Studio 44
Our recording studio is set inside an old 40’ x 40’ high-ceiling building in the middle of a forest, overlooking the ocean on Mayne Island.
About
The sound of Studio 44 is one of its defining qualities. Custom cedar acoustic diffusion treatment and reversable acoustic panels an open, naturally reverberant live space, or a tighter, more controlled environment for critical recording and listening.
In live room mode there’s a wonderful natural reverb. With the wall panels flipped into absorb mode, the studio converts into a much dryer space.
Thanks to its proportions and extensive treatment, Studio 44 meets 100% of the ITU-R BS.1116 standard, a demanding benchmark for critical listening spaces.
Good vibes = closer to your music
We’ve put enormous care and investment into sound quality, and people notice. Touring artists have told us it was the best sound of the tour, and even the best live show they’ve ever had. The 40’ x 40’ room with its gabled roof already sounds exceptional, and we’ve pushed it further with extensive treatment, calibration, and tuning.
It may look a little scruffy from the outside, but inside it’s packed with carefully chosen high-end gear, from Genelec 8361As and a Neve Amek console to excellent microphones, amps, outboard, and converters.
For a complete gear list, scroll down.
Stay for a day, or a week
Choose from our glamping bell tents or the Alpaca Haus.
Each space has proper beds, real mattresses, relaxed vibes.
Available by the night or by the week.
Bring the band, the family, or both.
The Alpaca Haus is topped with the largest skylight we could find, letting you sleep under the stars and look out on the alpacas.
More than a recording studio
The 44 offers more than great acoustics and gear. It offers space: to think, to experiment, and to make your best work – an extraordinary setting in service of the creative process.
Why is it called The 44?
It’s 44 acres.
“I’m still tramping my way through the forest.”
– Bob Dylan
Also, there’s alpacas
They’re total weirdos, and you’re welcome to meet Georgie, Felix, William, and Christoph-Ricky.
You can feed them and try to figure out what their deal is.
The Equipment
We’ve put a huge amount of care into building a studio full of exceptional tools, both vintage and modern. From the flagship UAD x16 interface to the Amek Neve BC3 console, plus a deep collection of beautiful-sounding amps and a wide range of excellent microphones, everything here was chosen for character, quality, and results
Console | A/D | Software
Rupert Neve designed Amek BCIII fully restored and recapped. 12 channels mono, 8 stereo, 4 submix. Huge punchy sound with the famous 9098 preamps.
UAD x16 – Flagship A/D/A conversion. Scroll down for list of plugins
UAD Apollo x4– setup as the monitor controller + extra DSP
Izotope Ozone 11 Advanced
Argosy Dual XL desk with full patchbay for outboard gear routing
Microphones
2x Dachman DA87i Neuman U87 clones
Dachman DA FET 47 coming end of October 2024
A custom made large diaphragm tube driven condenser which is AKG C14-ish
Earthworks SR314
Sennheiser MD 441-U
3x Sennheiser 541 Blackfire similar to the MD-441-U but black
Sennheiser MD 421
Sennheiser e945, e935, e835, e609 guitar cab
3x Aston Starlight SDCs, two are a matched pair
Matched pair custom modded large diaphragm tube condensers, very very smooth
Shure SM7b
2x Shure 545 Unidyne III
4x Shure 57s
2x Shure 58s
Audix i5
Rode NT1 shotgun
2x Apex ribbons, modded with new electronics, vintage sounding RCA44 style
Microphone preamp channels
12x AMEK BC3 with Neve 9098 preamps
2x SSL 4000 E fully refurbished from a famous console
Hairball Lola dual signal path, super clean, also a DI
Hairball Bronze tons of colour, warm, amazing DI
SSL VHD+ big, open, clear
2x Ward Beck M460 racked by Grunnig Audioworks ‘The Canadian Neve’ super big and punchy, more headroom than a Neve 1081
2x Ward Beck M460 50th Anniversary edition
4x UAD 4-710D preamps each with an 1176 compressor
UAD Apollo x4
2x ART Pro MPA II preamp shootout winner, upgraded with JL tubes
Outboard gear
Channel Strip: Twin SSL 4000 E refurbished channels with preamp, dynamics, filters and EQ. They are actual SSL 4000 strips from a console which resided at Dierks Studios, that recorded Michael Jackson, Tangerine Dream, The Scorpions and many other albums. The real deal. Professionally racked and calibrated by Big Valley Audio. Serial 12/22.
Compressor: Tegeler Creme, Pultec style EQ with VCA compressor. Info
Compressor: Serpent SB4001 stereo bus compressor, an SSL G series clone with more features
Compressor: ART Pro VLA II tube stereo bus compressor, upgraded with JL tubes
Compressor: Lindell Audio 7X-500 an 1176 clone with more features
Compressor: DBX 560a x2
Compressor: Valley International Dynamite 2 Smashing Pumpkins Gish drum compressor
Compressor/Transient designer: Tegeler Magnetismus
Reverb: Tegler Raumzeitmaschine, maybe the world’s greatest hardware reverb. Info
Reverb/FX: Lexicon MPX500
Amps and cabinets
Fender Twin Reverb reissue with Elecro-Voice EV 12Ls
Fender ‘65 Princeton Reverb tremolo with 12” Celestion Swamp Thang
Marshall 4×12 1960TV cabinet with Celestion 25w Greenbacks
Traynor YBA-2 1970’s EL84 version with a 15″ Celestion Big Ben
Traynor YGM-3 1970’s, 12” Celestion greenback (this is maybe the best sounding amp here)
Traynor YGM-4 Studio Mate 1970’s, 4×8” Webber alnico speakers – a mini Marshall 4×12 but with 8” drivers in a combo. Such suuuper cool amp. The tremolo will make even the most hardened soul cry
Tranor Bass-Mate 1965 vintage 6V6 version, 15” Altec Lansing driver, the legendary Bass mate
Traynor YT-15 a 2×15″ cabinet great for bass and sometimes guitar
Garnet / Piper Stencil, 20w 6v6 refurbished with a Cannabis-Rex 12” driver.
Canadian amps represent!
Instruments
Keyboards
Rhodes “Seventy Three” Stage Piano, Mark III
Arturia Micro Freak
Nord Lead 3
Guitars
1969 Guild M-75 Aristocrat
1973 Gibson L6-S Custom
1975 JooDee Fender Strat (amazing)
1988 Ibanez JEM 777 DY (it’s such an amazing guitar, even for non-shredding)
1990 Carvin DC-135 Koa
1990? Spanish acoustic nylon classical with a solid cedar top
1992 Tokai Les Paul with Semour Duncan pickups
2003 Larrivee Rosewood Recording Series steel string acoustic
2007 Yamaha RGX A2 (surprisingly great tone)
2010 Fender Precision bass
Drums
Full MES drum set with high-end cymbals – contact us for more info
Miscellaneous contraptions
XDJ-RX3 Pioneer DJ controller
Hologram Microcosm
Triton Audio FetHead mic preamps x3
Cloudlifter CL-2
DIYRE BM2 stereo mic booster
BAE PDIS DI
DIYRE FE2 DI with Cinemag transformer
Radial Pro48 DIs
DIYRE L2A passive reamplifier
Numerous guitar pedals of all kinds, contact us for the list.
Lighting and grip
Want to shoot a video or some stills? The 44 has a pretty decent lighting and grip package.
Aputure LS 600d Pro with parabolic + honeycomb, china ball and standard refelctor
Aputure Nova p300c RGBW panel with soft box + honeycomb
3 x 100w color temperature adjustible LED heads with barn doors
Mole Richardson 412 2000w Junior Solarspot
C-stands, clamps, reflectors, typical grip supplies.
UAD Plugins
iZotope Ozone 11 mastering suite, 1176LN, 1176SE, Ampeg SVTVR Classic, Ampex ATR-102, AMS RMX16 Expanded, AMS RMX16, Antares Auto-Tune Realtime Access, API 550A, API 560, API 2500 Stereo Bus Compressor, API Preamp, API Vision Channel Strip, API Vision Plus Channel Strip, bx_masterdesk, bx_tuner, C-Suite C-Vox Noise Reduction, Capitol Chambers Reverb, Century Tube Channel Strip, dbx 160, Empirical Labs Distressor, EMT 140, EMT 250, Fairchild Plug-In for UAD-2 (Legacy), Fairchild Tube Limiter Collection, Fender 55 Tweed Deluxe, Fuchs Overdrive Supreme 50, Harrison 32C, LA2A, Maag EQ4, Manley Massive Passive, Marshall Plexi Classic, Neve 1084 Preamp and EQ, Ocean Way Studios, Oxford Dynamic EQ, Precision De-Esser, Precision Enhancer Hz, Precision Equalizer, Precision Limiter, Precision Mix Rack Collection, Precision Multiband, Pultec-Pro, Pultec EQ Collection, Pultec, Pure Plate Reverb, Raw, RealVerb-Pro, SSL G Bus Compressor Plug-In for UAD-2 (Legacy), SSL G Plus, Studer A800 Multichannel Tape Recorder, Teletronix LA-2A Leveler Collection, Thermionic Culture Vulture, Tube-Tech CL 1B Compressor, Tube-Tech CL 1B mk II Compressor, UA 610-B Tube Preamp and EQ
Security
Multiple cameras cover the property and all routes leading up to and from the studio.
All entrances and exits are recorded with 24/7 monitored alerts.
Biometric door locks.
Battery backup on cameras and internet ensure 100% uptime video recording of outside and inside the facility.
Note: The 44 does not rent or loan out equipment due to insurance reasons.