ITFAIS Records and Bass in Your Face started from humble beginnings in 1996 in Lafayette, Indiana. Starting with 2 turntables and a mixer going to a amplifier with bookshelf speakers, the studio migrated from room-to-room looking for a space where the sound will not bother the neighbors. Finally, the master bedroom was renovated by doubling and soundproofing the walls and window, and that became the first “real” studio with a Tascam 2600 32×8 mixing console. Slowly the outboard gear and synth collection grew as did the recording facilities. By 1998, the studio had multiple analog synths, significant outboard gear, and 16 tracks of DA-38 DTRS recording along with cassette and CD duplication equipment.
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- Humble Beginnings – Stax with the first DJ setup on a dresser – 1995
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- Soundproofing Renovation – 1996
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- Bass in Your Face Grand Opening Party — Bass Test Dummy – 1996
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- DJ Setup – 1996
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- DJ Setup and Console – 1996
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- Tascam 2600 32×8 Console and Rack – 1996
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- Bigger rack and Synths – 1997
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- Multiple racks and Synths – 1998
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- Multiple racks and Console – 1998
In September 1998, the studio and label were relocated to New York City. The entire studio including the DJ setup, synths, outboard gear, and console were squeezed into the smallest bedroom of a 2 bedroom apartment in Manhattan’s financial district. The computer setup also evolved and we started experimenting with Digital Audio Workstation software so we could eliminate the big console and make room for more gear. Many of ITFAIS’s releases were mixed, mastered, and released from this studio from source material recorded in the original studio.
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- Bass in Your Face NYC – 1999
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- E at the computer – July 2002
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- DAW Mixer and expansion to 3 big racks and a big couch — 2003
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- DAW and Outboard Gear – 2005
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- DJ Setup — 2005
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- DJ Setup and Reference System 2009
In 2015, the studio was moved from New York City to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. A Soundcraft Ghost LE analog mixer replaced the “in the box” DAW setup, and multitrack recording is done through an Apogee Symphony configured with 16×16 analog and digital I/O at 24 bits / 192 KHz sampling rate. Apple’s Logic Pro is used as DAW software and configured like a 16-track multitrack machine. Mastering is done to the MCI JD-110C on 1/2″ tape using Dolby-SR. The Neve Master Buss Pro is used as a mastering compressor, sometimes with the Neve 5033 parametric EQ’s. Digital masters are created at 24bit / 192KHz using the Dangerous Music Convert-AD+ A/D.
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- Outboard Gear
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- Mara Machines / MCI JH-110C with Dolby 363 Racks
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- Mixer and Monitors
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- Mixer, Rack, and Monitors
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- Studio working space
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- Mix and Mastering Gear