I know this is going to seem like a question for Steve (and as it's his studio, a large part of it is) but I'm also interested in Greg's opinion, and any and all engineers and interns who have had a chance to work there. So, we have no doubt that Electrical Audio is an exemplary studio. However, how does it compare with other studios you've worked in. Obviously when building Electrical, you incorporated certain elements you liked from other studios, other things appear to have been original innovations. Are there other studios that have certain characteristics that you prefer over Electrical, etc. Equipment that you don't have that you would like to have, etc.What things aren't still quite the way you want them to be? Knowing what you know now, are there certain things that you would go back and change? (For example if you had more money during the original construction, or things that could possibly only be changed down by massive reconstruction, or something else similarly drastic?) A Steve specific question would be how does EA compare with Pachyderm and Palladium studios respectively (as I feel that these two studios were the location of some of your best recording outside of EA itself - also thought the sound on 18th Dye's Tribute to a Bus was excellent as well, though I can't recall the studio it was recorded in.) If this has been posted, Kerble me. If this was covered in some extensive interview in Tape-Op, I missed that issue. I'm just curious to know if now, after years and years of use, trials, and tribulations, what it feels like to look back on it all.

steve wrote:We still don't have an acoustic reverb chamber.You hope to add one? That would be fantastic

I know it sounds stupid and cheesy, but reading Steve's post here was inspiring. Thanks!Also, how do you like (or liked) CRC? Seems like alot of records you engineered were done there.

sleepkid wrote:So, we have no doubt that Electrical Audio is an exemplary studio. However, how does it compare with other studios you've worked in. I prefer it to every other studio I have worked in, in one way or another. I am almost as comfortable at Abbey Road or Black Box, but every other studio I've ever used is back in the dim distance.Obviously when building Electrical, you incorporated certain elements you liked from other studios, other things appear to have been original innovations. Are there other studios that have certain characteristics that you prefer over Electrical, etc. Equipment that you don't have that you would like to have, etc.Abbey Road is a league unto itself. In addition to a few microphones I covet, it has a better large orchestral room and better technical upkeep. The maintenance staff is round-the-clock and extremely well equipped. Abbey Road also has the best cutting room on earth, a bar, restaurant and better housekeeping. As far as practical recording aspects are concerned, we're as good and a little better for some things and don't get as many tourists in the lobby.I love the acoustics and the desk at Black Box, but its physical capabilities are limited, and there are some modest limitations in the technical capacity. In general though, Abbey Road and Black Box are about the only studios I really enjoy working in other than Electrical.What things aren't still quite the way you want them to be?We still don't have an acoustic reverb chamber. We need to do better thermal insulation of studio B's live room, but we have to do it without compromising the acoustics. I'd like to have indoor van parking. Knowing what you know now, are there certain things that you would go back and change? I'd like to have a better rolling-chair surface in studio B's control room. I'd like to have passive solar in-floor heating in studio B. I'd like to have easier patching between the two control rooms. A Steve specific question would be how does EA compare with Pachyderm and Palladium studios respectively Electrical is a different kind of studio than those places. Palladium was a studio built into a country house and was a bit make-do, though it has expanded since then. The experience of working there was good, but the studio wasn't yet very professional. Pachyderm's one durable resource was the excellent live room, which survives, but the mics were limited, the desk was never 100 percent and the general maintenance was limited by cash flow and never up to professional standards. I shudder to think how it runs now.I've had good results in all kinds of studios, and if I have a working desk and tape machine, I can probably make a record in a coal mine. I've never blamed the studio for a bad session and would never credit the studio for a good one. Studios can cause problems or make things run smoothly, but the job is to make the best out of wherever you are working, not rely on it to cover your ass.Of course I think the caliber of the studio matters. That's why I'm happier here than any other place, and why we try like hell to make this the best possible place to make a record, but anybody who thinks good records can only be made in good studios or a bad studio can only make bad records is ignoring the obvious -- fantastic records have been made under all kinds of conditions.

Thanks Steve. I appreciate your taking the time to answer.Abbey Road, as possibly the most famous studio in the world, seems to have just about unlimited resources. Feel free to talk about microphones you covet. That would be an interesting list I'm sure.I agree that good records can be made under all kinds of situations. However, I was trying to approach this in regards to the aesthetic and construction and equipping of Electrical and how it has met your expectations over the years. For this purpose comparing and contrasting against other studios is a useful tool. Would still like to hear from Greg or Bob, or anyone else who has worked at Electrical.

Daffodil Column wrote:steve wrote:We still don't have an acoustic reverb chamber.You hope to add one? That would be fantasticThis is my ignorance shining: Everything i've heard recorded at Electrical has such great room sound(reverb). Why would you want an "acoustic reverb chamber", when you've got such great sounding rooms already?

Some band shot videos of Black Box France...here , here and here.

Other than arranging the HVACs so we could have a wiffleball field on the roof,I think we could have, still can, install better lighting. We rely on track lights for almost everything, which is great for not having holes in the ceiling (better sound isolation), but they can be a cold, harsh lighting. They also make lots of shadows. We need more mood lighting. I wish that audio snakes were not trimmed so tightly on some of the patchbay punchblocks. It makes it difficult to make changes sometimes. If we had another $20,000, it would have been good to build an interior wall in studio B's live room. You can hear large trucks rumbling by during the day once and a while. A centralized room to store mic's and other equipment between the two studios would have been handy. There are a few of things we tried in studio B, and perfected in studio A. Having that studio open for about a year while finishing A, we could see things that worked and didn't.I wish we built a secret passageway somewhere. I will try to think of more sometime.

steve wrote:The pneumatic tubes looked like they wouldn't be that useful, but I wanted pneumatic tubes to go between the office and control rooms.Pweww - plop! Here's your invoice! Pweww - plop! Have a kitten! Pweww - plunk! Hot Dougs' is here!steve wrote:fantastic records have been made under all kinds of conditions.You refer to records who are musically fantastic or records that sound fantastic but the music isn't necessarily that good?What's the most limiting condition for you? What's giving you the hardest time when making a record? a bad room? bad desk? bad tape machine? bad preamps/outboard gear? bad microphones?It seems like everyone would say that bad rooms are the worst.Man, pneumatic tubes..

steve wrote:The pneumatic tubes looked like they wouldn't be that useful, but I wanted pneumatic tubes to go between the office and control rooms.Pweww - plop! Here's your invoice! Pweww - plop! Have a kitten! Pweww - plunk! Hot Dougs' is here!I harbor a fantasy that these can be installed in whatever apartment I end up in. I love these things.