FEATURES: RECORDING
Zhang holds up the historic Management Regulations of Recording Studio
L–R: Yuan Lijun and Zhang Xiaoan with the Genelec 1038As on either side
Stellar record
A studio in China is still using one of the first pairs of Genelec 1038A monitors and SSL 4000 series consoles to reach the country. Caroline Moss delves into Stele Studio’s past IT’S FAIRLY COMMON IN CHINA THESE DAYS TO FIND recording studios equipped with a carefully curated collection of vintage audio pieces alongside the latest technology, lovingly sourced from across the globe to add not only warmth and tone to recordings but extra kudos to the facility. Less common, however, is to come across a studio that has been operating for 40 years and is still using some of its early equipment, including a pair of Genelec 1038A main monitors and one of the first SSL 4000E mixing consoles sold in China, which was imported into the country in 1984 and installed the following year. Stele Studio in Beijing continues to work around the clock. “I believe that everyone in China must have heard songs recorded at this studio,” says Genelec China’s national director, Feng Hanying, citing Li Na’s famous Chinese folk hit, Qing Zang Gaoyuan, the Red Sun compilation of rerecorded classic Chinese anthems, and numerous sessions for well-known and long-established musical stars, including Dong Wenhua, Peng Liyuan, Cui Jian, Tu Honggang and Tan Jing. Situated in a building constructed in the 1950s, whose original use was as a radio station studio, CRC Stele Recording Studio came into being in 1979 under the auspices of the China Record Corporation. Some of the country’s best-known sound engineers – including Li Dakang, Shen Yuanzhi, Xu Tao, Han Baochang, Zhang Keqiang and Jian Jun – have worked at the studio. For many years, Stele has largely been the domain of Zhang Xiaoan, one of China’s best-known sound engineers, who has worked at the China Record Corporation since 1981. Sound engineer Yuan Lijun can be found at the controls alongside Zhang. Other vintage equipment still in regular use at the studio includes a Studer A800 24-track tape machine, an A80 two-track mastering machine and a collection of mics, including Bruel & Kjaer 4006, 4007 and 4011, Microtech Gefell UM 900, Sennheiser MD-441, Neumann U87, U89 and U69, Schoeps
Zhang at work on the SSL 4000E MK2, MK4 and MK8, and AKG C12 VR and 414 models, plus a Neumann dummy head. The studio is justifiably proud of its Genelec 1038As, which arrived in the country in 1995. Studio staff can tell you that the 1038As were produced on 28 September 1994 and were purchased as part of the first consignment of Genelec speakers to ever arrive in China. Initially putting in three years’ service at a recording studio in Broadcasting Tower in Nanlishi Road, they were then transferred to Stele, where Zhang has been working on them ever since. The speakers have the distinction of being the oldest pair of Genelecs still in operation in China, boasting a classic three-way design incorporating drivers, speaker enclosure, multiple power amplifiers and active, low-signal level crossovers, as well as Genelec’s Directivity Control Waveguide technology to maximise stereo imaging and frequency balance. Zhang confirms that the Genelecs haven’t needed any repairs for more than two decades. “They have unequivocally
stood the test of time,” he says. But, despite his fondness for the equipment he’s faithfully used since the early days of his career, Zhang is also a keen adopter of new methods and technologies, and is full of praise for the new generation of musicians. “Right from the start, I felt it was so easy to record with Pro Tools,” he says. “It really did seem to make recording a piece of cake.” Although he acknowledges that advancements in technology in recent years have lowered the threshold for sound engineers and provided countless possibilities for the creation of music, he is also of the opinion that the most important factors are creative ideas, a wellestablished audio aesthetic, skills that have been developed through perseverance and a long-term accumulation of knowledge and experience. “We had no such thing in the past,” he says, referring to the modern equipment available for studios today. “Existing recording technology is really much more convenient than in the past.” Despite the ever-increasing march of recording technology, however, Zhang sticks stalwartly to his time-honoured 1038As. He uses them daily, without wishing to change them for a modern pair, as the analogue age has given way to the digital domain, and reel-to-reel recorders have been replaced by digital audio workstations. “I have become accustomed to them,” he says by way of simple explanation. Although no longer available on the market, the 1038A was a landmark speaker for Genelec, winning the company its firstever TEC award in a run of 23 to date. By 2004, the 1038A had been upgraded to the 1038B, which in turn was replaced in 2014 by the 1238A equipped with the manufacturer’s SAM technology. However, the legend lives on in Stele, where it has become the studio’s characteristic sound, as the countless songs and albums to come out of it will testify. www.genelec.com www.solidstatelogic.com
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