Beacon AV Lab

Recording and Media Production

Beacon AV Lab on SoundBetter

Cozy, vibe-filled studio providing top notch music and audio production services to New York's Hudson Valley and beyond!

Tucked away a former high school building between Mt Beacon and the Hudson River, Beacon AV Lab is a modern recording studio with vintage vibe. Run by engineer and "Sonic Scientist" Jonny Taylor, the Lab is the go-to spot for your audio and media productions needs in scenic Beacon, NY. Jonny specializes in music recording, editing, mixing and mastering, but also offers an array of additional services including audio post production (VO, sound design, film & TV mixing, original music composition, etc), podcast production (recording, editing, mixing), video services (editing, transcoding, streaming) and much more. Conveniently located close to NYC (express train from Grand Central to Beacon in just 1.5hrs!). Even if you're not nearby, Beacon AV Lab offers many remote services (mixing, mastering, editing, etc), using utilities like Zoom and AudioMovers to make you feel like your right there in the room with the engineer, from anywhere in the world!

Would love to hear from you. Click the contact button above to get in touch.

Interview with Beacon AV Lab

  1. Q: Tell us about a project you worked on you are especially proud of and why. What was your role?

  2. A: Stephen Clair's latest album "The Small Hours" - we tracked this album in January and February of 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic struck. We immediately switched to working remotely to finish mixing the album using Zoom and AudioMover's ListenTo plugin, and I think the results were great (so does Steve!)

  3. Q: What are you working on at the moment?

  4. A: The sophomore album by Mimi Sun Longo

  5. Q: Analog or digital and why?

  6. A: Digital for convenience and flexibility, Analog for tone and vibe!

  7. Q: If you were on a desert island and could take just 5 pieces of gear, what would they be?

  8. A: Universal Audio Apollo Twin, Townsend Labs Sphere L22, Focal speakers, Fender Jazzmaster and a fuzz pedal.

  9. Q: What was your career path? How long have you been doing this?

  10. A: I have been recording since I got my first 4-track cassette recorder in high school (1990s). I trained at the Institute of Audio Research in NYC, as well in the music and recording program at Ramapo College of NJ. I worked as a staff technical engineer for 15 years at a few different post-production facilities while moonlighting as a music engineer at several underground studios in NYC, before moving to Beacon NY and opening my own studio here in 2014.

  11. Q: Can you share one music production tip?

  12. A: Listen to lots of music and develop your ears!

  13. Q: What type of music do you usually work on?

  14. A: Indie and Alternative Rock is my wheelhouse, but I also love working on various electronic styles, hip hop, heavier rock, psychedelic, roots/Americana, etc.

  15. Q: Tell us about your studio setup.

  16. A: The centerpiece of my rig is a Universal Audio Apollo expanded system (primary Apollo rack unit plus Apollo Twin mkII). The Apollo's Unison Preamps are complemented by 2x Heritage Audio 73jr (Neve 1073 clone), 2x Purple Audio Pants preamps, 16 channels of Audient ASP preamps, and 2x dbx 386 tube mic preamps. Monitoring is Focal CMS 65 + sub, or "Behritones" for reference, switched by a Drawmer MC2.1 monitor controller. This all connects to a 2013 Mac Pro running Pro Tools, Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Luna, and tons of plugins. Controlling the system is a Slate Raven MTi touchscreen console. The studio boasts a full mic locker with microphones from Royer, Sennheiser, Beyerdynamic, Shure, Blue, and many more. The highlight of the mic collection is a Townsend Labs Sphere L22 modeling microphone which can emulate dozens of legendary mics.

  17. Q: What other musicians or music production professionals inspire you?

  18. A: Brian Wilson, Sir George Martin, Brian Eno, Steve Albini, Daniel Lanois, Bob Power, Mark Mothersbaugh, Finneas, Ben H. Allen, Blake Mills, Khruangbin, Animal Collective

  19. Q: Describe the most common type of work you do for your clients.

  20. A: I most commonly record & mix bands - lately doing more mastering as well. Besides music, I do a good amount of audio post production work and podcast work.

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Vast Unknown by Dirt Bikes

I was the Recording, Mixing and Mastering engineer, and played guitar in this production

Gear Highlights
  • Universal Audio Apollo
  • Townsend Labs Sphere L22
  • Slate Raven
  • Heritage Audio MCM-8 Summing Mixer
  • Heritage Audio 73jr Mic Preamps
  • Focal CMS 65 monitors
  • 1968 Fender Pro Reverb
  • 1972 Ampeg SVT
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