Grammy nominee to give lecture on recording studio design

Recording studios have evolved greatly over the past 50 years, to the point where today’s hobbyist has more tools and tracks than the greatest studios of the 1960’s or ’70’s, with far greater capabilities for fine-tuning a mix, editing, or even removing noises and correcting intonation problems. What hasn’t changed is the necessity for acoustically superior spaces when recording acoustic instruments, and the need to listen to the recording in an environment which is trustworthy and which translates well to other listening environments. Whether it’s a state-of-the-art recording facility which has been designed from scratch, an adapted room, or a basement or bedroom, if we want for our music to sound correctly to others then we must find ways to make our own workspaces accurate so that what we hear is what others will hear in their spaces. 

The subject of studio design is very complex, but the principles are relatively easy to understand. In this presentation, enough science will be presented so that the terminology and design goals can be understood. The principles, materials, and design components can then be discussed, along with some of the audio components which will inhabit the space. Have you thought about treatments, speaker placement, or isolation issues in your own work? This presentation should be exactly for you! 

D. James Tagg, Jamie, has recently completed two studio construction and design projects. The first is at his work at the Jacobs School of Music at the University of Indiana (Bloomington), where the new Musical Arts Center Recording Studio has come online, with the second being his own mix/edit/mastering facility at his home near Bloomington. 

Jamie Tagg is an audio educator at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, as well as an active recording engineer and producer that works out of his private studio in Bloomington, IN. He was a senior recording engineer at the Aspen Festival, and chief audio engineer for the Hot Springs Music Festival. His recordings of Miami-Based Seraphic Fire have garnered two Grammy nominations and have been best-sellers on iTunes and the Billboard Classical charts. His primary research focuses on spatial realism and acoustic envelopment in sound recordings. Tagg is the developer of a new stereo recording technique, STAAG (Stereo Technique for Augmented Ambience Gradient), which has been featured on several prominent CD releases, as well as stereo and surround-sound broadcasts. On the signal processing side, he has also developed processing algorithms for THAT Corp. called dbx-tv Total SurroundTM technology that is found in over half a billion flat-screen CLCD television installations around the world.