PRO SOUND NEWS ARTICLE ON ELECTROKITTY :
REYNOLDS BRINGS ELECTROKITTY ONLINE
by Janice Brown, ProSound News
September 2007
The fourth time around, producer/engineer Gary Reynolds has built his most impressive recording studio, and it's in his basement. Built around a Neve 8128 console, Electrokitty Studios serves the clients Reynolds has gained since moving from New York City to Seattle three years ago, and has been designed and built to attract a variety of new clients. Reynolds recently did two albums with up-and-coming indie pop rockers Sushi Robo (members include former Posies), and his new studio both illustrates and promotes his ability to do more album work.
Reynolds came on the Seattle scene as an independent producer/engineer/artist with his own small studio, equipped with a Trident 70 console, Digidesign ProTools, Panasonic DA7 digital mixer, analog outboard, and more. Having had a studio in small-town Texas, and then in big-town NYC, Reynolds' third studio in Seattle proved an attractive package to local artists. "I've been constantly booked for the last three years," says Reynolds. "There are a lot of small studios in Seattle, and a lot of indie rock bands, and other independent artists looking to record music. I had a lot of success on that level, and feel that now, I can grow the business. With the new Electrokitty, I'm stepping into a different league. This studio will attract a different kind of clientele. And, my expectations is that other producer/engineers will want to book the room."
Working with studio design Ric Vaughan, Reynolds designed and built the new Electrokitty Studios in his 1,300-square-foot basement, excavating to drop the floor down four feet, for 11-foot ceilings in both the control room and in the sizeable recording area. Keeping versatility in mind, Reynolds has built and wired a large, surround-sound-friendly control room, with primed space for a drop-down plasma screen, and the timecode digital cables running appropriately for post-production work. Reynolds will be adding Genelec 1032A mains, and hopes that the surround and mix-to-pic work will order that he set up a true 5.1 configured system in the near future. His chosen Neve 8128 console also sits well in a dedicated surround room, as its 4-output Quad monitoring design will make the eventual transition easy.
"I predominantly want to work with rock bands and feel that a great mix room will always be critical in making albums," Reynolds explains. "I built this studio so that I could do more album work, but also so that I can make my own music — because I really can't stop making my own music. I made sure that the studio would be geared for post-production and surround work as well. I want it to be cool enough for a rock band, and professional and nice enough for post-production clients."
Preparing the studio for a diversity of projects is realistic, adds Reynolds. To the increase in DVD releases and surround remixes, Reynolds wants to respond with a solution to a variety of needs. "It seems that as certain projects go away, new revenue is available," Reynolds ascertains. "As long as you move with the times, you can get a piece of that new revenue."
Opening the new Electrokitty in mid-August, after an 8-month design and building period, Reynolds is planning an opening party, to get area producer/engineers into the space. Like many other contemporary facilities, Electrokitty is going to be many things to many people, and instead of being just a dedicated surround mix room, it can be dedicated to serving whatever record production or post-production needs the cllient, or its owner, has.
For now, the control room is outfitted with the Neve cosole (with Flying Fader automation), Pro Tools Mix Plus, Otari MTR 90 MKII, MOTU Digital Performer, an impressive collection of mics, and a slew of outboard effects, compressors and external mic pres. A self-proclaimed friend of analog, Reynolds has a slew of gear from API, ADM, Neve, Telefunken, Urei, dbx, API, Eventide, Lexicon, AKG, and more.
As Reynolds reads the Seattle market, he will continue to make additions to Electrokitty, and is enthusiastic about getting into new areas to diversity his business enough that he will have a studio to manage sometimes, rather than work in round the clock. To this end, he's made all of the necessary concessions—in rock 'n' roll gear, and professional atmosphere.
"I compare it to restaurants," Reynolds declares. "Rock 'n' roll studios are like the little funky diners, and the corporate places are like the really nice, fine-dining restaurants, and I'm trying to go the the little French bistro—somewhere in between, where the rockers and corporate types both feel at home."
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