Studio
A fish’s-eye view of GieSound’s custom 36-input Neve-inspired desk (Photo: Bullet-Ray)
P27 DECEMBER 2015
Netherlands
Gie whiz! Spring 2015 saw GieSound Studio move from Soest to Zwolle, where mixer–producer (and Neve superfan) Guido Aalbers built his new studio complex, writes Marc Maes
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ieSound’s first studio was located in the Studio 41 multiplex site in Soest, a ‘creative hub’ for mastering, mixing, DVD authoring, audio description and post-production companies opened in 2010. “The combination and integration of the different elements of the sound recording process was nice to work in but I felt somewhat limited in my possibilities,” says founder Guido Aalbers. “In Studio 41 I had a control room plus a very small recording room; when I wanted to record bands I had to travel to other studios in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, my gear packed in flightcases.” Leaving Studio 41 was not a certainty, admits Aalbers, but in the end he wanted to have a full bandcapacity recording studio, offering the same quality that brought has since brought in mixing and production assignments for international bands like Coldplay, Muse, Queens of the Stone Age, Franz Ferdinand, Counting Crows… “Studio 41 was no longer an option, also because the facility – located in the middle of a housing estate – would require a substantial investment in insulation.” Without really looking, Aalbers almost accidentally bumped into a building on an industrial site in Zwolle: a huge, newly built business unit. “The big advantage
was that the premises were completely new and empty, allowing me to start from scratch building my own studios,” continues Aalbers. “In February this year, I started to design and construct the two recording studios – one 40m² studio, and a smaller, 20m² one – and a control room. It has become a group effort, with lots of help from colleagues, studio owners and studio builders, cutting costs wherever possible without giving in on quality standards.” The new studio’s control room continues on the path chosen by Aalbers in the past: “I have always been a Pro Tools aficionado, using HD3 as a ‘tape machine plus’ to offer more options than a standard tape recorder. I use an analogue console and lots of analogue outboard gear from brands such as Neve, Summit Audio, Chandler Limited, SPL, etc. – I get good results thanks to this combination: it’s much more ‘relaxed’.” GieSound’s recording console is a custom-made, modular, 36-input desk configured by German engineer Steffen Müller. Based on Aalbers’s specs, the desk features offers ‘Neve-type’ summing and classic EQs, with the option to add extra channels. “This is a pure mixing console, equipped with elements from other consoles,” explains Aalbers. “I’m a Neve fan and work a lot with Neve or Neve-based equipment – the mixing
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I’m convinced that bands attach more importance to the ‘who’ rather than to the ‘where’ – the choice of the mixer, producer or engineer is crucial, more so today than in the past
Guido Aalbers, GieSound