Studio Focus: Hercules Street Studios
17 June 2014
ARIA Hall of Famer Harry Vanda and his son Daniel Vandenberg have been a fixture in Surry Hills for almost a decade now, producing the likes of The Wrights and British India via their Flashpoint Music production house. They’ve just made a huge move, though, launching Hercules Street Studios; situated on the second floor of a swanky new complex not too far from their previous location.
“We all just felt it was time for a change,” says Vandenberg, as we stand in the industrial-chic foyer. The first thing that strikes you is the amount of natural light in the place. The ceilings are high and the windows are large. I think musicians using this studio will be receiving unprecedented levels of Vitamin D.
There are two production rooms in the facility that will be occupied by some high-profile figures in producing and A&R (take my word for it). One of these features a grand old Harrison 3232C console, the same type of desk used to mix Thriller Vandenberg tells me [the band Phoenix apparently bought the actual one last year – Ed]. In an overdubbing booth connected to this room is a small collection of his father’s guitars: a Martin acoustic used in some of the classic Vanda and Young recordings of the ’70s and ’80s, a 1959 Les Paul Jr., a Fender Precision bass from the ’70s.
There’s also a small Writing Room available for hire, with a comprehensive suite of DAWs, a Yamaha 02R and a Digidesign 002 console, and a nice range of outboard gear from the relatively new (Focusrite Liquid Channel, dbx 1066) to the reasonably vintage (Joe Meek VC6, Alesis Quadraverb GT). There’s a niche collection of keys available, too, such as a Roland SH101, ARP Omni and a Juno 106. It’s compact but comfortable. A group of trendy young things occupied it during my visit and one of them referred to it as the “vibe room” — which augurs well for its potential.
The main studio, known as Studio 1, is incredibly spacious. It would need to be, too, with an SSL 8096 G+ (all 96 channels of it) taking pride of place in the control room. It was shipped from LA because Record Plant Studios no longer required it, so it has quite a rich history. Sitting off to the side is an old Neve Broadcast console, too, the twelve 33116 Pre/EQs often coming in handy, says Vandenberg. For lovers of tape recording, there’s an Otari MTR 90, two MCI units and a Sony 3348 digital tape recorder at the ready.
Sitting behind the SSL is a vast array of outboard gear accumulated over Vanda’s long career: Three UREI 1176s, a Teletronix LA2A, Avalon VT737SP, ADR Compex, Neve 2254A, AMS RMX 16, Eventide H3000 SE, Peach Audio valve preamps and many, many more. Not that it’s all ‘out of the box’. They are running ProTools 9 (via HD4) and 10 (via HDX), Logic Pro X and Cubase 7, with comprehensive DSP plug-ins to complement. Everything is also networked via Cat7 ethernet.
The live room is large enough for a 14-piece string section, is bright and sunny and is adjoined by two roomy isolation booths. It also features a Yamaha C7 grand piano. Anyone could comfortably spend days on end working in here, and I’m sure they will.
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