Genius Move Audio Academy Teaching Studio
Used Exclusively for Teaching, the studio is based around the latest Pro Tools DAW controlled by a C24 console.
DAW
Pro-Tools is considered the ‘standard’ within the industry. I’ve found that Logic by Apple and Cockos Reaper make up the top 3 DAWs - but that is open to discussion !
The main reason Pro Tools is used on these courses is that it’s the DAW I’ve grown up with. It is not better by design, in my opinion.
The secondary reason is that the C24 Console controller is well integrated with P.T. making the DAW integration very clear, which we need in a Teaching Studio.
If you prefer a different DAW, that’s fine too.
MONITORING
Main monitoring is with the Yamaha NS-1000M driven by a Bryston 3B amplifier.
The Yamaha’s are from the early 80s (from a mid 70s design) and are very special speakers, even by today’s standards. They weight a beefy 31Kg each and have a cabinet that’s 50 litres.
The Bryston amp is also known for it’s sound.
There are also NS10s and a custom Barefoot designed ‘Auratone’ type speaker as well as a pair of computer speakers for some ‘real world’ comparison.
ACOUSTICS
The acoustics were designed by Chris Walls (Level Acoustic Design in the UK) , in addition to some Mid/Hi treatment .
They allow accurate full range reproduction within the space using 5 Bass Traps with addition Hi/mid absorption.
The combination of good sounding speakers within a good sounding room means we can make audible comparisons , especially useful for students.
RECORDING
For recording we have the venerable SM58 microphone which I always use as a ‘benchmark’ !
This gives me a standard sound which we can compare other mics to. In the Mic cupboard, amongst others, is a C12 Clone and a Bumblebee RM6 Ribbon.
For day to day mic pres I use an Apogee Ensemble - there are also 5 Amek (ex RTE Late Late Show !) mic pre/ eqs in the rack, as well as a hand built 1176 Clone should we require it.
MIXING
The ‘fun’ part but perhaps the most difficult .
My Mac is full of plugins of all types - some useful, some less so !
Specialist plugins of interest are the Soundtheory Gullfoss and the Oaeksound Soothe 2 , both which have no real world equivalent . SoundRadix Auto Align and SurferEQ2 also extend what is possible in the DAW world.
Some engineers prefer plugin version of older gear for their consistency and lack of noise. Older gear often had tolerances of 10 or 20 per cent , so every unit was different .
Concepts such as Compression are much easier understood with Plugins rather than analogue equipment in my opinion and offer the option to be on many channels.
