The End Re-Launches With New-And-Improved Studio A

December 6th, 2012 by Trenton

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GREENPOINT: The recording and performance venue known as The End has made some changes of late – re-tooling their rooms and refining their concept. In business just over a year, and that much older and wiser, The End’s owners now have a more integrated plan for the space.

First up, Studio A now features a Malcolm Toft-designed MTA-980 analog desk, which once belonged to TV On The Radio. As the console that recorded the band’s first two albums, it might stand as a symbol of indie integrity, of a band’s DIY work ethic paying off. And in that sense, the console speaks volumes about what The End’s owners want for their clients.

Behind the new MTA-980 console at The End

“A board like this really fits our philosophy,” says Brian Binsack, who co-owns The End with Brian Crowe and Neal Sherlock. “And that is to have one really comfortable control room with a total Brooklyn band-style board, and to push further into being a home for Brooklyn bands. A home with a top-of-the-line recording studio in it.”

Given the layout and build-out of the space, The End really does feel more like a studio inside someone’s cool loft apartment than the multi-room production complex it is on paper. One side of the floor features Studio A’s control room and tracking room, Studio B control room and a second common tracking space. Sight- and tie-lines make it possible for bands to use all of those rooms to track live with isolation between musicians.

The other side of the floor is a living room, full kitchen and 100-capacity live or rehearsal venue with the backline and technical capacity – including lighting and live recording – to assemble and rehearse a tour.

On the day of our visit, Dirty Projectors was rehearsing with the classic ensemble yMusic for Letterman. “We have their stage plot, and we’ll set them up to rehearse as they’ll actually be on stage,” says Crowe. “We’ll help them with their sound, and do a stage mix for them.”

In fact, Dirty Projectors has been working out of The End a lot lately. “They were basically here for two months,” says Binsack. “They came here to rehearse and then finish writing before their tour.

“Liam Finn, too – he wrote and recorded his album here, while simultaneously rehearsing for his next tour.”

The End is a unique setup, built for indie bands to hole up and write (in Studio B, perhaps) then record (in Studio A) and rehearse and even play showcases in the live venue. And the facility is priced such that an artist could feasibly take over the entire place. (Really. Call for rates!)

“You have a kitchen and catering,” Binsack points out. “You can have your label here to preview the record, you can have meals and meetings.”

Sherlock adds, “When Liam Finn was here recording, his dad Neil [Finn, of Crowded House] came down and used the space to rehearse and they’d have family dinners. We BBQ’d pork shoulder roasts every night! Then Neal ended up jumping into the studio for a couple days to record overdubs and music for his song for The Hobbit.”

Performance on The End’s rooftop for Balcony TV

Meanwhile, indie bands such as Monogold and Elliot and the Ghost have recently made records here too. “They came in with an outside engineer,” Binsack says of Elliot & The Ghost. “He told us what the budget was…we made it work. They got their whole record done, had the whole studio – total privacy. When you shut that door, the whole roof is yours.”

Having the venue and amazing roof deck, The End is also home to Balcony TV, and has hosted more than one Sofar Sounds show. They’ve also just produced the first “Sessions at The End” in-studio performance video with Bird Courage, and put on their biggest event yet under “The End Presents” – filling a nearby warehouse space with over 400 people to see Bird Courage, Monogold, Kelli Rudick and (TVOTR’s) Kyp Malone.

If all goes as planned, the studio will be the loss leader to a whole enterprise of The End’s content and events.

“We never wanted it to begin or end at recording,” says Binsack. “[The shows and recordings and video] are all things we can do to help in the production and promotion of these artists and also draw people to the website and to the studio. And they’ll see we’re not just a studio, and we’re not just a production company. Every band that comes here ends up working with us on a bunch of different things.”

STUDIO A – THE NEW CONSOLE

The End’s Studio A has been reconfigured from what it was – both to make room for the new console and Studer tape machine, and to create a homier vibe.

The End Studio A

“We built a library in here instead of diffusion panels,” Binsack notes, pointing to the floor-to-ceiling shelves of coffee table-sized books on either side of the couch. “We want artists to be in their comfort zone. We really built this studio from the artist’s perspective. And the artists have been responding.

“Now we’re making tweaks to cover the engineer’s perspective as well.”

To that end, chief engineer Chris Tabron and senior house engineer Chris Boosahda have helped to bring Studio A up to speed.

Of the new console – which was totally recapped and brought back up to spec with help from studio tech Carl Farrugia – Tabron explains: “We sought out a console that not a lot of other studios (or any!) in NYC had that was flexible and reliable enough to stand up to the rigors of being the heart of a busy tracking/mixing room.

“At the end of the day, any console is really the nerve center of a studio’s philosophy. The MTA gives us the most flexibility in a wide array of scenarios, whether it’s a traditional full-band tracking day, or overdubbing a new vocal without losing your mix.”

It looks like a tank well up to the task, but how does it sound?

“Compared to the Tridents I’ve worked on (mostly 80C), I’d say that the 80C had a vibe almost gushy low-end, and the MTA is a bit more tight and forward sounding,” says Tabron.

Studio A outboard

“It’s got more of an SSL characteristic on the low end. The top-end is nice, I’ve noticed with guitars and vocals I appreciate a lot of the ‘vibe’ it has going on in the top end, but without a lack of detail. The stereo bus tends to like to be hit a little harder than I expected – there’s definitely a sweet spot on the stereo bus where things tend to open up a bit more.”

With the new-and-improved Studio A, a new Baldwin grand piano, and reclaimed Studio B (Rough Magic had been a long-term tenant), The End is an affordable option for full album production – and more – in Brooklyn.

The owners are not drowning in overhead in this location; they seem to be in it for the music, for the excitement of working with great new artists. At this point, their mission is simple: “We are in the beginning stages of our business,” says Binsack. “We want cool records to be made here.”

For more on The End, visit http://www.theendnyc.com.