Swedish studios Baggpipe install Genelec smart listening devices

A fusion of modern and vintage technology, the Baggpipe Studios production complex in Stockholm comprises two main commercial studios and seven smaller studios. Genelec active monitoring plays a key role in these installations.

Located in the Johanneshov district of Stockholm (Sweden), the site now occupied by Baggpipe Studios can claim a hugely significant and varied musical history. In its premises were the legendary Abbey Road / EMI Studios where artists such as Abba, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga..., to name just a few, once recorded.

Now that tradition of working with both established and emerging artists continues under the auspices of Baggpipe and a team consisting of, among others, legendary music producer Anders Bagge, the music executive Craig Logan (LME) and CEO Alvora Larsdotter.

With a fusion of modern and vintage technology, the Baggpipe Studios production complex comprises two main commercial studios and seven smaller studios.

From installing new hardwood floors to choosing consoles SSL Duality, Baggpipe has gone through several significant improvements in recent years, but until the recent addition of the Genele active monitoringc, the inconsistency of facility monitoring remains a concern.

Willem Bleeker, engineer and mixer at Baggpipe Studio 1, acknowledges that "clients often said they weren't happy with the sonic image. The sound was 'too high' or sounded 'too quiet'... it never seemed quite right."

However, Studio 2 already had a pair of monitors Genelec 1037B, and although Bleeker was only occasionally working the room, he quickly noticed that "people really liked them. They sounded like people wanted the speakers to sound." That's when Patrick Lundin, Genelec's sales director for Pro Audio in Sweden, organized an on-site demo for the three-way coaxial monitors. The One, which convinced Bleeker.

“It was love at first sight,” he remembers. "After borrowing them for a while, I didn't want to give them back. It wasn't long before Patrick and I started talking about something more permanent. He showed me the powerful pair of studio monitors SAM 1234A which he thought would be perfect for Studio 1's main control room, and the 1238DF SAM monitors which he thought would best suit Studio 2.”

In both Studies 1 and 2, these main monitors are complemented by pairs of point source near-field monitors 8341A from The One family, all finished in pure white with the subwoofers 7370A companions. Meanwhile, the facility's seven production rooms now feature a pair of two-way SAM 8340A monitors, and two of the rooms also feature 7360A subwoofers. Finally, a multi-purpose meeting and conference space has been fitted with a pair of 8331As from The Ones range, once again finished in white.

According to Bleeker, the use of GLM autocalibration and intelligent monitor management not only offered quick and easy calibration of monitors within the facility's many rooms, but also the ability to quickly adjust each room's monitoring settings to suit the task. The monitors have already been lent to sessions ranging from 26-piece orchestras to boy bands and emerging solo artists.

“No matter what you work on, they always get the job done,” enthuses Bleeker. "There are some other monitors that almost feel like they're specialized in just one thing. But with Genelec, the monitors deliver exactly what you put into them and everyone understands them. You can also work on them for a long time without your ears getting tired, a very important consideration for those long sessions!"

He concludes by stating that “last but not least, you may not be able to hear the design, but it's definitely an important factor in studios, and make no mistake, Genelec monitors look badass!”