John Evans. Evans' studio includes a control room, isolation booth, studio, machine room and lounge area.

Evans has worked on projects for Sports Illustrated and Time-Life, in addition to working with jazz saxophonist David Sanborn on the Grammy-nominated album, Hideaway. Evans started his own recording label, Studio Records, and set out to create a high-quality studio in his new home.

Among the challenges facing the RBDG team were isolation from outside noise and ensuring that the studio’s exterior blended seamlessly with the rest of the home.

“In John’s case, for example, there were HVAC condensing units to deal with right outside one wall of the studio, and the front of the house was only 35 feet from the street, which also contributed to the noise," Berger explains. "These sound issues were overcome by clever use of residential construction techniques to achieve the acoustical and aesthetic goals of the project. Treated appropriately, they are now inaudible in the studio.”

Along with double-wall isolated construction, cap ceiling and field-fabricated absorption, diffusion and reflecting finishes, RBDG’s design incorporated prefabricated SpaceArray diffusion units (designed and manufactured by pArtScience for Auralex Acoustics). The lounge area and machine room were located closer to the front of the house to act as an additional buffer between the sound-critical rooms and the street. The exterior walls on the house's south side were made 15 feet high to provide the volume needed for the studio and control room acoustics, and to help incorporate the studio into the rest of the home’s exterior.

The space also houses a Precision Kinetics 5.1 Surround Sound Monitoring System developed by RBDG’s Johnson Knowles. The Precision Kinetics monitor systems are custom matched to the client and room, and use the best component parts available.

“The acoustics of the space combined with the monitoring system create an atmosphere where I can actually hear the music as it is intended to sound,” Evans states. “The monitoring system provides a transparent, musical sound that translates so well to any other environment that I can approach each project I undertake with confidence.”

For more information, visit www.rbdg.com and www.studiorecords.net.

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