Carl Tatz Design (CTD) has received a 34th Annual TEC Award nomination for studio design for the recently completed The Upper Deck, one of its most unique and impressive studios to date for a prominent MLB player who spends off-season with his wife in their Nashville, TN home.

Highlights include a PhantomFocus MixRoom featuring Carl Tatz Design PFM 2200-HD monitors, a Tree Audio Roots Gen II Console, a custom-designed desk by Sound Construction & Supply and Carl Tatz Signature Series acoustic modules by Auralex.

Leveraging the placement of the existing rooflines and structural beams, Carl Tatz was able to configure a tracking room with a neutral sonic footprint and visual appeal. Three stereo pairs of Crown PZM microphones are strategically mounted on the tracking room’s multi-gabled 18-foot-high ceilings, taking full advantage of the unique acoustics.

The owners of The Upper Deck insisted on maximum sound isolation between the studio and the rest of the home as well as outside. This was achieved with enhanced room-within-room construction with layers of 3/4" laminated glass used in the window assemblies.

A custom privacy staircase entrance, built to access the second-story studio directly from outside, leads to an inside stairway funneling into the entrance vestibule between the MixRoom and tracking room, which doubles as a quiet machine room and iso booth. Great care was taken to accommodate sight lines, ergonomics and traffic flow. "Every once in a while a project will present itself as a Rubik’s Cube, and when we view it as an opportunity, we can design something spectacular," said Tatz. "This was one of those times, and the owners were terrific to work with. We are again humbly grateful for receiving this prestigious professional recognition.”