San Diego, CA (May 23, 2018)—Studio owner Roy Silverstein built his facility, boutique studio Rarefied Recording, as something of a passion project over the years. Located in the North Park area of San Diego, the studio offers a control room, live room, and two sound locks which double as small iso booths.
“I first became interested in recording as a teenager in Chicago, playing in bands with my friends,” said Silverstein. “I borrowed a Tascam Portastudio 4-track from a band member’s dad—who incidentally happened to be Grammy-award winning musician Howard Levy—taught myself the basics and I was hooked.”
Inspired, he went on to study Audio Engineering at the University of Miami and soon after began building a home studio. As it grew, he collected gear, and the studio began to expand—into his house. A spare bedroom became the control room, his living room began to double as his live room, and the dining room and foyer got pressed into service sometimes as well.
By 2010, he knew he wanted to build a proper recording studio, so he purchased a larger property and enlisted studio designer Wes Lachot to help envision his facility. After two years of planning and another year of construction, Rarefied Recording was finished and ever since, Silverstein has been recording regional bands there, as well as hosting guest engineers like Brian Scheuble (Aimee Mann, Leann Rimes, Elton John, Tom Petty) and Danny Kalb (Beck, Jack Johnson).
Last year, Silverstein felt it was time to upgrade the studio’s console; after conferring with Lachot and others as to what might suit the space, he ultimately decided to go with a 32-channel Neve Genesys G64. “I loved the quality of the sound, of course,” he said, but added, “I wanted something with a definite sonic stamp that could impart some magic to my recordings, so the 1073 mic pre and 1084 EQ were a no-brainer in that regard. Second to the sound is the board’s functionality; having Total Recall is a godsend. I have a feeling that my Genesys will be holding court at Rarefied Recording for a very long time.”
Rarefied Recording • www.rarefiedrecording.com
AMS Neve • www.ams-neve.com
