Owner/engineer Nick Lloyd at the Firehouse control
Photo: Robert Wolsch Designs
Firehouse 12, a new facility designed by Walters Storyk Design Group, combines live performance venue and professional recording studio into one spot in New Haven’s thriving Ninth Square club district. A longtime goal of musician/producer/engineer Nick Lloyd, this intimate club/studio represents a meaningful option for performers and recording artists.
“I’ve known this building since my days as an undergraduate at Yale,” Lloyd says. “It has all the prerequisites for a successful venue, and developing its live recording potential dramatically increases our prospects. Architect/acoustician John Storyk’s world-class reputation immediately establishes a high level of credibility for our recording capabilities. He’s developed some terrific design ideas, including an extraordinarily effective warped three-dimensional plywood membrane absorber for the live room ceiling. The custom-designed glass doors he recommended double as oversized windows, providing perfect sight-lines in every direction between the two large iso booths, and the live and control rooms.
“John also worked really well with Gray Organschi Architecture, the local firm that worked with us on the building restoration, studio and residential quarters upstairs. We’re very optimistic about the impact we can have on the local and and regional recording scene, as well as the international community of improvising musicians.”
Built for contemporary music audiences of all genres, with a focus on jazz, improvised and indie rock, Firehouse 12 plans to establish itself as the performance space in New Haven for adventurous music. The intimate 1,200 square-foot Live Room is designed to envelop 80-plus audience members within Connecticut’s only six-channel surround sound environment. The venue’s recording studio includes a vintage 48-input API Legacy console, Studer A827 2-inch tape deck, 48-channel Pro Tools HD3/Accel system, Nexo PS 15/PS 10 speakers with Camco amplification, Genelec 1038 main monitors and a collection of Neumann, DPA, Soundfield, Royer, BLUE, AEA, AKG and Shure mics and plenty of top-shelf outboard equipment.
“With 18-foot high ceilings and solid construction dating back to 1904, this building has earned its place on the National Register of Historic Places,” says Storyk. “We immediately recognized its terrific inherent acoustics. The idea of helping Nick Lloyd create a club with a Knitting Factory or 930 Club (also acoustically fine-tuned by WSDG) level of influence was an interesting challenge.
“The music industry may be poised for a resurgence of live recording, and this club is positioned as a real alternative to the sampling, and desktop recording trends that have impacted so dramatically on the studio scene in recent years,” he adds. “It will be very interesting to hear the music that develops here.”
Firehouse 12 is located at 47 Crown Street in New Haven, Ct. Visit www.firehouse12.com for more information.
