Feature: Setting the tone

Once in a while, a well-executed studio facility can act like a calling card for its designer, as Sound Wizard recently discovered. In 2018, the south Indian acoustic consultancy had completed Island City Studios in Khar West for Mumbai-based musician, Jehangir Jehangir. “Nice work!” read the WhatsApp message received later that year from Siddharth Mahadevan who had just visited Island City. “I’m building my own studio here in Mumbai and I want you guys to design it.”

This was no small praise. Filmscore composer Mahadevan is the son of Shankar Mahadevan, a prolific singer and composer of Indian film soundtracks. For almost a decade, they’d had a small out-of-town studio, while Siddharth also had a small programming room in Bandra, but, as the family was building a new house, the time was right to add a state-of-the-art studio to the blueprints.

When Sound Wizard first visited the project in Navi Mumbai in 2019, the shell of the studio had already been constructed, and the acoustic design team began working out possible layouts that could accommodate the Mahadevans’ wish list: a main control room, live recording area, reception, machine rack, bathrooms and an administrative area. Sound Wizard's architect Mehul Kumar, together with acoustician Didier Weiss, puzzled over the task of fitting the required areas into the 100m² space, and, once a tentative layout had been approved by the client, Sound Wizard began detailed interior acoustics, isolation and system design for the space.

The usual challenges of designing a professional studio in Mumbai presented themselves early on, namely a low, flat ceiling and parallel walls. Provision had to be made to accommodate a complex ducted air conditioning system that would not only create a temperate working environment in the humid city, but would also remain virtually silent. After much deliberation, Sound Wizard formulated an unorthodox yet simple solution to combat the space constraints. The 33m² control room and 30m² recording area were placed side by side, as opposed to the more usual front-to-back orientation. This opened up extra floor space, maintaining visual contact via a window between the recording room and control room, and freeing up space on the front baffle wall between the main studio monitors for a large video display. “When a concept is simple, then the outcome is often efficient and harmonious,” says Weiss, who was given free range in the design process.

Construction team Ashok Interiors, also part of the Island City Studios team, was recruited to implement the sound isolation and acoustic interior design. Sound Wizard worked closely with Ashok, assisting in the interpretation of complex technical drawings and following up with onsite meetings.

As with any Sound Wizard project, acoustic design aided by EASE simulation was key to unlocking the full potential of the space. “Transparency is the main goal of any recording studio design, and Lambodara Studios has multiple acoustic features that help it achieve this goal,” explains Weiss. This included the front baffle wall of the control room, which acts as a waveguide to redirect the energy from the flush-mounted Quested Q412D three-way active studio monitors and QSB118 passive 18-inch subwoofers. The Mahadevans had heard the Quested monitors installed at Harris Jayaraj’s studio as well as at Island City, which sealed their decision. “I must have tested 10 or 12 monitors before picking them; I was after mastering grade monitors that were top notch,” says Siddharth. “The ones at Island City sounded so beautiful, and the top end and low end were so transparent and clean that we decided to go for Quested.” The system was supplied by Mumbai-based Rivera International, which recently took on Indian distribution for Quested, and was the company’s first order. “The Quested system, chosen in Tomato Red by Mr Mahadevan and Siddharth, was a great choice and sets the studio apart,” comments Rivera International CEO, Rajesh Sadarangani.

Sound Wizard angled the three-pane window between the recording room and control room vertically within the control room to prevent first reflections from interfering with the direct sound and colouring the signal. To create symmetry in the room, mirrors have been placed on the opposite wall to simulate the acoustic performance of glazing, optimising the stereo image at the listening position. Central to the recording setup are an SSL AWS 948 48-input analogue console supplied by Sound Team. The console can control two DAW systems, in this case Avid Pro Tools and Logic Pro X. A range of outboard equipment including Neve 4081 and Chandler TG12411 preamplifiers, Lexicon PCM reverb, Universal Audio Apollo x16 interfaces, a Manley Massive Passive equaliser and Universal Audio UAD 1176, Dangerous Music, API 2500 and Universal Audio Teletronix LA-2A compressors complete the recording setup, together with Neumann U87, Brauner VM1 and AKG C12 VR microphones. All cabling is Sommer, and nearfield monitors are a pair of Barefoot MicroMain 26 speakers.

Both the control room and recording area benefit from “room within a room” designs that reduce sound transmission through structural vibration. A combination of custom-designed diaphragmatic absorbers as well as ceiling and side-wall absorbers have been used to eliminate standing waves and create a flat reverberation time curve at all frequencies. Sound Wizard had initially planned to use QRD (Quadratic Residue Diffuser) or slat diffusers in the control room. However, Siddharth preferred a more complex honeycomb design. Using software simulation to determine the form and dimensions required to diffuse sound at a targeted frequency range, Sound Wizard provided interior designer Kiran Shetty with the framework to turn a functional acoustical device into an interior and lighting design element. Acoustically, the device achieves its target of scattering mid and high frequencies to minimise comb filtering at the listening position, while also creating a more pleasant and “live” listening environment.

Not to be overlooked was implementation of the studio’s crucial heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Lambodara Studios has been divided into two independent air conditioning zones: the recording room and the control room, which meet a noise level target of NC15 and NC20, respectively. Having two independent setups lowers the machine noise levels, mitigates sound transmission between separate spaces and offers better control over energy consumption. Sound Wizard devised the concept layout and detailing for the duct work, which was further developed and adapted by the HVAC vendor in the final system design.

By the time India went into lockdown in March, Lambodara was around 90% complete. “There’s a final bit of wiring to be done, and the patchbay still has to be configured, but it was truly a blessing that we got as much done before lockdown,” says Siddharth. “Having a studio where we live during these times, I couldn’t have asked for anything more.” He calculates the pair has managed to complete around 40 projects in the last four months, including a video collaboration with the Berklee College of Music featuring over 100 artists to raise money during the crisis for out-of-work musicians.

The Lambodara project was given a nice sense of closure when Sound Wizard received another appreciative WhatsApp message, this time from Shankar. “Hi Didier, just wanted to tell you that this is by far the best studio I have heard and am so thankful to you and your team for doing such a fabulous job. We really feel proud having this studio of serious quality and aesthetics!”

This article appears in the September - October edition of Pro AVL Asia. Subscribe at www.proavl-central.com/subscribe/asia