Beneath the surface of the day to day bustle of the studios, a very special project has been quietly brewing; Ten87’s first day hire tracking and mix facility aka ‘The Club’. After nearly a year and a half in the making, the team are all so excited to see the space finally ready for action. We sat down with Ten87 founder Rob Burn and studio manager Sam Burgess to talk through some of the space’s technical specifications, equipment and special features.
What equipment and outboard specifics are there in the Club?
The room is centred around a vintage SSL6032e fully refurbished by the lovely people at AES Pro Audio. Legendary tech Peter Higgs spent the past three months painstakingly refurbishing every element of the board. The desk has 24 channels of the original 242 EQ, as well as eight channels of the 232 (Pultec) EQ.
The original onboard SSL computer has been ditched in favour of a new system from THD labs called ‘Tangerine’. The system allows for seamless integration with modern DAW’s and total recall within its design.
We are very excited to announce that TPI will launch their brand new M220 main monitors via the room, presenting “the very finest audio reproduction systems available”. In addition, we have a pair of Genelec 8351s taking on near field duties and the classic Avantone Mixcubes as extra reference speakers.
Over the years I have built up a pretty comprehensive collection of vintage and modern microphones that I will bring to the space, as well as the entire Aston microphones range (a big thank you to our kind sponsors).
When we were planning spec for the room, we surveyed our wonderful community of engineers and producers for their input. Through this we have covered the main bases with regard to outboard. To give some alternative options for preamps, we've got 10 channels of Neve 1073. We also have a pair of Universal Audio 1176’s and an LA2A.
What instruments and backline are set up in the space?
The live room is a great size. We knew from the start that we somehow had to get a piano in there. A good friend of ours was looking for a home for her stunning vintage Yamaha C3 and the rest is history! We also have a beautiful vintage Rhodes piano in there and a collection of guitars and pedals.
What varied types of recording sessions can The Club hold?
The space has been set up for tracking primarily. The desk makes the space very versatile. The Club can host everything from one-on-one vocal sessions, to full band live recordings, all the way through to 10-person string ensemble sessions.
Are there any special key features of the club as a day rate studio that you’d like to mention?
We have real EMT 140 plate reverb which is going to give a unique flavour and vibe to the room, and which we are very excited about. We also went into quite a lot of detail planning the foldback system for the space. There are eight panel locations dotted around the complex, making it easy to set up the hearback mixers in a variety of different locations. Giving really great flexibility to sessions and players.
What new future possibilities will The Club bring to Ten87?
Our community was a big driver behind setting up the space. We have such an inspiring group of creators who call the studios home. However for many, a part of their musical work can’t be done solely in their long-term studio room.
The Club will allow for more projects to be solely written, produced and recorded under our roof. To make this a reality we’ve introduced a community rate for our existing members to take advantage of, which we hope will enable our existing members to use the space.
The high level of the studio’s sonic potential, and new energy that this space will bring to the Markfield Road site for the future is incredibly exciting. Next week we will be looking at the architectural design that has gone into The Club as well as the interesting history behind the space. The Club will be open for bookings from the 4th April, for all enquiries please contact info@ten87.studio and for the full tech spec visit our day hire page.
At Ten87 Studios we offer long term studio hire and day hire music studios. Each recording studio is acoustically treated and sound proofed to optimise any type of audio recording and music production. We are home to a large community of musicians, producers, engineers and audio professionals working in the music industry. Our main day hire studio is a world class tracking facility equipped with the best in recording studio gear, instruments, outboard and backline. We're based in Seven Sisters, Tottenham with easy transport links to the city centre - ideal for anyone looking for a London recording studio.