With a mission to ‘cultivate professional talents in modern music production and performance’, the Shanghai Vocational School of Contemporary Music has established a studio complex to provide high-level music training with the support of the Shanghai Municipal Government. Aiming to offer students the best possible equipment to work with, Genelec Smart Active Monitors have been installed throughout the new facility.
During the early stages of development, Shanghai SunYart Digital Technology Director Alex Wei created a basic layout for the facility and refined these plans alongside Technical Director Zhang Minggang. Technical Execution was provided by He Weier, alongside world-renowned acoustician Sam Toyoshima.
One of the key factors for the team was creating a facility that would combine acoustics and aesthetics to the best effect. ‘Mr Toyoshima is an acoustic designer full of design aesthetics,’ says Wei. ‘I wanted this project to meet the acoustic requirements and to have visual impact, to have that ‘wow’ factor, so our ideas fitted well. ‘Genelec monitors have gained a good reputation in the industry, and were an inevitable choice for this project.’
The design choices meshed well with the more technical decision to select Genelec Smart Active Monitors calibrated with Genelec’s GLM Loudspeaker Manager software throughout the complex, with the monitors’ minimalist design and classic colour scheme complementing Toyoshima’s modern, condensed aesthetic style.
Beyond the style of the studio complex, a great deal of technical thought has gone into its creation – for example, the large 300sq-m recording studio with its variable reverberation time features more than 70 rotary columns of different heights and diameters, and different sizes of sound absorption holes used to achieve reverberation times ranging from 0.8 to 1.2s.
The control room for this space features a pair of Genelec 1236 main monitors inset into the floor-to-ceiling window. The team had a vision of making the monitors look as if they were floating in the glass, but faced challenges with the weight of the monitors and assembly. Wei worked with Toyoshima’s design, calculated the angle, centre of gravity and friction at the bottom accurately, and compared various construction materials and methods. With this worked out, the two 1236 monitors were installed, remaining consistent with the 6 degree inclination angle of the glass.
In addition, three 8351 coaxial close-field monitors have been placed on retractable stands – which don’t impede the sound from the main monitors when lowered, but can rise mechanically to provide a 5.1 system for surround mixing. These are accompanied by two 7380 subwoofers. ‘The 8351 monitors give a very modern sense of science fantasy,’ Wei explains. ‘When they are combined together with the 7380 subwoofers, it’s as if you are piloting a spaceship in Star Wars.’
A further unique teaching space takes the form of the ‘staircase classroom’, where students sit on steps rather than traditional seating. On one side of the classroom there is a large floor-to-ceiling window, looking into a studio. When the teacher is working, the students can enter the studio to watch or observe through the glass from the steps outside. Above the mixing console, a high-definition camera displays the teacher in action via a projection screen, while Genelec 1238 three-way monitors relay audio to the class.
The project also created four further recording spaces, including a mastering room on the ground floor fitted with stereo Genelec 1238 monitors and a 5.1 system comprising 8351s and a 7370 subwoofer. Additionally, a multifunctional 5.1 teaching studio features 8260 monitors with a 7370 subwoofer, and two small practice studios in the basement are each equipped with a pair of 8351 monitors.
Staff at the school describe the results as ‘beyond our expectations’, and Wei is proud of the innovative complex that has been created: ‘What we’ve ended up with here is excellent sound quality, and very accurate sound image positioning,’ he comments. ‘The teachers at the school, the professors at Shanghai Conservatory of Music, and the visiting professors from other schools think that this is the best studio they’ve ever seen.’
Toyoshima agrees: ‘I think the high-quality equipment and creative atmosphere provided by the school can train a group of future-oriented sound engineers better and faster.’
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