Cherry Beach Sound-Toronto recording studio

Welcome

Toronto recording studio Cherry Beach Sound is a full service studio for music, audio post production, commercial production, CD mastering and audio enhancement.

Our facility is rooted with 25 years of history and industry leadership, turning us into the multi-million dollar studio we are today. We provide an atmosphere of comfort and professionalism as a Toronto based recording studio. Cherry Beach Sound fosters creativity and celebrates diversity.

Archived News 2005-2006

Heads Up!

We’d like to congratulate Bob McDonald of Soapbox Productions, as a long time client of ours, on his success as the host and co-writer of the show Heads Up! Bob has used his experience as a science journalist and the host of Quirks and Quarks to create a show that “takes kids beyond the basics of the Big Dipper and the Moon and introduces them to the magical content and practical context of the night sky.” Heads Up! was nominated for two Gemini awards this year for “Best writing in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series” and for “Best Children’s or Youth Non-Fiction Program or Series”.

Watch Heads Up! this fall on TVO - Thursdays at 6:30pm and Saturdays at 11:00am.
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Life of the Giant Tortoise of the Galapagos

Theresa Montaino, in search of a balanced life, spent time shooting a documentary in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador and brought her finished piece to us for audio work. It's believed that a northern culture from Peru ruled by the Incas, the Chimu, were the first visitors in 1485.

From the 1600's to the 1700's The Galapagos Islands were pirates' favourite hideout and source for water and meat, particularly the giant tortoises - the reason for Theresa's expedition. She discovers how the people of these Islands live in balance with the other living creatures and with nature herself. Today they leave the giant tortoises alone and their motto is "it must be there for a reason, so let's not bother it.".
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The Producers

We had a treat on Friday September 8th, with the musical production “The Producers” brought to us by Jason Juenker, Head of Production at Networks Presentations in Maryland. As the cast of the New York show filled our facility with grace and professionalism, we had the chance to record vocals, percussion and tap dancing on our studio floor while they were here in Toronto. The session was recorded by Inaam Haq, with Stage Manager Trinity Wheeler, Company Manager Joel Herbst, Musical Supervisor John Mezzio, and Sound Designer Shannon Slaton. All in all, a very successful day that went flawlessly to everybody’s satisfaction! Visit them at www.producersonbroadway.com
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Barbra Preisman

Keep your eyes open for this young, blushing star, Barbra Preisman. She has been singing and writing her whole life and at the age of eighteen has devoted her days to her love for music. She came to the studio with an impressive and unique style that couldn’t be missed and is well on her way to development as an artist. We hope you enjoy a taste of her talent which we will be showcasing on the next podcast.
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Unquestioned Authority

L-R: John Speziali (b), Inaam Haq (eng/pro), Blair Gill (gtr), Brian Jeffels (d), Dave Fraser (lvox & gtr)

The hard working band from Newmarket has just completed their demo with some long days in the studio. Engineering and production by Inaam Haq with Gavin Firkser assisting... ...Also recently, tracking for avant garde pianist Ali Berkok... ...young and very talented singer Barbra Preisman, with Lance Anderson producing... Shooting, recording and motion capture in the studio for WowWee and Visual Music with director Richard Mortimer and audio supervisor Howard Forman.
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Our latest summer studio adventures...

Loyal clients Imprint Music in the studio for Bubbalicious and Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation... ...Mediatique add to our bilingual work with post production mixing for La Polygamie au Canada, a one hour French language documentary for SRC/RDI... ...Young rockers Unquestioned Authority with eight days in the studio for tracking and mix... ...Universal Music Group’s Chris Koster tracking with David Bottrill... ...Mastering for Reily...
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The Cherry On Top - Carrie Catherine

We proudly announce our new podcast recording with Carrie Catherine, interviewed by ANR Lounge's Anna Maria Russo. She talks about writing, working in the studio with producer Don Kerr, and winning funding as a selected artist from Saskatchewan to come to Toronto and record. Please visit our podcast page to hear her live, acoustic and original recording.
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Chris Koster

Kingstonian Chris Koster recently came to the studio working on tracks for his upcoming major label album with drummer Colin Blamire and producer David Bottrill (Peter Gabriel, King Crimson, Tool). Inaam Haq and David Stephan assisted. The album is expected early 2007. Check out Chris Koster on myspace, or at chriskoster.ca.
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Proxy Set - A Free Day in the Studio

Proxy Set are a group of funky dukes who promise to provide this land with finger-licking / meaty graffiti / blues / metal / trip / rock with a teaspoonful of soul. These proud winners of a day in the studio at Cherry Beach Sound came in to capture their best takes professionally. They were extremely happy guys at the end of the day. Engineered by Inaam Haq with Brandon Miranda and Brett Schinkel assisting.
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Ontario Power Authority

Cherry Beach Sound has completed work on the summer radio campaign for the Conservation Bureau, a division of Ontario Power Authority, and Ontario's Chief Energy Conservation Officer, Peter Love, promoting reduced electrical use. Ted Griffith of NATIONAL Public Relations was producer for the spots.
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SOPHIE MILMAN - Tour Rehearsal and Support

Juno nominated jazz singer Sophie Milman took over our warehouse rehearsal space to jam with her band warming up for their summer tour across the US set up by Linus Entertainment. Her luxurious vocal capabilities and fresh style made her downloads #1 on iTunes in the US last year. Her debut album has been released from Koch Entertainment in the USA and in Japan on JVC earlier this year.

Sophie Milman's band includes Cameron Wallis (sax), Paul Shrofel (piano), Rob Fahie (bass), and John Fraboni (drums).

Big show ticket October 28th at the Winter Garden Theater

For full tour dates visit www.sophiemilman.com.
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PRIME PRODUCTION OFFICE SPACE IS NOW AVAILABLE FOR RENT
Two 400 sq. ft offices available at 33 Villiers Street, featuring:

Parking, boardroom facility, washrooms, A/C and heat, Chubb 24-hour alarm, and direct access to all major arteries. (Lakeshore Blvd, DVP and Gardiner Expressway)

Please call Carman at 416-461-4224 for details.
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“THEE FRABONI”

With the understanding of balance between enclosure and orchestration of drivers and crossovers came the birth of the Tetra Speakers. Tetra's speakers’ invoke clarity, detail, harmonic fullness, plus expansive, room-filling ambience - the sweet spot is wide. We had a first hand look and listen to these babies at the studio when their founders brought them by last week. Impressive in sound quality, Carman is interested in getting a pair for his office. “The Tetra’s speakers were well balanced, warm and refreshing to listen to,” says Carm who has a love for well-made speakers.

Visit www.tetraspeakers.com.
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STUDIO RENOVATION – COMPLETE!

The expansion of our recording floor is complete. Designed by Martin Pilchner, the expansion allows us to incorporate our iso-booth into the main studio floor, with double-tracked sliding glass doors covering an opening that is 12 feet wide and 7 feet in height. This new 250 square foot iso-booth was architecturally and acoustically designed like our Control Room A and is appointed in the same signature red material. Our new expanded studio floor now covers 1200 square feet and once again, we have leapt forward to showcase our capabilities. We hope you enjoy it!
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The Cherry On Top - a new podcast series

Cherry Beach Sound has developed a unique collaboration with the ANR (All New Releases) Lounge to produce a podcast series, ‘The Cherry On Top’, where we will host interviews with featured Canadian artists which can be accessed on our podcast page.

Our goal is to create a professional, interactive space for artists to showcase their creativity and individuality, and have their message heard.

'The Cherry On Top' provides an intimate setting and allows you to explore artists' views on hot topics like the recording process and lyrical concepts, and gives you virtual access to jam sessions that have been professionally recorded in our studios. Check it out for access to the first two featured artists and their creative insights!
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Radio Electric

Bandmates Konnor, Tom and Jay, better known as Radio Electric, are currently in the studio at Cherry Beach Sound. Using vintage rock tones, the trio from Winnipeg has put a lot of time, money and effort into the creation of their first album, "File Under Rock." Listen to their podcast on this website, or check them out at myspace.com and radioelectric.net.
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EDS - A Billion Dollars

EDS (Electronic Data Systems Corp.) threw an event in Toronto this Wednesday that stirred up the city from end to end. Eight teams of eight travelled on foot or by limo to eight locations across town. At each location they had ten minutes to complete a task. Sounds a little bit like a reality TV show, doesn't it? Well you're on the right trail, because the whole concept and coordination was put together by Alan Bishop, creator of the reality TV show "Survivor". As each of the teams arrived at Cherry Beach Sound between 4 pm and 7 pm, they opened an envelope to discover their task was to record a verse from the song by The Barenaked Ladies, "If I had a Million Dollars", except the lyrics read, "When we are a billion dollars".
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High Volume

Friday March 31st panned out to be quite a successful day here at the studio. With three sessions for Inaam Haq to engineer, we were all hard at work. We still made time to dress up the sessions with fruit, pastries, and wine.

Dentsu Advertising Canada and Imprint Music completed a radio commercial for The Bochner Eye Institute. Our neighbours at The Docks Nightclub and Concert Theatre brought us their TV commercial to work on as they get ready to advertise for the summer season. Mediresource finalized work for OPA - Ontario Pharmacist Association, a voice over recording for a CD-ROM promoting smart medication for seniors and heart health for youth.
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Eggplant record for GM

Eggplant productions recently came in to do a 16 piece string recording for an upcoming GM spot. Steve D'Angelo of Eggplant conducted, with engineering by Inaam Haq. Alex Bonenfant assisted. The session was attended by MacLaren McCann reps with Rocco Gagliese and Nikki Drakul of Eggplant.
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Molson Canadian and Bonspiel

Chris Byrne of Bonspiel put Cherry Beach Sound to the test, working on a US spot for Molson Canadian, with a tight deadline to restripe before immediate telestreaming to stations across the US. Everything came together with time to spare. Nick Rawson engineered.
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Michael Jones mixes for TSN International in surround

Engineer Mike Jones came in to Cherry Beach Sound to mix music cues in surround with Bruce Fowler, for TSN International's World Junior Hockey Championship. Jones also mixed production demos for singer-songwriter David Leask.
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Christian Rock? Or not...

Peterborough natives Thousand Foot Krutch have been preparing for their upcoming tour on Cherry Beach Sound premises. Although the group has achieved most of their success on the Christian rock charts, they are ready to expand their horizons and break away from such a narrow category. Make sure you swing on by www.thousandfootkrutch.com and check out tour dates, or listen to some of their lyrical and quite captivating tunes!
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Sovereign Voice

Thursday evening we experienced the insight of Edwin Coppard. From Victoria, B.C., Edwin traveled to Toronto to lead a three-day workshop and evening seminar that was free of charge for people interested in his techniques and knowledge about vocal strengthening. If you are interested in reading more about the work of Edwin please go to www.realpeoplemusic.com. Edwin will also be in Toronto the last week of June hosting the same events.
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Cherry Beach Sound in association with ANR Lounge presents...
The Cherry Beach Podcast Page

If you don't know anything about podcasting, you should! It's an opportunity to get a taste of what's new in music. Simply access our podcast page through our website; click, listen and enjoy! Cherry Beach Sound will be launching the very first podcast segment in May, and every week we will be displaying a new act!
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Aurélie & Bruno Cormier

Brother and sister duo, Aurélie Cormier, mezzo-soprano and Bruno Cormier, baritone, originally from Chéticamp, Nova Scotia are preparing to release their debut CD, titled Départs, featuring 14 traditional Acadian folk songs, all arranged by Bruno Cormier. They are accompanied by Ana Maria Nunes on piano. Ms. Nunes is originally from Saint John, New Brunswick.

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Shoot Em Up

The area around Cherry Beach Sound has been treated to the sounds of sporadic gunfire and car chases, as flim crews shoot stunt scenes for the upcoming feature "Shoot Em Up, " starring Clive Owen. The second unit is directed by stunt coordinatoor Eddie Perez.
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Style by Jury

W Network's reality makeover show "Style By Jury" was on the premises shooting for one of their episodes, directed by Mitch Burman alongside executive producer Romano Dandrea. In this episode, confidence builder Edwin Coppard from Victoria, B.C. helps Bernice, gain confidence while she performs in the studio.
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Meisam

Persian artist Meisam came in with Reza Mogaddi, to do final mixing and mastering with engineer Inaam Haq. Meisam's album is slated for upcoming release in Canada and Iran. The album features master guitarist Babak Amini, who also produced and arranged.
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Cherry Beach Sound UP AND RUNNING with Imprint Music and Mr. Clean

Music composers Imprint Music recently came in, working on the latest spot for Mr. Clean, by agency Grey Worldwide. Cherry Beach Sound is officially back to business and FULLY OPERATIONAL, so spread the word! We are taking bookings.
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The Lord of the Rings

Now, as an original theatrical epic, The Lord of the Rings arrives on stage, and at Cherry Beach Sound for a vocal session. With a thrilling score, Music Supervisor Chris Nightingale and Conductor Rick Fox directed an ensemble of 16 spectacular cast members through an eclectic composition of dramatic music.

"A very pleasant atmosphere and excellent musical enviroment. They offer unlimited access to a very helpful staff. It was lovely." Phij Adams – Keyboard Programming and Music Technology

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ANR Lounge

The ANR Lounge extends its appreciation and gratitude to Cherry Beach Sound for helping produce an incredible presentation for Canadian Music Week in Toronto. With a near-impossible deadline of three days, the experts at the premier studio managed to pull through and produce an excellent 3 minute demonstration of the site that is sure to have its audience glued to the screen.

"When Cherry Beach Sound called to offer the studio's services I let out a big sigh of relief", says ANR Lounge project manager Anna Maria Russo. "I knew I was in good hands."

ANR (All New Releases) Lounge is an innovative online service to help recording artists reach Canadian radio. The ANR Lounge allows users to create a virtual promotional kit for their new release, including sound clips and images, for distribution to radio. This feature is now open to the public.

Carman Guerrieri with Anna Maria Russo from ANR Lounge.

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Julio Rodriguez and crew

Songwriter/Producer Julio Rodriguez recently came in to record a session with David Virelles (p), Larnell Lewis (d), Dustin Shaskin (b) and vocalist Lesley-Ann Reed. The group recorded several jazz-flavoured pop and social songs.

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Bill McBirnie up for 2006 National Jazz Awards

Jazz Flutist Bill McBirnie has been nominated in two categories for the upcoming 2006 National Jazz Awards, for Instrumentalist of the Year (Flute) and Album of the Year for his release “Paco Paco." The album features Bernie Senensky, Neil Swainson & John Sumner and was recorded and mixed by engineer Inaam Haq, at Cherry Beach Sound. This is the second album Bill has produced at Cherry Beach Sound. His previous album "Nature Boy," featuring the Mark Eisenman Trio, has garnered consistently excellent reviews internationally—in Canada, the US, Britain, Holland and France. Best of luck Bill!

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Rogers Music Centre

On Saturday, February 11th, we attended Rogers Music Centre's annual anniversary party. A humble attitude has been the driving force for RMC's owner Jimmi Daoud, bringing 30 years of product expertise, academic knowledge, and performing experience. Rogers Music Centre hosted a quaint gathering.

"We believe in preserving the arts in an industry built 'for musicians, by musicians' - that's why we are here to provide one thousand dollars of recording time at Cherry Beach Sound," Carman explained.

And the winner is MIKE CARUSO!
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CHERRY BEACH SOUND HIT BY BUS CRASH

Jan. 30/06 - Early in the morning approximately 6:40 am this Friday, two Gray Line buses were involved in a collision on Villiers Street, causing one of the buses to crash into the front exterior wall of the Munition Factory building, which houses Cherry Beach Sound recording studio, as well as Cherry Beach Rehearsal, Pro Rehearsal and other businesses.

Neither of the buses were carrying passengers and the driver of the bus that hit the building escaped with only minor injuries. The bus penetrated the building, destroying the front facade and damaging an interior main wall, coming to rest just inches from the studio's recently constructed Control Room A. leaving it intact. The office for Pro Rehearsal was destroyed, and power to the recording studios had to be temporarily taken offline.

Amidst substantial media attention, emergency workers worked throughout Friday to extricate the bus and shore up the building. The bus was removed without further structural damage and the safety and integrity of the building has been maintained. Full power for the recording studios is to be restored by Wednesday, Feb. 1.

In spite of this temporary setback, Cherry Beach Sound is still open for business and taking bookings. We are committed to continue operating for our valued clients, with a minimum of disruption as we rebuild. We wish to thank everyone for their support and well wishes!

Feb 10/06 - "The walls that had been damaged are now up, the power is back on, and we should be up and running shortly. Thanks to everyone for the hundreds of emails and phone calls that we're still getting on a daily basis," says Carman Guerrieri, owner of Cherry Beach Sound, commenting on the state of studio. Rehearsal clients should know that the rehearsal studios have not been adversely affected, but access to the rehearsal area is temporarily from the East side of the building, until the front entrance is complete.

Considering we have been down for a week, we are taking the opportunity to expand the live studio floor. Martin Pilchner and his team, from Pilchner & Shoustal, have been working on the blueprints for what will be the 1200 square foot studio floor. The expansion will feature double-tracked sliding glass doors, 12 feet wide and 7 feet in height. These double glass doors will open up to a 250 square foot soundproof space; closed, they will segregate the space as an isolation booth. Our imagination is leaping forward with the possibilities of the new space.
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TMX at Toronto Convention Centre

Cherry Beach Sound was happy to exhibit at the first ever Toronto Music Expo (TMX), held at the Metro Toronto Convention Center this past November, where we were joined by many other vendors offering services to interested musicians. With live performances by acts including Jeff Healey and Jully Black, a fun time was had by all.
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Mixing for Médiatique

Médiatique, a French language documentary production company, completed "La Charia au Canada," a two part documentary, at Cherry Beach Sound with engineer Inaam Haq. Produced by Danièle Caloz, executive producer and Isabelle Combre, producer, and directed by Dominique Cardona, the documentary takes a look at the debate and history around Sharia law in Canada. A coproduction of Médiatique Inc., Les Chaînes Télé Astral, and L’Office Nationale du Film du Canada.
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Imprint Music and Ford Canada

Young & Rubicam were in house working with Fraser MacDougall and Mike Rosnick of top commercial music company, Imprint Music, to produce a television ad for Ford Canada. Mike Jones engineered the session in studio A, assisted by Inaam Haq. Michael White conducted.

Imprint music has worked with Cherry Beach Sound closely, mixing spots for agencies including Grip Ltd., Publicis, Bensimon-Byrne, Enterprise Creative Selling, Grey Worldwide, and Dentsu Canada.
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Michael Banton-Jones

With many years of experience at studios such as Decca (England), Sounds Interchange, McClear Digital and others, Michael Banton-Jones finds himself enriching Cherry Beach Sound with his expertise. Mike has recorded throughout Europe and North America. He has received many awards and gold/platinum albums for his work with a diverse group of artists and a variety of music scores for feature films and TV movies.

Mike recently recorded and mixed TV spots with Imprint Music, for Honda Canada and CIBC at our studio and as he enjoyed his time here, we will be seeing more of him. Recently Mike has put his expertise to good use in the surround medium. "When dealing with music for surround, there is great latitude for experimentation," he says. "But it's the years of our collective musical sensibilities that help bring the music to life."

"Professional studios are a shrinking commodity in this city. So it was a refreshing change to work at a downtown state of the art facility whose staff's only goal is to make the session go well and to see to it that the clients needs are fulfilled. Cherry Beach Sound is such a facility."

A prolific producer and engineer, Mike Jones has an impressive list of credits which you can view in Our Heart.
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Lucidream

Calgary-based genre benders Lucidream were at Cherry Beach Sound recording and mixing their album Choose the Madness. The band blends hip hop, rock, spoken word,and flamenco guitar to create their unique sound. Engineered by Inaam Haq and Alex Bonenfant.
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50 Cent films

International rap artist 50 cent spent a few days at Cherry Beach Sound, shooting scenes for his feature film. Exterior shots plus scenes in the entire studio were filmed, including a scene with our very own co-op student Luis Fino, playing the role of an engineer.
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Vaccaro mixes Evolution DVD in 5.1

As an introduction to his unique style and new technology, virtuoso guitarist Aldo Vaccaro has released the DVD/CD Evolution, to showcase his innovative tapping/fingerstyle technique and specially modified guitars. The disc features a collection of videos mixed in 5.1 surround, plus an album of music. The first single, "Angel City," was picked up by Universal Music for their "New Rock Anthems" compilation.

Album mixing, surround remixing and mastering was engineered by Inaam Haq. DVD authoring was also completed at Cherry Beach Sound by Ronen Tokayer and Inaam Haq. Visit vaccaro.ca.
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Armstrong Partnership and Mastercard

Long time clients Armstrong Partnership recently came in to do corporate promos for Mastercard. Engineered by Inaam Haq.
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Cherry Beach Sound - Mix Magazine Class of 2005

Our new control room A was highlighted by industry publication MIx Magazine for their Class of 2005 issue, featuring the top rooms to come out in the past year.
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Professional Sound covers Cherry Beach Sound

Canadian music industry publication Professional Sound recently devoted a cover story on Cherry Beach Sound's new expansion.

Cherry Beach Sound – A Passionate Commitment to Music

Cherry Beach Sound in Toronto has recently undergone a $1 million renovation and redeployment of its 30,000 square-foot facility, and the results are breathtaking. The magnificent new Control Room 1, the centerpiece of the renovation, is a surround mix room featuring a 56-input SSL 6000 console, Studer A-827 analog 24-track tape recorder, 48-track 192 kHz capable Pro Tools HD system, and Genelec 1034B 5.1 surround monitor system. more

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