Press Release: 10/07/2005

Timbaland's "Un-Official" WSDG Studio Activity Report

NEW YORK (AES Booth #661) - Five years in the making, hip hop doyen Tim Mosley’s new Timbaland/Magic Mix Factory Studio in Virginia Beach, has been accepting a limited number of dates even as it continues its final cosmetic touches.

Designed by Walters-Storyk Design Group principal John Storyk, the showplace facility features a spacious main studio with three isolation booths, a Pro Tools Midi room (with iso booth) and lounge on the ground floor. The second floor houses maintenance, a reception area, offices, full kitchen and an additional lounge.

“John Storyk did a fantastic job of laying this studio out and providing the rooms with a great sound,” Douglass says.  “We’ve been working on an extremely wide range of projects. Everything cut and mixed here has a very true sound. We recently took delivery of a new Neve VR console.  That desk, supported by a full complement of speakers and outboard gear provided by Dave Malekpour’s Professional Audio Design, has given us the tools to accomplish virtually anything.  We anticipate the studio will maintain a steady flow of outside work in addition to Tim Mosley’s personal projects for his Interscope Records label.”

Douglass also points to his work with WSDG co-principal/interior designer Beth Walters as an integral element in developing the studio’s distinctive look.  “We work hard and late, and we party on the same level,” Douglass says.  “The studio needed to be rugged as well as attractive. Beth came up with suggestions and solutions that have provided us with the perfect work/play environment.”

Supporting WSDG’s full service architectural and acoustical design, Systems Designer  Judy Elliott-Brown led the studio’s systems integration component. “Timbaland represents a truly open-ended approach to systems design,” Elliott-Brown says. “Creating multi-functional control rooms & systems to allow for maximum creativity was our primary client directive.

“The seamless integration of analog and digital technology was an absolute necessity given the extremely diverse collection of vintage and cutting edge outboard gear specified for the control room system by Jimmy Douglass and Tim Mosley. Main Control needed to accommodate any type of working style, from tracking to the Studer analog 24 track via the Neve console to tracking to Pro Tools HD from virtual synthesizers. We also added extensive connection capability for external equipment including the road gear  Jimmy & Tim have used in studios across the U. S. Monitoring in both the main control room and the smaller Studio B composing/arranging room are based on Augspurger cabinets and stereo subwoofers to allow them to achieve the impressive volume levels required for Hip-Hop while also sounding great on a wide range of material. This studio is ready for anything,” Elliott-Brown concludes.

Since May of this year Timbaland’s long-time engineering guru Jimmy Douglass has been breaking the studio in on a variety of recording and mixing projects.  Initial clients include: London Records’ group The Rapture, making a name for themselves with their unique Brooklyn/UK-style Garage band sound; indie artist Cheri London; J.C. of Platinum group ‘N Sync; Ginuwine’s new Sony CD; a project for new reggae artist Tammy Chin; and the latest Missy “Misdemeanor” Elliott CD.  Not too shabby for a studio that has yet to find time for its’ opening party.

“Tim Mosley and Jimmy Douglass discovered an excellent stand-alone building in Virginia Beach,” Storyk adds.  “We provided Timbaland with everything from custom wood defractials and elegant cabinetry to an attractive, creatively stimulating interior design courtesy of my partner Beth Walters.  The fact that this studio is already generating outstanding music is a testament to the fact that these artists knew what they wanted and had what it takes to bring their dreams to reality.”

Timbaland Studios complete studio technology package provided by PAD includes:

 

  • Custom built Augsperger Monitoring Systems for each control room, one double 15" and one Single 15" speaker for Studios A and B respectively
  • BGW 4 x 15 Powered Sub in studio A, Genelec 7070A subs in Studio  B
  • Bryston Amplification and XTA DP224 Speaker Management System
  • 2  x Pro Tools HD3 systems with 24 inputs and 48 outputs + extensive Plug-ins
  • Yamaha DM2000 console for Studio B
  • Tons of cool outboard gear e.g. Manley Massive Passive Eq, and Vari Mu Compressor, Avalon, Tube Tech, GML, API 550B, 560 Eq's and 512C Mic Preamps, Empirical Lab Distressors, Eventide DSP 4500, Lexicon 960L, DBX 160SL, Universal Audio LA2A & 1176LN Blackface Reissue.



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The Walters-Storyk Design Group (www.wsdg.com) has designed over 1800 media production facilities in the U.S., Europe, the Far East and South America.  Their credits range from the original Jimi Hendrix Electric Lady Studios  in New York to recording facilities for Whitney Houston, Bob Marley, Hollywood film composer Carter Burwell, Aerosmith, Latin singer Fito Paez  and Paul Winter.  Corporate clients include Hoffman La Roche, The Food Network, Interlochen Public Radio, CBS and New York City’s WNET. Most recently, WSGD has completed the design for Woodstock’s new multi-million dollar Allaire Studios as well as facilities for Timbaland’s Tim Mosley, Tracy Chapman and Alicia Keys. WSDG principals John  Storyk, Beth Walters, and Dirk Noy lecture frequently at universities and industry events, and contribute regularly to industry publications.  WSDG is a five-time winner of the prestigious TEC Award  for outstanding achievement in Acoustics/Facility Design.  The firm maintains offices in New York, Switzerland, Argentina, Brazil and San Francisco.



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