The Acoustic Design of ARC Studios
Mark Tucker in the control room at ARC Studios (photograph: Jolyon Holroyd)
Studios Design
ARC Studios are designed for typical ensemble live recordings of all genres. The live room is large enough for powerful drum & percussion sounds, airing on a darker and warmer tonality. We incorporate a drier recording area at one end of the live room with further options for screening off.
Acoustic Design - Control Room
The working dimension of the room is; 6m x 5.5m. This does not represent the physical room as trapping and soffits have impacted that. Any acoustician will tell you that the maths are a critical part of studio design. Without embracing the science of sound It's impossible to make the right calculations that assist in any sensible & accurate decision making regarding the acoustic treatment of any live room or control room. The rooms not only have to sound right, but they also feel right emotionally, environmentally and aesthetically.
The sonic heart of ARC Studios are the SSL 16 x 16 G+ & E series console and the ADAM S5H monitoring. The room also has to be capable of comfortably accommodating your average 5 or 6 piece band, a producer and an engineer.
Where possible, I wanted to maintain some of the character of the original and old building; wooden floors, large Oak beams, Oxford Stone walls which provide great diffusion and aesthetic. I also wanted to maintain as much natural light as physically possible, to both the control room and main live room.
Extensive sonic measurements were made at each critical stage across the two year studio build project.
As a result of these measurements led to my decision to soffit mount the ADAM S5H monitors. The benefits were worth the extra cost and work involved:
Optimisation of bass response
To reduce unwanted reflections around the monitors
The soffit also provided the additional sonic definition, stereo imaging and improved diffusion across a broad audio spectrum.
Other more traditional low frequency trapping was used extensively to maintain LF RT60 times at around .25 seconds. The hardest task was dealing with the lower frequencies. The combination of traditional Rockwool trapping in the ceiling, floors, corners & rear wall, combined with 30 x three bespoke sized Limp-Mass boxes, each Limp-Mass box was tuned to each of the thre specific low frequencies, providing very impressive sonic results.
“An incredibly smooth response with unparalleled definition is achieved across the full audio spectrum, of which I’m very proud of. “
Monitoring
I chose ADAM monitoring having a number of years earlier really enjoyed working on the A7X. The S5H has the benefit of ADAM’s Symmetrical Magnet Assembly (SMA) design, the sound of which I had become fondly attached to. The addition of ADAM’s S-ART treble driver the latest iteration of ADAM Audio’s widely respected folded-ribbon tweeter, now produced to tighter tolerances than ever before. The resulting combination produces a powerful but non-fatiguing sound, with a palpable sense of depth: the last word in high-resolution, natural-sounding audio reproduction.
In my opinion, the ADAM S5H represents state-of-the-art design that works equally well with vintage sounds as it does, acoustic music, as it does EDM or, hard rock music.
We cater for other tastes in mid to near field monitoring which includes; PMC Two Two, the classic Yamaha NS10M, Genelec 1031A, or ADAM A7X.
The Live Rooms
Live Room 1
Fisheye view of Room 1 and it’s natural light. (photograph: Jolyon Holroyd)
ARC’s ample sized live room 5.5m x 9m, is big enough to comfortably house a typical rock/pop ensemble. The room could also comfortably accommodate a small choir and/or string section (15-20. We have a Recording Custom Yamaha drum kit, vintage Hammond C3 and 3300W Leslie cabinet, a vintage, yet immaculate Steinway upright piano and an impressive selection of classic guitars and basses, guitar amps, and still leave room for a full band to perform and be recorded in it. The sound of the main live room could be termed as open, live, yet we have a dead end and on the dark, warm side tonally.
Live Room 2
Live Room 2 at ARC Studios
ARC’s second live room is 6m x 4m, has very low early reflections. Great for vocals, tight and controlled (70’s type) drum sounds, guitars.
Amp Booth
The amp booth is just that, and is fully tie-lined (to every other space) so amps, speakers or amp heads can be run anywhere in any configuration. The booth can accommodate two amps. The space is acoustically deadened.
“FROM MARTIN BARRE TO JETHRO TULL – THEY ALL KNOW HOW MUCH ATTENTION TO DETAIL MARK TUCKER BRINGS TO THE STUDIO.”
Read more about Mark’s use of Adam Audio on their website
