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Located in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, Narwhal Studios is a collaboration between producer / drummer Brian Deck and producer / drummer Jim Gifford. Occupying the space of Brian's previous studio, Engine, where hundreds of great recordings were made by artists like Modest Mouse and Iron and Wine, Narwhal is a modern take on a classic analog studio.
Our goal is simple: to create the best environment for making creative music. Featuring great sounding rooms with lots of natural light we added the best consoles available, a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Shelford and an SSL 4040, as well as lots of analog outboard gear, great mics and cool instruments.
We are picky people who push ourselves to bring out the best in our clients and our studios reflect that. We think that making great music requires an inspiring environment and Narwhal is our favorite place to do just that.
~ Brian & Jim
STUDIO A
Studio B
Cool stuff
albums made at narwhal
Videos
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brian deck
Partner / Producer
I like music to at once feel familiar, emotionally engaging and uniquely captured. I draw on years as a touring member of Red Red Meat, Orso and Ugly Casanova as well as my music education from Northern Illinois University. My approach can be heard on records by Ohmme, In Tall Buildings, Iron and Wine, Modest Mouse, Counting Crows, Califone, Josh Ritter and many others.
Jim Gifford
Partner / Producer
Jim recently produced guitarist Chris Poland’s full length “Resistance” as well as Felicia Patton & the Chicago Soul Revue’s full length “In or Out”. He has recorded or performed with bassist Mike Gordon (Phish), guitarist Chris Poland (OHM, formerly Megadeth), guitarist Guthrie Govan (The Aristocrats), bassist Billy Dickens (The Meters), bassist Percy Jones (Brian Eno, Brand X), Phil Tarver, Anita Wilson, Sam Beam (Iron & Wine), Rhymefest, Malcolm Jamal Warner and Rudy Ray Moore among others.
Wesley reno
Engineer
My approach to recording is to document the emotional impact of a moment in music for it to tell a story for many years. As a songwriter and performer in Snake Pond, I have worked to amplify my own musical expression, and I extend that expertise to the artists I work with. Among those are Alex Dupree, Taxi, Fake English, Calicoloco, China Rose, Sick Day, Billy Dickens, Chicago Uniting Voices, and many more.
PAUL NORMAN
Engineer
In over two decades of recording and touring Paul has worked with Patti LaBelle, D’Angelo, Steve Aoki, Isaiah Sharkey, Dee Snyder, Lupe Fiasco, Ernest Dawkins, Calvin Bridges, Lemmie Battles, Byron Stingily, Manny Torres and many others. Paul is known for his meticulous approach to music and his flip flops.
Gear
Mic Pre’s and EQ’s:
40 ch SSLSL611G
16 ch Rupert Neve Designs 5052
2X Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel
Rupert Neve Designs 5012
Tube Tech MP 2A
Millennia Media HV37
Ampex 600
Ampex 601
Focusrite ISA Two Dual Mic Pre
Vintech 273 Dual Mic Pre/eq
2X Warm WA 412
4X Scully 280 B with custom interface for 20db pad, 48v and phase switch
Electrodyne E 802 w/ 6x M 100 A mic pre’s and 2 B 100 line inputs
2X Manley Mid EQ
2X Meyer Sound CP-10 Dual EQ
Microphones:
AKG C414 XLS
AKG D112
Avantone SSM
Blue Dragonfly
Blue Hummingbird
3X Beyer Dynamic M160
Chameleon Labs TS 1 mkII
5X Coles 4038
2X ElectroVoice RE 10
2X ElectroVoice RE 11
2X ElectroVoice RE 15
2X ElectroVoice RE 16
ElectroVoice RE18
2X ElectroVoice RE 20
2X ElectroVoice RE 55
2X ElectroVoice 635a
Gofer RFT VEB w/ UM 70 Capsule
Heil PR 48
Lauten FC 357
2X Lauten LA 120
Mesanovic Model 1
Neumann U87ai
2X SE Voodoo VR1
2X SE 5
2X Sennheiser MD 421
2X Sennheiser e609
Sennheiser e602-II
Sennheiser e901
Sennheiser e835
Shure Unidyne SM 57
Shure SM 82
Shure Beta 52a
3x Warm Audio WA-47 Jr
2X Warm Audio WA 87
Consoles:
SSL 4040 G+
Rupert Neve Designs 5088 Shelford 16 Channel
Soundcraft Sapphyre 40 Channel with Jim Williams mods by Creation Audio Labs
Monitors:
ATC SCM 100ASL Pro
Dynaudio Acoustics BM6a
Genelec 1039A
Recorder:
Pro Tools HDX w/UAD Octo PCIe card and UAD Octo Thunderbolt Satellite
Antelope Orion32 HD audio interface (x2)
UAD Apollo x16 audio interface
Dynamics:
Alan Smart C2 Compressor
Aphex Compellor 320A Dual Compressor
Aphex Dominator II Dual Compressor
3X Aphex 651 Compressor
Rupert Neve Designs 5043 Dual Compressor
Rupert Neve Designs Master Bus Processor
2x Rupert Neve Designs Shelford Channel
2X Urei LA22 Dual Compressor
2X Urei LA4
2X Purple Audio MC77
2X Tube Tech CL 1B
Effects:
Bricasti M7 Reverb
Bi Amp MR140 Spring Reverb
Tascam RS 20B Dual Spring Reverb
Pioneer tube spring reverb
Delta Lab ADM 1020 Digital Delay 1/4”
Delta Lab ADM 256 Digital Delay
TC Electronic 1210
2X Yamaha D1500 Digital Delay
Drums:
Yamaha Maple Custom: 22, 18, 16, 13, 12
C&C Mahogany: 20, 14, 12
Ludwig Vistalite: 24, 18, 16, 13, 12
Amps:
Fender Super Reverb 4x10
Fender Bassman 4x10
Top Hat King Royale 2x12
Fender Super 60 1x15
Mesa Express 5:25 1x12
Vox Cambridge Reverb 1x10
Fender Excelsior 1x15
Thunderfunk TFB 500 Bass Amp
Ampeg B15N Bass Amp
Keys:
Hammond B2 with Trek Percussion & Leslie Cabinet
Yamaha C7 Grand Piano
Baldwin Acrosonic Spinet Piano
Rhodes 73 Electric Piano
Oberheim OB-8
Yamaha CS-15 Synthesizer
Yamaha YC-45D Organ
Yamaha CP-80 Electric Piano with MIDI
Contact Us
LOCATION
1644 North Honore Street
Chicago, IL, 60622
