Roland Klinkenberg

Roland Klinkenberg – My Studio

This is my new studio in Arnhem. Up till now I’ve moved my studio 10 times, and this is by far the smallest space I’ve been in. It’s a real bedroom studio, and somehow it sounds great even without any acoustic treatment, for which there’s no space anyway! 
Before this I lived in France for five years. Over there I had a trapezoid shaped studio – you know, like those fancy mastering rooms – but somehow it sounded not very good. I must have stuffed a ton of rockwool in there before it became a workable environment.

Sequential Prophet 5 & Fender Rhodes

A Prophet 5 on top of a Fender Rhodes… what more can one wish for? The Pro 5 is such a simple but good sounding piece of kit. True, it needs some tech work now and then, but it’s all worth it! The sound somehow blends very easily in a mix. It’s just right.

I use the Rhodes a lot to try out stuff, learning chord progressions and such. It’s a real instrument. It doesn’t end up in a lot in my productions though.

Roland SH-101

I traded this for a home-made SSL compressor clone. Again, a very simple and even limited synth, but what it does is unsurpassed. If you like that rubbery Roland bass sound, look no further.

Geithain RL906 Monitors

These are used in German Broadcast vans. So far I’ve had Genelec 1030s and Adam S2As but I prefer this small German speaker. I use them together with a subwoofer, but even without the sub it’s unbelievable how much low end these produce.

Sub Router

A monitor controller and subwoofer router I built myself. This thing lets me choose between speakers (A or B), with or without sub, or sub only. That last option is very handy to quickly check the low end of a mix. I gets used a lot!

Sherman Filterbank

The Sherman Filterbank. What can I say? Even after 15 years it keeps surprising me. It instantly adds analogue feel to a track.

DIY Summing Mixer and EQ

The blue thing is a summing mixer, effects router and monitor controller. The white thing is a stereo two-band EQ. Both built by me. I designed the summing mixer myself and the EQ is based on a public domain Sontec schematic. Both are mastering grade with a gazillion bells and whistles, stepped controls and all. It’s overkill really. But when you start designing stuff you tend to add options just because you can.

Wooden Puzzle

This is a wooden puzzle I bought from a flea market in France. I never took it apart, I just look at it. I think it’s more interesting when I don’t know what’s going on inside.

Yamaha PSS-380 & Korg MS-20

I bought this one recently from Danny Wolfers (aka Legowelt) ’cause I thought my son Yani needed it. The very simple FM interface makes it an irresistible toy, even for grown-ups.
 The MS-20 acts as a stand. The old ones are perfect for that!