Newly built to ‘bring inspiration back to the studio’ Tilt Recording is a commercial facility located in Strömstad, Sweden.
The studio is the realisation of a long-standing dream by Max Dahlby and father, Jon – both experienced and passionate musicians. Having been recording, producing and engineering in various spaces for some time, Tilt represents a significant step up for Max – a no-compromise facility inspired by his experience of other facilities around the world.
‘Other studios often have a “bunker” feeling to them, with very plain design,’ he says. ‘So my father and I sat down with the acoustic designer, Ingemar Ohlssen, of Audio Data Lab and his interior designer and talked about the colours and the feel we wanted. We looked at old studios from the 1960s and 70s and tried to capture the warm orange, yellow, and brown tones from that era. We also made sure there is daylight in every room during the day. That can help keep you inspired – and the city is beautiful too.’
The studio Control Room features Genelec 1234a main monitors and a 48-channel Solid State Logic Duality δelta console – supplied by ARVA Trading – with SuperAnalogue signal path, Total Recall, comprehensive DAW control, and the new δelta plug-in-based automation system.
The studio’s architecture has the vocal booth at its centre, with windows through to all the other rooms so the vocalist can make eye contact all musicians, and the control room, while still being in an acoustically isolated space. There is a small live room on one side of the vocal booth, and a larger 70-sq-m live room on the other side.
‘The heart of the studio is the Control Room,’ Max says. ‘These days they get more people in them, so we wanted this one to be as big as possible. In the back we have a seating section with cinema-style chairs so people can be sitting back there and watching what’s going on without getting in the way. And there’s plenty of room left for the big SSL and lots of outboard.
‘We wanted the best console, and Duality is the best one out there,’ he continues. ‘The preamps sound awesome – the best in the world; and the channel compressors are amazing – I especially like the automatic make-up gain.’
The Hangout is Tilt’s relaxation area, complete with kitchen, comfortable seating, and an impressive collection of pinball machines. ‘Those are ideal for clearing your mind. If you work at a perfume shop you might have coffee beans to smell – this is similar. Even if you’ve been recording for hours on end, as soon as you release the plunger you get into it. It’s a nice way to break off and think of something else for a while.’
As well as supplying the console, ARVA Trading also took care of the installation and provided on-site training: ‘They were great,’ Max says. ‘Everything was very new but Ronny from ARVA sat down with me and taught me all the basics, to get us going.
As well as offering the usual in-the-box recording options, Tilt provides for anyone who prefers a complete analogue signal path. Studer A827 24-track and B67 2-track machines are on hand, as is a good array of analogue outboard. Some classic instruments are in stock too, with Steinway, Hammond and Moog for keys, and Fenders, Gibsons and Ibanez for guitars. ‘This is a space where musicians of all kinds can come and record,’ notes Max. ‘We have already had bands from all over Sweden, and some from Norway too.’
