Source first
A good drummer in a good room with a well-tuned kit sounds better through a simple microphone than a bad take through the most expensive chain.
Studio & equipment
The tools.
Good gear doesn't make a good record — good decisions do. But it helps to have the right tools at hand.
Demo list
This is a sample overview to show the layout. Dirk is currently compiling the definitive
equipment list, which will replace this page as soon as it's ready.
The studio is set up for band recordings: enough channels to track a full drum kit with close and room mics at once, amps you can actually turn up, and monitoring you can trust a mix on. Missing something for your project? It can often be hired or arranged — just mention it in your request.
Microphones
- Large-diaphragm condensers (vocals, overheads)
- Dynamic mics for snare, toms and guitar cabinets
- Small-diaphragm condenser pair for hi-hat, ride and acoustic guitar
- Ribbon microphone for guitar and room
- Kick-in and kick-out microphones
- Room microphones for drums
Preamps & channel strips
- Multi-channel mic preamps for a full drum setup
- Coloured transformer preamp for vocals and bass
- Clean, transparent preamps for acoustic sources
- DI boxes for bass, keys and re-amping
Conversion & clocking
- Multi-channel AD/DA interface
- ADAT expansion for simultaneous drum tracking
- Word clock distribution
Monitoring
- Nearfield monitors as the main reference
- Second reference pair for cross-checking
- Closed-back headphones for tracking a full band
- Open-back reference headphones for mix detail
- Headphone amp with multiple cue mixes
Outboard
- FET compressor for drums and vocals
- Optical compressor for vocals and bass
- Bus compressor for the mix bus
- Analogue EQ for colour
- Hardware reverb / delay
Guitar & bass
- Tube combos and heads with 4x12 and 1x12 cabinets
- Bass amp and cabinet, plus DI path
- Electric guitars (single coil and humbucker)
- Acoustic and baritone guitar
- Pedalboard with drive, modulation, delay and reverb
- Load box and IR rig for silent tracking
Drums & percussion
- Studio drum kit with several snare drums
- Additional kick and tom sizes
- Cymbal selection (crash, ride, hi-hat, stack)
- Percussion box: shaker, tambourine, glockenspiel
Keys & synths
- Digital / stage piano
- Analogue mono synth
- Poly or virtual-analogue synth
- MIDI controller
DAW & software
- Pro Tools and Logic Pro as main DAWs
- Reference mixing plug-ins (EQ, compression, saturation)
- Reverb and delay suites
- Drum and sample libraries
- Vocal tuning and editing tools
Principles
The tools follow
the song.
The room as an instrument
Close mics give punch and definition, room mics give character. The balance between them decides whether your record sounds like 1974 or like last week.
Analogue where it counts
Real amps, real cabinets, real drums. Digital where it's more practical — silent tracking with a load box can be a lifesaver when the neighbours are listening.
Wondering if it
fits your plan?
Tell me what you want to record and I'll let you know what's in the studio and what we might hire in.