Box Music Studio is here
Someone whose opinion I value enormously recently said to me, you know you’ve arrived when you’ve got “piece of gear xyz.” I was suitably flattered - only later thinking of a self-deprecating Treppenwitz …….that borrowing a lot of money, and spending it all on studio gear, is something any fool could do….
Photo by Paul Brough
It was possibly a year ago, when a band mid-session asked me: what I was going to do when Jose left? And I really wasn’t prepared for another big change that threatened to be a repeat of the trauma of when Crash Studios suddenly closed in 2018.
So after helping Jose move out in July, with the help of Martin Kuchta we began the process of re-thinking the whole studio, purchasing new equipment, furniture, cabling, and starting the process of putting things back together. Martin and friends did a great paint job. With Jose’s guitar collection gone (his new studio in Granada looks incredible btw), there was suddenly a lot of space to fill too - with some of my possessions/studio junk that had been loaned out or in storage.
The fact is, as I write in March 2025, we’ve actually been up and running for a while, despite a lack of announcements. Somehow through word of mouth we’ve had enough bookings, and artists through the door who have been prepared to look past the chaos ……and the infamous desk on the floor.
After getting my old Soundtracs Quartz in, it turned out that actually the hard part was going to be finding all the parts, channels, screws etc required, but I hoped it was going to be a matter of weeks - it turned out to be …..months. In the process of loaning it out and moving studios or storage units multiple times, an all-important leg had gone missing. It was going to be on the floor for a while - the immense weight and depth of it meant you couldn’t just stick it on any old table. For a while we hoped to locate the leg - finally giving in to reality and looking to get another one made. For this we have to thank local heroes The Arlo’s for their know-how and contacts, I’m forever grateful and fortunate to know them and their music.
The fact is we never stopped for long - since August/September, without feeling able to announce a grand re-opening, we’ve had long standing projects continue or conclude, new bookings come in through word-of-mouth; and there are lots of exciting projects in the works. I have many reasons to feel grateful to all the artists who have kept us going! It’s such a privilege, working with great musicians and artists when the magic is happening.
Some of the new acquisitions include:
ATC SCM25 Pro monitors with Sub (love this setup - we get serious work done), Neve 1073 SPX (lovely), Antelope Orion 32 Gen4 interface (their best sounding converters yet), Tama Starclassic Birch/Bubinga drum kit (a dream) amongst lots of other things - including a refurbished Henry hoover. It’s taken a while to get things looking how we want them, but in February 2025 we felt ready to have some proper photos taken by Jay Patel Photography, which now adorn the main pages of this site.
Many thanks also to Martin Kuchta roughgrain.com for his collaboration, hard work and expertise in setting up the studio and maintaining the gear. We are continually working together to improve our workflow. Hit him up for quality mastering services!
Bramley Moore Sunset - photo by Paul Brough