L-R: Jon Gamboa (guitarist/singer for local Vegas band the Solid Suns), Dr. Thomas Brewer (friend of the studio), Curt Hill (Tone Factory engineer), Hugo Castillo (Tone Factory engineer) and Jim Campbell (bassist for the Solid Suns)
The Tone Factory to Install Trident Series 80 Console
Las Vegas studio The Tone Factory recently acquired a Trident series 80 (32×24), to be installed in Studio A. “It’s an early series 80, not an 80b, which are much more common,” says studio owner Vinnie Castaldo. “We actually purchased it a year ago in April. Ed Evans—the original technician from the Hit Factory in New York—is servicing the Trident and going through it for us.” Castaldo says the studio also upgraded the power supplies, ICs and caps. Jim Williams of Audio Upgrades did mods to the main stereo module as well.
Ed Evans
The Tone Factory purchased the console from a local studio—RMS Recording—that has long been out of business. “They’ve been a studio since the ‘70s, and they bought the Trident new,” Castaldo says.” It’s going to replace our Otari Concept Elite in Studio A. It should be in by early summer.”
In other Tone Factory news, Castaldo has been working with a number of clients on various projects, including Mickey Thomas’ Starship, who recorded two tracks from their latest record, Loveless Fascination; Tommy DeVito (guitarist/founder of Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons), who is working on a record of traditional Italian songs; Denny Laine (Moody Blues, Paul McCartney & Wings), who is working on his new record Valley of Dreams; Louis Prima Jr., who is working on Return of the Wildest; and Gregg Foxx, who is working on the Renaissance Rock Orchestra. The O’Jays and Sleepy Brown (of OutKast and Organized Noize) are also working on new material at The Tone Factory.
Wade Martin Studios Builds New Studio and Ultra Lounge
Producer Wade Martin (Britney Spears, 50 Cent, Will.I.am, The Rolling Stones, Katy Cappella) is building a third WM Studio and Ultra Lounge, this time on the Las Vegas strip, which will open this summer (Martin currently has a studio in Phoenix and another in Vegas). Attached to the recording studio will be WM Ultra Lounge, an exclusive invitation-only venue where special guests will be able to see firsthand the inner workings of a recording studio through an 18 x 8 soundproof window and interact with A-List performers.
The new studio will be outfitted with Martin’s custom next-generation touch-screen console. This new 10-foot console boasts the ability to touch the screen in 42 places at once, and it also has pinch technology. The two 5-foot screens sit in a custom-built Argosy desk, much the same as the first-generation console built in 2007 (pictured). With this Wade Martin Designs console, you can pull up anything on it and work freely, from Pro Tools and Logic to the Internet.
In addition to the custom console, the studio also houses Kush Clariphonic EQ, Neve Portico II master buss processor, Chandler LTD-1 EQ/preamp, Adam S3A monitors, SSL X-Rack module, Lynx Technology Aurora AD/DA converters, and Dangerous Music Monitor ST input source switcher/speaker/cue system/talkback system/headphone amplifier.
Joel Cunningham shoots a video for “Waiting on You” by Sarah Moss. You can see the custom diffusers on the wall.
Lazy Ape Studios Installs Custom Diffusers
Using the free Internet software QRDude (Quadratic Residue Diffuser calculator), as well as making a whole lot of trips to Home Depot, the folks at Lazy Ape Studios in Scottsdale, Ariz. built custom diffusers for its tracking room. “By completely covering two walls of the four-wall tracking room, we now have the flexibility to record very live tracks, while avoiding problems like unwanted flutter echoes and comb filtering,” says Jon Suru, studio owner.
“The diffusers are made of wood,” says Suru. “The process included creating the schematics, measuring and cutting the wood, assembly, sanding and staining, and finally mounting. The whole process took about two weeks. And all the absorption panels were all custom-made using wooden frames and fabric to hold together the rock wool and fiberglass insulation.”
Meanwhile, Lazy Ape hosted a variety of artists recently, including Brock Baker, who worked on his latest EP, Young ’n’ Stupid; Josh Foster, who worked on Fluster Cluck; Jon Scott, who worked on his latest EP, Late Night Drive; and Sam Kiles, who also worked on new material.
