A Gainesville recording studio finds itself among others in New York, Los Angeles and Paris as a finalist for one of the music industry’s most prestigious design honors.
Jam Band Studio (JBS), which opened earlier this year along the banks of Colclough Pond off South Main Street, is among the six nominees in the Studio Design Project category as part of the 39th National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) TEC Awards.
The TEC Awards − named for technical excellence and creativity − will be presented on Jan. 27 in Anaheim, California, and recognize “the individuals, companies and technical innovations behind the sound of recordings, live performances, films, television, video games and multimedia.” The awards are “widely recognized as the highest honor dedicated to the pro audio and sound recording industry,” according to its website.
The 1,754-square-foot Gainesville studio was designed by owner Ryan Frankel and Grammy-nominated studio designer, engineer and producer Carl Tatz.
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“There are hundreds, possibly thousands of studios in the country, being nominated as one of the nicest, best studios is really an honor,” said Frankel, who also serves as vice president of Gainesville-based Digital Brands. “Tatz is one of the best designers in the world.”
While the studio may not appear to have all the bells and whistles of others, Frankel said the fact that the site used to be just a “hill of dirt” allowed for the complete design of a place that produces a “perfectly flat acoustic response.”
“We were able to build it from the ground up. A lot of studios are either in a building that already exists or they have some size constraints,” Frankel said. “It’s the whole system that’s built into the mix room that really makes this place special.”
Tatz recognized the studio’s overall design, which he called Frankel’s vision, including a tracking room with an 18-foot ceiling and a large glass wall overlooking the lake as features that contributed to the nomination.
“That’s the most striking thing,” he said of the windows.
The studio features Tatz’s PhantomFocus System, his acclaimed monitoring system that he considers to be the best in the world.
“You hear exactly how the music is supposed to be,” Frankel said. “It’s the perfect audio setup.”
Frankel is running it as a non-commercial entity, making the studio even more special to the local music scene. Musicians can access the studio and its services for free, as opposed to others that charge as much as $100 an hour.
Frankel said it was important to him to create a space where musicians don’t feel pressured by time constraints and instead can focus on their music and creativity.
“I wasn’t trying to build a world-class studio at first. But little by little, it was like, if I’m going to do this, let’s make it amazing,” he said.
Tatz, who has been designing studios since 2002, said it’s the first time he’s run across someone building a studio as a service to other musicians.
“It’s generous on his part, and it’s something he’s had a passion for,” he said of Frankel.
Those interested in working with Jam Band Studio can visit jamband.com or email ryan.frankel@gmail.com.