Miami’s iconic Bay Eight Studios recently reopened after a lockdown refurbishment with a brand new Genelec monitoring system at its core. And according to studio owner Matthew DeFreitas, the new monitors have helped breathe new life into the storied facility.
Founded by Grammy Award-winner Fabio ‘Estefano’ Salgado and developed from a John Arthur and Bret Lambert design in 2000, the 1,700-square-foot studio rapidly established itself as the epicenter of his productions of Latin American crossover artists. Among its most esteemed clients are such stars as Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Thalía and Enrique Iglesias.
In 2015, Bay Eight was acquired by current owner DeFreitas, who has slowly but surely applied his own personal touch to the place, revamping its aesthetic where applicable and upgrading its audio spec to ensure the most advanced possible offering for incoming talent. His most recent investment came in the form of a pair of Genelec 8361A ‘The Ones’, supplemented by the company’s GLM room calibration software.
“We were supposed to get the speakers for our B room, but Genelec sent us a demo pair and we ended up buying them for our A room because we loved them so much,” DeFreitas explains. “I’ve always been a Genelec fan, the craftsmanship and the quality is always taken care of. We do a lot of Latin music and hip-hop and it perfectly fits the mould of what we were looking for. But they are so versatile. They produce a lot more than other competitors I put in the room. From stereo width and low-end, I just felt like I was hearing and feeling a lot more than I do with any other speakers, and I tried a lot of other products! And I really like the design. The look of studios is always changing, so it’s nice to have something interesting to look at, they aren’t just a standard-looking box.”
As for the GLM software, DeFreitas insists that it has provided previously unheard levels of versatility.
“We have four different settings,” he continues. “In our A room we have a side door that goes into a live room, and sometimes we leave that door open, which changes the room a little bit. So, we have a setting with the door open and with it closed. We also have a producer setting, so if a producer is sitting on the couch behind the engineer, we’ll switch the setting so they can sit at the back of the room. Then we’ll switch back to our mix mode when we’re sitting up front.”
