Q. Is this a ‘remodel,’ or did you build from scratch?
A. When we got it, the space was basically a shell. The Gala Commons complex is made up of separate “condo” units envisioned as “office/warehouse” spaces. So it already had a wall toward the front demarcating the office area, a bathroom built next to the wall, and some plumbing. It also had a “garage door” at the back, which we walled up. We built everything else inside.
Q. This is a condo? So you own this?
A. Well, the bank does. With the amount of build-out we had to do for the sake of acoustics, we wanted to avoid leasing a space if possible. We were blessed with the opportunity to buy.
Q. How did you find this locaton?
A. I didn’t. My excellent realtor, Scott Thompson, did. His number at Thompson and Yoho Commercial Real Estate is (330) 671-6331.
Q. Did you design it yourself?
A. HAHAHAHAHA!
Q. Is that a “no”?
A. My “design” involvement was to pick out the colors of the paint on the walls. We hired a world-class acoustician to plan the “technical” (acoustically critical) spaces and systems. He is a Bostonian named Michael Blackmer (www.blackmersound.com).
Q. Did he come to Akron while the studio was being built?
A. No; we communicated by email, phone, and Fedex, sending him pictures of the ongoing construction and getting his feedback.
Q. Did you have a specialist Contractor build the studio?
A. If there are such things in NE Ohio, we couldn’t find any. This was just as well - we probably couldn’t have afforded them. The construction was done by Lawley Construction, and I think their fine work speaks for itself. Their number is (330) 256-1944.
Q. Are these things [point to something] for the sound?
A. If it looks like something you don’t have in your home, it’s most likely performing some audio function. The sonics have to be accurate so that we have confidence in what we are hearing; they have to be neutral so that what’s recorded doesn’t sound like a “room”; and they have to be extremely quiet. I think we achieved these goals remarkably well. MB also wanted the client-area to be somewhat lively, as people can feel uneasy in rooms that are too acoustically “dead.”
Q. Why are the outlets orange?
A. Some guests have imagined that these were merely decorative, but the electrical code uses orange to specify a dedicated circuit. Many electric devices – refrigerators and lights, for example – put backcurrents or spikes in the AC power. At home, I can tell when my wife turns on the TV downstairs; the lights momentarily dim. Such fluctuations are unacceptable for pro audio because this “dirty” electricity could make its way into the audio signal. Colors Audio has a super-clean, super-quiet electrical environment. No hum, no pops or clicks. It’s the orange outlets.
Q. Where is the computer CPU?
A. It’s in its own little closet which I call the “machine room” at the back of the Control Room. It even has its own fan to keep it cool. The connecting cables run under the floor (as they do to the speakers and to the Talent studio).
Q. What are the floors made of?
A. They are the original concrete, hand-stained in a lovely faux finish. Faux what, I’m not sure.
Q. Why is the furnace (or air conditioner) so quiet?
A. The short answer is: the ducts are hung on isolators so they don’t vibrate structures below; long runs, lots of right angles, lots of fiberglass, and no noisy grilles. The shorter answer is: Michael Blackmer.
•••
Trivia: The Gala Commons facility is actually the third Colors Audio World Headquarters. When I started the company in 1989, I was working out of a radio station’s production room – with only one pane of glass between the mic and the next-door fire station! In 1992 we moved into the basement at Steve Earl’s house (Steve, his wife and kids are doing well, by the way). We moved here in September of 2005.
I hope you get a chance to visit and ask questions!
Dan
Feedback: colorsaudio@neo.rr.com
