KORN LEANS HARD ON LAVRY ENGINEERING: WALL OF LAVRYBLUE, PLUS LAVRYGOLD AD-122 AT THE KORN STUDIO TO TRACK & MIX

LOS ANGELES: Korn’s reputation as one of the decade’s most innovative hard rock acts is set in stone. But what keeps them on top goes beyond their explosive songs and unforgettable live performances – it starts with their recordings. When Korn engineer Jim Monti goes to work at The Korn Studio in the famed hills of Hollywood, he has the sharpest audio tools in the shed.

“They’ve been a groundbreaking band since the moment they debuted,” states Monti. “Now they’ve reunited with Ross Robinson, who produced the first two Korn albums that launched their career. He’s back again, bringing out the most brutal, honest and heavy Korn album in 10 years.”

At the core of Korn’s sound is the equally remarkable A/D and D/A performance of Lavry Engineering conversion. At The Korn Studio, a full 24 channels of LavryBlue A/D are on hand, and 48 channels of LavryBlue D/A. At mixdown time, the LavryGold AD122-96MKIII ensures the most musical path on the way to mastering.     

Korn was originally introduced to the full frequency response and extreme transparency of Lavry Engineering conversion on their 2001 album Untouchables. “They learned about them from producer Michael Beinhorn,” Monti explains. “The whole band is very tech-savvy, and very interested in cutting-edge fidelity. After weeks of shooting out different converters, they landed on Lavry.

“On this album, we tracked through a vintage Neve console, going straight to tape on a Studer 827 two-inch machine. From there, all the takes were dumped into Pro Tools straight through the LavryBlues, and overdubs went through them as well. We listened back through the SSL via the Lavry D/A’s, and we rely on them in the mix phase as well.”

After years of working with Korn as their in-house engineer at The Korn Studio, it’s safe to say that Monti has become a Lavry convert himself. “For tracking, the LavryBlue’s ability to capture transients is unparalleled among any converter I’ve ever used,” he says. “You capture absolutely everything you hear going in, with an incredible amount of clarity and depth. There’s great depth in the low end with a crystal high end -- nothing is lost in the tones of the recording.       

“The LavryBlues are also really hard to distort. You can maximize the bit depth on every track, because you can push them into the red and there’s no clipping. If you do that with other converters, you’re just running the risk of nasty distortion and other digital garbage.”   

With 48 channels of D/A available, LavryBlue keeps Korn happy in the mix phase. “Mixing back into the console, that performance is reproduced again in the D/A’s,” says Monti. “Korn has so much low end in their music, and the super clear low end of the LavryBlue is perfect for that. Also, you don’t get any nasty digital harshness by adding up all these outputs on the console.”

Last in Korn’s signal path is a LavryGold AD122-96MKIII. “When we’re done mixing, we print the mixes straight from the console through the LavryGold,” Monti confirms. “Mastering guys love when we send mixes to them. We usually print to ½” and 1” tape, but the LavryGold wins every time. You never have to squash mixes going through there – you don’t have to print hot if you don’t want to, because the dynamic range it captures is so fat.”    

The LavryBlue Modular A/D D/A Conversion System provides 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96kHz sampling frequencies, and can be configured in 2 to 8 channels A/D, D/A  or a combination of both, and is also available along with MicPre modules in one space-saving unit. The LavryBlue’s A/D cards allow the selection of various word lengths, Analog or Digital soft saturation, and dither with αβC αcoustic βit Correction® noise shaping. Other features include LED metering, reference meter mode, peak detection and front panel gain control. Lavry’s extremely transparent conversion may use internal crystals or externally lock to Word Clock or AES signal.

Featuring a -127dB dynamic range, 0.00005% total harmonic distortion + noise, built-in αβC αcoustic βit Correction® noise shaping, and more, the Lavry Engineering AD122-96MKIII provides Germano Studios’ clients with extreme accuracy and the full frequency response that they require for true 24-bit digital audio. Additional key features include selectable digital soft-knee limiter, +3 or +6dB gain, precision reference meter bridge, fully programmable digital test tones for system alignment, AES and word clock external synchronization 40-51kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, DC removal, absolute polarity inversion, and multi-converter synchronization.

“Korn is always trying to push the limits of what’s possible in terms of technology,” Jim Monti says to sum it up. “They have sound bigger and huger than anyone else. It’s a complete Lavry chain here, from beginning to end.”

Jim Monti can be reached for bookings through Barbara Sealy at SB Music Management Los Angeles (323) 965-1994.
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About Lavry Engineering:
Lavry Engineering, located in Poulsbo, Washington, was founded by digital audio expert Dan Lavry in 1993. The company specializes in products for professional audio, broadcast, audiophile and surround markets designed to satisfy the growing demand for hi-res digital audio performance. Lavry Engineering’s Gold, Black and Blue product lines offer a range of systems accommodating a wide range of budgets and applications. For more information, please visit www.lavryengineering.com.
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