Megaphon Studio changes hands

[jasound]

I heard that Shane Fahey has moved on from Megaphon and someone else has taken on the lease.
Apparently it's going to be used for live webcasts.
I'm not sure if its still a room for hire.
Damn shame if its true, it's a great tracking room.
I spent a few years working there inhouse during its hey day in the 90s.
Lots of good memories.

[gigpiglet]

i know someone doing a record there right now... ill try and find out the gossip

[The Tasmanian]

That is bad news....

[Vic]

The ownership transferred to Music Feeds yesterday. The place will still exist but not for hire. It will be used for, whatever it is Music Feeds does, including live web sessions.

Vic

[jasound]

What a shame.
It's been a labour of love for along time.
I suppose it's a good thing it's still being used for music and not become apartments.
Where would one now go in Sydney to get a good live drum room sound that's not 301?

[aside]

Where would one now go in Sydney to get a good live drum room sound that's not 301?

Excellent question - it's looking pretty dire

[Sammas]

I noticed while flipping through audio technology in the newsagents a couple of weeks ago that 301 has sub-divided part of their space and built 6 production suites that they are renting out at $2200 a month.

Is that a sign of the times? Or are they just utilising previously unused space?

[aside]

the latter Sammas.

[gigpiglet]

you are all welcome at gigpiglet for a great drum sound anytime you need it...
;-)
lovely large drum room
lots of mics
lots of pres
dry hire rates if you are doing your own engineering are very affordable.
;-)

feel free to get in touch

[Djembe]

Sorry to hear about Megaphon.
I was there a lot in the '90s (as Jason knows).
Had plans to use that room again.
Damn!

[The Tasmanian]

...in 2 weeks time i'll be mixing a Megaphon session I did there a few months ago - I will raise my glass to Shane!

Now - what large drum room in Syd has a ceiling height over 4 meters? (preferably 6m)
Apart from 301 - where else has very high ceilings, wooden floors etc

[jasound]

The wooden floors at Megaphon came out of an old church. They are very deep planks of wood.
One of the great things about the Big room is the height.
And there's a lot of different surfaces and styles of diffuser.
Shane Fahey is an acoustician and he didn't just leave it once it was built, he kept tweaking.
The 44 gallon drum room which is 44 GDs cut in half stuck to the wall was Nick Launays idea,
He would use it for recording drums and get a great heavy drum sound, I would tell other engineers to try it, but no one else seemed to be able to make it sound as
I loved cutting everything except bass in the Big room live all at once.
A number of people said that room sounds like the first Motown studio in Detroit.
Those Cruel Sea albums that were done at Megaphon are a good example of the room sound.
Tony Cohen is did some crazy things there. I remember spending a day a half on the bass for a cruel Sea song "Better get a lawyer son" .We had the bass amp in the stairwell out the back fire exit, and the other residents in the building weren't happy hearing this 2 bar phrase repeated all day. For the early EPs he would use some of the vacant factory spaces for chambers.
I should stop I'm just reminiscing now.

[rick]

Drum rooms ?
Well the new turtlerock has 11 meter ceilings
But don't hold your breath for me to build the
Walls !

[Hookemeister]

Hey Rick are you serious about the 11 metre ceiling height?

What sort of building is it?

It's hard to find anything these days with even 5 metres of vertical space.

[The Tasmanian]

11 meters will do me for a drum sound - as long as your console goes to 11 - book me in for the first session

[rick]

11 is the low estimate
It's 14 meters floor to the roof !

[jasound]

Thanks Rick

[Trent Griggs]

Rick that sounds Awesome!

There really is nothing like a good hard hitting rock drummer in a big room with high ceilings.

Here's a photo I took from the place I stayed at on my honeymoon, January this year in the North West of Tasmania.

All I could think about when I was in there was rocking a drum kit in there. I think in the main area it was like 20ft to the top.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid= ... =3&theater

Unbelievable place to stay, did not want to come home.

Want to record next album there bad.

Townend, my pipe dream is to fly the guy I got to session my drums from Texas down to sunny Tasmania and record at this place with you.

20 ft ceilings, 3 spa's plus an outdoor spa in the middle of a paddock. Galley Kitchen. Mt Roland literally engulfs you as you look out those massive double glazed windows every day. Wedge tailed eagles and swamp harriers flying around the property.
And possibly the best bit for making an album. No one in sight, total seclusion and you can hear a pin drop.

I will do this!!

[The Tasmanian]

I'll be there....but there is SO much glass to "tame"

[The Tasmanian]

Hey Rick - whats the floorspace?
And is there a vintage Neve involved somewhere in your new joint?

[ChrisW]

Sometimes big can be too big for drums.
On the other hand, it is possible to book any space in the Opera House for drum tracking. Every theatre is wired into the central control room.

[blackfoot]

Shameless Plug Alert ! ! Blackfoot Sound has a 7x6x4 drum room with removable wall treatment. Sounds great ! And I agree with Chris, Big is not always best. But what about Trackdown @ Fox Studio? That had a pretty big space.

[rick]

Hey chris My place is 440 Sqm
It's still mostly warehouse
Might get it sorted next year .. We will see
It's been a tough time in divorce land
Vintage neves are us

[The Tasmanian]

Yeah big is not always best - but most of the time with good use of baffles one can cover most territories. (Abbey Rd for eg)
Its more the lack of choice for tall ceiling rooms in Syd is a worry when you want that sound for a project.
Plenty of small to medium spaces that are pretty good though.

[Chris H]

I remember reading somewhere........ maybe an old audiotechnology mag........ that Terry Manning, when recording at Trackdown Scoring Stage put up a tent at one end to record the drums........
did a guick search and came up with this:
http://repforums.prosoundweb.com/index. ... ic=5611.30
quote:
No, I actually was at Trackdown Scoring Stage on the Fox lot. We were going to be at 301, but there was a scheduling conflict.

Trackdown has a HUGE room, with long rev time, somewhat reminiscent of AR1. It's really for orchestra scoring, not rock. So I put a rented tent in one end for the drums, and it worked great. I could get any room decay I wanted from separate room mics, but was able to get distinct drum sounds when that was necessary. I'll post a photo later of the drum tent...

Best,

TM
end quote.

[Ben M]

The tent pegs would've left a terrible mess in the floor Chris...hehe, good solution though.

I'm pretty sure you've seen the drum umbrella... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8jymtu45kI

Sad to hear Megaphon has changed. I did a couple of things there in the 90's. Had a nice feel...and rooftop views at sunset

[jkhuri44]

a gazebo would work orrite for that innit?

[Ben M]

we used to use heavy cloth backed vinyl sheets hung from hooks in the ceiling (floor to ceiling pieces) to reduce the largeness of the live room. Like an Oxford St tent

[Chris H]

The times i have done live sound in vinyl marquees, i have not liked the sound much so i am wondering how it sounded good?

[Ben M]

Well Chris, the difference between sound in a vinyl marquee and an acoustically treated live room with a few vinyl strips is too large to even begin.
It certainly tightened up the sound of drums in that space and allowed for micing outside the tightened enclosure, like you pointed out. We used it for vocal at times. Very handy system.