Musician and producer Sebastian Omerson, the man behind Number Nine Studios, had added a Prism Sound Dream ADA-128 modular conversion system to his commercial recording facility in Belgium, following a series AB tests he conducted with support from Joystick Audio. ‘

The team at Joystick Audio were great – they let me take my time and compare products so that I could find what was best for us,’ he says. ‘The Dream ADA-128 came out on top, not least because the audio quality is so good. The sound is very focused, and even when I have noisy guitar bands in the studio, I can still hear each guitar individually. It is also ideal for string sessions where we need a lot of inputs.’

Prior to moving into the studio world, Omerson was a guitarist, including playing in Belgian rock bands Pornorama, Starfighter,and The Subs. He set up his first studio in the early 2000s and planned to use the facility for his own projects, but external work came in so thick and fast that he soon found himself engineering and producing full time. In 2013, he grew out of his original studio found a building in Ghent where he could build a facility that lived up to his expectations. Once a carpenter’s warehouse, Number Nine Studios is now a 450sq-m multi-room complex that offers 11 recording spaces, including two live rooms with different acoustics, booths and a control room. Even the hallways can be used for recording because the whole building is patched.

‘I’d spent ten years working in a small room with no patchbay or booths and with poor acoustics, so that experience informed the way we built Number Nine Studios,’ he says. ‘We focused on acoustics and workflow, as well as decent equipment. The result is a studio with an incredible workflow – a well-organised band can record an album in less than a week – even less for smaller set-ups.’

Number Nine Studios offers a host of equipment that clients can use, including a Pro Tools rig, Adam, Genelec and Yamaha NS10 monitoring and a custom-built desk that is based around vintage Neve preamps.

‘I have 15 vintage Neve preamps and EQs and they sound amazing,’ Omerson says. ‘I believe in buying the best equipment possible because quality is important if you want to capture great audio, I never settle for a cheaper alternative, whether that be a microphone, a piece of outboard gear or a converter. This is why I have a Prism Sound converter – it is simply the best.’

Since installing the Dream ADA-128, Omerson has produced projects for various European bands including Bongloard, Ramkot, Halva, FFOOSS, Hoofdstroom, Crooked Steps, Atomic Vulture and the Karel Cuelenaere Trio.

‘We’ve also had Belgian rock band RHEA in the studio, produced by David Bottrill who has worked with Peter Gabriel, Tool, Placebo and Muse,’ he adds. ‘Prior to the session, David and I were running through the technical facilities at the studio and the first question he asked me was about the audio conversion. When I told him we had a Prism Sound Dream ADA-128, he was delighted, and once he started work he was very complimentary about the sound we were achieving.

‘I think the name Prism Sound inspired that kind of confidence in a customer. It is such an iconic brand and so well regarded for its audio quality that having a Prism Sound converter in the studio speaks for itself. These converters are not cheap but if you’ve invested that kind of money in a piece of equipment, then it obviously shows that you also care about everything else that’s in the studio.’

Alongside music projects, Number Nine Studios also tackles TV commercials and film scores and often hosts string sessions in its large live rooms. In recent months these have included a recording session for the French movie Munganga, which features music by Alexandre Dudermel and Ruben De Gheselle.

‘We mainly work with bands because that’s our core business but the string sessions for film and TV are always interesting and often involve unusual instruments,’ Omerson says. ‘I produce most of the projects we work on but sometimes I engineer for other producers, which I enjoy because it is interesting to see other people’s techniques. Having a great studio with good equipment and acoustics makes working a pleasure and now that we have added a Prism Sound converter, it is even better.’

In his view, conversion is where the magic happens. ‘That’s where all your bits and bytes turn into lovely music,’ he says. ‘I am very grateful that Joystick introduced me to Prism Sound. I’ve been working with Joystick for many years – when we built Number Nine Studios they were heavily involved with the cabling and installation, and they did a fantastic job. I trust their advice because quality is as important to them as it is to me, so I know they won’t try and sell me something unless they think it is worth having. The ADA-128 fits into that camp.’