The recent renovation of Don Miggs’ Canyon Studios East in Nashville included PhantomFocus System (PFS) monitor tuning of the ATC monitoring in both its A & B PhantomFocus MixRooms.
Studio B has a redesigned front wall to accommodate the soffit-mounted ATC SCM45A Pro monitors, while Studio A has a free-standing PFS/ATC SCM45A Pro system using PhantomFocus Monitor Stands by Sound Anchors, both enhanced with a PFS implementation.
A refurbished Electrodyne console with additional racks of gear and a spectacular dual-path stomp-box console array, new fabric, carpet and a newly envisioned kitchenette and machine room round out the facility’s upgrades.
‘We’re delighted to help Don bump up his already stunning MixRoom Studio that we originally designed for Jay DeMarcus, founding member of country super group Rascal Flatts, over a decade ago,’ says PhantomFocus MixRoom Studio designer, Carl Tatz. ‘It’s always gratifying when you can over-deliver to a client, and The PhantomFocus System is a silver bullet when it comes to that goal. Although CTD is noted for its PFM line of near-field monitors, the larger ATC SCM45A Pro monitors are in a different class altogether and, frankly, one of my favourite speakers to implement in a PhantomFocus System which can be quite breathtaking.’
‘I loved my studio. I loved how it sounded. I was wrong,’ says Miggs, Canyon Studios East owner, and musician, producer and artist. ‘I couldn’t even imagine how much the audio performance could be bumped up until Carl installed his PhantomFocus System with my excellent existing ATC SCM45A Pro monitors.’’What makes this system so special is that it’s transparent. It just makes what you’re recording sound like what you’re recording! It feels clean to my ears, for lack of a better description. And it’s consistent at higher or lower volumes, which is important to me. And I don’t experience ear fatigue for some reason. So whatever Carl does feels like a magic trick.’
‘I’ve loved working on ATCs for years, but the PhantomFocus System has recently been a game changer at Canyon,’ says Canyon Studios East’s long-time house engineer, Nick Lane. ‘All the neutral, revealing nature I’ve come to expect from ATC, but now perfected for the room. It’s not like other room tuning software or hardware that drastically changes how the speakers sound – none of the “too pretty” or “too hyped” thing that engineers dread. Everything just gets subtly more defined and more immersive. Getting sounds for the first time on the ATC SCM45A Pros with the PFS was the easiest it’s ever been in that space. Just crystal-clear audio that let me make engineering decisions instinctually instead of wondering how the room was impacting what I was hearing.’
More: www.phantomfocus.com