PAD helps to create Vatterott College ex’treme Institute by Nelly Professional Audio Design, Inc

Vatterott College ex’treme Institute by Nelly – St Louis was conceived and developed in collaboration with industry experts as a means to make the practical training methods and hands-on experience once acquired only through internships and apprenticeships available to the amateur enthusiast, and as a resource for the seasoned engineer looking to acquire additional skills or stay abreast of emerging trends. Thus, the Institute’s founding mission was, and remains, to provide a new path, in this age of new and accessible technology, to becoming and remaining an accomplished practitioner of the recording and production arts.

Early in the planning process, Nelly’s chief engineer Carl Nappa contacted Professional Audio Design for advice and consultation. “I’ve worked with Dave for years, since my early days at The Hit Factory, and I can always count on Dave because of his knowledge and experience.” said Nappa. “We decided early in the process that Professional Audio Design would handle all of the wiring and infrastructure, and in the long run it ended up saving us a lot of money and headaches.”

The first decisions were the choice of console and main monitors. A beautifully restored Neve VR-36 with Flying Faders automation was chosen as the recording console, and custom Augspurger Monitors with Subwoofers were selected as the main recording and playback speakers. “Augspurger main monitors have become a standard listening reference in high-end urban recording studios, giving you the detail and imaging you want from a studio monitor, while also providing the power and impact of a high-end nightclub sound system.” states Malekpour. “We specified the vertical 2 x 15” PAD loaded design with 18” subwoofers for its tight foot print and ideal. We have found the vertical driver arrangement to perform well in almost any size room and the orientation of the drivers makes low frequency and imaging very accurate and powerful” said Malekpour.

    The system incorporates PAD drivers, MC2 T-2000 amplifiers, and is controlled by Lab Gruppen Lake LM-26 speaker management system. The system is finished in “BMW Black Metallic” completing the studios great new look.

“Dave worked with us from the beginning of the project, and helped define the technology and infrastructure needs for this state-of-the-art learning center, and his team made sure that everything was fully operational for our inaugural class” explains Nappa. “It’s great to be involved with this growing music scene, and to help shape the engineers and producers of the future.”