Studio Stories: Galuminumfoil Upgrade, Part II “After”
As you recall, a few months ago Chris Cubeta, the multitasking/muli-instrumentalist co-founder of the busy Williamsburg recording/mixing/mastering facility Galuminum Foil, embarked on a serious upgrade of his studio. (If you missed Part 1 “Before”, you can check it out right here.)
The BEFORE shot of Galuminum's control room. Scroll down to see the transformation...
The plan was to ramp up control room workflow and equipment with a new 32-channel Neotek Elan console, better converters, and fresh treatments in order to maximize the performance of their 400 sq. ft. live room. How did his big ideas pan out? Now that the revamped Galuminum Foil is 100% functional, your wait for data — and images that don’t lie — is officially over.
The Battle Plan:
My plan for the redesign was not much of a plan, HA! I knew I had to get it done within a week so we could get back to work. Everything went pretty well until the “hurricane” hit. We had some fear of flooding so we had to put most of the equipment up on cinder blocks, which was a bummer since we had just gotten everything situated. FYI, we didn’t keep the studio open during the renovations.
Making it Happen:
The process was a bit like this: Galuminum’s Jeff Berner spent the week prior to the renovation trying to get our new computer, software and Lynx-Aurora converters to communicate with one another, which was a bit of a challenge but he forged through it and got it working.
The first thing we did to the room itself was completely empty it out. This meant removing all equipment, sound treatment, carpet and countertops. Following a trip to our local pub and a few hours of sleep, the next day we hung all of the rough cut pine on the walls. That pretty much took up the entire day. The following morning the new carpet was installed and then we moved the console into the room.
AFTER: Now starring the 32-channel Neotek Elan console, and a highly appealing new vibe.
The following three days were spent wiring up the console and all of our outboard gear, while simultaneously hanging the new sound treatment on the walls. At this point we are still making some minor changes to the room as we listen and get familiar with how things are sounding. Overall we couldn’t be happier. It really does sound quite good!
If I Knew Then What I Know Now:
To be honest, there wasn’t that much I would have done differently unless I had more money to work with. It would have been nice to have a proper tech for a few days to help troubleshoot some of the wiring issues.
Drum roll…The Result!
It came out GREAT! The combination of the console, converters and a better-sounding room is amazing. We are getting great sounds and we are honing in on our workflow. Myself, (and Galuminum staffers) Jeff Berner and Gary Atturio all have some projects that we’re really excited about.
Bonus Point:
Just a big huge “thank you” to all of the artists who have recorded with us. We work really hard to be good at our craft, so it’s nice that people appreciate that. Other than that, I just did a solo tour of Germany and a short run of dates with my friend Elizabeth Ziman opening for Sarah Bareilles. Next up: I plan to be in the studio for most of the winter working on records!
– Chris Cubeta, Co-founder, Galuminum Foil
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