With multiroom recording studio facilities in several Northeast Los Angeles locations, Kingsize Soundlabs recently replaced a vintage console of 20 years’ standing in Studio A with a 32-channel Solid State Logic Origin.
Studio owner Dave Trumfio spent some time considering alternatives to the existing desk that was long on maintenance issues but short on functionality: ‘Then Ronna, my wife, who manages the studio, pretty much gave me an ultimatum and said it needed to be one of three major brands, to maximise the room’s booking potential.
Providence Sound & Vision founder and CEO Jeff Ehrenberg – with whom Trumfio has been working for years – suggested the SSL console. ‘Origin’s value was undeniable and I was just blown away with what you got,’ Trumfio reports. ‘It’s perfect for a modern studio and for what we need to do.
‘Most of the work we do in Studio A is tracking; the Origin is a Swiss Army knife that has really helped us raise the bar,’ he continues. ‘In modern culture, once they are in the box, a lot of people stay in the box so the front end is really important, whether you are super conservative or you want to go for it and print some tone. For that front-end type of tracking workflow, getting an Origin was a no-brainer.’
Studio A was the first room that Trumfio built after relocating to the Los Angeles area in 2000 having operated Kingsize Soundlabs in Chicago for a decade. ‘We’ve always been an affordable recording studio. Coming up through the late ’80s and ’90s – we always made space for up-and-coming indie bands to make records,’ Trumfio says.
Studio A features both a DAW and a 24-track analogue tape machine, as well as racks of outboard processing. ‘Whether there is an outside engineer or an in-house engineer working the session, they know they can route anything anywhere they need it to go. The Origin is a big router with 32 channels of SSL EQ. Along with that, we have sidecars with other flavours of EQ and mic preamps, so people can record through “tilty” EQs, push that into the SSL and then sculpt it a little more.’
Trumfio grew up in Chicago using a variety of mixing console known for adding a certain character to productions. ‘I always saw SSLs as having a super-clean, pop kind of sound but I grew up with a brand of console that looked vintage but was actually very, very clean and had a fully parametric EQ. When I moved to LA, with its West Coast rock mentality, I missed being able to sculpt the mid-range and do more subtractive and more pinpoint EQ. And now I realise, the Origin is the console I’ve always wanted.’
Not only did the Origin cost less and offer more features than the alternative options Trumfio had been considering, but it has reduced day-to-day running costs, Trumfio reveals. A vintage console typically adds to the air conditioning costs but the reduced power demand of the Origin’s design also helps keep costs down.
‘I’m not one to turn equipment on and off; I just grew up that way. But this new design is just incredible – you plug it into the wall and it works, and when it’s no longer in use, it goes to sleep. It saves energy, so our electric bills go down.’
Having been in operation for more than three decades, Kingsize Soundlabs boasts an enviable list of local, national and international artist clients and has seen an almost equally long list of engineers and producers come through its doors. Since the Origin rolled into Studio A it’s been busier than ever, Trumfio says.
‘There’s a hip-hop artist, his name’s Mino and another hip-hop artist named Saba, who have done a lot of work in Kingsize recently. There’s also Nate Sib, a young artist that’s on Republic. He’s been locking out the room for his project. We love it when people take it for long stretches of time. And there has been just tons of drum tracking going on.’
More: www.solidstatelogic.com