Recording March 2022 - 44

Photos by Erick Anderson
Inside the
Studio
with Mark Hornsby
Left to right: Russ Berger,
Mark Hornsby, Matt Boggs
Studio
Profile
Matt Boggs,
Ramblin' Rose
Studio
R
uss Berger has designed some of my favorite spaces
in the world. When I look back on my own body of
work, some of the most high-fidelity recordings came
out of rooms that Russ built. Over the years, I've noticed
that people in the process of planning a home studio
buildout typically feel that bringing in a pro consultant
at any level is financially out of reach, or that top tier
designers are unapproachable. I was at a trade show a
couple of years ago, and a client of mine was telling me
about a new studio he was putting together. I said, " Have
you talked to Russ? " His response was, " Oh no, I wouldn't
want to bother him! " I just said, " Let's go talk to Russ, " and
they hit it off great. Russ has done some amazing (and
expensive) high profile spaces, but he also works on home
studios and small theater rooms and does hourly basic
consulting. This month I decided to profile a home studio
that Russ and his team built for a friend of mine in Dallas,
which happens to be Russ's backyard.
44 RECORDING March 2022
Meet Matt Boggs
Matt has a modern country and western band (yep, both
types!) called Prophets and Outlaws. A couple of years ago,
he and his wife decided it was time to build a bigger house
for their growing family. His goals were simple: first and foremost,
he wanted a place for his band to rehearse and record.
Second, he wanted a room that could eventually support some
basic lighting for video. Enter Russ and the team...
The rooms
Since Matt and his wife were fortunate enough to have several
acres of land to build on, the approach was to utilize 1100 sq. feet
of land on the south side of the property. This would be divided up
into a 360 sq. foot control room with a 12-foot ceiling and a 570
sq. foot tracking room with a 14 to 25-foot (at peak) ceiling.
If you have ever seen one of Russ's rooms, you'll notice the
side-address glass in the control room. Gone are the days
when you have to get up from your chair and repeatedly squint
through a small window behind the console. Russ abandoned
this concept years ago with the idea that, " Wouldn't it be cool
to be recording a vocalist (for example) and just turn to your
right or left and have a conversation with them? " Matt's room
utilizes this concept and takes it to a new level. With so many
studios being built that are multi-purpose spaces, Matt wanted
a space where the control room and tracking room could
become one, in essence, so he and the band could record
themselves. So, a NanaWall was installed-an accordion-style
folding glass door. It provides about ~35dB of noise reduction
from the adjacent space when closed. There is a sliding panel
to the left side of the console, which minimizes early reflections
at the listening position when the door is closed.
The control room also features a 2.1 ATC SCM 45 system,
a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Shelford console, Pro Tools HD
with Focusrite RedNet converters / interface and an assortment
of outboard gear.
Recording March 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recording March 2022
