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Closer Look Studios ReviewMike Johnson - West Akron Recording SpecialtiesIt seems that Cleveland has taken it on the chin in the past in regards to its music scene everything from does Cleveland deserve the Rock and Roll hall of Fame to the lack of a music scene things that some North East Ohio natives buy into. Maybe due to our grey industrial scenery? I dont know. It is refreshing when I find something that dispels these stereotypes. A short time ago, I was helping out with audio for a video shoot. One of the younger people there said that there was a guy there I should meet who owns a studio in Cleveland. Having been a sound engineer and musician for twenty plus years, I tend to be a little skeptical of the youthful exuberance of You got to check this out . I thought, Great. I'm going to spend the next half hour talking to some guy from Cleveland about his home studio. Not the case at all. I talked to Tyler Owen for only a few minutes. I thought he seemed like a nice enough guy no self-promotion flowing from his mouth, no hipper than thou attitude. We talked about some equipment being used without the usual bravado and encyclopedic display of knowledge that tends to muddle things up. Tyler then invited my wife and I to attend the grand opening of his B Room at Closer Look Recording Studio (a B Room? That certainly didn't sound like a home studio to me.) He said to bring musician friends. We made the trip from Akron to Closer Look Recording Studio on the very near east side of Cleveland with a few of our band mates (who later recorded there with another project by the way). We came upon this industrial park where we were met at the gate by a security guard who guided us to the location. We walked through a short hallway and came face to face with two very large freight elevators that could handle a few Steinways or Baldwins with no problem. We went up a floor or two, down a hall to the entrance to Closer Look Recording Studios, where were politely ushered in to a reception area for drinks and snacks. After a few minutes we were invited into the studio B control room. There I saw the longest (21 ft.) SSL Ive seen to date outside of New York, LA, or Nashville. Used to be Disneys I was told. Ultimation moving fader automation and 5.1 surround capable. It took me a few minutes to remember I was in Cleveland, Ohio that is until I looked out the window to see a most extraordinary view of Cleveland. What a killer vibe for mixing. At about this time Tyler asked me what I thought. I smiled and babbled something about the board and the view. Tyler asked me if I wanted to see the rest. We left the way we came in and made our way over to another building. Tyler unlocked the offices and we walked into a very nicely decorated reception area. I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw the actual studio high ceilings, nice center equipment rack / work surface and a Neve a 48 channel 8108 w/ Uptown Moving Fader Automation and a Beamish computer upgrade. I was invited to take a look at the main room and iso booth. Catching a glimpse of the center rack LA-3s, 1176 Altec Tube Comp I thought very impressive. The main room looked great and acoustically it sounded even better; live but no flutter echo. If I were a drummer, I would have been willing to pay rent just to spend some time playing there. The iso booth sounded every bit as good no parallel walls, high ceilings, in both the main room and the iso booth. The main room benefited from the floated hardwood floors and the custom designed acoustical treatment and lighting. As more guests arrived I took the opportunity to really take a closer look at the control room. Alan Smart compressor, API and Avalon mic pres, lots of Teletronics toys, Lexicon, Fairchild, no less than eighteen types of compressors & limiters, six different verbs, six delays, and nine multi-effects units. In the corner, an Otari MTR 90II 2 24 track (2 for the facility), numerous Adats, a Mackie hard disc recorder Tyler must have noticed that I was impressed. Were full blown ProTools , he says. And automated mix down (Ultimation Moving fader automation on the SSL and Uptown Moving fader on the Neve). Tyler then began to tell me about his mic list Neuman (U47 and U87), Sennheiser (441s and LOTS of 421s), AKG ( 460s), Audix, Sure, and more than I can really remember. All this seemed like it only took a few minutes but really a good amount of time had lapsed during my gear head extravaganza . My very patient wife and band mates informed me that we had to go (we were the only ones left at that point). So we thanked Tyler for his hospitality and we made our way home. The next day I listened to some of a disc that Tyler had recorded and could hear the signature sounds of the gear I saw the night before. Not only that, but I did not hear the greyness or staleness that finds its way onto quite a few of the recordings that I hear on pretty much a weekly basis. This sounded more like LA Sun than North East Ohio Rain but the fidelity was London, Berlin and Nashville. Pure and Big sounding all done in downtown Cleveland, Ohio at Closer Look by a truly nice guy named Tyler Owen. As far as my experience at Closer Look youll get no cheap shots or sour puss complaints from me. Im just going to be busy rounding up some musicians to go back and get something done. Mike Johnson |
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CloserLook Recording Studios - 3615 Superior Avenue,
Suite 4431 - Cleveland, Ohio 44115 |
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