High Mountain Records studio

Overview

In need of a dedicated project studio to support his growing recording artist client base and personal recording career, producer, engineer, drummer and recording artist, Lukas Gleich, reached out to the WSDG Switzerland office for help in designing and constructing a recording studio in a recently completed ground-up building which he acquired in the charming resort town of Erl, Austria. Following initial meetings with WSDG Project Engineer, Mario Reithofer, Gleich was introduced to WSDG Partners, Gabriel Hauser and Dirk Noy. Together, they looked at the specific requirements for the studio and discussed Gleich’s creative ideas.

Program

Lukas Gleich was well-equipped to bring state-of-the-art recording to Erl, Austria.
One of the oldest villages in Austria’s Inntal Valley, Erl is widely celebrated for its extraordinary Tiroler Festspielhaus, an ultra-modern opera house. Famed for its dramatic, futuristic design, and for hosting the popular annual Festspiele (Winter) and Tyrol Music Festival (Summer), the Festspielhaus presents events featuring rich and varied programs of contemporary pop performances, chamber music concerts and operas.

Design

The High Mountain Records facility comprises two main areas: Studio A, which houses a 50m² live room; and the smaller studio Studio B, with a 20m² live room, providing a warm and inviting ambiance reminiscent of a cozy living room. Both are fitted out with geometrically identical 33m² control rooms with Control A featuring a custom-designed Ford Mustang taillight-inspired ceiling cloud, and Control B which has a beautiful, open design with a large balcony and mountain views.

Both Studios are available for exclusive long- and short-term lockout periods for clients. HMRS’s flexible design programme incorporates options for opening Studio B’s live room towards the control room to accommodate or broaden recording workflow possibilities. A Dante network expedites high-quality remote recording of live performances from the extraordinary Festspielhaus Concert Hall. Additional studio gear includes an API 2348 32 channel console, ATC SCM-150 PRO loudspeakers, complemented with ADAM SUB15 subwoofers. Studio A features two Burl Mothership units with 56 inputs and 64 outputs, whilst Studio B’s equipment includes a Universal Audio Apollo X6 audio interface, a Burl B16 Mothership, Heritage Super 8 and API preamps, and PMC 6 monitoring.

Featuring state-of-the-art instruments, including a Steinway & Sons C piano, Sonor Vintage Serie drums, Fender Vintage 52 Tele electric guitar and Martin D16 acoustic guitar, the studios also have an impressive microphone collection that includes premium Neumann U67 and U47 Vintage, Sennheiser, AKG, and Earthworks Audio among other solutions. Individual monitoring is managed by KLANG:kontrollers, which offer an easy access to groups, individual channels, and immersive in-ear mixing.

WSDG’s innovative sound isolation design techniques eliminate sound leakage between the Live and Control Rooms throughout the complex and prohibit exterior noise from encroaching into the building.

Photo credit: Dirk Noy — WSDG