Gear

 

 


 

 

First and Foremost..
Equipment is part of the recording equation.  An experienced engineer, with good ears, that understands how each piece functions and incorporates into a session is needed.  At
Electric Canyon, Dale Price makes every effort to help musicians forget about the technical aspects of recording and concentrate on what truly matters most... capturing good performances with quality sound and mixing them into the artists' vision (not the engineers'). 

Gear Philosophy...Digital-Analog Hybrid
Electric Canyon records in digital format, usually to computer using ProTools with Apogee analog to digital converters.  There are many advantages to recording digital, such as on board effects (plug-ins), powerful editing capabilities, no rewinding and huge storage capabilities.  We also use quite a bit of analog standalone equipment, like vintage and new effects, compressors and equalizers,  Class A tube and discrete microphone preamplifiers,  a large format mixing console and great analog to digital converters.  This analog-digital hybrid of gear combine with a great sounding rooms and an experienced engineer creates the ultimate professional recording environment of today.  (Check out some of the bigger studios websites to see what were getting at.)

Below is a somewhat dry itemization of equipment that may bore some... however gear-head types will probably enjoy.

Recorders Hardware/Software
Digidesigen ProTools LE 8.0 with Digi002, Alesis HD 24 Hard Disc Recorders(48 tracks) 24 bit, Sony DAT PCM-R300, Apogee Rosetta 24bit analog/digital converters (10 channels), Big Ben word clock, Apple MacPro, PC computers with CD / DVD burners using Sony Vegas 5.0, DVD Architect 2.0, Sonic Foundry CD Architect 5.0,  Technics turntable, Universal Audio UAD-1 and UAD 2 Powered plug-ins including software based NEVE, Pultec, EQ's, Fairchild, 1176, LA-2A comps, and many effects and modelers.

Mixer
TAC Matchless by AMEK 26channel 24buss In-Line Recording Console-modified Burson Audio discrete outputs & Burr-Brown IC's. 
Mobile Mixer-Allen & Heath GL2800 40 Channel

Preamps
Summit MPC-100A(2ch), John Hardy M-1 (4ch), Geoff Daking Mic Pre IV (4ch), ATI M100-1, ART PRO-MPA, TAC(28ch), Allen & Heath GL2800 Series(40), Tapco, Mackie(60+ch)

Microphones
Schoeps MK-4, MK-6, Inner Tube Audio/Schoeps MK-4 custom tube mic, Rode NTV, Shure: KSM-32(2), SM57(6), SM58(8), Beta58, Beta57(2), Beta 52, Beta Green(4), AKG: 414, D112, C1000S(2), C3000, Sennhieser 421, 431(2),  ME40, Miniflex, & some funky consumer mics

Outboard/Effects(Hardware)
Lexicon PCM-70, PCM-41, LXP-1,  Roland Chorus Echo, Roland SDE-2000, DeltaLab Effectron I, Ibanez DM-1100, Yamaha SPX 90II and SPX 90, Antares ATR-1 (auto-tune), Aphex Type C & Behringer Ultrafex aural exciters, Korg DT-1 rack tuner

Compressors/ Gates (Hardware)
Empirical Labs Distressor EL-8, Summit MPC-100A Tube Compression(2ch), dBx 166(6ch) 166A (2ch), Symetrix 501, 525, ART Pro VLA (2ch), Aphex 105 quad gate

Equalizers (Hardware)
Summit EQP-200A Dual Program EQ, Klark Technic 30 band graphic EQ(2 ch),

Direct Boxes
Custom Dean Jensen Passive Dis Countryman 85, Whirlwind Di(6), ProCo Di(2)

Monitoring
Tannoy 115DMT II Dual Concentric & 900 watt power amp, Mackie HDR24, Minimus 7, misc. little speakers, Yamaha SM12HII pro-audio wedge monitors (4+), SW118 subwoofer, Sony Consumer 5.1 Monitoring System, 30in and 15in. dual VGA computer monitors

Headphones/Headphone Mix Stations
Sony(5), AKG(2), KOSS(2), Direct Sound Extreme Isolation Headphones
Tapco 6306 micro-mixer stations(3), Furman HA-6

Instruments/Amplifiers
AMPEG Model V-9 SVT bass amp, Pearl maple 7-piece drum kit, Ludwig brass piccolo snare, Korg N364 keyboard, Roland E-20, U-20 keyboard, Alesis D4 with triggers, Boss DR-660 drum machine, O.C. Smith acoustic guitar, Generic bass

Wiring
Custom wired with low resistance Belden, ProCo, and Cardas cabling, Neutrik, Alcatel, and Switchcraft connectors, Incandescent dimmable direct, indirect, and mood lighting.

Air Conditioning/Heating
An over specified 2 1/2-ton blower can turn the complete studio air over several times an hour. The very large ductwork allows the unit to operate silently even while recording 'quiet' stuff. The custom system easily keeps studio warm in the winter and cool in those
Chico summers (crucial).

List subject to upgrades and modifications...