The Palms Casino Resort has opened, as part of it’s expansion to the resort, a new multi room World Class Recording Studio. The Studio at The Palms provides a level of technical sophistication and client comfort unparalleled in the United States recording community. The facility includes a large tracking and mixing room (Studio X) boasting a Neve VRP-72 Legend with surround Mix Panel and full 5.1 Griffin G1 Main monitors. A second suite (Studio Y) features an acoustically identical control room and a mid sized overdub booth. This room is equipped with an SSL XL 9080K Series console and Griffin G1 Surround monitors. As it is an integral part of The Palms Casino and Resort, the studio offers client amenities that are not available at any other recording destination. The Palms offers luxury suites ‘wired’ to the studio for the convenience of recording clients staying at the resort. There are also portable DAW based recording stations that can be brought to a guest’s room for a more private recording experience. All these options for the recording artist guest certainly make the Studio at The Palms a uniquely desirable destination.

KMA Music - The Writers Studio, is the brain child of Michael Kissel. Mike envisioned a cooperative arrangement with young writer/producers who could realize their creative projects within a world class stimulating environment. KMA is located in the Brill Building with amazing views of Times Square (the "Center of the Universe"). KMA offers a brilliant recording experience for every genre and includes a beautiful live room, Yamaha grand piano and the first installation of the Griffin G1.5 main monitors augmented with an LFE18 subwoofer.

Greg Talenfeld, a veteran NY engineer and producer, needed a new recording facility. Greg had outgrown Waterworks Studio (NYC) where he had worked with seminal indie-rock icons Beck, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and Pavement. In 2007 he began planning renovations on a 1912 brick warehouse in his hometown of Nyack, NY. FM Design was charged with designing an elegant, stylistically sensitive and cost effective facility where Greg could record live bands and generally 'get the vibe' of the funky building onto his records. Isolation was a concern with a local firehouse ½ block away. A complete floating solution was presented that incorporated many visual elements of the original building. The acoustic finishes include brick, exposed wood beams and concrete to create a unique blend of rugged industrial and modern Hi-Tech.

2 Hard Records owner Jeremy Harding commissioned FM Design Ltd to create his new private studios adjacent to his custom home in Kingston Jamaica. Mr. Harding produces and manages multi-platinum recording artist Sean Paul. He also works with a number of other local writers and producers in the vibrant Jamaican music industry. The studio includes a Griffin Audio G1.5 main monitor system, Pro Tools HD and D Command control surface. 2 Hard Studios has set a new standard for acoustic performance, noise floor and main monitor accuracy in Jamaica.

Great City Productions in New York City is owned by Engineer/Producer Britt Myers. Great City contacted FM Design in 2008 for the design of a new Studio A suite including a surround capable control room and a comfortable live room. Their existing facilities were limited to voice over sized booths only. The new fully floated studio A suite is connected (physically) to studio B so that the live room may be shared when necessary. The SSL Duality equipped control room features K&H surround monitoring, ProTools HD and visual connections to the live room and two isolation areas. Foley pits and a Grand Piano are included in the new live room along with Video playback.

Owners of the Barbershop Recording Studios Scott Barber and Mark Salamone have a business sense that can be summed up in one word determination. Their vision was to build a world class recording studio of the highest standards in a historic stone church built in 1900's which had become the town's most revered landmark, but had fell victim to fire and had been closed for years. The church is adjoined by a thriving restaurant and a marina on the popular vacation spot, Lake Hopatcong. This was all part of Scott and Mark's plan to offer a place for artists to get away from the city and record in a creative environment. The studio has a ground level entry into a reception lounge, on this level you'll also find a surround sound protools suite and vocal booth, and a machine room and shop area for the entire studio. Upstairs includes a producer's lounge, the Main Control Room equipped with an SSL 9K, Griffin Main Monitors, and G2 Surround System. The Control Room is accompanied by 3 iso booths and a 2 story live room.

Randy Crafton, owner of Kaleidoscope Sound contacted FM Design in 2009 when it was time for an acoustic and aesthetic renovation for it's two busy, Union City, NJ based music studios. They were on a limited budget and had a very tight time frame in which to complete the renovations. Francis Manzella designed a complete new interior acoustic fit out for the main Control Room A to compliment the new API Legacy console. Additionally the studio B Control Room was re-oriented and the ceiling dropped slightly to create better acoustic room proportions. Both rooms have enjoyed wide acceptance since the renovation were completed.

Egan Media Productions, owned by producer/engineer Joe Egan, is a three room audio video production facility located in northern Vermont. The facility includes the "A" Music suite, pictured here, along with a second smaller audio suite as well as an offline video editing & production suite. Located in a converted turn of the century army barracks in Colchester VT, Egan and video associate Scott Esmond provide a range of services to the local Television, radio and music recording market. The studio was featured on the February 2002 cover of Mix Magazine.

Blue Jay Recording in Carlisle, MA is a well known and respected operation that has been in business for over 25 years. The facility was recently purchased by Kevin Richardson (Backstreet Boys) and Marcus Siskind (Producer/Composer). FM Design was commissioned to design a complete interior renovation for this perpetually popular studio. The new main music recording and mixing suite at Blue Jay is centered around a custom Mad Labs / Neve VR72 Console. The studio offers analog 2" recording on Studer A800's, ProTools HD and both Analog and Digital 2-Track mixing formats to accommodate a range of project. The Control Room was completely renovated from wiring troughs to lighting fixtures. The room was rebuilt from the concrete shell inward including all wall and ceiling treatments, wood and fabric finishes, isolation detailing on doors and windows and a complete new technical power installation designed by John Klett of Technical Audio and FM Design.

Trillium Lane is a dual purpose facility owned by Jared Vogt, a local software entrepreneur and musician. The facility is placed in a purpose built structure on a private stretch of wooded property providing it's clients with solitude, peace and an extremely relaxed creative environment. The 3500 SF building interior houses the control room, iso booths, great room, kitchen as well as the upstairs edit room, offices and support spaces. The recording and mixing room at Trillium Lane is built around a large ProTools HD system including a fully loaded ProControl. The 5.1 monitor system is Genelec 1031A's with 1094 subwoofers. The room is optimized for stereo and surround mixing with a generous Reflection Free Zone and exceptional imaging at the mix position.

Born and raised in Oklahoma City, recording engineer and drummer Ted Curtis has 30 years of music beating through his heart. Driven by the passion to record music and produce a first-rate product in today’s Christian music scene, he took a year of his life to build a God-given vision. The end result is a state-of-the-art, private, recording studio featuring some of the best gear, ranging from the vintage classics to the latest technology, set in a friendly and creative environment. The studio was featured on the March 2004 cover of Mix Magazine.

John Kilgore Sound & Recording Studios, located in the heart of New York's Broadway Theater District, is the primary resource for sound designers working on Broadway. It is also a prime sonic resource for many of the most respected artists working in the performing arts today. The studio is owned and operated by veteran recording engineer and theater sound designer John Kilgore. The studio counts among its regular customers some of the most discriminating and demanding clients in the world of theater, dance, music, special events and post production. The main audio studio at John Kilgore Sound & Recording features multi-format surround capabilities and a Control 24 based ProTools HD system. Client comfort, acoustic accuracy and facility wide versatility were the primary design goals given to FM Design. The main "A" suite offers a mid-sized, configurable Live Room and plenty of client space in the Control Room. Material and color selections were made from a selections of palettes offered by FM Design during the D&D process. This 5.1 control room provides chief engineer John Kilgore with the comfortable acoustics and project versatility he requires.

Stratosphere Sound Studios in the heart of NY City's Chelsea district, is a busy two room music recording facility. Francis Manzella Design was commissioned by studio owners James Iha (Smashing Pumpkins), Adam Schlesinger (Fountain of Wayne) and Andy Chase (Ivy), to design a combination commercial and private use facility for these busy musicians and producers. The studio was to be World Class sonically and technically as well as provide a relaxed comfortable atmosphere that would invite clients to kick back and relax.. Stratosphere features proven Reflection Free Zone acoustics in the control room. Generous sight lines to both the main recording live room and the adjacent isolation booth are implemented without introducing any unwanted early reflections. With all the auxiliary equipment off to the far side, and no large interference behind the listening position, the control room feels quite large and comfortable while providing a "no compromise" critical listening experience.

Mirror Image Recorders of New York has grown since its inception in 1978 to become three state of the art 48 track recording studios plus one midi / production suite. The studio has been involved in dozens and dozens of RIAA gold and platinum hit records for a widely diverse clientele.

Few studios in New York play equally strong roles in preserving the city’s media history and in propelling its media future. Manhattan Center Studios is one of those special few. Francis Manzella Design was commissioned to design the Studio 7 control room and vocal booth connected to the elegant sounding Ballroom transforming it into the versatile tracking room it is today and creating an accurate mix environment for the thriving multiroom facility. Studio 7 and a simply awesome, gigantic 94x98-foot music room with a 60x80-foot stage have become a world renown scoring studio. On one occasion, it was able to hold the entire Metropolitan Opera orchestra and choir simultaneously for a recording performance, and it has become a favorite of many scoring composers and film directors.

Deeper Rekords is a NYC based independent label and production company run by Producer/DJ Jonathan Peters. There busy two room music production studio was designed by FM Design and features custom in wall main monitors designed by Joe Lodi. The MIDI Programming station and console both have access to the extensive ProTools based recording system.

House of Sound is a three room complex owned by Producer/Artist Robert Clivilles of C&C Music Factory. In addition to the large Studio A suite pictured here, the facility includes a second SSL equipped control room with a Custom Tannoy/Hot House main monitoring system as well as an audio Edit room in the basement below. Full kitchen, offices, shop and lounge are located in the basement as well. The project was a collaboration between FM Design and studio bau:ton of Los Angeles. The clients wanted to mix the sound of the FM Design rooms they had worked in with the architecture of the bau:ton facilities they had seen. FM Design handled the base studio floor plan, all Isolation design (floating systems, wall and ceiling construction details), and all acoustic finish design in the music rooms.

City Sound Productions was conceived as a combination project studio and commercial recording room. This ADAT based facility represents the growth in commercial use of the ADAT medium and the need for professional caliber facilities based on this very poplar format. All aspects of the studio were designed for world class performance. This project was an excellent study in "doing it right" on a smaller scale. From HVAC and structural isolation to the monitoring environment and quality of finishes, owner Bob Kirschner did not want to compromise. The continuity of design and finish can be seen the the studio and control room. Although small in size, City Sound represents how professional acoustic design can truly benefit the sound and feel of production rooms. The same level of care and detail went into this project as goes into all our studio design.

Sound Station 7, a state of the art recording studio in Providence Rhode Island. Built in a firehouse that dates back to 1871, features a blend of contemporary design features together with the architectural elements inspired by the original building construction. These include exposed wood beam ceiling and brick veneer finishes. This Studio was Featured on the cover of Mix Magazine September 2000 issue.

Originally designed in the 1960's for the recording of local Salsa and Latin music in the thriving San Juan community, Ochoa studios was handed down from father to son. In 1994, FM Design was commissioned by Tony Ochoa to redesign their premier music studio (A). The renovation was a full refurbishing pulling all construction out to concrete slabs and cinder block. New isolation walls and all acoustic finishes were specified and installed. Extensive equipment installation happened simultaneously handled by John Klett of Technical Audio. Custom main monitors were installed by John Klett and Francis Manzella. The studio's grand Live Room was updated for a more modern sound with a Live Side/Diffuse Center/Dead Side installation. The studio is currently owned by Puerto Rican native Mark Anthony.

Designed in 2002 for San Diego based engineer Larry Gilbert, Ocean Point Studios represents what would have been the finest facility of its type in the San Diego area. The studio plans and the 3D walk through shown here were completed in late 2002. Since then, we haven't been able to find Larry Gilbert. If you talk to him, drop me a line, as I'd love to know what happened to him. It sure would have been a beautiful and acoustically fantastic place!