Recording & Writing Sweet Spot: Let Em In Music

GOWANUS, BROOKLYN: Back in the Fall, we took a ride over to a newish studio in the Gowanus neighborhood of Brooklyn called Let Em In Music.

Let Em In live room

Owned and run by engineer/producer Nadim Issa, Let Em In will appeal to musicians and producer/songwriters for a few reasons, but first and foremost for its ample recording and work space.

In designing Let Em In, expanding out of his home studio, Issa took note of the shortage of affordable tracking rooms in the area. The studio he set out to create for himself – with builder Chris Harmaty of Technical Structures and acoustics by Joe Salvatto, of Salvatto Sound – would effectively fill a gap in the market.

“I wanted a big live room, and I wanted to really take advantage of digital technology and focus on keeping the rates affordable,” he explains. “I knew I was going to go all digital – recording to Logic or Pro Tools and mixing in the box with an Apogee Symphony – and wouldn’t be buying up a lot of outboard gear, at least not at first.

“I would love to work in analog and use tape, but it’s just not realistic right now, and I think it’s cost-prohibitive to so many musicians to work that way.”

Let Em In provides a space for writing, recording and mixing over, perhaps, a longer period of time than a band might spend in a commercial studio otherwise.  “The studio is ideal for bands who want to write and record with or without a producer,” says Issa, “And for songwriters who want to get together and work on pop songs for a publishing deal, a song-camp type of scenario. It’s affordable, so it works for anything requiring longer blocks of time.”

The Let Em In live room has 13-ft ceilings and is stocked with choice musical equipment including a 1968 Ludwig kit and upright piano, Rhodes, guitars, amps and keyboards. The spacious control room features select and requisite equipment (see below) for the client’s DAW of choice, and plenty of natural light.

“We’ve all been to the studios with the shiny floors and the black leather couch and they all feel sterile,” shares Issa. “I wanted this studio to feel homey and relaxing.” Read on for all the deets!

Facility Name: Let Em In Music

Let Em In: Keys

Location: Gowanus/Park Slope, Brooklyn

Studio’s Date of Birth: September 2009

Website: http://www.letemin.com

Facility Focus: Mostly tracking and mixing. Increasingly we do writing sessions as well.

Mission Statement: Our mission is to give musicians and producers the opportunity to hunker down and experiment in a comfortable and homey setting (with a fairly spacious live room).  We want musicians to be able to forget the clock and give their music the time it deserves, which is not easy to do in NYC.

Clients/Credits: Sharon Van Etten, Sean Bones, Julie Doiron, Dinowalrus, Milagres, Jean on Jean, Magic Eyez, Dinosaur Feathers, Shark?, The Ludlow Thieves, Goes Cube, Simone Stevens, Coyote Eyes, Mancino, Nyle…

Neighborhood Advantages: Near the Atlantic-Pacific transportation hub.  All the food/amenities that 5th Avenue in Park Slope has to offer. There is also a lot of music in the hood: it’s close to venues like the Rock Shop, The Bell House, Brooklyn Lyceum, Union Hall, Littlefield, and Southpaw.

Key Personnel: Nadim Issa, Dan Teicher (in-house producer)

System Highlights: Apogee Symphony system (24-in/8-out), Logic/Pro Tools 9, Mic Pres by Universal Audio, API, Great River, ADL. All your usual mics by AKG, Beyer, Sennheiser, Audio-Technica, Shure, Rode, etc.

View from the control room

Distinguishing Characteristics: I think that we have a rare combination for NYC: affordable rates, good gear, and a large 450 sq. ft. live room with 13′ ceilings.

Rave Reviews: The sound of the live room. In fact, we’ve had a lot of string and horn musicians tell us how great it sounds to play in it. Most people also respond to the vibe/decor of the studio. It’s clean and modern without being sterile.

For instance, we took inspiration from the dark matte plywood floors found in a lot of bars and we made sure all acoustic treatment was aesthetically pleasing in its own right and blended in nicely. We added some “homey” touches: a few paintings and photos, a light globe, and soft lighting in general.

Most Memorable Session Ever: Sharon Van Etten. She came in solo with an electric guitar and cut a cover of “Blue Christmas.” She has such a beautiful voice and we found a perfect match with our Rode K2 mic. Everything came together quickly and it was nice to sit back and just enjoy the performance.

The building is on fire, you only have time to grab ONE thing to save, what is it: Not sure “grab” is the right word, but I’d take our beautiful Perzina upright piano – my most prized possession without a doubt…That, or a hard drive.

Dream Session: Pet Sounds sessions with Brian Wilson.

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