Shiny Eyes Studio has opened a new Dolby Atmos-certified recording studio in the San Francisco East Bay, designed by Alex Otto of Otto System Works and centred on a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 analogue console with PMC monitoring.
Headed by founder Leonard Bertolami, the studio also has multiple isolation booths, and a selection of top microphones, audio interfaces, DAWs and musical instruments. Sommer Cable is used throughout the installation.
A musician himself and a professional building engineer, Bertolami created the new Bay Area studio to serve both rising artists and established professionals with the latest technology for tracking, mixing and mastering. ‘I have learned from the knowledge and expertise of Alex and his OSW team to choose which products to use,’ Bertolami says. ‘To that end, Sommer cabling throughout was chosen for its incredible sonic qualities. I had the pleasure of pulling the Sommer’s special SC-Elephant Robust SPM840 cables and for the robust size they were much easier to manipulate than I expected. The feel and coiling ease of the cables is exceptional and actually handling the cabling reinforced my feelings of quality.’
The studio’s name was inspired by conductor Benjamin Zander, Musical Director of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra. In a talk on the transformative power of classical music, Zander recounted realising that his role as a conductor was to awaken possibility in other people. He could tell if he was succeeding by looking in their eyes.
‘Sommer’s SC-Mistral cable was chosen for all the panels, racks, consoles and loudspeakers in all the line level duties, both analogue and digital,’ Alex Otto explains, ‘The main factor is, of course, sound quality – Sommer cable sounds extraordinary and is incredibly quiet. When it’s used to wire an entire facility following established best practices, Sommer-equipped studios are dead quiet.’
Shiny Eyes has a team of in-house engineers available to guide digital and analogue projects, including tracking, mixing and mastering. From planning and equipment set up, to recording and fine-tuning sound quality, the engineers can provide expert insight and guidance to fully execute the musician’s vision.
‘Another advantage here is that the Sommer multipair cable is AES/EBU rated at 110Ω,’ Otto continues. ‘During installation the cable is landed to my preferred Bittree patchbays, which are also internally wired with 110Ω cable. There is no impedance change as the cable is distributed throughout the entire studio, including mic panels, patchbays and TT patch cords. I only need one cable type to deal with both analogue and digital signals, which from the client’s standpoint means better value as the business changes – you won’t have to face huge costs associated with any upgrading or changes in wiring.
‘When designing Atmos systems and working with loudspeakers that have digital AES/EBU inputs, Sommer cable works perfectly to integrate both analogue and digital signals,’ he continues. ‘It’s the chameleon of multipair cables. Another great advantage is the supple workability of the Sommer cable. The 8-pair fits nicely into the Sommer provided DB-25 connectors and shells. It’s easy to identify individual channels and although we always cover individual channels with techflex and individual numbers, you could simply use the cable without this additional dressing. Most other 8-pair cables need additional protection and dressing and if you don’t wrap the individual channels the moment you pick them up, they get tangled and difficult to manage.’
Shiny Eyes provides the technology to finalize the postproduction processing of audio projects. An experienced team ensures the critical step of balancing the sonic elements of the mix and optimising playback in all current systems and formats.
‘I am relatively new to the studio business,’ says Bertolami, ‘but I have had the pleasure of meeting amazing audio engineers throughout the design and construction of Shiny Eyes. Although I am an engineer by trade, my mission is not to be the chief engineer, but rather the chief team builder. In the bigger vision of giving back to the music industry, Shiny Eyes will support fellow audio engineers that are inspired to collaborate. Their passions and skills will add to the studio’s personality and growth. And I can serve whatever role necessary to keep eyes shining...’
More: www.shinyeyesstudio.com
