dBu Ranch Recorders

Dusk Bennett

dBu Ranch Recorders held an open house and BackStage360 was fortunate enough to be there. The owner and builder, Dusk Bennett, was also celebrating his 50^th birthday. He and his lovely wife, Amy, welcomed us to dBu, which is nestled in the backcountry of North County’s Valley Center. There were many guests, all happily mingling, eating, drinking, and listening to the Open Mic performers on the makeshift stage.

Dusk is a gifted Grammy-winning engineer and producer, whose musical career spans decades. He got his start right after college and, as he said, learned from “the best of the best.” He has worked with some of the best musicians and artists, past and present, on the music scene. He is also a Top 40-charted producer, and his list of credits is extensive.

Excited to see the studio, I talked with Dusk and asked him how dBu Ranch Recorders came to be. He said that when he got the opportunity to buy land in Valley Center, he decided to build his dream studio. His idea was to offer musical artists a place where they could record away from the congestion and crowds of Los Angeles. The dBu property is secluded, private, and surrounded by gorgeous mountain views and fresh air. You will need a map to get there, as it’s off the beaten path.

Dusk Bennett Studios

While the festivities and open mic performers carried on, Bennett proudly took a group of us on the grand tour and explained the mix of vintage and modern equipment that make up this amazing studio.

Our first stop was the “drum room,” which is made up of a wood-beamed 20-foot vaulted ceiling, probably the tallest in any studio in the area. This room had been made up of drywall that Bennett tore out and replaced with wood, glass, and fabric. Bennett got the materials from a studio in Los Angeles that was going out of business; one that had the history of many musical hits. He liked the idea of repurposing; he also added a stone wall to reflect and diffuse sound. None of the rooms are square in this studio; odd-shaped rooms guarantee optimum sound. Bennett says that each room has its own acoustic footprint.

In the center of this room stands a large 1976 Ludwig drum kit which delivers huge, over-the-top sound. In addition, the room holds three Marshall amps, a Rhodes keyboard, a Hammond organ, and two Leslie amp/speakers. The pairing of the Hammond with the Leslie creates that unmistakably pure sound. If you listen to Phil Collins’ “That’s All,” or U2’s “New Years Day,” you will get the idea.

Next to the “drum room” is a beautiful space called the “piano room,” which boasts a beautiful grand piano, comfy couch, and a pool table. This is where the artists can take a break, relax and unwind. Bennett joked that the people who installed the piano told him, “You should get rid of that pool table,” while the pool table installers said, “You need to move that piano.” This room is also the home of a Yamaha C7, Hammond C3 and a Yamaha CP-80. The walls are decorated with framed CD images of Dusk’s various accomplishments and recordings. The walls are a history of recording stars.

Next on the tour was the central hub, the “control,” or mixing room. The star of this room is the vintage 1972 Neve 8014 console, which delivers thick, robust, and aggressive sound. Add to this the Studer A827 analog recorder, and you have one of the best combinations for recording. The atmosphere is relaxed and comfortable, with a huge lounging couch amid the impressive array of equipment.

Bennett’s studio also has five separate isolation booths. Every performance room has at least one wall of glass so that the artists have direct lines of sight to one another. The isolation booths are designed to do just that, isolate sound to prevent interference or bleeding on the recording. In addition, the studio just installed a full DMX lighting system to better enable video recording or live streaming performances.

Bennett enthusiastically showed us next to what he calls, the “Plate Room.” Never having seen an actual sound plate, I didn’t know what to expect. The plate he was referring to was the reverb plate, an actual solid plate suspended from the ceiling, intended to receive and then diffuse sound. The plate itself probably weighs around 600 pounds. This acoustic damper creates a sound that Bennett says cannot be duplicated with any plug-ins, they just don’t compare. This vintage masterpiece really does need its own room. The reverb plate can be adjusted manually to achieve whatever sound you are looking to create.

Bennett has been working with local artists and bands, helping them to realize their musical goals. It is truly refreshing to see how much enthusiasm he has for his work. He is a delight to be around.

The dBu Ranch Recorders holds one of the finest collections of instruments and equipment that I’ve seen. It’s a crazy mix of vintage and modern, but Bennett’s no mad scientist. His methods are tried and true and his discography proves that. He has recorded with Rod Stewart (winning a Grammy), Fiona Apple (RIAA Platinum), Black Eyed Peas, Motley Crue, Barry Manilow, Sixx AM, Given, Five for Fighting, Dolores O’Riordan, Fabrice Morvan, and Jennifer Knight, just to name a few.

Bennett wants dBu Ranch Recorders to be a destination studio, an all-inclusive recording experience. Almost every recording space has a mountain view. Peaceful and serene, what better way to record? The property has a swimming pool, hot tub, barbecue grill, and onsite lodging. The Valley Center area also offers off-site lodging, casinos, restaurants, hiking, bike riding, and wine tasting at the local wineries.