FEATURE STUDIO PROFILE
site to open out the studio space and slightly increase the RT60 (reverberation time),” says Hawkins. “Once again, the work went ahead without any problems. As well as the opening out of Studio A, in both A and B, acoustically transparent fabrics were replaced, as these needed refreshing.” Studio A has a Steinway & Sons B-211 grand piano, a Fender Rhodes, and a Hammond B3 organ with a Leslie 251. In the control room is a Studer A800 DASH machine and a recently maintained Solid State Logic SL 4000 E desk with computer, which has Studer preamps. Most of Powerplay’s clients like to mix in the box here,
however in-house engineers try to work with outboard gear. Recently Tommy Henriksen, guitarist for Alice Cooper, mixed a band in the box but with the desk. Te control room of Studio B is almost the same size, but the
live room is smaller. Studio B has an additional Studer A800, and Pro Tools rigs can be found in every studio. Te facility can mixdown to 0.5in tape for a compression feeling, and is trying to bring back a live concept. “If I’m listening to recordings today I really feel if the band is playing live or not,” says Müller. “Tat stands out in all the productions we have. We really fight for this old sound. An R&B production from the States can afford a good production by editing and composing in the box without a band. If you don’t have this money, spend [what you have] on a real musician and you’re going to stand out too. With no digital development in the 90s it was quite difficult to run the studio for all the people here.
“A lot of people in Switzerland have a tape machine, a good analogue desk, or both, but they’re not running a studio with a daily service.” Christian Müller
“A lot of people in Switzerland have a tape machine, a good analogue desk, or both, but they’re not running a studio with a daily service.” Powerplay is offering a lot of new services including online
mastering; a sample of string recordings; 5.1 mixing for small films; and Powerplay Academy, which comprises numerous educational concepts: “We want to have young producers back in the studio to teach them how to work on an inline desk,” says Müller. Te facility is also setting up a small label: “We’re not waiting for a lot of demos, if they come, they come. We’re going to have a really small catalogue of one or two productions a year,” he adds. According to Müller, Muggli is up for working with clients all night long. “Tat’s why we are sharing this job,” he laughs. “You need a man who likes to talk and likes to sell and you need a guy who’s working continuously at the desk and has an ear for it. Tere’s always someone around who can help you out in the studio. Even if you’re just renting the studio without an engineer we’re going to provide you with permanent assistance all day long and all night long.” Müller and Muggli just had B-Real (Cypress Hill) and Xzibit in the studio and Wu-Tang Clan last summer. “It happens quite a lot that a big selling artist is joining in because they are touring in Europe,” says Müller. “If they are in Switzerland and they need a studio to continue working we can provide the services, the studios, and the workflow.
www.powerplaystudio.ch
www.audiomedia.com May 2014 29
Studio D is small and intimate with acoustics designed by Christian Beusch
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48