Recording engineer/producer Alan Sanderson relies on his Equator D5 studio monitors at Pacific Beat Recording to create consistent playback quality for his clients’ projects – a high priority demand for his customer base.
Sanderson’s credits involve all types of recordings, ranging from music production and live radio broadcast to TV and Film sound. Sanderson has recorded in state-of-the-art studio facilities in Los Angeles, San Diego, New York, London, San Francisco, Zurich, and Rio de Janeiro.
Working on many sessions with internationally recognized artists such as The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Elvis Costello, and Fleetwood Mac, he has engineered for notable producers including Don Was, Bill Bottrell, and Glyn Johns. He discussed his experience with Equator’s D5 monitors.
“Here at Pacific Beat Recording, the D5s have become an integral part of everything we do,” Sanderson reports. “They serve as a very important secondary pair of monitors for mixing and recording music projects.
“These monitors have a very significant role, as they enable me to check and verify what I hear from my other monitor system. This process enables me to have a high level of confidence that any work coming out of this studio will play properly on other systems.”
In the few short months that Sanderson ahs das the D5s, he has been working on a number of different artist’s projects, encompassing a wide range of musical styles and genres. He has been recording Eagles songwriter Jack Tempchin as well as Jason Mraz protégé Cody Lovass and Nashville recording artist Taylin Rae. The D5s are in the trenches with him every step of the way.
Sanderson explains, “When I first heard these speakers, I was blown away and amazed at how good they sound. I was looking for a great set of secondary monitors to place next to my Focal Twin 6Be for the new studio and couldn’t believe how well these small speakers stood up to the larger monitors in terms of imaging and frequency response.”
“The D5’s low end was similar—very present and clear,” Sanderson added. “For a small monitor speaker, I was surprised that they didn’t distort easily when turning them up loud. I especially like the mid-range of these little guys, as it really helps me dial in my mixes.
“The D5s help me make the mix more focused and find the right balance for the most important part of a recording—the lead vocal(s). I get a lot of mixes these days where there are 150-200+ tracks and the Equator D5s have been able to handle any situation. If it sounds good on the Equators, I know it sounds good at home.”
Before shifting his focus back to his current project, Sanderson offered these parting comments, “I’m really happy with the Equator D5 monitors at Pacific Beat Recording and was actually very surprised that such a small monitor sounds so good. Being that the studio is based in San Diego, having guys like Equator here in town is a huge plus. I hope to be able to use some of their other products in the future.”
