Part of Kensaltown Studios in West London, White Rope Music has installed a pair of PMC result6 compact close-field monitors and a sub2 to support its work in artist development.
Along with Amadeus Publishing, White Rope Music is owned by songwriter Sacha Skarbek, a Grammy nominee and two-times Ivor Novello Award winner who wrote ‘You’re Beautiful’ and ‘Goodbye My Lover’ for James Blunt, and ‘Wrecking Ball’ for Miley Cyrus.
Max von Ameln, who has been Skarbek’s assistant and chief engineer for the last five years, says they are both delighted with the new monitors: ‘We were looking to upgrade our existing monitoring so were looking for a speaker system with a subwoofer because we sometimes had issues controlling the low end in our room,’ he explains. ‘Initially, we looked at a PMC IB1S-A system but decided the room was a bit too tight for that, so we scaled down to result6 monitors with a separate sub2. PMC were a great help as they allowed us to test various systems and have them in the studio for a few days so we knew which ones we wanted to keep.’
A Berklee College of Music graduate with a Masters’ Degree in music production and music business from London’s Westminster University, von Ameln adds that the result6/sub2 combination is proving to be a great addition to the studio’s monitoring system because it gives extra push and delivers a clearer understanding of frequencies. ‘The PMCs are a big help to our working life because they give the room dynamics the extra clarity we need,’ he says. ‘We use the speakers every day and it’s good to know we are able to hear and control the sound exactly how we want to.’
Skarbek and von Ameln do most of their sessions in-the-box using a powerful iMac Pro paired with have outboard equipment including 1176 and LA2A compressors, Shadow Hills Monogama and Dual Vandergraph, API 512C and API 55B and a Neve 8816 summing mixer.
‘We mainly record with a Telefunken 251, a pair of Neumann KM184 and an SM7,’ von Ameln elaborates. ‘Since Sacha is a piano player, we also use a lot of keys including an upright piano, Rhodes, Wurlitzer, MS20, Minimoog, Memorymoog, Juno and Mellotron.’
Although the current lockdown has forced the closure of the studio for the time being, Skarbek and von Ameln have projects underway with James Bay and Ilse DeLange, and newcomers Thomas Headon and Maya Delilah. Along with everyone in the industry, they are keen to see normal life resume so they can get back into the studio and fire up the new PMCs.
More: www.pmc-speakers.com
