The Staff and Studio
Background:
The Studio is pretty much headed up by the chief engineer, Tim McGovern.
Tim has been playing guitar for 23 years and has amassed a large collection of nice instruments and top-notch gear over
the many years of playing and recording. The recording bug hit back in 1983 with a Fostex X-26 4-track machine.
Around 1989, The Studio had graduated to digital audio recording with one of the very
first Tascam DA-88's when they were first introduced back in the late 80's. The machine has
been invaluable. Tim has a degree in computer information systems and was quickly able to adapt The Studio as the
technology emerged.
Having that knowledge and access to computer hardware, the studio, once again, graduated to the next level
and adopted hard-disk recording, utilizing SAWPro from a company called IQ Software
on a high end PC. This
general setup has been in production for about 6 years now with many hardware changes in between. Having become very familiar with the
interface, our engineers are able to get projects up and running and have mic's
on and recording in a very quick amount of time, thus minimizing the overall
expenditures of the client. Our engineers have learned many things over the years and have come to find that, while
digital editing is the way to go for post-production, the capture of the original tracks is best left to analog tape.
Enter the Tascam MS16 machine late 2000. Running at +4 and balanced with no noise reduction
(and 15ips) this machine gets a drum and bass sound that's as warm as can be, and larger than life.
Studios that run these machines at 30ips basically LOSE all bottom end from 140Hz down. While it decreases the noise floor, it comes at
a VERY large expense. This machine is basically unusable for what it was designed for at the higher speed.
Tim has played with many groups in Atlanta, and
currently is heading up a recording project for a (now defunct) group named
InfinityZen'd. The CD should be due out by mid-year 2002. Great care is being
taken to assess every detail on this project and make it the best that it can
be. The other group that Tim is currently working with and writing new material with
is called Top Heavy Bottom. Several of the new songs can be heard on the
Music link off the main page.
The studio resides in the basement of Tim's house. The main room is
completely dead. The walls have been covered by 2 inch thick compressed
fiberglass panels 2' x 4' in size. Key walls and the drop ceiling utilize this damping material.
This keeps resonant and ambient noise levels in the main room to a bare minimum. The bathroom in the basement is
in the process of being converted into a tile and hardwood vocal booth.
The studio hosts a large jam session in the main room almost every Saturday night.
Many musicians in the Atlanta area come out to drink, play, and record and have a good time in general (without going broke!)
on Saturday nights. A round-robin of musicians gets together and play a lot of original tunes that Tim has
written over the years, as well as some cover tunes
. Sometimes the musicians will just throw down some improvised jams - and that's when some pretty
cool riffs and material is born!!!!!
The Studio began recording bands about 3 years ago at a
request of a friend of Tim. The engineers had already had the prior experience and time while working directly with
Tim and his group. The production went so smoothly and quickly, that the customer was extremely pleased with what he got
for his money. He went out and told his friends, and they told theirs - you
get the picture. No one has left unsatisfied. Our production staff works with each group to find what
they want out of the studio, and make every sacrifice to cater to their every
need and whim. The Studio's rates are competitively (ok - ridiculuously!) cheap, and that's what keeps them
coming back again and again.
Well, that's about it for us -
We are ready to hear from you!
The Studio's staff can be contacted at d9studio@mindspring.com to set
up consultation or a session.
