Chicago, IL (December 12, 2012)—Uptown Recording, a professional recording studio located on Chicago’s north side, recently purchased a full PA system, with Line 6 StageSource powered speakers and the StageScape M20d smart mixing system.
Boasting two full live music rooms along with three isolation rooms and additional multi-purpose rooms, this 5,000 square foot facility provides Avid Pro Tools recording and full 5.1 surround post-production abilities, among other services.
“Beyond recording, we also offer rehearsal and pre-production space for our recording clients, and host events here for indie and national acts, as well as local radio stations,” says Uptown’s chief engineer, Rob Ruccia, “We loved the features on the StageScape mixer and loved the sound of the speakers. Now it’s a permanent part of our West Studio, and we no longer have to rent a PA for the events we host.”
While a full PA system is not something most people associate with recording studios, the Line 6 StageScape M20d and StageSource loudspeakers fit Uptown Recording. “For rehearsing, you couldn’t ask for anything better,” Ruccia states. “The touchscreen relates perfectly to anyone with a smartphone or an iPad, so it’s very intuitive for the bands. They may not understand the complexities of EQ, compression, limiting and all that, but they can relate to terms like clarity, punch, and warmth on the StageScape interface. Once we have things set up for a band, it gets saved as a preset. Then when they come back, they’ve got their settings and everyone knows where to plug in because their names show up on the screen under their instrument. That saves a lot of time, which the bands really appreciate when they’re renting a space by the hour. It’s pretty awesome.”
The StageSource L3m self-powered loudspeakers have also proven their worth. “Actually, the speakers were one of the biggest things for us,” Ruccia notes. “Our old 600-watt PA was loud, but these Line 6 speakers have power to spare. They are 1400 watts, they sound great, and the active feedback suppression feature is amazing. I mean, I’ve actually tried to make it feed back and I can’t. That means the bands can rehearse without needing an engineer, which is a great benefit for everyone involved.”
The ability to use StageScape M20d for recording has also been a hit at Uptown. “The M20d records onto an SD card or straight into your computer, and it captures all the individual tracks and the stereo mix,” explains Ruccia. “For rehearsing and pre-production, that’s obviously great, since you have a record of everything you can take home with you. But as a recording engineer, I’m always into redundancy, and this allows me to track to both my Pro Tools rig and the SD card.”
Line 6
www.line6.com
