New to California’s scenic central coast is Rose Lane Studio (Carpinteria, CA), a multifaceted business encompassing a full service recording studio, a record company, editing suites, a sound stage with a two-corner cyclorama for TV, film, and video projects, as well as a location company.
Central to the new facility’s operations is an Aurus digital console and a Nexus router from Germany-based Salzbrenner Stage Tec Mediagroup.
Sjoerd “Sjoko” Koppert serves as Rose Lane Studio’s producer and engineer (he’s also president and CEO of the company), and has been a user of Stage Tec equipment for more than a decade. “Enormous changes have taken place in entertainment and entertainment production over the last decades,” he says, “and traditional entertainment business models are no longer valid. The best way to look at Rose Lane Studio is to see it as a microcosm of the old gigantic production facilities. Only now, by using the latest production methods and fiber based technology, we are able to deliver a high quality product faster, more cost effectively, and from a much smaller footprint.
“Eleven years ago, I bought my first Nexus and, in these 11 years, the Stage Tec equipment never needed service,” he continues. “Its performance and reliability have been excellent. The Nexus and the Nexus Star routers gave me the inspiration to formulate my plans for Rose Lane and create a production environment where all data, be it audio or video, is routed via fiber—without latency, clocking, or any other issues.”
“I am an audio engineer first and foremost,” he adds. “To me, that means there is one overriding factor: sound quality. I have been fortunate (and am old enough) to have worked on the best analog equipment. Stage Tec makes the only equipment that not only equals, but surpasses the best analog gear. Everything is right where it needs to be. We’ve been working with our new Aurus for over two months now and, every day, it blows us away. We have already worked on several videos and a number of advertisements have been shot on our soundstage.
“We’ve also been using the control room to mix the projects of our record company’s artists. Throughout, the Aurus console has proven to be extremely intuitive to operate. In the two plus months that we’ve been using our new desk, it offers more of everything than anyone can imagine to exist on one console. Simply put, it blows us away each and every day.”
Koppert is enthusiastic about several of the Aurus console’s features. “The configurability of this console is infinite,” he says, “and every aspect of the system’s EQ and processing is of the highest quality. I’ve also been really impressed with the automation. The speed of the automation is something I previously only dreamed of.
“Combine that with the fact that the Aurus is the only digital console that does not have any summing problems and that it enables you to fold down from any format, surround to stereo, and the choice of console became an easy one for me. Over the last few months we’ve had quite a number of the world’s top producers and engineers visiting our new studio. Each and every one did the same thing. They listened, played with it, smiled, and booked sessions. I think that pretty much says it all.”
