BB4 Studios: Mix & Master Unified in Brooklyn

Is it a nightclub? A lounge? A sushi joint?

A few months ago, passersby on a vibrant stretch of Bedford in South Williamsburg saw an awning go up over 327 Bedford Avenue, and started to wonder exactly what lay just beyond this stylized sign that they couldn’t miss. It reads: “BB4 – BROOKYLYN BORN BROOKLYN BRED.”

BB4 Studios‘ founder Rafael Planten fields all sorts of inquiries from interested pedestrians on the nature of his establishment, who discover that his new addition to Brooklyn culture isn’t a Japanese restaurant or a place to kick back with a bottle of Cristal. It’s actually an audio facility, and the fact that it boldly proclaims its presence – instead of hiding behind an anonymous black door as most NYC studios prefer – isn’t the only thing that makes it different.

There’s a dual purpose available at BB4’s main space. (Photo Credit: Ed Marshall)

Converging the Mix and Master

For BB4 the X-factor is the dual purpose of its critical listening environment, which is set up to be optimal for both mixing and mastering.

To execute his vision, Planten enlisted a multi-platinum engineer, producer, quality control expert and studio designer in Christos Tsantilis (P. Diddy, Mary J. Blige, Mobb Deep, Mos Def, Brandy, Big Pun, Queen Latifah, Patti LaBelle, Saigon), and presented him with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: Build a room from the ground up that would incorporate everything he’d learned from two-plus decades of recording and perfecting records.

While dedicated mastering suites abound, and many a mixer has taken over a space and tuned it to their liking, it is extremely rare to find a facility that’s designed from the beginning to incorporate a mixing-to-mastering workflow and excel equally at both.

The key to getting it right at BB4 was to build a neutral room with as flat a sweet spot as possible, and then hold everything inside to an extremely high standard. For Tsantilis, that meant meticulously researching and testing acoustical treatments and wiring, and then mercilessly A/Bing candidates for the monitoring system plus all of the outboard, dynamics, EQs, effects and plugins.

With tracking and overdubs also among the offerings, the same attention went to BB4’s mic locker and preamps. Meanwhile, the custom mastering-style console was designed by renowned studio designer Ken Capton (Eminem, Kid Rock, Music Works NYC, Yessian Music New York).

Equal parts student and educator when it comes to the science of audio, Tsantilis understands that BB4’s design in a way represents things coming full circle. “Mix rooms and mastering suites used to be built to the same specs,” he says. “But when larger tracking consoles started appearing, mix rooms started growing in size to accommodate them. BB4 is returning mixers to a space where accuracy has been optimized. Put another way, imagine being able to mix in a mastering-grade environment: You can hear the music much better, and make well-informed decisions as a result.”

A System for Sound

Proof of concept is heard in the sweet spot during sessions that can be helmed by Tsantilis, or booked by outside engineers that want to use the room for their artist, producer, or label clientele.

Looking in at the sweet spot from the perspective of the PMC’s (Photo Credit: Ed Marshall).

BB4 provides listeners with an extremely clear listening experience, one that stays artifact-free even up to very high volumes and reveals a great deal of aural information in reference or project material. The system’s serious power works in concert with the room’s ability to reveal sonics in surprisingly high detail – an accuracy achieved with every intention of translating to the end user’s earbuds, automobile, and home stereo.

Monitoring comes courtesy of a PMC ib2 passive 3-way system, which is flanked by dual ADAM Sub12 subwoofers. Bryston 4B-ST and THX amps provide power to the system, calibrated by a White Instruments Room EQ. Since the ADAM subs are active, the end result is in fact a quad amped system, where the Bryston 4B-ST amplifiers fuel the low end, while the Bryston THX amps handle the mids and high frequencies.

The sum total of wattage: 2700 W powering the PMCs, and an additional 600 W for the ADAMs, coming out to a generous 3300 W in total. A custom crossover is employed to ensure maximum efficiency throughout.

BB4 documents setting up the system on their Website, a process that reveals the attention to detail the studio employs as it consistently strives to maximize the sound. Solid silver (4n) cryogenically treated cable was employed to elevate the sonics and increase focus, while a different wire gauge is employed per frequency response to preserve clarity throughout the range. To power it all properly, Tsantilis and Planten installed a 30 amp Equi=Tech balanced power system with Oyade/Furutech AC cabling that’s been cryogenically treated and cooked.

Next in the chain, there’s plenty for a gear-loving engineer to get their hands on. Compressors include dual RAD 4K-CS SSL’s, Manley SLAM!, Tube-Tech CL 2A, Alan Smart C2, TK Audio BC1, and a custom 1176. On the EQ side are four channels of Vintech 473, API 553, Nightpro EQ3-D, and a Weiss Eq1-LP/DYN combo. For outboard FX, BB4 sports an Orban Stereo Synthesizer model 245e and classic Yamaha Spx90. A Manley 16×2 tube mixer handles summing duties.

The live room is small but can easily accommodate multiple players, or a full drum set. (Photo Credit: Ed Marshall)

Available plugins include Eventide Anthology, Waves Diamond Bundle including Platinum, Restoration, and Transform Bundles, Sonnox Oxford Elite, SoundToys, Altiverb XL, and Lexicon – PCM Native Total Plug-In Bundle. Avid Pro Tools 11 and SonicStudio’s SoundBladeHD are the respective mixing and mastering DAWs, and connect to the hardware and monitors via Prism Dream and Avid HD Omni converters.

To control the system, an engineer working at BB4 has two options. If they want the purest possible signal, they’ll reach for a CTAudio audiophile-style center section that features a lone volume control and absolutely minimum amount of circuitry. For the greater degree of control that may be required during tracking or mixing, a Dangerous Dbox monitor controller is available.

On the tracking and overdub side, microphones include a Manley Reference, stereo Audio-Technica ATM450’s, and a Shure SM7B. Mic pre’s are populated by the likes of four Vintech 573’s, two API 512c’s, and a stereo Melcore AML-27. Hardware can also be swapped in and out at a visiting engineer’s request.

Sonic Atmosphere

While the technical dedication is fierce, Planten has made sure to keep that in check when catering to clients. The vibe throughout the space is welcoming and relaxed, which helps in a relatively compact floorplan where every square inch is being put to work.

That mentality extends to the lounge, which was recently being attended to in a return visit by Capton to help make it double as an acoustically correct tracking space. The dual-purpose room complements BB4’s dedicated live space, a small but highly functional room that’s hosted recording sessions for the likes of bassist Zev Katz (Bruno Mars, Sheryl Crow, James Brown), drummer Jon Ihle (Chuck Berry, The Righteous Brothers), and Ian Lloyd of Stories.

The lounge is ideal for tracking — as well as loungin’. (Photo Credit: Ed Marshall)

“We made sure to acoustically treat the lounge, because in order to record a full band we needed a second room to record in,” Tsantilis explains. “The acoustical designs here are modular and mobile: We’ve found that it’s best to modify the room for the individual instruments that come in for each session. It’s definitely more fun to cater to each musician, as opposed to just having a standard technique that we use every time.”

In addition to acoustics, Capton oversaw the implementation of LED lighting throughout BB4, an increasingly common attribute among newer studios. “LED lighting allows you to emphasize things that are more pleasing to the eye,” Capton observes. “Little elements like that can make the whole experience pop more, which is helpful for creativity.”

Now that he’s had the opportunity to work in a room that was literally built around his vision for optimal acoustics and workflow, Tsantilis is experiencing the benefits of the mix/master convergence on multiple levels. “The end result is where it pays off,” he notes. “The translation of the mix here is true – what a client hears here level-wise is what they’ll hear at home, in their car, or on their personal device.

“You can trust what your ears are hearing at BB4. When you master that makes it a timesaver, which means that it’s a money-saver for artists and labels: With fewer surprises comes fewer recalls.”

Truly Brooklyn Bred

It would be tempting to keep your head inside the sweet spot all day at BB4, but that’s not what that big sign outside is all about.

Operating alongside the striving for technical excellence are the studio’s ambitions to positively affect the neighborhood. That drive stems from the fact that founder Planten really is Brooklyn Born Brooklyn Bred – in fact, he was born in the very building that now houses BB4, and has witnessed firsthand the radical transformation of South Williamsburg from urban jungle to artisan enclave.

(L-R) Christos Tsantilis, Rafael Planten, and Ken Capton (Photo Credit: Kiara Mudd)

Drawing on his past experiences as a community organizer, Planten is planning a series of listening sessions for local youth that will give them the opportunity to hear music in an elevated state. A newly-founded BB4 Publishing arm will help them to promote the careers of talented independent artists that come through the studio. Meanwhile a Brooklyn audio expo is in the works for early next year.

“Being right here on Bedford Avenue, we’re offering a sense of something that’s come out of all those years of craziness,” Planten explains. “For both the younger people in the neighborhood as well as the older generation, I hope that BB4 stands as a symbol of progress. We’re catering to an international clientele, of course, but we’d also like to inspire and shed light on the hidden artists that may be right here.”

A one-time aspiring audio engineer himself, Rafael Planten has seen BB4 become his musical expression: a facility designed from Day One to be different, uncommonly efficient and a beacon for better sound. “The lengths we’ve gone to here aren’t just for the sake of doing something new, but to help improve the music production process,” he says. “There’s nothing like hearing truly pristine music: It changes the perception of what a studio can be.”

• David Weiss

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