Pig Zen Studio

Pig Zen Space has a small recording studio in Wilmington NC just off College Rd. on Wrightsville Ave. There is a growing list of high quality equipment available including a few great mics (AKG 414c XLS, Audio Technica AE2500, Oktava MK-012 Stereo Pair, Oktava MK-319, Shure SM57), a great analog mixing board (APB Dynasonic Spectra T24) interfacing with Cubase Pro 10 via a RME Digiface. The Dynasonic is a very high end 2007 model mixing board with fantastic pre-amps. When modern day digital desk builders want to test their boards against an analog board – this is the one they use (see below for more details).

Alternatively the artist can record direct to a 24 channel hard disc Alesis HD24XR which was modded by engineer Jim Williams. When it comes to outboard compression the studio has two Aphex 651 Expressor compression units which were also modded by Jim Williams – exceptionally clean compression. There are three more compressors in the studio including two DBX 1066 units as well as a DBX Project 1 266. There is also a Peavey subharmonics generator called the Kosmos for fattening bass and kick drum sounds. And we have a Korg SDD2000 Delay unit as well for adding some effects (Reverb unit to be added soon). Of course there are a host of great plugins to choose from for ITB effects/EQ/compression.

Currently it is possible to record and mix down using the Dynasonic’s superb parametric EQ and Burr-Brown preamps. Right now I can record sending 24 inputs though the board to either the Alesis HD24XR or to Cubase through the RME Digiface. The benefits of the hybrid setup are audible and come from the quality of the soundboard as well as pro-level wiring. All wiring used for recording is either Mogami or Canare.

The house drum kit is a Yamaha Rock Tour Custom from the 90’s. Guitar cabs include a custom 212 with Celestion G12H 55 Hz Greenbacks, and a 112 with a vintage Rola Celestion G12H Blackback from the late 70’s . There is a Music Man Stingray bass and, coming soon, a bass rig. The rates are the best in town for the quality level of the gear you can use or be recorded with. Contact me for more info. info@pigzenspace.com

FYI – Mixing is on-the-clock. I can master or send it out for a fee. The space is small – visiting is encouraged before booking time.

Below are two songs recorded in Pig Zen Studio.

About the APB Dynasonic Spectra T24:

FEATURES: 24 ANALOG INPUTS WITH BURR-BROWN MIC PRE’S + 4 STEREO LINE INPUTS
MONO INPUT CHANNELS FEATURE HIGHEST QUALITY BURR-BROWN MICROPHONE PREAMPS
8 VCA GROUPS FOR INPUTS
OUTPUT VCA SYSTEM FOR LEFT, RIGHT, CENTER AND MONO OUTPUTS
USER-SELECTABLE VCA CONTROL ON ALL MATRIX OUTPUTS
THAT® CORPORATION VCA ELEMENTS USED THROUGHOUT
12 MUTE GROUP SYSTEM (4 DISCRETE + 8 VCA-ASSIGNMENT LINKED)
10 AUXILIARY BUSES WITH PRE/POST FADER (4) AND PRE/POST EQ (2) SWITCHES
100MM HIGH-QUALITY FADERS ON AUX OUTPUTS WITH POLARITY REVERSE SWITCHES
AUX OUTPUTS HAVE PRE/POST ASSIGNMENT TO MATRIX SECTION AND ASSIGNMENTS TO LEFT, RIGHT, CENTER AND MONO BUSES
4 STEREO/SPLIT-TRACK LINE INPUT CHANNELS INCLUDED ON ALL CONSOLE CONFIGURATIONS
INSERTS ON ALL PRIMARY OUTPUTS INCLUDING AUX AND MATRIX OUTPUTS
INTERNALLY ILLUMINATED SOLO AND MUTE SWITCHES
2 OR 3 SPEAKER (LCR) CONTROL ROOM MONITORING (FRONT PANEL SWITCHABLE)
2 BUS (MONO/STEREO) SOLO PFL SYSTEM, 3 BUS (MONO/STEREO/LCR) SOLO AFL SYSTEM
LEFT-RIGHT, CENTER AND MONO (SUB-WOOFER/AUX) ASSIGNMENT SYSTEM
SUBWOOFER MIX CAN BE DERIVED FROM DISCRETE MONO OR AUX ASSIGNMENT
15 X 4 MATRIX SYSTEM WITH INSERTS AND XLR BALANCED OUTPUTS
2 MONO ALTERNATE OUTPUTS WITH TRANSFORMER ISOLATED (JENSEN) BALANCED XLR OUTPUTS
STEREO (RECORD) ALTERNATE OUTPUT WITH TRS AND RCA OUTPUTS
1/8″ AND 1/4″ HEADPHONE OUTPUT CONNECTORS
6-SEGMENT LED METERING ON MONO INPUT CHANNELS
EIGHTEEN 15-SEGMENT LED METERS FOR OUTPUT AND SOLO MONITORING
LAMP CONNECTORS (4-PIN XLR) WITH DIMMER CONTROL

THE SPECTRA-T EQ IS SWEEPABLE IN ALL FOUR BANDS AND INCLUDES SHELVING/BELL SWITCHES ON THE HF/LF FREQUENCY BANDS. THE HF/LF BELL MODE FEATURES AN ASYMMETRIC RESPONSE, WITH 2/3 OCTAVE BOOST AND 1/4 OCTAVE CUT. THE TWO MID BANDS ARE SWITCHABLE BETWEEN 1 OCTAVE AND 1/3 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH IN BOTH BOOST AND CUT. SEPARATE ON SWITCHES WITH LED ARE PROVIDED FOR SPECTRA-T/TI’S EQ AND INSERT FUNCTIONS.

HIGH-PASS FILTER SWEEPABLE FROM 20HZ TO 400HZ AT -12DB PER OCTAVE
HF SWEEPABLE FROM 800HZ TO 16KHZ AND SWITCHABLE BETWEEN SHELVING AND ASYMMETRICAL BELL-SHAPED CURVE WITH 2/3 OCTAVE
BANDWIDTH IN BOOST MODE AND 1/4 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH IN CUT MODE
HMF SWEEPABLE FROM 400HZ TO 8KHZ AND SWITCHABLE BETWEEN 1 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH AND A NARROW 1/3 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH
LMF SWEEPABLE FROM 100HZ TO 2KHZ AND SWITCHABLE BETWEEN 1 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH AND A NARROW 1/3 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH
LF SWEEPABLE FROM 20HZ TO 400HZ AND SWITCHABLE BETWEEN SHELVING AND ASYMMETRICAL BELL-SHAPED CURVE WITH 2/3 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH IN BOOST MODE AND 1/4 OCTAVE BANDWIDTH IN CUT MODE