‘In the past year we probably had around 100 platinum records recorded through these consoles,’ says House Of Hits owner, Vinny DeLeon, indicating two Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition desks that he now owns – he first is in the original Miami recording studio and the second at the heart of House Of Hits Phase II, which opened in July, yet was still on the drawing board just a few months ago.
DeLeon has big ambitions for his House Of Hits: ‘We are the go-to luxury recording studio in Miami,’ he says. ‘This time I tried to go the extra mile, make it even more modern – more ‘2035.’
Besides the 24-channel Audient with patchbay and some carefully chosen outboard, the newest control room also boasts a fish tank. ‘I think the vibe is truly amazing,’ he says.
People’s reactions to the space (‘just jaw-dropping’) seem to be boosting the ststudios’ output. ‘I got another two Billboard number ones with Daddy Yankee in the last month and six of my records reached 100m streams on both YouTube and Spotify,’ he boasts
This reflects the level of repeat business, suggesting that clients are appreciating it too. ‘I don’t know if it’s one specific thing or a blend – the vibe, the build, the analogue gear, the Audient console. People just love everything.’
According to DeLeon, House Of Hits team members, as well as visiting engineers, have nothing but praise for the desk. ‘The fact that it’s an inline console makes for an easy workflow and the quality is amazing,’ he says. ‘The built-in patchbay makes it simple and straightforward, too. It has just been seamless.’
Despite his online alter ego as multi-platinum mixing engineer Mr Mix & Master and confessing to ‘not being the most analogue mixer’, DeLeon now works on the Audient desk on a daily basis.
‘I went from using a laptop and headphones to an analogue console with $60k speakers, and the transition has been quicker than I thought. I get great results as my sounds have gotten super-sized.’
Having recently recorded Busta Rhymes on an El Alfa remix for ‘La Mamá de la Mamá’ (‘a massive record’) as well as mixing the new Black Eyed Peas single featuring Mariah, he’s certainly been busy. And now that his dream of opening a second studio has become a reality, he is keen to up the anté on record label. ‘I’m opening up another four rooms across the street for my new artists and writers,’ he says. ‘My producer – two-time Grammy award winning Vinny Venditto – and I are working on a lot of big records right now. I’m really excited about the future.’
He is also talking about working with his acoustician and studio builder, Christopher Bentley to expand further. ‘With this business model we have such a great presence online – number one on Google for recording studios in Miami, more than 300 reviews and a 4.9 rating – that we are going to go for the moon and franchise it in other cities, like Los Angeles and New York.’
