Vagabond finds home in Chicago

Post, August, 2004

CHICAGO -- Vagabond Audio (www.vagabondaudio.com) has opened in a new 2,000-square-foot space overlooking the Chicago River. Owned by engineer/sound designer Drew Weir and producer Risa Sanders, the audio house specializes in sound design, recording and mixing for television commercials.

Vagabond's location is central to the Chicago agency community. The facility offers plenty of natural lighting, yet also boasts an acoustically-sound environment designed by architect John Storyk of the Walters-Storyk Design Group.

The production space is based around Digidesign's Pro Tools |HD2 Accel system, which enables sound designer Weir to interface seamlessly with Avid workstations and other offline video systems. Studio software operates on a 2GB, dual-processor Mac G5 with digital picture lock up via Avid Xpress. A Digidesign Pro Control is used for mixing and Dynaudio speakers are used for monitoring, along with a 42-inch plasma display. The 10-by-12-foot live room is suitable for voiceover, Foley and ADR sessions. An SNS Fiber Drive is home to thousands of effects and samples, all of which can be instantly accessed.

Weir began his career at Chiat/Day in NY and later moved to Nu World Editorial and Red Car, both in Chicago. He's contributed to national campaigns for McDonald's, Anheuser-Bush, Coors, Champion, DiGiorno, Disney, Tombstone, and Toyota.

Sanders is a veteran producer whose credits include documentary work for A&E, The History Channel, The Learning Channel and MSNBC.

Weir and designer Storyk have a history of working together as well. After graduating from Full Sail, Weir served as an intern at the Walters-Storyk Design Group.

"I've known Drew since the beginning of his career," says Storyk. "He's extremely talented and technically savvy, and we had a great time collaborating on his dream studio."