HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA: The new Lurssen Mastering facility has opened in Hollywood and is outfitted with three-way active ATC SCM150ASL Pro monitor speakers. Gavin Lurssen, who holds the unique distinction of being the first mastering engineer to be honored by the Recording Academy with a Grammy in the Album of the Year category, opened the doors to the facility at the beginning of December 2006. "There are three mastering engineers in the facility and everybody is thrilled about the diversity of each engineer," says Lurssen, who worked at Doug Sax' Mastering Lab in Hollywood for 15 years before branching out on his own. Lurssen Mastering also features mastering engineers Jonathan Belzley and Gabriel Wallach. "These were the best sounding speakers that I researched," says Lurssen. "In my opinion, you can put ATC speakers in any environment and they will tell you the truth. If the pair of speakers that you're using guide you and tell you what to do on your mastering console then you are in good shape." Lurssen was particularly impressed that each custom amplifier module in the self-powered system is perfectly matched to each driver. "If you buy a speaker system without an amplifier you have to find an amplifier that matches the speaker system. Everybody has an opinion on that, so you could end up with this amp or that amp. The fact that these amplifiers are specifically made for the speakers that they're driving is very attractive to me." "What is also important to me," he continues, "is that Charlie Bolois, who is the Los Angeles technician for ATC, is instantly available for anything that might come up. Mastering is a business that sells time, and if we have down time we're not making any income." Bolois' Vertigo Recording Company was also responsible for all of the equipment integration and installation at the studio. Since opening for business at the end of 2006, Lurssen Mastering has worked on an extensive roster of projects, including work by T Bone Burnett, Grant Lee Phillips, Kimberley Locke, Joe Henry, Loudon Wainwright, Reliant K (live recording), John Doe, unreleased demos by Warren Zevon, Bo Diddley and John Lee Hooker reissues, Peeping Tom and Tomahawk (Mike Patton, formerly of Faith No More), Randy Newman, Sean Hayes, Draco Rosa, Hayley Sales, Bratz, "God of War II" soundtrack, Cartel, AM, Brandi Shearer, Mandi Perkins, Chris Pierce, Joe Purdy and Robert Earl Longley. Lurssen's mastering work has been featured on several Grammy-winning and Grammy-nominated releases, including "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" the soundtrack release that won Album of the Year in 2001 - the first year that the mastering engineer was also recognized. In 2003, Lurssen received his second Grammy in the Best Historical Album category for his mastering work on "Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues," the acclaimed box set companion to the PBS series. He also mastered three of the five original songs nominated for Oscars in 2004, including two from "Cold Mountain" and one from "A Mighty Wind" and one the following year for the movie "Transamerica." |
Las Vegas Pro Audio 7320 Smoke Ranch Road Suite G Las Vegas, NV 89128 Phone: 702.307.2700 fax: 702.314.2764 sales@lasvegasproaudio.com    |