A bird’s eye view of Mark Needham’s studio, The Ballroom
Producer/engineer Mark Needham recently wrapped up The Killers’ forthcoming live album and a new record for Edie Brickell; and also found time to open The Ballroom, his private recording facility in Hollywood.
Needham, known for his work with Chris Isaak and Paul Simon, among others, has equipped his studio with a Digidesign ICON control surface with Pro Tools HD 6 system, Apogee converters and a 32-channel SPL MixDream summing mixer.
Other Ballroom equipment includes an SPL Kultube stereo compressor, a Transient Designer 4 dynamic effects processor, a Qure dual parametric EQ and the SPL PQ Mastering EQ, Manley Variable Mu Limiter and more.
“I recently switched from an SSL G+ to an ICON with Apogee converters and two SPL MixDreams, and I’ve been thrilled with the results,” says Needham. “They do exactly what they’re supposed to do; Class-A analog summing with inserts and no coloration. Also the insert section allows me to keep my SSL compressor, SPL PQ Mastering EQ and other analog gear in play.”
Visit SPL Electronics at AES, booth # 1137, to see their full product line. SPL’s MixDream is nominated for a 2005 TEC Award in the “Small Console Format Technology” category.
For more information on SPL, visit www.spl-usa.com. To see photos of The Ballroom and read up on Mark Needham, visit www.markneedham.com.
