Pro Audio LA: How Custom Cables Led to Bigger Business

When you see the large, open space of the workshop, the quaint coziness of the demo room and the impressive construct of the studio control and live room, it’s hard to imagine just two guys sitting in their apartments making cables to sell on Craigslist and eBay.

Yet, that’s exactly how Pro Audio LA began, only five years ago.

Now, it is quite literally a one-stop shop for anything audio related; from custom cabling, equipment sales, installation, and build outs to recording, mixing and mastering, with an impressive client list including Luca Pretolesi’s “A room” at the Wynn in Vegas, Vice.com in Venice CA, composer David Newman, Madder Music, The Madden Brothers (Joel and Benji), Apple, NBC, Sony, and Guitar Center.

Owners Dominic Shiner, Jason Hanan and Jared Stansill started small and expanded based on a combination of their own goals, and what clients wanted. With a passion for audio steeped in both creativity and technical prowess, meeting clients’ needs outside of custom cabling came rather naturally, often times beginning with a simple conversation about gear.

Built from the ground up: The Neve 5088-centered control room at Pro Audio LA’s studio.

As Dominic puts it, when recounting the point in 2011 when Pro Audio LA officially began offering equipment sales, system design and studio consultation services, “We would offer insights on equipment to clients as we were sorting out their cabling/integration needs, and it really seemed to resonate with them. We realized that what was happening is that they would solicit this advice and go spend in some cases tens of thousands of dollars at another retailer just to have us integrate, install and support it. It just made sense to open up an authorized dealership for the equipment that we intimately know, use, support and recommend.”

This business framework, fashioned by three different but complementary owners, is what brought Pro Audio LA from soldering in the living room to a state-of-the-art facility.

In the Beginning…

Music had always been a part of Jason’s life and he soon found that his knack for constructing and designing audio setups was a sought-after talent.

“I quickly found out that the people I knew, the other creative music guys I had met here in LA…they were more interested in how I might help them integrate their project studios – much more interested than they were in my latest song or guitar riff!”

“So, I started helping people integrate their studios to maximize their own unique creative workflow, and well… the rest is history,” he says.

In that history, Jason and Jared met up because they were essentially doing the same thing: making cables. Jared had been laid off due to a sagging economy and came into making cables simply because he had the skills, connections and tools to do so. And, as Dominic puts it, custom cabling is largely recession-proof.

“In a down economy, people still needed cables, and that business kept growing exponentially.”

Soon after Jason and Jared got into this exponential business, Dominic became a piece of the puzzle. Having sold his interest in a 4,000 sq. foot recording facility in Cleveland, OH, he was looking for a new venture, something that would allow music and creativity to take a more central role.

Although it may not sound like making cables would correlate to making music, all three had their minds set on something more than just soldering.

Some of the PALA team at work in the workshop.

“We had many interests in common,” Dominic says. “And Jason had just found a facility that he envisioned being our workshop along with a recording studio that we could all share.”

“We worked together towards our goal of having a cabling business that would support us and our audio recording passions and habits.”

Growing Into Goals

With this in mind, the business grew. The three owners all brought varied and important expertise to the table.

“If it’s related to a recording studio, we can facilitate it,” Dominic says. “I have a background in construction coupled with over 20 years experience as an audio engineer, which offers insight in to the often esoteric and sometimes counter-intuitive ways that construction relates to audio.”

“Jared went to the Conservatory of Recording Arts and Science, and has an uncanny ability to assess connectivity, and a background in post production integration. Jason went to school for audio engineering and has an MBA in Business.”

Take this and add to it a long list of industry contacts including personal connections with contractors, manufacturers and distributors, it doesn’t seem surprising that the business grew to include all areas of pro audio service.

It’s also not surprising that between three audio engineers, you’d eventually end up with a state-of-the-art studio somewhere in the mix.

The building came with a small studio already installed, which the three owners remodeled upon moving in. In fact, it serves as an example to potential and existing clients, not just of what Pro Audio LA can do, but of what you can do without spending countless sums of money.

“We modestly remodeled the control room, building out a secondary wall with a small air gap between the exterior walls,” Dominic says.

“We redid a bit of the electrical and installed some flooring. It’s always a work in progress but it’s a great example of how to take a space and make the most of it without spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. We did most of the work ourselves.”

Now, it not only serves as an actual recording studio but also as a place for clients to meet and demo equipment in a real studio environment.

It houses a small frame, 16 channel Neve 5088 console, a Burl Mothership, Lynx Aurora and a long list of outboard gear that’s always growing, parallel to the growing business and network of Pro Audio LA. The studio also has an iso room and a medium-sized live room, including storage areas at the back that can act as amp locks.

Livin’ the live room.

And to top it off, it also has its own kitchen and bathroom.

Since it’s opening, some impressive clients have already made this unique space their creative home, including Diplo, Kat Von D, Esther Dean, and Sia.

Of course, as per the original goals of the three owners, it’s open for their projects as well as employee projects.

This too, is something that Pro Audio LA prides itself on: its staff.

Company Snapshot

Many of the employees have considerable industry experience, working outside of the business as audio engineers.

Dominic made sure to include a staff picture, feeling that it was important to highlight the business as a whole, not just the inanimate gear and the three owners.

“All of our employees have a connection to the industry in some way. There are no ‘worker bees’ per se,” Dominic says.

“Everyone’s opinion is valued and everyone has their strengths. We are proud to have our team as we believe they are the best in the biz! Our work environment also encourages a lot of audio ‘shop talk’ that spurs creativity, often causing everyone to experiment in trying different techniques, equipment and sharing experiences.”

This familial and all-encompassing mentality overflows into Pro Audio’s approach to client interaction.

“We feel that our clients deserve a holistic approach when purchasing equipment rather than us just trying to push a box out the door for numbers sake,” Dominic says.

And most audio equipment purchases come bundled with custom cabling and connectivity consultation , not only a tip of the hat to the firm’s beginnings but a logistical plus for both client and company.

“Having to make sure we are building a proper cable to connect piece of equipment x to piece of equipment z often allows us to uncover things that someone may not have considered and gives us a chance to answer any esoteric integration questions.”

“We also focus on education and informed purchasing decisions. We invest in the equipment so that we can lend it to our clients allowing them to make a practical decision. Most companies try to offer this in the way of a return policy, hoping that folks will rarely return items. We encourage our clients to try before they buy at no cost or commitment. This really resonates with people.”

The crew accrued.

Jason agrees, adding that he really tries to go out of his way to understand the creative and technical objectives of each client, so as to help them build the perfect setup.

“It’s all about helping someone realize their creative vision,” he says. “We take the time to understand what they’re using, how they’re working, how they’d like to be working under ideal circumstances… we try to see the forest from the trees, if you will.

“We want to get people excited about the possibilities, about engineering, about recording techniques, about patch bays and signal flow. That enthusiasm can be contagious, and nothing makes us happier than having a customer who is just amped on their setup and having a blast making music.”

It seems that the enthusiasm has been contagious, as Pro Audio LA continues to grow.

And while Dominic told me that there aren’t any specific plans for the future, as a 5-year old company, they have a lot to look forward to, “constantly plotting and planning new things!”

— Eleanor Goldfield

Panorama view of the PALA workshop.

Another angle on the control room, with it’s small frame Neve 5088.

The rear view on the control room.

Revel in the racks.

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