3 Recording Studios to Inspire You

Ivano Icardi’s Skyline Studio in Turin, Italy.

This week, Andy Jones of MusicTech explores three very inspiring studios and interviews their owners. Ranging from digitally focused to analog oriented, these studios will undoubtedly give you some ideas for your next studio upgrade. All three of these studios would find themselves right at home on @studio_porn’s Instagram account.

Skyline Studio is the private studio of Ivano Icardi, based out of Turin, Italy. His entire set up is based upon his needs as a producer, composer and guitar player. All of his recording is done through two MOTU 16A audio interfaces, but he doesn’t own a significant amount of outboard mixing and mastering equipment. Icardi says, “ I really don’t need gear like compressors or EQs, as all the signals are treated inside the box.”

When asked about his main pieces of gear, Icardi responds by saying that “Skyline Studio’s ‘heart’ is really simple: good-sounding rooms; plenty of mics, guitar amps, cabinets, guitars; and 16 mic preamps connected straight to the converters. On top of that, we have Yamaha NS10 monitors with a Yamaha amp; Genelec 8040A monitors; 2x MOTU 16A interfaces; Focusrite ISA 428 mic pre; SSL Alpha VHD-Pre; Audient ASP880 mic pres and a Kemper Profiler amp, plus Mogami and Klotz cables.”

At the end of Icardi’s interview, he leaves us with some advice: “Leave space around you.” He explains that it’s important to consider the sound of your room before filling it with gear. You need space to properly position your studio monitors and install acoustic treatment. As Icardi says, “A good-sounding room is the secret of a good sounding mix!”

The other studios on this list include Fonderiefoniche in Piedmont, Italy, owned by Manuel Daniele, and Estudio Prorec in Buenos Aires, Argentina, owned by Fernando Morales. To read more about these studios, and view photos of them, check out the full article via MusicTech.

Charles Hoffman is a Mixing and Mastering Engineer at Black Ghost Audio. After graduating from the University of Manitoba with an English degree, Charles completed his education at Icon Collective in Los Angeles, CA.

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