Trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London, sitting at the piano for the original production of Jesus Christ Superstar and touring the world as Brand X keyboard player have all helped keep J Peter Robinson gaingully employed as a musican. Latterly, he has provided music for television series including Charmed and five-time EMMY Award winner Deadliest Catch, and for feature films including Wayne’s World, Encino Man, Highlander: The Final Dimension and the soon-to-be-released Nicolas Cage film Seeking Justice.
It was a seasoned ear, then, that led Robinson to choose Genelec Active Monitors for the first 5.1 surround monitoring system in his personal recording and mix studio in Los Angeles.
After vetting a wide range of speakers, Robinson alighted upon Genelec 8250A Bi-Amplified DSP Monitors for his LCR array, a pair of 8240A Bi-Amplified DSP Monitors for rear surrounds, and a 7260A Active DSP Subwoofer to handle the low end.
‘I had been spending a lot of time and money in other facilities to do my 5.1 surround monitoring and mixing, and it was time that I got my own set up, but it had to be able to handle all of the kinds of media that I work in,’ says Robinson, who, in addition to his TV and film credits, has just finished work on his first video game, scoring a title based on the popular Highlander franchise.
‘It had to be a system that could cover all of these types of media,’ he says. ‘I listened to a lot of great-sounding speakers, but the Genelecs were the only ones where I heard only the music, not the speaker,’ he explains. ‘All I heard from them was the material, and that’s critical.’
Also important was the fact that Genelec’s AutoCal automatic calibration system allowed Robinson to plug the monitors in and let them optimise themselves to his environment. ‘The Genelecs basically made friends with the room,’ he adds. ‘What they give me is the confidence that I’m always hearing what I recorded, as I recorded it. That’s invaluable.’
The system was purchased from West LA Music.
More: www.genelec.com
