The Pool - 'To Be or Not To Be ?'
"It has an exceptional collection of vintage and modern esoteric equipment, and I feel lucky to have used the space as it is like a musical playroom - full of great instruments, effects, toys and percussion too" - Paul Epworth (Producer)
The Pool Information
The Pool is a huge 1800 sq ft creative space with high ceilings and an abundance of natural light provided by two large skylights. After a major rebuild in the summer of 2009,
we believe it now stands amongst London's most exciting and versatile tracking rooms.
The new control room is based at the front of the studio on what used to be the loading bay. It is amazingly presented with deep-blue fabrics covering the panels, a new high
definition flat screen TV, a brand new air-con unit and dazzling halogen lights. The EMT 30-channel console sits on the right side of the room. It is joined by an excellent
range of monitors including Genelec 1031s, Yamaha NS10s and Tannoy Little Golds. The racks are located behind the desks, and are filled with Ben's mouth-watering collection of
analogue toys. There's a whole arsenal of sought-after vintage mic-pres, plus countless dynamics and processors.
At the front of the control room are some large glass sliding doors looking down across the expansive live space and across to the drum booth. You can access the live space
from the control room via some large, illuminated steps. Here is where the band can set up and spread out in what must be one of the greatest tracking spaces around.
Not only is it vast, but also filled with Ben's incredible collection of backline and microphones. There are all sorts of brilliant analogue keyboards and samplers, beautifully
maintained guitars, amplifiers and pedals, plus countless vintage mics. Clients will be totally spoiled for choice!
The newly themed live room offers a unique and vibey atmosphere for clients to enjoy. Of course being The Pool, we've given the entire floor space and lower-walls a striking coat
of bright blue paint. We've refurbished the long sidewall with tall pinewood beams and some large panels which have enhanced the acoustics of the room, and have added four
white spherical lamps which hang from the high beams in the ceiling.
On the far side of the live room is the brand new drum booth, accessed by another set of steps. Looking down across the live space from an elevated level, this huge booth
measures roughly 3 metres high on the inside and produces some fantastic sounds. By the way, you'll find a beautiful Slingerland drum kit in there, ready and waiting for you!
The Pool's control room and booth means we can now provide producers and engineers who prefer recording from behind closed
doors with another top-end tracking facility. ÊHowever, we pride ourselves as a company on versatility, and have designed
the new-look Pool to also cater for those who would like to continue with the room's original open-plan tracking
environment. With 24 hours notice and for bookings which last for a minimum of 5 days, we can relocate the console and
equipment Êback into the new control room. Control room, no control room ? To Be or Not To Be... ?