The Vinyl Snob Studio
A Dedicated Podcast Studio
The decision was made early on that if we were going to build a studio to play vinyl it had to be analog and best done with gear from the era when vinyl was king - the 1970’s. It was clear the most efficient layout would be a radio style control room.
There was no off-the-shelf cabinetry that would suit our needs, so custom cabinetry was designed and build. With the move to the North Coast, the desk was configured to accommodate both the analog and digital studios putting fifty years of technology side by side.
The turntables were lucky eBay finds. A matching pair of Technics SL1200MK3D turntables in a black finish, used but in perfect condition. They’re loaded with Shure M97xE Audiophile cartridges and mounted on isolation pedestals. Each pedestal stands alone, no connection to the countertop or desk ,completely isolating them from any vibration or desktop noise. To further insure that no vibrations transfer through the desk to the turntables, there are 50 pounds of sandbags in the bottom of each pedestal. (ed. note) "Dave’s just a wee bit wacky about turntables and getting the best possible sound out of his records."
The heart of the studio. The Gates “Executive” Audio Console. Originally sold in 1971, it was found on eBay in the fall on 2016 and went through an 18 month rebuild from the bottom up. It looks and performs as brand new.
I think we made some really good improvements on the Executive console while still preserving the character of this classic radio mixer. Those changes included moving the turntable mixing channel inputs from the left side of the console to the right side, which is ergonomically more efficient for the intended application. We also brought out the monitor and cue signals so they could feed external amplifiers. Inside the console, there were lots of tweaks here and there—again with the goal of making the mixer work in a modern environment while still maintaining the tradition of a classic radio console. - Jerry Whitaker
Project chief engineer Jerry Whitaker finishing the console installation. Detailed information of the complete console restoration project can be found here.
The Rack - loaded and ready. Click here to geek out and behold the wonders of extreme hi-end audio gear.