Hugh Neal of The Friary Studios on mixing for Dolby Atmos.
Dolby Atmos has been taking the audio world by storm, reimagining your favourite tracks and turning music-listening into an immersive experience.
“It’s like a perfect storm” explains Hugh Neal, mix engineer at The Friary Studios, “how much we utilise phones, streaming, we have 5G now. That has led to the possibility of Atmos being a more seamless thing.”
Hugh has worked in the industry for over twenty years, but his path to becoming an engineer began on “the other side of the glass” as a singer and guitarist. Having spent a number of years working with Freemonk (production name of Chris Webb, owner of The Friary Studios), Hugh made the move towards working as an engineer in 2012.
In the years that followed, he’s worked with artists such as Paul & James McCartney and Wretch 32, as well as alongside producers like David Kahne and Youth.
Like many studios across the world, The Friary added a dedicated Dolby Atmos space to keep up with the demand from labels for immersive audio mixes. When it came to monitors, The Friary kitted out Studio B with Dynaudio Core 47s, Core 7s and two Core Subs.
We sat down with Hugh to learn all about working in Atmos, the future of immersive formats and why The Friary opted for Core series monitors.
Mixing Dolby Atmos with Hugh Neal Video
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The Friary Studios
Set up by producer Chris Webb, The Friary’s Studio A features a generously sized control room filled with racks of vintage outboard.
The centrepiece is undoubtedly the console, a piece of history in itself! An SSL G4000, the desk was previously owned by Olympic Studios (and later Milo Studios), and has been used to record such as iconic names as Prince and The Rolling Stones.
Equally noteworthy are the main monitors – a pair of soffit-mounted Munro Acoustics M Series (complete with custom paint . Previously housed in The Redroom at Miloco Studios, the sounds of countless UK No 1s have been mixed through these including records from Lana Del Rey, Oasis and The Chemical Brothers.
Whilst Studio A is a dream space for traditional stereo recording and mixing, the team decided to build a second room dedicated to meet the increasing demand from labels for atmos mixes.
The resulting Studio B features a cutting-edge 7.1.4 atmos rig comprised of Dynaudio’s high-end Core Series (Core 47s, Core 7s and two Core Subs).
On Dynaudio Monitors
The Dynaudio stamp already looms large in the main room – Munro Acoustics famously use Dynaudio drivers for their legendary speakers. Studio A also features a pair of paint-splattered Dynaudio BM5s on the meter bridge, which Hugh says he remains a big fan of.
As an Atmos mix room, Studio B needed to meet Dolby’s specification (Dolby-certified) – as such, Hugh was pleased to see a familiar name on the list of recommendations. “When Dolby do their report they give you a spec of your room,” explains Hugh. “They go ‘okay this is what your room size dictates, this is what we think the speaker system you should use should be’. They gave us a list of things that we could go with, and they (Dynaudio) were on the list.
“I knew I was going to be happy with them,” he continues. “I know a bunch of guys using different systems from the older ranges, and they’ve all just sung the praises of Dynaudio.
“We’ve got Core 7s for the highs, sides and rears. At the front we have Core47s for left, right and centre (LCR). And then two Core Subs, to make up the spec for the Dolby certification.
“They’re very detailed, they sound incredible, there’s no distortion, you can drive them – they’re bloody loud! But they’re not fatiguing at loud volumes.
“If these were the only speakers I had for the rest of my life,
I would not be upset about that.”
“It’s class D amplifiers, it’s super high-end. It just sounds incredible, they just sound kick-ass. If these were the only speakers I had for the rest of my life, I would not be upset about that.”
Big thanks to Hugh Neal and The Friary Studios!
Follow Hugh and The Friary on Instagram:
Hugh Neal Music @hughnealmusic
The Friary Studios @thefriarystudios
Image Gallery – The Friary Studio B
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Dynaudio is world-famous for making hand-crafted high-end loudspeakers for living rooms, home cinemas, cars and professional recording studios.
Since the beginning in 1977, the company has made iconic products rooted in a love of music and film – reproducing exactly what the artist intended. Nothing more, nothing less.