Mixing engineer Joe Zook has installed a 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos monitoring system in his new immersive studio, comprising seven KRK V Series V6s surrounding him, four V4s mounted on the ceiling and two S12.4 subwoofers under his desk.
For the past few years, Zook had been deploying KRK’s V4s as an auxiliary pair of mixing monitors. He was confident the brand would be the best fit for his new Dolby Atmos studio, too. “I’ve gotten very familiar with the KRK sound and really like the audio consistency across the entire V Series line. I simply trust that a good mix will feel right.”
He adds: “Some speakers sound amazing in one room and terrible in another; I haven’t experienced that with the KRKs. I think that’s a really important quality to have for Atmos mixing, as you have so many speakers in a room and not a lot of options on placement.”
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He also finds the S12.4 studio subwoofer to be a great value, offering a cost-effective solution for mixing bass-heavy tracks. “With the KRK sub, you really get a bang for your buck,” he says. “They have all the controls and connections that I want and can get the job done for about 300 percent less than the top-shelf subs.”
Zook played around Colorado and Texas in a variety of bands before discovering his passion for music production. After attending recording classes and landing an internship at a Los Angeles studio, he mixed everything from worldbeat and jazz records to ESPN fishing shows and political ads. He has since worked with artists such as Alessia Cara, AJR, OneRepublic, Modest Mouse, Katy Perry, Smokey Robinson and many others.
Since outfitting his Dolby Atmos studio, Zook has worked on both immersive and stereo mixes on projects such as Scott Helman’s “Pretty,” Tassia Zappia’s “Like Ooh” and Alessia Cara’s “Somebody Else.”
“Lately, any project that I’ve mixed in stereo has also required an Atmos version,” he says, “so I’ve been turning to my KRKs more and more to meet this new demand. I’ve also started working on older catalog albums that I originally mixed. I’m able to mix both stereo and Dolby Atmos recordings, and the artists have been thrilled with the results.”
