Studio Tour - hiwattlabs - Ken 'hiwatt' Marshall's Music Studio

[@Johnmb23]

Ken, thank you for sharing the posture + progressive lenses anomaly! I literally put two old house speakers behind my desk to get my monitor right! I never put the glasses into thought since I had 20-20 until I hit that Magic age 🤣

[@thechapter7757]

Loved this! Thank for sharing Ken!!!

[@christopherbrissini5722]

phenomenal. You have just lit a fire. Your passion is unbelievably infectious. Magical geek genius Man.

[@Gimmiyomoney]

For real, for Ken to have that amount of enthusiasm and not a single hint of jaded arrogance after so many amazing years in the industry is inspiring

[@ransbarger]

Thanks Ken. This was very cool. I always look forward to seeing you.

[@hummarstraful]

EVERY engineer on KZbin should do a studio tour. I think it's important to know what gear is being used. I've been pestering Mix With The Masters to incorporate that into their videos. It would be a big hit with the members.

[@undeunitas1190]

Thanks for sharing some insights into your studio gear and why you got those pieces. I really liked the part about your power supply.

[@hiwattmarshall]

My pleasure Unde Unitas!!! I honestly believe everything sounds remarkably better when powered with a true online ups, also known as a pure sine wave, double conversion ups. They can be very pricey, that’s another reason I exclude the amplifiers...allows for a much smaller VA rating. The cost-to-return ratio makes it a very, very good investment. In addition, your gear will simply last longer (I’m living proof lol)...the output of a pure sine wave ups is just that, 120v of clean and pure AC...your hard drives will love it!!! Mine has been running non stop for 14 years (with two self-service batt and fan changes), pretty good investment ;-). Thanks for sharing, have an awesome week! -hw

[@JohnR-wf2hh]

Your power conditioning video was the first of your hiwatt sessions I ever watched! Great video and it hooked me in. Glad I stumbled upon it because I'm now eagerly awaiting each session

[@stanislavzalevskyi3968]

Hm, now I'm thinking of getting one of that ups thing... Thanks for the tip, Ken!

[@steeltrust68]

"as I got a lttle bit older and transitioned into progressive lens for glasses. Many of you are going relate to what I am talking about" :-) oh yeah, welcome to the club. Seemingly, age does not refrain from making good music.

[@crissabater7698]

Great Studio and video Ken! Thanks for the tour mate. Love your channel. Cheers.

[@maxmatson1578]

I'm so happy you made this video! I love Studio tours. They're some of my favorite videos of all time to watch on my favorite musicians, and producers.🎹🎧👌👍👍 Can't wait to see a video going more in-depth on your "eurorack"! BrAp oN!!¡!✋✌

[@danielclarke7036]

Thanks so much for sharing, a great overview

[@JornLavoll]

ooo, looking forward to your eurorack videos :)

[@andredufault6921]

...thank you... so much...

[@SogoTX]

Thank you SO much for the tour! It was AMAZING!!! We ❤ U Ken!!! :)

[@Projacked1]

The Studer on the Auratones!....no compromises huh ? hahaha LOVE IT!

[@Pete_Logic]

Oh my lordness!! Yay HiWatt Friday!! I would say these tips and walkthrough are gold.. But this is Platinum goodness!! Thank you Sonic Sensei!!

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

11:28 This is so true. Music is listened to not watched. Using your ears to set levels or to chop samples is what an engineer/producer/composer should be able to do. Seeing levels or wave forms is only suppose to be an additional help, not the main means. What you've said here resonates with me so I had to comment.

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

@Knobcore I think you may be right there as in sessions that I was in during the early 90's I've seen Sly Dunbar one of the best drummers in the world use his MPC60 to chop samples of himself playing drums bang on but the engineers working with him made sure that it was tight as a back up but he was anyhow.

[@RoomAtTheTopStudio]

@Knobcore to this day the human feel of chopping by ear that isn't perfect and the 12bit sound of the MPC60 has a natural feel that for me none of the other MPC models can match.

[@marshallpotter818]

Glad I watched this... I really NEED an uninterruptible power supply. Thank you!!

[@Distracted93]

Great session, Hiwatt! Yes, would love for u to film a session on eurorack!

[@aeciodesouza]

I always wondered about your gear and now I know. Thanks for the tour. Can't wait for the video about the modular :)

[@hiwattmarshall]

Thanks Aecio, I appreciate you sharing my friend ;-) That modular rig is so much fun haha! These days I’m really into the voltage block, and I don’t know how they do it, but some of the dsp fx, and delay units sound better than pro studio fx!!! So, I’ve been using them as external fx inside of protools, with classic send/return function, allowing me to easily access in every mix! One of the essential pieces is my little nw2s::io...a killer little 8 x 8 line level interface, so I can easily route to and from the euro rig from the Apollo 8 via standard patchbay! Cheers to you, have a great week! -hw

[@rodneyanonymous666]

Yes! Been hoping for this

[@hinder10709]

I was going to make a joke like "ha, cool screen name just like the guy from....fuck!" Also. I'm from NY but I'll say this, Bless Philly.

[@hiwattmarshall]

Thanks Rodney Anonymous, I just had to wait till it was clean enough haha! Cheers, and have a great week my friend ;-) -hw

[@skriptico]

Wow :O loved this ... I would love to see a session with your eurorack too. How you use it, how you record it and all the stuff but, dont get me wrong, everything that comes from you is just perfect. :)

[@TeteDePoisson]

Been waiting for this one! Good job as always, Ken! ;-)

[@scum3825]

Great session! As a gear freak, I've been waiting for this one for a while. Looking forward to the Eurorack session in the near future.

[@demanu]

Thank you for the tour!

[@hiwattmarshall]

My pleasure Enduro, thank you for sharing ;-) Do you have a space of your own?!? Over the years I’ve had some pretty crazy work spaces lol! We were once forced to evacuate for a whole summer due to wildfires...I should have recorded myself ripping apart this studio in the few hours we had to evacuate! Oh man, I hope I never have to do that again 😳 Have a great week Enduro, cheers! -hw

[@demanu]

@@hiwattmarshall Hey Ken, That does sound intense, I'm sure a top ten emergency gear list in your head helped with that somewhere. That might be an interesting video topic. :) I do have a home studio, mostly make music for myself and for those interested. I worked as an 1st Asst. Engineer for a local studio several years ago, my focus was on remote recordings, Symphonies, Choirs, etc. We had a recurring gig with a University recording their marching band, so we used the school’s arena for our recording studio. Control room in the locker room, band on the basketball floor. It was always a very cool and fun gig, taking over an arena and the power of the marching band hitting on all cylinders. Good times. -Cheers

[@siriusfun]

Mojave and API are an awesome combo! I love my MA300 into either a Chandler TG Channel or API 3124v (which I couple with an API 5500), into a distressor then a BURL B2 Bomber.or Mothership ADC. BOOM!!

[@hiwattmarshall]

siriusisatar what an arsenal of KILLER gear you’re dialling in...KaBOOM hahah! Seriously, very nice selection to choose from, and what a difference all that makes right?!? Truly game changing when we introduce all those electronic components and characteristics making up classic outboard gear. Love your set up, thanks for sharing always, and have an awesome week ;-) -hw

[@foot2]

Lexicon PCM42? Very nice… keep it running. Foot likes the PCM41 envelope follower on delay time and foot switch infinite repeat. Those Electrix effects always made 60hz hum and low signal to noise. Surprised you have them. Thanks for the tour.

[@lloydhaskel2956]

I usually have trouble with people named Ken.........thanks for changing that

[@iroseland]

gah! start with your glasses by talking to your optometrist. There are few things more handy than separate 'desk glasses' or 'occupational glasses' You can get the reader focal point moved up and tuned to make the monitors come in perfect. Then, add a general reader focal point to the usual reader position. so, up close and down is covered, and the mid distance not really far enough to need distance tuning is now clear as that tends to be directly in front of the eyes.. Nothing beats the comfort and sanity of having glasses tuned up specifically for the work area and workflow. I tried progressives for about 6 months, and wow! They got painful while sitting down to work. They are great for driving to the restaurant and still being able to read the menu, but for working nothing beats lenses tuned to solve that set of problems.

[@burprobrox9134]

That’s a nice tip. I’m 45 and just hitting the point where I need bifocals.

[@randallhunt9170]

Let's take a moment to talk about your coffee. I think it's fairly obvious that you drink quite a bit of it. You laid down that synth track at the end of this vid, and immediately reached for your mug. Is there any particular kind of coffee that you drink? What's your preferred brewing method vs what you use when you're on the go?

[@Hysteric_Subjects]

Might be yerba or like Picard, Early Grey: Hot.

[@joehazeofficial2]

We have a ton of the same gear/>>> Love it.

[@dr.feelicks2051]

Very curious to hear your reasons for various choices you made in modular. ✌️

[@hiwattmarshall]

Dr. Feelicks I wish I could take credit, but I was VERY wise to take advise from some super heavyweights lmao! Almost everything was recommended, and I was limited to 6U (two rows) which, as you know is pretty tiny lol! I can take credit for the Disting mk4...but I still need the manual every time I use it haha! Like a science experiment in the studio, I love it! Cheers to you my friend, have a great week ;-) -hw

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

In high end audio they as well disconnect from AC in particular for the amps. In recording (reel to reel) there are DC modifiction companies/kits.

[@thechronicnoizeco.6675]

I wanna hang out there...

[@spacey_face]

Can you talk a bit about your array of quadratic diffusors in the back?

[@BlackburnBigdragon]

Man. All that talk about power makes me think of all the power issues that I have with my setup/music room. I recently was forced to move into an apartment, and it's in an older building. First off, there's nowhere near the amount of power outlets that I need. Second, when I do hook everything up here, the lights dim and sometimes the circuit blows. It's like every damn thing in this apartment is on ONE circuit. I'm having a similar problem with house hunting. Every damn house that we've looked at tends to have one or two electrical outlets per room, and if I hooked up everything I have, there would probably be flames. I'm always plugging in a single instrument, recording it, then unplugging it, plugging in the next instrument, recording with that, then unplugging it. It's such a pain to get things done. In my last apartment, and the last house I lived in, there were enough outlets and I actually had a functioning room that I could just get freely creative with on a moment's notice. It's not easy any more.

[@rolandmarckwort]

Really nice rig Ken! I've always been partial to an analog, old school console at the heart of my studio - have you found working in the box to be better or advantageous?

[@tomroehl5126]

Hey Ken, was looking forward to this one too! So do you power down everything at the end of the session? I like how you've set it up so you can power up everything with just a couple of switches. I'm curious how you power things down though. Obviously you don't want to just kill the power to your computer and hard drives without properly powering things down first! You mentioned that you 'eject' your hard drives first but do you have to be extra careful when shutting things down?

I can’t speak for Ken, but personally I always shut equipment down this way: monitors, console, then gear. If you don’t use an analog console I’d assume you could go monitors, audio interface, gear, then computer. But 🤷‍♀️

[@italoop7850]

DUDE! Relax!!!

[@fakzility]

My studio tour, who has a spare 10 seconds!

[@sourcefor]

Do you mix in the box or use Hardware, I didn't see any! Thanks! Great channel!

[@JacobSkriver]

Great video! One question though: why back up on hard drives and not using an online service like Dropbox? What would happen to the backup disks in case of a fire?

[@russell_szabados]

Jacob Skriver it’s possible he does that but didn’t mention it. An experienced hacker has many ways into your private network if they really want, and then all his logins are useless. I owned a studio with a business partner and we kept backup hard drives in a safe. I was going to move them to a bank safe deposit box for the best safety, but we decided not to work together any more.

[@drigrid]

I have two questions. I love the gearporn in this, and I want more. Specifically I was wondering about vocal preamps and microphone usage. I mean, we all know the very basics (well), but the kind of music you work in is different to what Celine Dion does. The other question is something I've noticed with your studio, cEvin Key's studio, my own studio and my friends' studios. Toys. For some reason we all have toys in our studio space. Could you introduce us to your little toys? And maybe even say why you have them?

[@resofactor]

Any videos about VCVRack?

[@DrakDeth]

need to see hiwatt use the eletctrix gear. i've got the mofx and the filter. one guy i know said he will NEVER sell his electrix gear. midi synced fx like those are to this day insane.

[@hiwattmarshall]

DrakDeth thank you for sharing here my friend, it’s a big deal 🙏🤟🏻 Same here, those Electrix units are incredible…would never entertain the thought of loosing them! Made in Canada 🇨🇦 😊 Stay safe out there, I hope you’re having a great evening DD! -hw

[@Gimmiyomoney]

Hey Ken, do you use the vst editor for that virus that is always so teasingly right in front?

[@ClifBratcher]

Notice any odd coloration with the PreSonus Central Station? Love the features of the Control Station, but I ended up going the route of an SPL 2Control to keep the signal path cleaner.

[@hiwattmarshall]

It certainly adds coloration, but in a way that seems to work well with my combination. It’s a great question Clif, and one that isn’t easily answered in my own experience, just based on how each of these units interact with their connected monitors. I upgraded decades ago from a Mackie BigKnob, and couldn’t believe how much more depth the CS had. There are some incredible monitor controllers on the market, and I bet I could be equally blown away with something like your SPL unit today! Wouldn’t it be an awesome experiment to do an A/B/C/D on different monitor controllers?!? Haha, that would require some significant routing 😳 Thanks for sharing Clif, I hope you have an awesome week!

[@terrymiller111]

Sub earned.

[@busywl69]

wonder if he talks to people like this in general. nice studio. love how a lot of vids I see live instrument oriented people mixing on sensibly priced monitors while the techno n edm snobs are all mixing on $12,000 barefoots lol.

[@pardonmysandwich6943]

What’s your view out the window like tho?

[@hiwattmarshall]

I best include it in a future session cause it’s pretty awesome! As I type, they’re rounding up range cows across the valley...old school, three cowboys on horses with a couple of healer dogs! I grew up doing that so it’s pretty fun to watch haha! Thanks for asking Pardon My Sandwich, I hope you have an awesome week my friend! -hw

[@andredufault6921]

whats up with the cord hanging out of your arm almost had me worried there sheesh bc covid and also its very unlike you then i notice its yelLOW but the maJiK is in me and u “we walk in silence, we walk away...” Frontline ;) “into the dark and i feel NothinG”, “its not the same without u” - VaC

[@JohnnyWitchCat]

Anti static strap

[@cripesalmighty4744]

This guy always sounds like he just took a huge hit off a joint

[@Gimmiyomoney]

Why? Because he loves what he does so much he gets excited to talk about it? To me he sounds like the most clear headed guy in music.

[@cripesalmighty4744]

@@Gimmiyomoney No, he just sounds like Spicoli

[@hiwattmarshall]

Oh man, that’s my Spicoli plug in from a manufacturer called ‘Ridgemont High’...check em out!

[@cripesalmighty4744]

@@hiwattmarshall Glad you caught my sense of humor, unlike Adam up there.