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[curtismusic]

The tunable characteristics of the audio recording studio and control room at the Curtis Visual Communications facility in Cincinnati, OH were presented at the 157th Acoustic Society of America meeting May 22, 2009.

The audio suite, designed by KJWW Engineering Consultants of Rock Island, IL, features a control room that provides a tunable “Reflection-Free Zone” (RFZ) for the sound designer rather than the conventional “Live End/Dead End” (LEDE) design. Fewer than 75 control rooms in the United States incorporate this functionality.

Hear how adjustable acoustics change the way you record:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLjyAJTSVnk

View the full press release here:
http://www.curtisinc.com/News/AS-PressRelease.pdf



Comments and reactions are appreciated

[Thomas Jouanjean]

Welcome to R/E/P.

Nice studio  

One thing is: I fail to see the point in having a 'tunable' CR. The CR should obviously be 'tuned' (by design) but I don't see the point in being able to change the response after that. Once the CR design reaches all desired technical benchmarks, why would the engineer want to change his mixing environment? By all means a CR should be a stable environment.

Variable acoustics in a LR is great though, and there I can completely see the point of having such a design, especially if you don't have booth.  

[tom eaton]

I agree in principle, however different engineers have different preferences regarding how live their mix environment is.  If you're running a facility which will host multiple engineers, some ability to tweak er and rt slightly might actually make the room more appealing to different engineers.

Of course the room would need total recall.

t

[Thomas Jouanjean]

tom eaton wrote on Wed, 17 June 2009 07:56

different engineers have different preferences

Agreed, but first thing I learned when designing commercial facilities (in opposition to producer-owned studios) is that you can't please everyone...

But a good design will please 95% of engineers.

[curtismusic]

Tom and Thomas,

Those are great thoughts.  I was surprised as well when our studio designer suggested the adjustable acoustics in the control room. After learning that it would be an inherit design in the diffusion cabinets, I didn't see a reason not to do it.   Now that we've been in the space for nearly a year;  I really like the flexibility it offers. Keeping the cabinets closed gives the room a more 'live' sound.  This is the usual position. It is a very comfortable working environment.  It works well for most sessions because the RFZ still allows for the initial reflection to be heard after the direct sound.  The more "live" control room gives the impression the room is bigger than it is and maybe good for mixing material that will be played in larger environments.  Opening the doors, lowers the reverb time in the room thus giving the control room a more traditional sound.  I find this useful for music sessions and detailed mixing.   For speed and creativity, I record foley in the control room. The adjustable acoustics has proved valuable here as well.  Thanks for your thoughts!

Jon Brennan

[Ian Visible]

I keep misreading this as "Turntable" Studio, and picture a rotating control room at the centre of several live rooms.

That would also be cool.

[franman]

Ian Visible wrote on Mon, 22 June 2009 07:55

I keep misreading this as "Turntable" Studio, and picture a rotating control room at the centre of several live rooms. That would also be cool.

Now "That" sounds interesting!!!... I've got to agree with Thomas on the 95% response... I've never been a huge fan of tunable acoustics in recording rooms, but it seems counter-productive to me, in a control room... It should be 'right' and when it's right, I don't want anybody messing around with it.. That's my approach anyway..

It is an interesting concept, but a little dangerous IMHO.

FM

[Sean Eldon Qualls]

Ian Visible wrote on Mon, 22 June 2009 07:55

I keep misreading this as "Turntable" Studio, and picture a rotating control room at the centre of several live rooms. That would also be cool.

I know someone who has a "turntable control room" which rotates different consoles/mix positions for different applications (writing, recording/mixing, post).

I'm told that the look on the unsuspecting client's face is always the same when he/she walks into the control room and it's in a different spot than it was.

[Ian Visible]

Further proof if it were needed that no matter the context, turntables are cool!

[brett]

Ian Visible wrote on Wed, 15 July 2009 14:35

Further proof if it were needed that no matter the context, turntables are cool!

I miss mine. I mixed on some techniques cdj's recently at my friends wedding. they were pretty realistic. I kept trying to take the fake record off after mixes!!!! doh!  I just dj for fun these days, but with a nice vinyl collection stored away it would be nice to have a pair in the studio. i think I am going to put together some vintage drum machines and synths too. I sold all of them over the last few years as they weren't getting used. I want to have a vintage room... one with turntables and records and all kinds of old gear... tape decks etc. My own little museum of toys from my past!