Grammywinning memphis engineer on what you need to know. In a year where the pro audio industry went big time on film ie. Guest post by dane myers, ceo of custom tracks, a virtual recording studio that offers lowcost session musicians and studios to artists around the world. Sweetwater carries an array of mastering software tools that are compatible with both pcs and macs, so be sure to choose a program compatible with your operating system. The original equipment came from the garage operation. When stax had closed i went and bought their lathe and hired their mastering. The songs, originally recorded in memphis at ardent studios, feature allanalog mastering by jeff powell at memphiss take out vinyl and were. You brought your finished mixes on tape to a mastering engineer, who would often bounce them to another tape through various signal processors designed to sweeten the sound. I learned from him, hands on, and have been mastering since 1994. A major chapter in memphis music history ended this week and another began, as l. Studio a is one of the original two studios built at ardent s madison avenue location. Music studios vary greatly in quality and affordability. Keep in mind you usually get what you pay for when it comes to recording studios. Jody stephens looks back on big star, celebrates legacy of.
Pearson studios in the studio tracking, mixing, mastering. I just had a real good experience in having some tracks mastered with kevin nix who works out of lnix mastering, ltd. Most studios do include an audio engineer as part of their hourly rate. After leaving stax records in 1970, larry nix relocated to ardent studios in midtown memphis where his son, kevin nix, joined him in 1994. Kevin nix pro mastering engineer memphis soundbetter. A tennessee company that was founded in 1975 and once owned the ardent mastering studio. With three isolation booths and a classic neve vr6060x48 console featuring flying faders automation, studio a has served some of ardent s most famed clientele stars like wilco, jack white, third eye blind and memphis own big star. Mastering engineer michael graves operates out of his home studio, osiris mastering, where hes developed a reputation for the careful restoration of decadesold recordings, as well as mastering new recordings for regional artists. After leaving stax records in 1970, larry nix relocated to ardent studios in midtown.
For the runout groove derived mastering and lacquer cutting company, please see ardent mastering and ardent studios. Studio b is the second of the original studios built at ardent s madison avenue location. Mastering software can be used to aid and facilitate the process required to finalize a song or piece of audio for general release. He gradually gravitated to mastering when he found the precision of product refinement more suited to his particular expertise and interests. Ardent studios remasters chris bell for rhino records. I have to give a huge shout out to my guy kevin nix and l. L nix mastering at ardent studios controls to the mother ship. Free shipping, free 2 year warranty on most products. Ardent recording studios, located in memphis, tennessee usa. Mastering software free download mastering top 4 download offers free software downloads for windows, mac, ios and android computers and mobile devices.
I am originally from memphis, tn and worked out of ardent studios for over 20 years, but have since relocated to the gulf coast and do all my work online. In a week that saw that the deaths of both ardent studios founderowner john fry and producerengineer john hampton, big star. When purchased, the console was too large for the existing control room, and so the space was reversed and remodeled. The room is the largest recording space at ardent, measuring 25ft by 40ft. All recording studio services take place in west, ny. Feel free to check it out and good luck with the mastering. Would you like to go to recording school in panama city. So it is a great honor to be here today at ardent studios to interview jody as part of my memphis series.
Ardent studios experiences executive shakeup on cusp of 50th anniversary. Dave grohls hbobased sonic highways, music documentaries pushed beyond the base level of a sobstory biopic. I started mastering records while working at ardent studios, learning how to listen from great producers and engineers like john hampton. Mastering software free download mastering top 4 download. What recording equipment with led zeppelin use instudio. After receiving my ba in audio production in 2004, i joined ardent studios memphis. Distributed in 94 countries, mix is the worlds leading magazine for the professional recording and sound production technology industry.
Audio mastering is the final step in the audio production process, polishing the recordings final mix and prepping it for release and distribution. The entire staff, from founder john fry to every producer, every engineer, every mixer, every musician and every soul that has passed thru the studio doors have shown themselves to be professional, creative, and sought after by many of the top recording artists worldwide. The kid among these studios is john frys ardent studios, now in its fortieth. Nix mastering moved from its 40yearold location inside ardent studios. In 1959, a 15 year old john fry wanted a name for his new studio and label. Hes been independent since 1997, but still considers ardent.
In 1994, it merged and subsequently became ardent video publishing, inc. Ardent studios is a recording studio located in memphis, tennessee, united states. The songs, originally recorded in memphis at ardent studios, feature allanalog mastering by jeff powell at memphiss take out vinyl and were cut to 180 gram vinyl locally at memphis record. Ardent is one of the few studios that still midtown videos. Ardent studios was founded by john fry and was initially a studio in his familys garage, where he recorded his first ardent records 45s. Music professionals are invited to send their midi files to hybrid to be recorded on the world famous yamaha c7 conservatory grand piano in the studio s. Welcome to online mastering studio eu by marian brezovan, chief mix mastering engineer. The best studio and music documentaries to watch over the. Hybrid studios now offering online disklavier services. Ardent studios experiences executive shakeup on cusp of. The record mastering company, founded by larry nix and now operated by his son kevin, left its longtime midtown digs for a new spot inside another landmark facility, the selectohits.
Hiatts master of disaster, produced by the late jim dickinson in the studio he. In 1966 the operation moved into a new store building on memphis national street, which was shared with a bookshop. It was the only time that the company had relocated and needless to say, after being inside of ardent studios since 1975, it was a scary step to take. Celebrating its 45th anniversary, ardent studios in memphis is. Nix mastering left our location at ardent studios, in memphis, tn, last summer. The filmmakers behind incredible documentaries like 20 feet from stardom, muscle shoals and more, have artfully illustrated the ways that recording studios have impacted the music industry. John frys death in 2014 left a profound hole one felt most acutely at ardent. Voice lessons, piano lessons, recording studio new jersey pearson studios, inc.
Currently housing a solid state logic 6056e console, the control room occupies what was the original tracking floor. Nix mastering was born out of the heart and soul of memphis music. The city champs the safecracker vinyl mastering session. Panama city fl audio engineering school recording connection. If you are looking for loud and trendy sound with unique analog color you are at the right place.
Mastering the city champs the safecracker with larry nix at ardent studios on original mastering lathe larry used daily at stax records. Walter person professional and among the most brilliant and creative in the industry of record mastering. Ardent studios remasters chris bell for rhino records mix staff. Whether youre just getting started or youre a seasoned studio vet returning to make your next production, figuring out what a new album costs can be tricky. With the ever changing evolution in music, kevin brought new life to the company. Santa ana, ca december 7, 2017 orange county recording studios and soundstage, hybrid studios, is now offering online services to convert midi files to high quality piano tracks. Audio mastering engineer, kevin nix, shares how he learned about mastering music at ardent studios. Mastering engineer specializing in music mastering and front of house. Sterling sound nashville 805 meridian street nashville, tn 37207. Nix mastering s cutting lathe is studio founderrecording engineer john fry left and mastering engineer larry nix.
Studio b is the second of the original studios built at ardents madison. In it we suggest some plugins that we know get the job done for the various processes behind online mastering. You can, thanks to the recording connection, the only panama city recording school that gets you inside an actual panama city recording studio, where you will train as a studio extern while you learn audio engineering, mixing, music production, live audio, electronic musicand its many sub. This usually involves equalization, noise reduction, compression and limiting, as well as other editing techniques such as applying fades and leveling. Prior to the digital revolution, mastering had a very defined set of functions. Weve written an article on what we think is the best mastering software for mastering audio at home. Brad blackwood mastering engineer ardent studios about the author musicindustry veteran bobby owsinski began his career as a guitar and keyboard player, songwriter, and arranger, eventually becoming an indemand producerengineer working with a variety of recording artists, and on commercials, television, and motion pictures. Mic wilson producer house engineer ardent studios linkedin. Memphis, tnthe memphis music community and the recording industry at large was rocked when, just six days after the passing of ardent coowner john hampton, ardent studios and label founder john fry suffered a cardiac arrest and died at age 69 on december 18, 2014. Located in memphis, tennessees historic midtown district, we house 3 studios within our 10,000 square feet with inhouse mastering and video editing suites. L nix mastering at ardent studios controls to the mother. You can also grab mastering software that offers stereo widening, mastering reverb, and more. We believe now is the time and memphis is the place to invest and enjoy your life.
He looked to the dictionary and the answer was given. Shop the largest selection of recording studio outboard mastering at vintage king audio. Nix mastering for taking my mix to the next level and giving my song that professional polish. This fourth edition of bobby owsinskis classic the mastering engineers handbook is a thoroughly updated and comprehensive manual on the art and science of creating wellmastered recordings.
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