I sat down with Zack Fagan and asked him some key questions about the design and construction of the studio. Here’s the Q & A!

What were the project requirements?

The structure needed to be stripped down to the studs and rebuilt. The existing structure had to be reinforced underneath and above. Our task was to take the building from being a guest house into being a recording studio. Zakk wanted a private home studio with commercial/high end recording studio performance in the space we had to work with which posed a lot of challenges.

What were Zakk’s preferences? Any specific requests?

The front window needed to be huge to overlook the mountains. The studio needed to be flexible enough to allow an engineer to record any combination of amps at any time. We installed tie lines of all sorts all over the studio so amps, cabinets and microphones could be placed anywhere they needed to be. Zakk’s main requirement was for the control room to be LOUD.

What were the challenges you faced? (if any)

Being the general contractor for the gig, and juggling it all. Envision building a studio from scratch that would make Zakk Wylde happy, without being told details. From the twitter posts, we can see that Zakk is quite happy with the results. I guess you could say we met the challenge (smiles).

How was your design work responsible for overcoming a challenge?

We designed the rooms to minimize flutter and standing waves. There was little room to spare for room within room construction and our final dimensions resulted in great sounding rooms without sacrificing much space. The drum room was especially challenging- it also is the band’s favorite sounding room.

What gear was used and why?

I specifically spec’d out Neve and API mic pres so Zakk would have the killer front end that his music needs. Every studio needs a fat Pro Tools system and Zakk’s is no exception. Lots of processing power and inputs for all of his instruments. I also used outboard DBX compression and lots of vintage plugins to achieve that vintage sound.

What was your insight going into the project?

I approached this project as if it were my own studio. By doing this, I put myself in his shoes and placed things where I knew they would need to be for Zakk’s convenience and comfort. I resolved all potential issues during the design phase and was able to avoid a lot of “gotchas” once the studio was complete.

What were the results of the project?

Zakk Wylde, after being asked how the studio is working out and if he’s happy with the space, said quote: “…my ass is gaping.” Anyone who knows Zakk knows that means he really likes it!