SMB Studios

Nestled away in a small residential lake community, The Department of Lost and Sound is the private home studio for musician and recordist, Steve Babula. The build-out to the existing detached garage on the property was completed in 2021 and features a dedicated live room, control room and entrance foyer. The idea was to maximize the sound isolation within the available square footage by constructing a completely new “room within a room” with a floating floor, double walls, proper soundproofing insulation and overall room treatment. The live room is treated to be intentionally tight and dead to give greater control of adding room sound back in post-production. It serves as a multi-purpose space which can fit small groups of musicians as well as being great for overdubs, vocals, voiceovers, podcasts, audiobooks, etc. The control room is set up around a hybrid analog/digital workflow featuring a Rupert Neve 5060 Centerpiece summing mixer and monitor controller, ProTools HD with Apogee Symphony MK2 Convertors, Barefoot MicroMain 45 Monitors and various digitally controlled outboard gear from WesAudio, AMS Neve and more. “Having a dedicated studio space, separate from the house that is almost completely soundproof is a dream come true. It allows me to be creative when working on my own personal projects, recording other local musicians and primarily, to have an incredible listening environment for critical corporate audio and video mixing projects. I never have to worry about being too loud for the neighbors with sound coming out of the studio, but more importantly, I rarely have to worry about unwanted sound coming in and ruining a great take.”