In this article, a continuation of our series of articles looking at the development of our team’s studios over the last ten or so years, we see how the studio of blog founder Russ Hughes has developed from a cellar in a Kent house, to a purpose built mix room in Northern Ireland.
Right at the begining of time, well, 1980 something, my studio was built around a Tascam 244 Portastudio, a DX7 and other vintage gear. However, for the purpose of this article, this journey is about the last 20 years of my studio evolution.
My first foray into DAWs was Logic, this was when it was still owned by Emagic. I didn’t get on with it very well so went on to a pair of Alesis ADAT machines. In the early 2000s I ventured into the world of Pro Tools. this was because at that time I was song writing and then finishing off projects in my record label’s studio. Just like today, Pro Tools was the industry standard so to own a copy was a no brainer.
My first system was built around a Digidesign Digi001 and a top of the range HP tower system. However, after weeks of battling with endless errors, I gave up on PCs and invested in one of the iMacs from that period. This is when my journey with Apple computers started, I’ve never looked back since.
At some point after I moved on from the Digi001 and invested in a Digi002, which I loved. I recall bidding for it on eBay and then having to drive several hours to pick it up in a service station car park. It combined a FireWire Audio interface with a moving fader control surface. Mine suffered from the wiring loom issue, which was an easy and free fix to put right.
You can see in the picture below the set-up. An iMac, Digi002, Tannoy Reveal monitors, these were the passive version and were driven by a Samson amp. I also had an assortment of other gear that included a Focusrite channel strip, a RODE NK1. A Lexicon MX200 and a Alesis Midiverb and a Joe Meek VC3 channel. For instruments I used an EMU Proteus 2000 and a Korg Triton rack, I had an M-Audio weighted action 88 note controller keyboard. Everything else was done in the box, I used various VIs, such as the original Spectrasonics Atmosphere, Trilogy and Stylus. I also used a really cool drum VI from FXpansion called DR-008. For me it was far better than NI Battery at the time.
Around 2007 I moved to London, shortly before starting the blog. For reasons I can’t even remember now, my studio gear had changed. I think it was because I had gone through some personal stuff and sold all of my studio gear.
In London I started again and set up a small room with a studio built around a Apple Mac Pro and Pro Tools, and for some reason that I still can’t explain I had invested in some Tapco S5 studio monitors, made by Mackie. They must have sounded OK, but they left no lasting impression on me, or scars for that matter. My rack gear was pretty much the same stuff, but also augmented by a Focusrite Liquid Channel, which was OK. My audio interface was an M-Audio interface of some kind, although at this point I was blogging so audio interfaces were appearing like buses and needed to be reviewed, so there was no real allegiance. For keyboard duties I was mainly working inside the box using an M-Audio Axiom controller and also an M-Audio Venom synth.
A few years later and I decided to invest in Pro Tools HDX, if for no other reason to see what all the fuss was about. It was built around a Pro Tools HDX Card and an Avid Omni audio interface, I also had the Thunderbolt interface option too. My Mac had been upgraded to a later Mac Pro. I also invested considerably in hardware, you can see the rack in this image.
The rack included:
DBX161
UA 4-710D
UA 710
Focusrite ISA430
UA1176 Black Face
Maag EQ4 PREQ2
Audient ASP880
I also added an Eleven Rack, which still to this day is an incredible piece of hardware for tracking guitars. During this time I also invested in a used Command8, another great Digidesign product. Both these units show how over the years Avid has made and then ditched some very great products.
In 2015 I moved with my family to Northern Ireland from London. This had a lot of benefits, the largest one being that for the kind of money a shed in London cost, we could buy the house of our dreams. My wife called me one day to ask me to go and look at a house she liked the look of. When I got there I found a brick built large garage in the garden, to which I thought ‘studio’ and said we should buy the house.
It was at this point that my home studio went from various rooms in a house to a purpose designed space with proper sound proofing and acoustic treatment.
I don’t do much recording, other than vocals and guitars so I didn’t need a recording room, more a mix space with some option to record. Over the last few years I’ve also started using Studio One as my main composition tool and using Pro Tools for other work, such as mixing for music and also picture.
Having the space has been transformative, from the purpose built studio desk to the lounge area where I can sit away from the technical stuff to reflect.
Since setting up this space I’ve made one more major investment
In the picture above you can see me using Eve monitors, however a few years ago I got to demo a pair of Kii Three studio monitors. Within hours of the demo I knew I had to keep them. Perhaps the most expensive investment in my studio over the years, but for me they are hands down the best!
Whilst writing this article it became clear to me how much gear I’ve bought and sold over the years, I’ve lost count of the amount of audio interfaces I’ve owned. My allegiance to any particular piece of gear is not great, which I think comes down to the fact that most studio gear these days is great. Constants throughout the entire history are Apple computers and Pro Tools, although augmented by Studio One for composition. In terms of the consistent use of Apple Mac computers, this has been;
Apple iMac
Apple MacBook Pro
Apple Mac Pro - 2nd Gen Cheesegrater
Apple Mac mini
Apple Mac Pro Cheesegrater
Apple Mac Pro Trash Can
Apple MacBook Pro i9
Apple MacBook Pro M1 Max 14”
I’ve also had numerous audio interfaces, some of which I still have, they include;
Digidesign Digi001
Digidesign Digi002
M-Audio Firewire interface of some kind
Avid Eleven Rack
Avid mBox
Avid Omni
UAD Apollo Twin
Focusrite 2i2
Apogee Ensemble Thunderbolt
PreSonus 192
Audient EVO
It is sobering how much of my studio equipment was ‘must have’ at the time, only later to end up on eBay. It does remind me of the line; “the most attractive things are the ones we don’t own.”
My big takeway from this is that it started with a bunch of gear in a spare room and I now have a purpose built room. If that’s your dream then it’s entirely possible to have that one day.