Mr. Rupert Neve (left) with Billy Crockett
A 19th-century garrison near Austin, Texas, has been reborn as Blue Rock Studios, a 4,000-square-foot retreat and recording facility for selected producers specializing in Texas folk artists and music for film. Blue Rock’s integrated hybrid digital/analog control room combines 16 Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5032 pre/EQ modules with a digital audio workstation and controller. The studio also boasts two large live rooms (one with a vaulted ceiling and large beams) constructed of native rock and woods. Architectural design was completed by Lou Kimball of Austin, with the control and iso rooms designed and built by Michael Cronin of Acoustic Construction (Nashville).
According to owner Billy Crockett, “We chose the Portico modules because of their sound, their solid ‘forever’ quality of construction and their elegant simplicity. We also needed our tracking modules to be arranged vertically for control room flow. Portico was the right answer for all these reasons. Plus, we just like the Rupert Neve Designs team. Everybody over there is qualified, kind and extremely diligent to deliver what they promise.”
As Crockett explains, the forthcoming summing mixer from Rupert Neve Designs is also key to his facility concept, which surrounds digital control and recording capabilities, both physically and electronically, with discrete analog components and the simple purity of Mr. Rupert Neve’s designs. “The restrictions of an old-school console are clear enough now that we decided to go with the Digidesign ICON D-Command controller and Pro Tools|HD3, integrated with an analog, Rupert Neve-designed front and back end,” says Crockett.
A total of 100 tie lines interconnect the recording spaces with the 32-input, 40-output Pro Tools system. Patching is available for alternative recorders such as RADAR and 2-inch tape.
For more information about the Rupert Neve Designs Portico Series, visit www.rupertneve.com.
