{"id":59563,"date":"2025-08-29T08:07:20","date_gmt":"2025-08-29T12:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=59563"},"modified":"2025-08-29T08:07:21","modified_gmt":"2025-08-29T12:07:21","slug":"sanctuary-of-sound","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2025\/sanctuary-of-sound\/","title":{"rendered":"Sanctuary of sound"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New Astral Recording Studio offers EMU students hands-on experience in cutting-edge music production, sound engineering, and audio technology<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It might be the quietest spot on campus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

EMU\u2019s new Astral Recording Studio, which opened this semester in the former Astral Hall building atop the EMU Hill at 1304 Hillcrest Drive, has been precisely engineered with one goal in mind: providing the ultimate environment for recording and mixing audio. From its comprehensive acoustic treatment to its full suite of top-tier audio equipment, every square inch of the space is designed to help producers capture the sounds they want while eliminating the ones they don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For starters, take the physical structure of the building itself. The studio, featuring a 175-square-foot control room and two isolation rooms measuring 81 and 83 square feet, sits on its own concrete slab, separate from the rest of the building to minimize vibrations. Inside its walls, a 4-inch air gap makes the space practically soundproof from outside noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going the full measure<\/strong>
Every detail of the Astral Recording Studio is designed to deliver the purest listening and recording experience. No two walls run parallel, with only one 90-degree corner per room, and even the ceiling and window panes are slanted to provide a clean, neutral sound. The studio also features a silent HVAC system, double layers of drywall, and all of the lights have been carefully checked to ensure they remain completely vibration-free, said EMU Music Professor Dr. Benjamin Guerrero<\/strong>, whose vision and expertise brought the studio to life.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s noise or rattling, you end up spending too much time editing it out,\u201d Guerrero said. \u201cWe\u2019re aiming to replicate the professional studio environments of Los Angeles and New York City to better prepare our students for work in those settings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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EMU Music Professor Dr. Benjamin Guerrero and musician Thaddeus Jackson ’24 during a recent studio session.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Take a look inside the studio and it quickly becomes clear just how much thought went into creating the optimal environment. Acoustic panels on the walls and ceiling absorb the high and mid frequencies, while bass traps in the corners absorb the low ones. Thirteen speakers are positioned around the control room, all directed toward the center of the room, where a control surface allows producers to mix dozens of channels with precision.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n