Pimp My Riot Van...

 

This Autumn, MTV wanted to do something never been done before on the programme “Pimp My Ride UK” - create a fully functioning recording studio in an old police riot van for a charity special.

 

Hosted by Tim Westwood, the MTV show takes vehicles that have seen better days and completely restore and customises them to the needs of the owner.

 

The brief for this episode was to kit out the mobile studio for the London based youth charity XLP who serve urban communities by supporting young people. XLP wanted to provide teenagers with the opportunity to create music using cutting edge technology and needed help turning this riot van into a studio within a 4 week timeframe.

 

AKA Design, a specialist in the design and construction of studio interiors and technical furniture, was approached by MTV to design and create the studio. AKA first produced 3D renders of the van interior to visualise the intended final result before going in to production which helped the design team to create an overall aesthetic.

 

The goal was to create a practical studio that could be used by 5 people, have a separate vocal booth and give it some “pimp” style. The AKA team donated over 1000 hours work on the design, manufacture and fitting of the studio.

 

After the interior had been chosen, AKA contacted Digidesign to add their expertise to this charity project.

 

Accepting the challenge, Digidesign teamed up with M-Audio (another Avid brand) to provide all the audio equipment needed. This studio required the same professional Pro Tools software that they would find in a commercial studio and contain everything the youth group would require to create tracks on the move.

 

As space was an issue, a Digidesign 003 Factory control surface was chosen to provide hands-on control of Pro Tools through an integrated control surface. The system was spec’ed to the max with all the AIR virtual instruments and the latest Pro Tools LE software.

 

A pair of Studiophile BX8a Deluxe Monitors with BX10s Subwoofer were installed as the control room monitoring system. For budding DJs, a Torq Xponent digital DJ system allows users to either mix their own tracks or any digital files on the main computer system.

 

Every good studio has a separate area for recording so the rear of the riot van was converted into a small vocal booth with an M-Audio Nova suspended from ceiling and a pair of Q40 headphones for foldback.

 

Extra microphones and cables can be stored under the bench in the booth and as a final touch, Gibson Guitars donated a stunning high-gloss white Les Paul Classic guitar to use with Digidesign’s Eleven LE plug-in to produce highly realistic mic’d guitar amp/cabinet sounds within the Pro Tools system.

 

Working closely to AKA’s designs, Digidesign provided a team of product specialists to install the equipment and provide Pro Tools training to XLP. The van’s total overhaul was completed with a Plasma screen, games console, basketball hoop and sound system. With a stylish interior and graffiti inspired exterior, the end result looks fantastic.

 

This episode of Pimp My Ride was aired on MTV on the 30th November at 7pm.