Shovel Studios is a recording studio and creative hub in Lafayette, CO. While it was officially built within the constructs of a double car garage, it has been optimized into a quiet, comfortable, and productive environment, featuring a full complement of high end recording equipment and instruments. It is also, conveniently, less than a half mile from Lake Waneka, a walk which never fails to reawaken the imagination and mind.
Aaron Strumpel is the studio owner and has developed and produced artists for over ten years, mostly in the indie and folk genres. His own self-produced music, however, is quite diverse in style. As a trumpet player, he is in high demand and has recorded on dozens of records. Finally, to round out a diverse creative skillset, he has learned Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop, and Premeire Pro and is a gifted photographer and videographer, shooting a variety of acoustic live performances in his studio.
GEAR
MICS
Flea 49
Flea Superfet 48
Soyuz 013 FET (x2)
Neumann KMS 105
Shure Beta 87a
1940’s RCA 77DX
Coles 4038 (x2)
Royer 121 (x2)
AKG D112
Sennheiser MD421 (x2)
Shure 57 (x3)
Shure 58
PREAMPS
LaChapell Audio 992 (NOS Phillips Tubes)
Chandler Limited TG2 (x2)
Burl B1D (x2)
Aurora GT500 (x2)
Universal Audio 4-710d
COMPRESSORS
Empirical Labs EL8-X Distressor (x2)
Retro Instruments Double Wide II (x2)
OTHER
Apogee Symphony I/O
Barefoot Footprint 01 Studio Monitors
Arturia Keylab 88 Midi Controller
Cloudlifter (x4)
Technics SL1210GR Turntable
Harbeth Compact 7es-3 Speakers
MULTIMEDIA
Sony A7 III
Sigma 24-70mm 2.8
Helios 44 Vintage Russian Lens
Jupitor 9 Vintage Russian Lens
Aputure 120D II Studio Light
Quasar LED Studio Lights (x7)
Fog Machine
AMPS
1968 Fender Princeton Reverb
1990’s Fender Vibroverb RI
Filmosound Amp Conversion (Tweed Circuit)
1960’s Titano Custom 262R (Magnatone 460)
1960’s Silvertone 1482 Amp Head Conversion
INSTRUMENTS
Santa Crus Baritone Acoustic
Santa Cruz H13 Custom Acoustic
1964 Gibson J50 Acoustic
Aria Nashville Strung Acoustic
Deering Banjitar (Banjo tuned like a Guitar)
Fender Custom Shop Jazzmaster Electric
Danocaster Tele Hybrid Electric
Jerry Jones Baritone Electric
Jerry Jones Bigsby U2 Electric
Jerry Jones Shorty Octave 12 String Electric
Gretsch Falcon (Billy Duffy Model)
1960’s Harmony H78 Goldfoil Hollowbody
1962 Epiphone Professional (ES-335) PAF Conversion
1963 Epiphone Professional (ES-335) P90 Conversion
Moog Subsequent 37CV Synth
Dave Smith Sequential OB-6 Synth
1966 Ludwig Silver Sparkle Drums
1960’s Gretsch Round Badge Burgundy Mist Drums
PEDALS
Current Selection: Big Box Memory Man Deluxe, Telenordia Tortmann TK-23, JHS Klon Clone, Smallsound/Bigsound F-Drive, Benson Preamp, Karma MTN-10, Basic Audio Fuzz Mutant, Basic Audio Bye-Bias GE, Ibanez TS-10 Tube Screamer (x2), Boss CE-2 Waza Chorus, Neunaber Immerse MKII, Strymon El Capistan, Strymon, Flint, Strymon Iridium