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Bob Boyd — Owner, Ambient Digital

Robert “Bob” Boyd is the owner and chief engineer at Ambient Digital, 30 miles due west of downtown Houston, Texas. Boyd has added his mastering touch to hundreds of indie releases as well as major label work for Sony, EMI, Nettwerk and Warner. He prides himself on attention to detail and expects no less from his gear.

Bob is a recent convert to the flexibility and elegance of Sonic Studio’s production tools. We caught up with him via phone and e–mail, where he discussed his work environment and why he chose to add Sonic Studio technology to his studio tool set…

Sonic Studio:

Hey Bob, to start this, what are the main elements of your production workflow, and how do they affect your digital audio needs?

Bob Boyd:

In my case, ProTools HD3|Accel handles playback, routing to my external analog and digital mastering equipment, and hosts an occasional software plug-in. If I’m dealing with material that is above 44.1k, that output is routed via a Z-Sys digital router to a Weiss SFC2 high resolution realtime sample rate converter and down sampled to 44.1 kHz/24 bit. The converted signal goes into my second workstation where final editing, sequencing, and authoring occurs using PreMaster CD.

Sonic Studio:

Could you describe the rest of your rig?

Bob Boyd:

I’ve tried to make my setup at Ambient Digital a “no compromise” system, and am constantly evaluating new equipment. Over the past 14 years, I’ve put together a system consisting of some of the best and most proven gear available — Weiss, Maselec, Crane Song, Manley, Lavry, API, Chandler and TC Electronic among others. All equipment that sounds good to my ears and has stood the test of time on a wide range of mastering tasks.

All conversion to and from the analog gear is done via Lavry Blue converters and my monitoring path consists of a Lavry Gold DA924 D/A feeding a Crane Song Avocet monitor controller. I'm using Egglestonworks Andra II monitors powered by a McIntosh MC252. XLR lines and speaker cables are from JPS Labs.

Sonic Studio:

What role did our unique technology play in the decision to use Sonic Studio products?

Bob Boyd:

I think the editing and fade tools are what hooked me. Being able to draw on a rich past, Sonic Studio is offering a more comprehensive disc authoring application in a new product like PreMaster CD than others are offering in versions 4 and 5. It’s evident that other companies are trying to adapt their products for professional disc authoring - this has been Sonic Studio’s foundation all along. Professional features such as DDP export is not an option, it’s standard in every Sonic Studio product.

Sonic Studio:

What’s been the response of your clients regarding the qualities of PreMaster CD?

Bob Boyd:

I have shown Sonic Studio’s editing and fade tools to some of the engineers that have come in for mastering and they are very impressed! I have Manual DeClick and I don’t think I’ve thrown anything at it that it hasn’t been able to handle yet. I’ve also been surprised by how often I’ve been able to utilize it. Prior to having Manual DeClick, I would use Waves X-Click or draw it out manually with the pencil tool in Pro Tools. In both cases, I was often able to remove the upper frequency click but I was left with the low end or low mid component. Manual DeClick replaces the entire spot effortlessly. Definitely something that impresses clients during attended sessions!

This interview was recorded in June of 2006. For information on how Sonic Studio can help your business grow while coping with the often conflicting demands of commercial audio production, please contact our sales professionals at 1-415-460-1201 or you local Sonic Studio representative.