SACRAMENTO, Calif. — When radio station management and staff start planning new studios, it seems everyone is concerned mostly with the equipment. While gear is a critical aspect, the question of where to house it must be given a lot of consideration as well. The studio furniture must not only look great but be sturdy and durable. From my perspective, it also must allow easy installation of the miles of cables, dozens of punch blocks and all that gear that makes the studio “Go.”
Rounded edges give a warm look to the man cave décor of ‘The Dan Patrick Show.’
Studio Technology is a well-established company that noted its 20th anniversary in August. My company, Pacific Mobile Recorders, a studio builder and system integrator based in Sacramento, Calif., has worked with them for about the last 10 years.
Vince Fiola and his guys build custom studio furniture for radio and television studios, radio control rooms and news work stations. They don’t build kitchen cabinets or bathroom counter tops, just real studio furniture.
Design
When you call Studio Technology you will most likely get the owner, Vince Fiola. Supply Vince with room dimensions, console info and rack unit count; and after a little back and forth you will have a finished drawing to show your staff.
Whether the budget is large or small or the studios are simple or elaborate, there are plenty of options. Our clients give Vince an idea of what they need and want, and often, they depend on Vince to help them with a design and what type of materials to use, depending on the budget and the “look” they want.
For a recent studio buildout with Sandusky Radio in Seattle, Vince helped KKNW(AM) staff design their control room furniture to accommodate the control room and talk studio, which were located in the same room.
Sandusky Radio chose Corian countertops for their studios, but other choices include laminate with T-molding or hardwood trim. For our installation at “The Dan Patrick Show,” studios have countertops made of stained mahogany to fit in with the “man cave” décor. Studio Technology’s base cabinets come with removable doors and punch-block backboards. Roll-around lower racks are available for tiny studios where furniture must go up against a wall.
Cutout allows monitors to be slung low. Author Jim Hibbard is in background.
As a studio designer and integrator, I want each wire raceway to be a straight shot from one cabinet to another. Studio Technology’s base cabinets are designed for the wiring to lay flat on the bottom from cabinet to cabinet. The use of leveling legs with removable kick plates gives us more places for cable runs. Having a place to hide that extra-long VGA or a power supply cable is a plus.
When ordering a room of furniture — or 15 rooms like Sandusky — you need to know when it will arrive on site and who is going to install it. With an agreed delivery date you will have your furniture on time. The good news: You get your stuff on time. The bad news: You have to be ready to have it installed!
Depending on how many rooms to be installed in an installation phase, Studio Technology will send two to four guys to unload the truck and install the furniture. Cutouts for consoles are done on site. Mic cough panels and computer monitor arms/grommet holes are drilled as well. Having a line of sight from console location to guest positions and being able to fudge a little on the placement of a console is a life-saver.
“Joe-the-kitchen-cabinet-builder” and “assemble-it-yourself” studio furnishings won’t save you time or money. I recommend Studio Technology studio furniture for large or small projects.
Jim Hibbard is owner of Pacific Mobile Recorders.
For information, contact Vince Fiola at Studio Technology in Pennsylvania at (610) 925-2785 or visit www.studiotechnology.com.
