So what's the deal with this Focusrite console?
There are actually only six in the world now. There were ten made, but three of them were parted out as preamps. The ninth console belongs to us at IIWII and was partially destroyed in the flood caused by Hurricane Sandy. We restored our Focusrite #9 console using parts from Focusrite #2, which was parted out after its stay at Paramount Recording. It originated at Conway Recording Studios in L.A. Ken McKim of Retrospec [Tape Op #86] helped me figure it out. The model we now own works like new, and we dubbed it #11, which is a combination of #9 and #2. The big deal is that the preamps are outstanding; they were designed and built by Rupert Neve [Tape Op #87] to the specifications of Sir George Martin. Those two heads together produced what I believe is the best microphone preamp for tracking, bar none. Focusrite's new gear is fantastic; but you can't beat the old Lundahl transformers in the original ISA 110 preamps, as well as the top of the line potentiometers and the genius wiring of [Focusrite's] Rob Jenkins.
When I saw the console after Hurricane Sandy hit, it was soaking in saltwater. Did you ever think it would be up and running again?
I was not inclined to think it could be restored after seeing its condition post-storm. Myself and some other techs confirmed that the hull of the console was FUBAR (fucked up beyond all recognition), given the amount of damage. The only option was to replace the chassis and aux modules, as well as most of the wiring. This could only be done by acquiring another console that had those things, as well as a center section that worked, including lots and lots of dry transformers. Luckily I found one of the old parted out consoles that a guy named Tom in Texas happened to have, and obviously couldn't sell. It's not worth much without the preamps. To make a long story short, we bought the console from Tom and trucked it to New Jersey. We had to rewire the preamps to work with this console. I learned what "rewire" actually means during this process. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't too hard either. There were lots of other problems too. It took almost two years, not working daily, but chipping away at it when we could. It was a real pain in the ass, but it's all done now and I really love it.
You got to track the Rolling Stones last year on the Focusrite. What was it like working with them?
It was surreal. I was very lucky to be able to do it. Right place, right time. We had the space they were looking for to just get together and jam a bit, as they hadn't played together in five years. We happened to have a recording studio attached to the space (our live room), and they liked the studio. I got to record everything they did for a week, and at the end I got to multitrack them in more of a studio-esque style. It was great. We kind of played a part in getting the Stones back together for a tour. That's what I like to think!
How does a place like this get known by the "who's who" of the music industry?
