SONIC-ROCKET
RECORDING STUDIO
DESIGN PHASE
Much of the design came to me in a dream. I wanted a "vintage" look that welcomed visiting artists and inspired creativity.
I knew what I wanted when I embarked on this adventure. When I was 16, I drove my parents car into Hollywood and stopped at Wally Heider Studio. This was sacred ground having hosted the likes of Paul McCartney, Tom Waits, T.Rex and so many more.
I knocked on the door and, to my delight, they actually let me in. Times have changed. I listened on a huge pair of UREI time aligned monitors as the band War tracked some vocals. I knew some day I would have a pair of monitors like that.
I wanted a stone wall at the front of the control room and a ceiling that looked like it belonged in the Starship Enterprise.
I settled on a Mid Century Modern design pallette and a red and grey color scheme.
I build all of the elements I could by hand but also employed an acoustician to make sure the sound treatments and room sizes were correct and a general contractor to handle the major framing revisions I needed.
I drew the whole thing up in AutoCAD and sketch-up prior to actually building which was extremely helpful.
I topped the whole thing off with a hand made S-O-N-I-C sign that I designed and made myself. I was looking for something reminiscent of the early 60’s which I have always thought was the pinnacle of creativity in modern music History.