Miles above home-recording
options, our hybrid analog recording studio was designed by leading industry
experts and thinkers for first-rate, distinctive, and powerful results.
At the helm of Verso recording studio is our accomplished audio engineer, Travis Bell. Working with independent promoter, Manic Presents, Travis served as Lead Audio Technician for the Space Ballroom in Hamden, CT, mixing live shows by the Melvins, Screaming Females, Polaris, Japanese Breakfast, Big Freedia, Moby, Kevin Devine, Hot Rod Circuit, Acid Mothers Temple and many more. Travis’s reputation led him to the historic Klein Memorial Auditorium, one of the last Broadway scale prosceniums.
At the core of his professional creative values Travis believes, “An engineer has two eyes, two ears, and one mouth. While in studio, engineers should be looking and listening twice as much as they should be speaking. Engineers have a critical role to be the translators of a language, not contributors to the story told. We capture and preserve with great detail and regard for the artists performance, doing our best to not impart a fingerprint or identity of our own to the content we mix. A true engineer is a master Chamaeleon and will blend into the audio they work on and adapt to it – never the other way around.”
Producer and engineer, Rob
Fraboni, leant his expertise to the Verso hybrid analog recording studio,
having built Bob Dylan and the Band’s Shangri La Studios to their specifications
in 1976. At the turn of the century, Fraboni built Keith Richards home studio
just miles away from Verso Studios. Fraboni is well-known for his work with the
Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Buckwheat Zydeco, Hubert Sumlin, John Martyn, Etta
James, Bonnie Raitt, and Melissa Ethridge, and served as VP of Island Records
in its heyday.
"…Rob Fraboni is a genius when you
want to record things outside the usual frame. His knowledge and his ability to
record in the most unusual places are breathtaking. He worked as a producer on
The Last Waltz; he remastered all the Bob Marley stuff. He’s one of the best
sound engineers you can ever meet.” – Keith Richards, Life, p. 513.
The Verso Studios Advantage
At the center of Verso recording studios is our Solid State Logic - XL Desk, developed by leading industry experts, including renown recording artist and innovator, Peter Gabriel.
Referred to as the Rolls Royce of studio consoles, it’s been claimed by many that SSL consoles have mixed more #1 records than any other console manufacturer that has ever existed or will exist. SSL consoles have been used on countless iconic recordings by: AC/DC, Alice Cooper, the Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney, Pink Floyd, Rush, Fleetwood Mac, Queen, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, X, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Primal Scream, Massive Attack, Pet Shop Boys, The Raconteurs, 2Pac, Dr. Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Tyler the Creator, Kate Bush, Madonna, Beyoncé, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson, Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Norah Jones and many more. SSL consoles are currently in service at legendary studios including Abbey Road, Sonic Ranch and Tree Sound Studios.
Our SSL XL Desk is a hybrid console that enables analog workflow to be captured into digital audio software (ProTools, Abelton, Logic) with infinite post-production possibility. This hybrid console allows for a modernized workflow that has become a leading industry standard used by our most beloved and distinguished artists. The XL Desk’s sound is a wide, warm and familiar sound you know and love from your classic artists, albums, and pop recording renaissance of the 60’s and 70’s. Analog gear imparts a sonic characteristic onto recordings that digital emulations simply cannot.
Within the realms of art, music and multimedia there lies a secret code or knowledge, a mysterious DNA of influences, materials and technology that produces a captivating, beloved work of art. As Lou Reed once said, “My music and my photos are the same thing. There’s all this technical stuff in back of it, but it’s mainly just a set up so you can go on feeling.” Here at Verso Studios, your art is your own – each creative session is marked by what you bring to it. Technology is simply a means to feeling, but, it helps knowing Verso Studios is equipped with truly world class design and components to set you up for a potentially remarkable end result.
Unique Recording Studio Components
- 21 channels of outboard analog compression from leading manufacturers such as: SSL, Universal Audio, and IGS.
- 16 channels of SSL 611 EQs. Highly detailed and precise EQs great for tracking and mixing.
- 4 channels of Universal Audio’s famed 1176 limiting amplifiers, including:
o 2 Revision D’s known for their use on drums
o 1 Revision G noted for its transparency,
o 1 Revision A known as the blue-stripe 1176. This iconic 1968 compressor was created by Bill Putnam (often referred to as “the father of modern recording”). This classic unit, limited to just a few hundred produced, has midrange presence that cuts through mix with distinctive sound. Used by: Prince, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Green Day.
- SSL G-bus compressor. Often referred to as “the glue” of countless hit records.
- Three pairs of industry-standard studio monitors, including: ATC SCM25As, Yamaha NS10s, and Auratones for precise track mixing. This monitor trio delivers a true perspective on what your track will sound like on a high-fidelity stereo, car, and phone.
- Ten, Schoeps V4 U Large Diaphragm Condenser Microphones, a high-end condenser vocal microphone. Ideal for a transparent and detailed recording.
- Roland TR08 Rhythm Composer. Known as the world’s most famous drum machine, used on classic tracks from Afrika Bambaataa, Marvin Gaye, Run DMC, Public Enemy, Whitney Houston, Kesha, Madonna, Outkast, Talking Heads, New Order, and Phil Collins. Excellent 808 documentary trailer here.
- Moog Grandmother, analog semi modular 32-key synthesizer. Sound like Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Berlin-era Bowie, 70’s Who, Harmonia, Cluster, Kraftwerk etc.
