Allaire Studios. Created in 1998 by NYC photographer/musician Randall Wallace, Allaire Studios was named one of ten most stunning places to record music in the world by the BBC. “Snakes & Arrows” was recorded at the residential Allaire Studios, where drummer Neal Neil Peart, bassist-keyboardist-vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson set up housekeeping for six weeks back in November-December 2006. “It’s just outside of Woodstock, New York,” Lifeson said in a phone interview from his Toronto home. PLAYING ROLAND TRACK DEMO FROM TDW-20, USING TOONTRACK´S SOUNDS AND SDX LIBRARIES.
Many of these artists have sung the praises of Allaire in interviews, and Bowie has gone as far as buying a large tract of land in the studio's vicinity, according to The New York Observer. Artists flock to Allaire because of its secluded setting, its breathtaking views, its giant acoustic spaces, its state-of-the-art equipment and its staff. Allaire Studios. 37 likes 109 were here. Music Production Studio.
Allaire Studios in Shokan, N.Y., has acquired the world-renowned Neve ‘Air Montserrat’ console, one of only three ever made and the only one available in the United States. The 58-input console, which has been used to record artists such as The Police, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Eric Clapton, is now situated in Allaire’s Great Hall control room and available for use.
Designed by Rupert Neve, the desk was created with input from famed Beatles engineer Geoff Emerick and producer Sir George Martin. It is one of only three desks specified by Martin for Air Studios, each of which have the distinction of being the last to be created by Neve for the Neve Company. The other two consoles in existence currently reside at The Warehouse in Vancouver, British Columbia, and at Air Lyndhurst in London, England.
Though similar in appearance to Neve’s classic 8078 console, the Air Montserrat desk is a departure from earlier designs in that it incorporates remote-controlled microphone preamps and toroidal transformers, coupled with integrated circuits that allow frequency response to almost 100 kHz before significant roll-off.
While at Air Montserrat Studios in the Caribbean, the desk was used to record classic albums such as The Police’s Synchronicity and Ghost In the Machine (in the video for “Every Little Thing She Does is Magic,” Andy Summers is seen dancing on the console), and Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits.
The console was subsequently acquired by A Records in 1987 for use in its Los Angeles recording complex by artists such as U2, Don Henley, Aerosmith, the Rolling Stones and Patti Smith. The console was later stored in a warehouse for several years before being restored and beginning its third tour of duty at Allaire Studios.
“It is a great privilege for us to usher this console into a new era in the Great Hall,” says Allaire studio manager Mark McKenna, who also manned the console for Don Henley’s classic The End of the Innocence. “In an era where digital workstations are an integral part of every music recording scenario, the magic still happens in an inspiring room with classic analog equipment. This desk has a signature sound, like a Telefunken tube mic or a 1958 Les Paul might have; it is the cornerstone of our control room.”
Since arriving in October 2007, the Air Montserrat console has been painstakingly restored by Ken McKim, Allaire Studios’ veteran chief technical engineer.
For more information, contact Mark McKenna at 845/657-6553, mmckenna@allairestudios.com or www.allairestudios.com.
Former Allaire Studios manager Mark McKenna (seated) and chief technical engineer Ken McKim.
Photo: Wade Grindle
Allaire Studios, the Shokan, N.Y. destination studio that was the home of two Neve-based rooms, appears to be closing. In March, all staffers were relieved of their positions and all remaining scheduled sessions were cancelled.
Mark McKenna, former studio manager of Allaire, commented on the abrupt end for the facility, which opened in 2001: “We had a slow winter, and we came up a little bit short of our busy season, although I cancelled a tremendous amount of work the week that I left. The long-term problem is that Allaire is very specifically targeted to the music business, and increasingly the way albums are being made we kind of ran into the perfect storm of producer-and-artist home studios and failing retail. Those things combined to seal the studio’s fate.”
The timing is particularly puzzling given that Allaire only recently invested considerable time and expense into installing one of the most famous consoles in the world, the “AIR Montserrat” desk designed with input from Beatles producer George Martin and engineer Geoff Emerick. “Maybe somewhat less-arbitrary ownership would have given the new console more time to establish itself,” McKenna said, “but that’s not the modus operandi of the ownership of the studio.
“When it was firing on all cylinders, Allaire was a joyous situation and the best of all worlds: You have a superior facility, a superior support staff and an unparalleled environment. Artists like the Black Crowes, Rush, My Morning Jacket and even David Bowie would attest to that. But the problem is that the business is not what it used to be, and there are not that many candidates for that type of business.”
Allaire Studios Ulster County Ny
Mix New York Editor David Weiss profiled Allaire in the “Coast to Coast: New York Metro” section in the March 2008 issue; to read that story, click here.
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