FM PRO TECH 5
Kentucky-based Candyland Recording Studio marks ten years of hybrid production. Analog hardware, tape workflows, and digital precision converge inside a system built for flexibility. Serving artists, engineers, and projects moving between studio and home setups.
My workflow has expanded to accommodate artists at every level; from seasoned, veteran record makers, to DIY enthusiasts who just want to put the finishing touches on their home recording.
Q1. How do you decide between analog and digital during a session?
I discuss all of our options with the artists prior to their first session. We talk about what they hope to achieve sonically and how they want to approach the recordings, and we discuss any budgetary concerns. For analog recording sessions I’m using a 24 track 2″ tape machine, and reels of tape for that are around US$385 each, so that extra cost adds up quickly, especially if the artist needs 2-4 reels for an album project. Nearly every analog session I do these days ends up in the dgital world at some point: i.e., we’ll cut basic tracks then transfer to the computer and do overdubs and mixing digitally.
Q2. How does your Harrison SM5 + tape setup shape the sound vs in-the-box workflows?
I haven’t done a purely analog i.e., console + tape machine in quite a few years. The last records I made that way were Jeremy Pinnell’s Ties of Blood and Affection , Ampline’s Passion Relapse, and The Tillers (self titled). The Harrison console does not have any built-in automation or recall, so it does get a little tricky and time-consuming to recall mixes and setting s from my notes and photos. Artists have grown very accustomed to the ease and speed of digital workflows, especially being able to instantly recall a mix and make tiny adjustments and revisions. On the one hand, it’s nice to work purely analog and not look at any screens, just relying on our ears for everything, but I have really come to love the speed and agility of editing in the digital world as well as the ability to sculpt a sound without the restrictions of track count or available hardware processing devices.
To that point, even if I do a digital or even an analog/digital hybrid session, everything is still hitting analog outboard gear as we capture sounds, and mixing Im using analog outboard gear for stereo bus processing.
Q3. On records like All Nerve, how do you preserve identity while pushing production forward?
The members of The Breeders are all very experienced in the studio and with making records in general, and on All Nerve, Kim Deal was serving as producer, so my role was really to facilitate their vision through engineering decisions. She has a great collection of microphones and microphone preamplifiers which she brought down to supplement the studio’s gear list. They know what they want everything to sound like and they’re very tenacious in their pursuit of that vision, so we all worked really hard to capture the sounds they were hearing in their heads.
Q4. How do you adapt your signal chain across music, voiceover, and podcast work?
For music projects it always starts with a conversation with the artist. For voiceover and podcast work, it is assumed that we’re working in the box and that editing speed and file sharing are priorities.
Q5. How has your workflow shifted with the rise of home and hybrid production?
My workflow has expanded to accommodate artists at every level; from seasoned, veteran record makers, to DIY enthusiasts who just want to put the finishing touches on their home recording. The main thing I’ve noticed with the proliferation of digital recording methods is accessibility: there really is no barrier to entry for someone looking to record their music. We now have the tools right on our phones to make really compelling multi track recordings. Studios like Candyland still serve as extremely valuable purpose-built hubs for creative endeavors, but albums don’t have to ‘start’ in the studio. Making a record doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Do your pre-production at home, come to me for the acoustically designed rooms and the robust equipment list, take your tracks back home and spend 100 hours on guitar overdubs or whatever you want, send me the tracks back for mixing…however an artist likes to work, I’m happy to walk the path with them. The studio is a fantastic tool, but it’s not the only tool available for the job. I LOVE where the world is right now with recording. So many options, so many ways to capture our feelings and ideas. Anyone can put their voice forward without fear and without major financial backing.
Ten years in, Candyland Recording Studio operates as a flexible production hub. Where analog character and digital precision connect into one system built to carry projects from first take to final master.
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Signal Chain Snapshot | Candyland Recording Studio
Console & Tape
• Harrison SM5 (32×32 analog console)
• Otari MTR-90 MkII (24-track, 2” tape)
Conversion & DAW
• Antelope Orion 32 Gen4
• Pro Tools 2024.6 / Logic Pro (Mac Studio M2)
Mastering
• Steinberg WaveLab Pro (MasterRig Suite)
• Certified “Mastered for iTunes” (MFiT)
Outboard (Selected)
• Universal Audio, Tube-Tech, Manley/Langevin
• Neve (Amek), GML, DBX, Empirical Labs
• Trident, Toft, Calrec, Urei
Monitoring
• Genelec 1020A
• Yamaha HS8
• Behringer Truth
Recording Environment
• 3 tracking rooms + 3 isolation booths
• Large-format control room (32’ × 14’)