With its roots in Hamilton, Ohio, engineer/producer Mark Lienhart’s One Louder Studio now has a permanent home in Cincinnati, fitted out by Guitar Center Professional (GC Pro) and now up and running.

‘I always wondered how the major-label engineers got that last ten per cent or so of sound quality,’ Lienhart says. ‘I worked and worked, studying the science and art of recording, but I just couldn’t quite get there. As much as people say that the gear doesn’t matter, they’re wrong – the gear is that last ten per cent. Nothing I did would make the sound perfect until I found the gear that complemented what I was doing.’

The centrepiece of the facility is the Slate Pro Audio Raven MTX console, a state-of-the-art multi-touch touchscreen interface: ‘We were considering several great options for consoles, but Jim [Kinney, GC Pro sales rep] was wise enough to take the conversation in another direction – Raven – and he set up a demo for me at GC Pro’s Hollywood showroom with some sessions I had tracked.

‘I got behind that console, and it was absolutely the most intuitive way to mix. I immediately understood how it worked. The tactile response is extraordinary. I was able to edit and mix right there at the demo session. Saying that, I was sold on the idea right away is an understatement. It was a revelation.’

Kinney and Lienhart interfaced the Raven MTX, running Pro Tools HDX, with a custom analogue board that they designed and Lienhart’s favourite outboard. ‘We created a set-up that blends analogue outboard gear, Pro Tools and the Raven MTX interface,’ Lienhart explains. ‘I have so many flavours to choose from, and all these elements work together marvellously.’

The set-up is completed with Genelec 8050 Active Monitors, also sourced through GC Pro, and Yamaha NS10s, which Lienhart acquired from a retiring prominent voice actress who had used them for years in her home recording space – but never for music. The final touch is acoustical treatment: ‘Jim arranged for Jay Porter from Radial and Prime Acoustics to do a 3D rendering of the room, based on the architects drawings and our specs, and he recommended several pieces of Prime Acoustics treatment, strategically placed in just the right spots,’ Lienhart recalls. ‘It was the perfect solution for controlling the sound in the control room and the tracking room.

‘The undertaking of rebuilding my studio and workflow from the ground up was hard work, but the records we’re making now – the sound is incredible. I listen to them and literally can’t believe we made that happen at our facility. I definitely could not have done it without the help of Jim and GC Pro, because at every turn, if I had a question, Jim had the answer, or knew how to get it. The last high-profile client I had, he said that we brought to life the sound in his head, which is the biggest compliment you can get as an engineer or producer.’