Recording Studio Sweet Spot: Lindbergh Palace — Boerum Hill/Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

When something precious and rare suddenly sees daylight, that’s exhilarating.

It doesn’t quite rank up there with the discovery of King Tut’s tomb, but the recent evolution of Lindbergh Palace Studios from a strictly private facility to commercial is a happy jolt nonetheless.

That’s because this sunny studio is home to what’s about to become an instant hit in Brooklyn: a pristine Neve 8014 console. In place there since 2005, in what has up to now been the exclusive haven of composer/producer Jonathan “JB” Benedict and his collaborators, the board — and the rest of the studio — are now open for outside business.

Operating amidst the gourmet goodness that defines this Boerum Hill/Carroll Gardens border, Lindbergh Palace is on call to serve the community. If you’ve got  the right attitude, then bring your music — be it retro, futuristic, or other-dimensional — right here for the royal treatment.

Lindbergh Palace’s Neve 8014 has been keeping a low profile in Brooklyn for the last nine years.

Facility Name: Lindbergh Palace Studios

Website:  www.LindberghPalaceStudios.com

Location:  Boerum Hill/Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn

Neighborhood Advantages: Smith Street has changed a lot over the past few years, and really become a destination for folks in Manhattan and other parts of Brooklyn. It has one of the greatest concentrations of restaurants, bars, and cafes in the whole city, including some amazing and famous eateries like Battersby and Lucali.

In addition it has a very relaxed, peaceful vibe, and all the stores and shops are in close walking distance. Geographically we’re close to both Manhattan and to Williamsburg, and the subway is just two blocks from the studio.

Date of Birth: As Lindbergh Palace Studios, I would say 2012…we’ve actually been recording in this space since 2003, but the studio has evolved so much over the years that it feels like three different studios now.

Originally we started out with a couple of smaller mixers — a 54 series and a Kelso — with all the recording happening in the same room. In 2005 we built the control room, and craned in the Neve 80 series console, which has been the main board to this day.

More recently, in 2012, we overhauled the facility completely from top to bottom — new patch bays, new power, re-wired the room, the works — and it’s been pretty amazing ever since.

I give maximum credit to John Klett, Jens Jungkurth (of Eisen Audio), and Matt Marinelli (of Coral Sound) for transforming the space from an idiosyncratic collection of gear to a truly professional, ergonomic studio.

Time — and space — to go live. (Photo Credit: Steve Penta)

Facility Focus: Songwriting/Track Production, Music for Film/TV, Vocal Production, and Mixing are the main areas of focus.

Vocals are also a real priority for us, and we have some wonderful mic’s to choose from, including an original Neumann U47 from 1954.

We also have very good compatibility (gear-wise and sonically) with Manhattan studios like Jungle City and Germano, so overdubbing and bouncing between different rooms is easy.

Mission Statement: To make great music, and have a really good time doing it.

We aim to create a very positive, supportive, and relaxing atmosphere for all of the artists and producers that work here, and help them achieve their vision without judgement or compromise.

Clients/Credits:  We’ve been working a lot with Azealia Banks on her upcoming album — vocal production, tracking, mixing, and some programming; we also produced a cover of The Strokes “Barely Legal” for her which she released on Sound Cloud.

On the composer front, we just did the music for Pepsi’s Super Bowl commercial, which was a lot of fun. We do a fair amount of music for picture — we’ve done spots for BMW, Milk, Katy Perry, Home Goods, and many other brands, and we’ve scored a couple of films.

We’ve also released a couple of EP’s of our own songs, and done official remixes for Rihanna, Yoko, and many other.

Lastly, we have a growing number of freelance engineers passing through the studio now, folks who often work at studios in the city like Jungle City, Germano, and The Magic Shop.

Producer Jonathan Benedict is flying Lindbergh Palace.

Key Personnel:  Jonathan “JB” Benedict (Producer/Studio Owner), Rob Niederpruem (Producer/Studio Manager), Alex “Hammer” Hamadey (Producer/Programmer)

System Highlights: The centerpiece of the studio is a vintage Neve 8014 Console from 1975, which is loaded with 1073, 1066, and 1084 Mic Pre/EQ channels, and 2254 compressors. We use it extensively; almost everything passes through it at least once, and sometimes several times. For instance, lately we’ve been doing a lot of overdubbing through the bus outs, which gives a really rich sound when you are tracking directly into Pro Tools.

We’re also big fans of the 2254’s which are built into the board…they have this wonderful ability to spread and hold a mix in a really pleasing way, and at the same time make it more exciting.

On the digital front, we have an HD2 Accel rig running Pro Tools 10 and Logic, and a good assortment of Plug-ins. We also have a Studer A827 for analog multi-tracking, an Ampex ATR-102 for mixdown, and a healthy assortment of outboard including original Pultec EQ’s, Urei comps, and a gorgeous-sounding BX10 analog reverb.

Distinguishing Characteristics: Our live space is 30′ long, so we can accommodate small ensembles of four to five players comfortably.

We have a wonderful Steinway upright piano that sees a lot of use. It has a dark, moody character that works for many styles of music.

We also have a pretty stellar assortment of analog synths, including an Arp 2600, a Prophet 5/Pro One, Minimoog Model D, Memorymoog, and a Jupiter 8, all of which get used regularly. The synths are wired into a sub mixer which feeds into the console, so they are accessible on the Neve at all times.

Speaking of synths, I’d love to mention that we use a lot “classic” gear for very modern-sounding music, including the TV commercials that we do. For instance, the main sound sources on the Pepsi Super Bowl spot were a Roland SH-101 mono synth and a TR-707 drum machine. For “Barely Legal,” we used an arsenal of synths both vintage analog and digital, and mixed it on the Neve.

I’m a firm believer that you can use almost any kind of equipment to get the job done, but it’s best to use whatever inspires you. And since I grew up around NYC studios which had a lot of classic gear, that’s what I’m most inspired by, and that’s what I tend to use.

The building is on fire, you only have time to grab ONE thing to save, what is it?  You guys know this questions is totally unfair, right? Okay, I guess if I had to grab one thing only, it’d be the Neumann U67 — that mic is magical and it’s been a game-changer for us. Hopefully Rob would grab the U47 and Alex would snag the TR-808…

Rave Reviews: People feel very comfortable here, and they always come back.  That’s the best part — that everybody comes back.

Most Memorable Session Ever: Very early on, I had the privilege of doing some demos with the very talented and lovely Regina Spektor. She had just written the song “Dusseldorf” and was essentially playing it for the first time.

I remember vividly that excitement, that moment of watching her channel that melody and listening to it take flight as we recorded. Whenever I’m working with someone and I feel like there’s magic happening, there’s a real performance happening, I’m reminded of that moment.

Session You’d Like to Forget: Most sessions go well, but even if something goes south I still want to remember it. That’s how we learn, right?

Dream Session: As far as current pop artists go, we’d love to get Robyn over to the studio. Robyn, are you listening?

— Jonathan Benedict, Owner, Lindbergh Palace Studios

Another perspective on the classic console. (Photo Credit: Steve Penta)

Elsewhere in the control room… (Photo Credit: Steve Penta)

Hang around in the lounge. (Photo Credit: Steve Penta)

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