Megaplum

Overview

Megaplum is the personal recording studio of Mike Gordon, bass player and vocalist of the rock band Phish. The scenic getaway, located on the shores of Lake Champlain, Vermont, was designed and built by architecture and construction firm Birdseye with studio acoustics and A/V systems designed by WSDG.

Program

The WSDG team was tasked with the acoustic and A/V systems design of this unique, rural recording spot. An existing collaborative relationship with the team from Birdseye informed a fluid process which resulted in the studio’s unique layout and the use of optimized construction materials and design specifications.

Design

Megaplum’s layout consists of a 650 ft² Studio/Live Room, 100 ft² Control Room, and a pair of 60 ft² iso booths. The Studio/Live Room was designed to emphasize the natural beauty of the surrounding forests and nearby lake, with rows of beautiful glass windows all around the Studio Room enabling a panoramic view of Lake Champlain. The angles of the glass windows were carefully tuned to avoid any parallel reflective surfaces that would negatively impact the acoustics of the room. Acoustic treatments are utilized in the ceiling, which includes multiple depths of angled wood absorbers for the desired effect.

The Studio/Live Room and Control Room are designed to work seamlessly together, with either space able to serve as the primary control space depending on the needs of the session. Gordon typically works out of Studio/Live Room, utilizing its API2448 console, ATC SCM45s and Meyer Sound X800 Sub for monitoring, and racks of outboard gear for his day to day work. When tracking live, he and his engineer utilize the smaller Control Room which features a ProTools Control Surface. Both run off of the same computer system which can be accessed in either room via matching Thunderbolt docks and a shared interface. Each room utilizes Dolby Lake Processing DSPs for room tuning.

In addition to the systems inside the studio, the outdoor balcony also has speakers and microphones installed so that it can be used for a tracking space, as well as capture the sounds of surrounding outdoors and nature if needed for ambiance.