"An Audio Oasis in the Arizona Desert"

 In the feature film "Field of Dreams," Kevin Costner uttered, "If you build it, they will come."  He may well have been referring to The Saltmine Recording Studios located in Mesa, Arizona.  A fourteen-year success story of evolution from a home studio to a professional recording studio, owner Don Salter and his staff have made The Saltmine a destination "Studio Oasis" for those who can record anywhere.

 Prior to the opening of a huge new facility in the Downtown Mesa Arts District in September, 2003, the Saltmine was housed in a smaller, more industrial location in south Mesa.  Although there was a lot of history at the old Saltmine, it was a small suite and at times was perceived as having a sort of "beehive" atmosphere which wasn't as comfortable for larger sessions.

 Don Salter boldly decided to swim against the currents, so to speak, and commit his faith in music to the development of creating the ultimate recording paradise while maintaining cost sensitivity.  He found the ideal location, a historic church property just south of Main St. in Mesa,  one block away from the new 100 million dollar Arts Center with its soon to open 4 theatre venues.

 The interior of the main studio building was gutted and rebuilt from the ground up while maintaining the classic outer facade of the 1914 building.  The foundation was cut and each interior studio block wall was built on its own massive footing, separating each room for increased isolation.  Other improvements in the new studio facility include a much larger live recording space, symmetrical control rooms designed by Don and his staff, which borrow from the classic design of a "reflection free" control room, all new Mogami wiring, several on-site rehearsal spaces, a larger lounge and an unusually well equipped VIP lounge.  25 tons of air conditioning keep it nice and chilly during the infamous Arizona summers.

 The facility consists of three studios. Studio A is designed to be a tracking paradise for analog or digital recording, while Studio B is set up as a killer mixing room.  Studio C is a smaller overdub/production/editing room.  An outdoor live recording stage is also wired to studio A or B when the situation demands.

 The centerpiece of Studio A is a one-of-a-kind Neve 6235 console which was custom built by Neve in 1979 and installed as the music production console for Holland National Television in The Netherlands.  Hand wired and utilizing all discrete class AB electronics, the console measures flat to 100-kHz and exemplifies the sonic characteristics that have made 1970's Neve consoles renowned throughout the industry.  With thirty-six 33114 mic/line input modules, a sixteen input tape monitor section, eight subgroups and eight 33314a compressors, the console is optimized for most styles of music recording.  The mic preamps are identical to the Neve 1081 mic pre, the three-band equalization is similar to the 33105 found in the popular Neve 8078 console series, while the 33314a compressors are essentially the same as the desirable Neve 2254 compressors.  This console bears the signature of "Rupert" himself, as does the 12x 2 Melborne sidecar that sits next to it.

 An additional complement of vintage and modern outboard mic pre-amps makes the studio even more versatile.  A pair of Telefunken V-72's, a trio of Langevin AM116b tube pre's, a Focusrite ISA-215, as well as processing by Pultec, Millennia, Calrec, Neve 1073's and TC Electronics are part of the picture that includes many fine mic pre-amps and equalizers.  The Neve is supported by a Studer A-827 2" analog 24 track, Otari MTR-12 1/2" and a Pro Tools HD-3 Accel system with three 192 interfaces for 32 Analog I/O on a dual 2 GHz G5 Macintosh with 1 GB of RAM and well over a terabyte of hard disk space.  Plug-ins included on this system are the Waves Platinum bundle for HD, Bomb Factory, Focusrite etc.

 Also of note is a wide range of compression options; an Alan Smart SSL dual mono compressor (the lawsuit model), an obscure 1950's device called a Limpander, Drawmer tube 1960, Tube Tech CL1b, two Urei LA-4s, two black 1176's and an 1178 are some of the levelers available. Reverbs/DSP include an Eventide DSP4000, H3000, Lexicon PCM 60,81,91, TC Electronics M2000 and more.  These lists are abbreviated for space, but a complete listing is available on their website or directly from the studio.

 With Genelec 1031A's, Hafler TRM-8's, Yamaha NS-10's driven by a Crown MA2400, Dynaudio Acoustics M3A main monitors driven by Chevin A2000's and twin JBL 12" active subs, there are several monitoring options in studio A, ranging from small and intimate all the way up to "A&R pizza party".  Studio A also features a Mytek Private Cue headphone system with feeds to the 25'x30' drum room with maple floors and 24' cathedral ceiling, and three smaller iso rooms.

 The mixing room, Studio B, is built around a SSL 6056 E/G+ console.  Featuring 56 channels with VCA automation, Total Recall and dynamics, this console is the perfect complement to the Pro Tools HD3 Accel system running on a dual processor 2 GHz G5 Macintosh with 2GB of RAM and over a terabyte of hard drive space.  This control room is the same size as the control room in studio A and has been specially treated to accommodate the Westlake monitors.  Studio B also offers a large isolation booth which is big enough for tracking drums but cozy enough for those intimate vocal sessions.

 Studio B's main monitors are Westlake BSM-15's with Tad drivers, driven by a Bryston 14b and a Crown MA3600.  These are complemented by a Tannoy 15" active Sub.  Near fields are covered by NS-10's powered by a Crown DC-300A, Genelec 1031's, or Hafler TRM-8's.  Outboard gear in this room includes a Focusrite ISA430 "Producer Pack," Manley Vox Box, Groove Tubes stereo compressor, DBX 160s, Urei 1176 and several pieces from TL Audio, Langevin, Urei, etc. to round out the Preamp/EQ/Compression arsenal.  Also handy are several reverbs and digital delays including a Lexicon 480L, Eventide H3000D, TC Electronic M2000, Roland SRV-3030 and several more interesting pieces which offer a broad spectrum of effects in addition to the many plug-ins which reside on the Mix/Plus system.

 Studio C is set up primarily as an editing room with a  Pro Tools Mix/Plus system running on an 800 MHz Macintosh G4 with 9 10,000 RPM Seagate Cheetah Ultra SCSI removable drives.  This System features an Apogee AD-8000 converter and two Digidesign 888/24's for a total of 24 Analog I/O.    This studio is a nice private room with a cozy isolation booth which also doubles as a keyboard room.  This room is ideal for setting up a MIDI system and tracking out beats etc. while the main work continues in Studio A and B.  A small complement of outboard gear including pieces from Focusrite, TL Audio, Lexicon etc. offers just enough support for this room. Although they don't see as much use as they once did, Studio B also offers 16 tracks of ADAT, 8 Tracks of DA-88, and a Tascam MSR-16S 16-Track 1/2" Analog recorder with Dolby type S noise reduction.

 Available to any studio is an extensive collection of vintage and modern microphones.  As this goes to press, there are 120 microphones in The Saltmine mic locker, which include favorites such as the Neumann M-49 serial #100 (a true classic!) and its modern counterpart, the M-149, a pair of Neumann U-67 tubes, an SM-69 Stereo Tube, two each U-47 FETs, U-89s and two pairs of KM-84 models, four U-87's, as well as various AKG standards that include a new AKG C-12VR.  There are 10 Sennheiser MD-421's, a stereo Calrec Soundfield Mk. 4, the always delicious RCA 77DX and two vintage Coles 4038 Ribbons, plus many more essentials from Royer, Shure, EV, Beyer, and a favorite among hip-hop artists, the Sony C-800.

 Another aspect of the studio that has proven to be a popular attraction is an extensive vintage guitar and amplifier collection.  Dozens of rock 'n roll mainstay pieces are in abundance, from classic Rickenbackers and Les Pauls to Tele's and Stratocasters, with even a few different Gretsch guitars to choose from.  Amps and cabinets by Mesa Boogie, Marshall, Vox, Hiwatt, Fender, Orange, Krank and more make getting a great guitar sound easy.  Also included is a comprehensive synthesizer collection.  With representation from most major synth and drum machine manufacturers from the '60s-'00s, the list starts with Arp and ends at Yamaha, and is supported by both Mac and PC sequencing platforms.

 Besides having a dedicated approach to quality gear, Don Salter and his staff have worked hard to provide an ambience and vibe to their studio.  The new facility is an open, comfortable space with eclectic art work, oriental carpets, hardwood floors, lava lamps, and semi-psychedelic paint schemes.  Although at this point they are not yet offering extras like a jacuzzi or a pool table, they do offer 6 holes of "metro golf" in a 7500 sq. ft. private courtyard, a basketball hoop, video games, wireless networking and big-screen satellite TV in two large and comfortable lounges.  Hidden behind the 2500 pound solid steel gated entrance to the Oasis Courtyard is a professional and private recording hideaway where a producer can develop a band or artist without compromise.

 While remaining accessible and affordable to local talent, The Saltmine is best known for attracting national recording acts as well.  Some recent highlights on the schedule board include their second record for Soulfly with chief engineer John Gray tracking everything for their new record "Dark Ages" which was mixed by Terry Date for Roadrunner Records, a month lockout with rapper DMX and Ruff Ryders, a bonus studio track for Sevendust on their new acoustic live album "South Side Double Wide," with production assistance from studio owner Don Salter, some mixing with Jimmy Eat World for an upcoming release, recording a new album from start to finish for multi-platinum R&B artist Next, laying down some new songs with hip-hop giants G-Unit and even a night of vocals with Styx.

 Over the years they have worked on several records for Megadeth including their recent album "The World Needs a Hero,"  produced by Bill Kennedy and Dave Mustaine.  They also helped celebrity producer Rick Rubin capture Sheryl Crow singing a version of "Sweet Child of Mine" for the feature film "Big Daddy," and even managed to impress the legendary Toby Wright while he produced Soulfly's "Primitive" at The Saltmine in 2000.  Since moving to the new studio they have done 2 more records for Soulfly with Saltmine Chief Engineer John Gray handling the engineering and assisting with the production, they have mixed a record for Ministry with Al Jourgensen, Tracked entire records for DMX, Bone Thugs N Harmony, and Ruff Ryders, and have satisfied many a major label with their world class service, including Interscope, Sony, and Universal, to name a few names.  In between all this they still somehow manage to take care of the local talent!  For a more complete client list, check out The Saltmine's web site at www.thesaltmine.com.  Incedentally, this is one of the best studio web sites I have seen.  In addition to the basic details there are many beautiful pictures of the studio and the courtyard, detailed and accurate equipment lists and a chance to get to know the staff a little bit as well.

 The Saltmine Studios are just 10 minutes from Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix and centrally located in the metropolitan area of Phoenix's East Valley, near several major attractions.  Tour bus support and parking is available, as are discount package rates for nearby hotels.

For more information, please contact Don Salter at 480-892-6585 (office).  You can also visit their web site at www.thesaltmine.com.