Gino Vannelli: Still Sounding Great,
With The Help Of Auralex
by Eric Smith, Auralex Founder & President

Since the 1970s, multi-platinum singer-songwriter-performer Gino Vannelli has been making some of the best-sounding recordings on the market. While he hasn't charted in awhile and some of you might not be familiar with Gino's work, his recordings have been garnering accolades for their sound since he was nominated for the GRAMMY® for Best Engineered Album in 1974 and 1975. (Gino was also nominated in 1979 for the GRAMMY® for Best Male Pop Artist.)

Watch the following 30 second video showcasing Gino and a few of his biggest hits! (may take a few moments to load)

Gino's brothers, Joe and Ross, have been instrumental in helping craft Gino's songs and sound over the years, and both have successful careers in their own right. I had the pleasure of having a dinner of great Italian food and red wine with Joe and Ross the last time I was in Los Angeles, and found that they're both genuine, talented, down-to-earth people. It's through them that Gino became familiar with Auralex.

As Gino's recording career evolved through various record labels over the years, he found it necessary to build his own studio. Like many folks, though, Gino found that his place had excessive reflections and bass build-up that were getting in the way of capturing the pristine sound he was known for. Due to the high marks Ross Vannelli had given Auralex from treating and constructing two private-use facilities for himself, Gino decided to treat his studio with Auralex products. Once he looked at what we had available, he made the decision to implement Auralex Studiofoam Pyramids and LENRD Bass Traps.

Gino said, "My new vocal booth had predominant energy between 350Hz and 600Hz, so I spread Auralex Pyramids around the walls and installed LENRD Bass Traps where the side walls meet the ceiling. Presto—problem solved. I started recording my latest CD, These Are The Days, without hesitation. The Auralex products quickly and easily took care of that boxy, closed-in sound small rooms can tend to have without taking the life away from the room. Timely resolutions to timeless problems—nice work, folks at Auralex."

After these Auralex treatments worked so well for him, Gino and his engineer also decided to implement Auralex SonoSuede panels in the control room over the mix position.  Gino's engineer reports that the imaging from their ultra-expensive loudspeakers is dramatically improved by the SonoSuede panels.

While his earlier work featured heavily layered synthesizer sounds, his recent work relies primarily on acoustic instruments, thus making acoustical control all the more important. Long known for his pristine vocal sound and the incredible power he exhibits throughout his wide range, Gino can really excite a room, especially a small one, so taming the acoustics of his vocal booth was of supreme importance to Gino.

Hotel images provided by Leonardo Media Services B.V

We're honored that he placed his trust in Auralex products. I've long been a fan of the Vannelli brothers' work, so I'm especially happy Auralex has been able to help them sound their best.  Gino recently received rave reviews on the sound from his live shows at the Flamingo in Las Vegas, a Harrah's property, which is run by his brother, Ross, at FOH (front of house). In fact, hotel guests and ticketholders commented that Gino had the best-sounding show they had ever heard at that venue. That's saying quite a bit, given the performers who've headlined at the Flamingo over the years! Knowing how finicky Gino and Ross are about their sound, I have no doubt the show sounds fantastic. Gino is a highly dynamic live performer and puts on a fantastic show.

Harrah's management team was so impressed with Gino's show that they booked Gino for three more shows at their New Orleans property for the benefit of New Orleans charities. The shows quickly sold out and the audiences raved about them!  After that, it was back to the Flamingo in Las Vegas for a few more shows.  To see a clip of Gino’s Las Vegas performance and tour dates, click on his website link at the bottom on the page.

Gino’s back in the studio in the Pacific Northwest working on a new project with top-notch Dutch musicians he's raving about.  Auralex provided additional treatments for this project and they worked so well that Gino’s engineer reports he’s now hearing other sonic anomalies that were previously masked by the rooms’ former acoustics!  So, Auralex is in discussions with Gino’s engineer about what additional treatments he’d like to add to the rooms to attend to the newly discovered sound issues.  Stay tuned to this page for more in-depth coverage of Gino’s studio as additional treatments are implemented and the recording project progresses.

Speaking about his Auralex experiences, which over the years have, at a couple different facilities, included various types and thicknesses of Studiofoam, LENRD Bass Traps, RC-8 Resilient Channels, SheetBlok Sound Barrier and more, Ross Vannelli reported to us about his latest studio, "Auralex products transformed a very ordinary 20x20 space into a controlled sound environment that allows me to make crucial decisions while tracking instruments, recording vocals, mixing and, at times, mastering. I'm able to judge bass frequencies more evenly throughout my room. I cannot imagine my recording studio without Auralex LENRD Bass Traps in my corners, LENRDs on stands beside my monitors and 4 inch Studiofoam Pyramids on all my walls."

Auralex is proud to be a part of keeping the sound of Gino and Ross Vannelli as controlled and pristine as their experienced, award-winning ears demand.

To visit the official Gino Vannelli website, click here. To visit a fan site with up-to-date news and extensive information, click here.