Vancouver studio designer John Vrtacic has been designing and maintaining audio production studios for, as he says, ‘at least 25 years.’ In that time he has gained a unique perspective on developments in the audio industry.

Through his company, Vrtacic Design, Vrtacic has designed many of Vancouver’s top audio studios, including the late Little Mountain Sound Studios, where Vrtacic spent nearly 19 years as chief technical director. Vrtacic has also designed studios for Wayne Kozak Audio Productions, Electronic Arts, Bryan Adams, Mushroom Studios and many others.

‘I specialize in designing professional recording studios,’ Vrtacic explains. ‘That means acoustically, ergonomically and physically. I make the drawings and then do the installation and maintenance of the electronic equipment that goes into the studio.’

A studio’s basic infrastructure is very important to Vrtacic.

‘It has to be laid out so it functions properly. Also, environmentally, [it must have] proper air conditioning, ventilation, lights and soundproofing. You want the physical ergonomics of the space to make sense. [For example], if you have to go to the washroom, you don’t want to have to go through a maze of 55 doors.’

The advent of digital production has certainly had a great effect on the audio industry. On a studio design level, Vrtacic has had to adjust.

‘I’m always upgrading my approach [toward the] installation of electrical wires in the new studios that I build,’ he says. ‘We do it in such a way that it gives minimum interference to the digital equipment.’

The veteran designer also must customize a studio’s plans for its intended purpose. For example, a decade ago there would be little difference between a studio for commercial audio and one for recording music albums. Now, commercial studios are almost entirely digital and rarely employ large bands or orchestration.

Album studios, on the other hand, must comfortably accommodate large groups of musicians and their inevitable entourage. Plus, Vrtacic explains, ‘they like to see more traditional equipment, such as larger mixing boards, analog tape machines, and lots of tube-type equipment.’

After a quarter of a century’s involvement in the business, Vrtacic has developed some strong opinions on the direction of audio production.

He is quick to point out that despite the quick and efficient digital recording systems, ‘I don’t know how much time we’re saving overall. Now you can just go over and over and over and change everything.’ In the past, without the editing ease of digital, Vrtacic describes a point where the producer would simply have to stop and say, ‘That’s enough.’

According to Vrtacic, the future of the industry is jeopardized by a cocooning effect. Digital allows for one person to produce the same project that in years past would have required a team.

‘They’re going into their basements,’ Vrtacic laments of today’s producers. ‘It’s efficient, but they’re also losing the opportunity for criticism. In the past, if you worked in a production studio with 20 people, there was always somebody in the group that could listen and say, ‘Hmm, I don’t know – I don’t like this’ before you presented it to a client.’

Vrtacic would also like to see young producers ‘spending more time learning about sound production, rather than learning about technology.’

He cautions that time may be running out for the tech-obsessed young audio producers to inherit the wisdom of their elders: ‘The old-timers are going to retire soon, and the newcomers may not have opportunities to learn.’