Terranova

Terranova – My Studio

I work in combination. My bedroom has two laptops with Ableton Live and two sets of speakers next to my bed: Yamaha NS10s and Yamaha HS50s, plus a turntable and vinyl for samples. The bedroom is for writing and arranging.

The studio I am currently using (have been using and will be using) is for recording and mixing. For fine tuning, I return to my bedroom.

Outboard

The studio I work at belongs to my friend Ingo, who learned his trade at the original Connie Plank studio. After Connie died he was the the sound engineer there. I’m sure you know of Connie Plank – the first track he mixed was ‘Autobahn’ by Kraftwerk.

Here’s some of the outboard. Lexicon PCM60, MXR Pitch Transposer, Eventide H910, Roland Space Echo, FMR RNC, Manley VoxBox, Tube-Tech MP 1A…

The Eventide is one of the first digital effects, really good on snares and sometimes vocals. The Pitch Transposer is guaranteed madness in breakdowns. Those two and the Space Echo like each other. I’ve been using them a lot on upcoming Terranova and Stereo MCs tracks. It’s a good combination with some self-made big plate reverbs.

Mono EQ

Klein + Hummel UE-100 mono equaliser, built in Germany in the 50s and 60s. Great sounding.

Jörgensen Clavioline

It’s a bit tricky to use and it takes a while to warm up, but I love the whining. It needs fixing really.

Echorec

The Binson Echorec model PE 603-T. This is a valve-based disc echo, made in Italy. I just bought it.

Tube mixer

The tube mixer in Ingo’s studio.

The speakers are ME Geithain RL903K… a major achievement of humanity  made a little east of Berlin. These are not vintage. They’re perfect. Soon I’ll have a set in my bedroom too.