Rye, NY, May 4, 2009–The growing movement towards high-end residential studios welcomes another convert this month with the opening of producer / engineer Yaron Fuchs’ new home studio. Fuchs who has worked with many Grammy®-winning artists ranging from Herbie Hancock, Ben Harper, Bryan McKnight, Smashing Pumpkins and Tim McGraw to Moby, had co-owned NYC’s EastSide Sound in 1990’s, and later co-owned NuMedia NY Studios. With large rooms continuing to devolve into an ‘endangered’ species, Fuchs and his partner Bob Brockman reassessed their commitment to a NYC presence.
“In late 2007 we decided not to renew the NuMedia NY lease which was becoming increasingly unattractive,” Fuchs says. “I bought a home in upstate New York for my growing family, and took a year off to consider my next move. I knew today’s technology would enable me to accomplish virtually any mixing task with the same quality and efficiency of our large studio. I was drawn to the option of having the freedom to record artists in any of NY’s great rooms, and then bring the material upstate where I didn’t need to watch the clock or deal with the commute.
“Conversations with Professional Audio Design principal Dave Malekpour confirmed Fuchs’ belief that he could build and equip a cutting edge home studio within a reasonable budget. “I already owned a considerable amount of analogue gear, and Dave developed a package that fit perfectly with the hybrid ‘in-the-box/out-of-the-box’ working style I envisioned,” Fuchs says. Working with architect/acoustician John Storyk’s Walters-Storyk Design Group Fuchs knew his studio would look, sound and function at a world-class level.
“Thanks to a long working relationship with Yaron, I understood what he was looking to accomplish with his new studio,” Malekpour says. “We developed an extremely flexible personalized system to support his minimal patch bay needs, and we designed custom furniture to maximize his storage space and keep the gear out of site during listening or screening sessions.”
“The past few years have witnessed a remarkable turning point in studio design,” says WSDG principal John storyk. Technology has been advancing, room size (and budgets) have been shrinking, and we have completely re-evaluated the entire concept of what constitutes a professional studio. The goals for these rooms continue to demand the highest quality of acoustic performance while maintaining individuality and architectural excellence. Equipment changes, advanced acoustic prediction and simulation design techniques, as well as the challenge of smaller environments have inspired many exciting design initiatives.
WSDG developed a number of templates during the past few years for small home style studio environments, including Paradise Garage, an elegant Westchester facility created for hit producer Robert Clivillés as well as Alicia Key’s Oven Studios in Long Island. “It was a remarkable coincidence to hear that Yaron was planning to turn his 400 sq. ft. garage into a studio,” Storyk says. “We’d learned some valuable lessons with our Paradise assignment and were looking to apply them again.”
After surveying the real estate available for the studio Storyk sketched out a rough design on the proverbial napkin when he, Malekpour and Fuchs adjourned to dinner. “I envisioned the finished room, console placement, the addition of vocal booth, machine room, windows, etc. and wanted to get it down as quickly as possible. Noise leakage was a primary concern. Just as with the Clivillés studio, Fuchs’ home is located in a residential enclave. He needed to be free to work at noise levels in excess of 110dB, without disturbing neighbors or resident wildlife. “This is a floating, room-within-a-room, structure with a poured concrete floor, totally secured from sound leakage. Every precaution has been taken to maintain the surrounding sylvan quiet,” Storyk says.
With a Digidesign D Control console; Focal Twin 5.1 system; KRK Expose E8’s; Neve 1081s; a fully loaded API 500 Series Rack and a wealth of outboard gear, Fuchs’ new studio represents the ultimate home mixing environment. PAD developed an equipment package, and WSDG designed an extremely comfortable, attractive and eminently workable physical plant. I genuinely feel at home here, it’s artistically inspiring and financially doable,” Fuchs says. “I’ve got the all the necessary tools and the perfect creative environment. The beach is a short walk from the house, I can take my kids to school in the morning, walk the dog, walk into my garage and get to work without having to sit in the car for an hour.”
###
About Walters-Storyk Design Group
The Walters-Storyk Design Group www.wsdg.com has designed over 3000 media production facilities in the U.S., Europe, the Far East and Latin America. WSDG credits range from the original Jimi Hendrix Electric Lady Studio in Greenwich Village to NYC’s Jazz At Lincoln Center performance complex, broadcast facilities for The Food Network, Interlochen Public Radio, CBS and WNET, and corporate clients such as Hoffman La Roche. Recent credits include private studios for Tim “Timbaland” Mosley, , film composer Carter Burwell, Goo Goo Dolls, Aerosmith, Green Day, Jay-Z, Bruce Springsteen and Alicia Keys. WSDG principals John Storyk, Beth Walters and Dirk Noy lecture frequently at universities and industry events, and contribute regularly to industry publications. The firm maintains offices in NY, SF Argentina, Brazil, Beijing, Mexico City and Switzerland.
About Professional Audio Design
Professional Audio Design (PAD) is a technical services company specializing in sales, specification, installation, maintenance and support of high-end audio equipment. Founded in 1992 by Dave Malekpour, PAD has provided sales and services to world-class recording studios, artists, producers, engineers and studio designers.
