I was entering the third day of mixing an album at Jackpot! Recording Studio for a client who I really enjoy working with. We were doing remote mixing sessions using my console and a lot of outboard gear. I’d mixed six of the eight songs and gotten signoffs, so it seemed like the project could progress at a leisurely pace. We’d recently purchased two new high-amperage power conditioner units to replace our aging Furman ones, and I’d powered them up, along with a third for our Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console.
About 30 minutes in, unbeknownst to me, a small plane tragically crashed through some power lines and into a condominium a few miles east of my studio. Our building power flickered off and on in a really strange way, with overhead lights flashing and recording equipment doing the same. This prompted me to instantly save my computer session (the computer is on an uninterruptable power source [UPS] battery backup). I then powered down my various monitors, console, and everything else, looked at the main circuit breaker panel (it was normal), looked around outside (seemed typical), and then slowly powered up all the gear again. For a couple of minutes everything seemed okay, and then – pow! – the monitors, converters, computer screen (not on UPS), and monitor controller all shut off. I powered everything down again, but this time I could smell something I knew far too well.
When I was in high school, it must have been the tail end of actual budgets for education in the US. We had an electronics department with several years of classes one could take, and you can bet I took advantage of that! But since we were stupid bored kids, we’d take a variable DC power supply, clip the leads to an unwitting resistor, and slowly raise the voltage as our teacher was explaining how transistors work. At some point, there’d be a little flash and smoke as the resistor fried, and we’d get scolded. That’s exactly the smell I was picking up now, but where was it coming from? Logic dictated that it was the power conditioner unit, and when I got near it I could smell the “burnt resistor” aroma even stronger. I immediately called my wonderful studio manager, Zach Bloomstein. (Of course, he was about to go on a quick vacation, because when you plan anything in your personal life that’s when studio gear breaks down!) He recommended I swap the suspicious power conditioner out with an older Furman AR-1220 unit that we’d kept on hand. I did so, and in about 30 minutes I was back up and running with no further issues.
Oxford Languages defines the word redundancy, when used in an engineering context, as “the inclusion of extra components which are not strictly necessary to functioning, in case of failure in other components.” At Jackpot! we have multiple redundant pieces of gear, as well as numerous contingency plans. When equipment fails and studio sessions stop that means we don’t get paid. Many of our bookings involve artists from out of town, people on tight timelines, and hired musicians that are on the clock. We cannot afford to stop working. So, in order to keep all of our sessions on track, here’s a list of our redundant gear and workarounds that keep Jackpot! running:
Main Power Conditioners: As noted above, have an extra. We have two backups right now. Make sure these units are the same form factor as the installed ones, and that they can handle the amperage needed.
Monitors: Most studios have a few speaker pairs set up all the time, and that helps. We have an extra small set ready, plus Zach or I can bring in monitors from our home studios if needed.
Monitor Controllers: Many years ago, our old console would occasionally fry the CMOS chips that controlled the monitor section. I had a bag full of these chips and I also put an IC socket in for quick replacement. Now Jackpot! has two identical Dangerous Music Monitor ST units. (One lives in a box in our storage area.) We also have spare Cat 5 cables for the remote.
Headphone System: We use the no-longer-made Furman HRM/HDS-16 system, and the studio is fully wired with Centronics 50-pin connectors for these unique units. I think we currently own three rack mounted distribution units, as well as 12 of the headphone mixers (they take a beating), plus extra Centronics cables.
Console: Okay, owning a second RND 5088 mixer might not be practical or financially possible, but since all great consoles are modular we have some spare channels that can be dropped in. If all else fails, we can turn off the console and create a virtual one in Pro Tools. I’ve done this at other studios for tape tracking sessions when there weren’t enough channels on the console.
Tape Decks: We have two operating Otari MX80 2-inch tape decks (set up for 16 and 24-track), extra head assemblies for each, a full extra parts deck in my garage, extra audio cards, three remotes, and more. If one deck crashes completely we can swap cards and headstacks to the other deck, calibrate, and keep tracking or mixing. For our 1/4-inch deck we have a number of extra audio cards. However, we can always mix into digital if needed.
Digital Converters: We’ve been using a BURL Mothership as the main converter for many years. A few years ago, I wanted to get rid of the “other brand” converter that we used for extra channels, so I bought an “empty” used Mothership for a decent price (thank you, Vintage King!). I sent it to BURL for upgrades, and now we have 36 inputs and 40 outputs, plus a stereo AES digital I/O. The best thing about this is that we now have two Motherships and, if the main one goes down, we can swap cards and keep running with at least 24 inputs and 32 outs. The modularity of the Mothership is a big selling point for me.
Computer: We back up everything with Backblaze online, record audio to an external (RAID 1) drive, and we beg engineers to make daily copies of their work and take their drives home. If our Mac Studio computer completely fails, it is all backed up online so we could purchase a new one and set it up. I could also bring my Mac mini from home, plug it in, and keep working fairly quickly. We’re currently working on an easy system to swap in any engineer’s own computer as well.
Items like outboard gear, microphones, cables, DI boxes, mic stands, headphones, and such are usually already redundant in most studios and home setups. But outside of a power outage (I wish I had a battery backup for the whole studio!), Jackpot! can always do a quick reset and keep sessions running for our awesome clients. Plus, Zach and I can take vacations without worry! 
