British Grove Studios: Touring Mark Knopfler’s Sonic Sanctuary

[@sweetwater]

Which studio would you choose for your dream recording sessions? Sound off in the comments below, and don’t forget to stop by Sweetwater for all your studio-gear needs 👉 sweetwater.sjv.io/Studio-Recording

[@hepphepps8356]

Repost without background music, please. (And fire the editor who thought it was a good idea)

[@hepphepps8356]

Repost without background music, please. (And fire the editor who thought it was a good idea)

[@justinhavu]

Either British Grove or Sweetwater!

[@Nick_Barre]

Maybe you could re-post this without the mind-numbing background music-to save the sanity of future viewers.

[@mikemitchell472]

When giving a studio tour, make sure you have a coffee cup in hand at all times, lest someone think you’re not a real engineer.

[@Claude_van]

Don’t forget annoying background music.👍🏿

[@zoltanrudolf]

Tea thank you! It is Mr. Knopfler's studio.

[@sonormatt]

Literally this was the first thought that came to mind. Gladit was the first comment haha!

[@eightiesmusic1984]

@@NcAllyRecording No smuggle or smug attitude except as a figment of your imagination. Spell correctly. There should be a question mark before the emojis or better still instead of them.

[@felipegutierrez197]

Imagine coming to work in a place like this everyday ❤️

[@gomedoc1]

wow awesome...Mark never compromises.....In aspect of his musical process.....I am in awe of him...

[@BlaknBlu_Ltd]

I was lucky enough to record an orchestra for a movie soundtrack at British Grove. Fabulous studio staffed by amazing and talented people.

[@tekis0]

FINALLY, a tour of British Grove!! Fantastic looking place.

[@ronaldcoleman9370]

The most Impressive Studio I have seen yet!!! Absolutely love the old Tech Consoles!!!!

[@rajivmodha3693]

You missed the most important part of the studio - where "million cups of tea" (as Guy Fletcher might say) are made!! What a delight to get a detailed tour of this great studio.

[@juergenheinrich1656]

SweetCoffee is touring British Grove Studios 😁 But seriously, an interesting tour and a great studio. Thank you!

[@MrSparklespring]

I'm not a gearhead but what 'Knopf' established as a studio is very impressive. As long as it suits excellent music it's fine for me. And then people listen to the recordings on their phone... I have a good installation on the receiving end with B&W speakers. The music deserves this certainly Marks' music!

[@charlieodegaard7081]

Watch the coffee mug mate!

[@Prof.-ou812]

yea , they are empty ,so some of that studio is just for show !

[@hepphepps8356]

@@dreammix9430 Never been to a real studio, ey? Or the flightdeck of an airliner, even? Airbus had to redesign the center pedestal of the A350 airliner after 2 tea-spilling incidents in 2019. They first suggested a «liquid free zone», but that was deemed impossible.

[@dreammix9430]

actually I worked in many many recording studios and that's why was cringing when that coffee cup was held to close to the console. I've actually seen cans of soda spilled onto the console and destroyed five channel strips which had to be removed and cleaned and the faders to be replaced . I know coffee and soda are consumed in rooms all the time but there's definitely a risk

[@brendanwalsh108]

Recorded in a lot of London studios in the seventies and eighties and there would be lots of coffee and or wine around. Never witnessed a spill but, oh, those tape machines lived a charmed life. Cigarette smoke too although the AC probably took care of that.

[@wkelly-hn4kb]

These blokes are tea drinkers I'm sure

[@PrismSoundRecording]

Great video @Sweetwater, love it - it's such an amazing facility and team. British Grove our one of the Prism Sound using studio powerhouses. Tucked away in the machine room are around 30 x Prism Sound ADA8XR converters that provide the I/O for this amazing studio (they have a few of our interfaces too). We've always loved Mark Knopflers quote on ADA8XR which was simply "We tried them and they were better"... 🔥

[@gavinrae2416]

Worked for NEVE for a few years. I'm glad you still have faith in the desk you have.

[@cowabungaw9958]

What a collection of beautiful consoles

[@Simeon_Harris]

just round the corner from where i grew up and went to school. i think it's a superb studio. amazing gear of course, but the design is so incredibly well thought out.

[@DonAntonioCasanova]

So much great gear in here 😍

[@hepphepps8356]

Putting background music on these kind of videos is just……unmusical. Tonedeaf. It really cheapens the experience into a 3rd rate infomercial, terrible.

[@brucetambling7698]

The music bed is SO distracting! Video editors are often tasteless...

[@sodium57]

Oh please...

[@frequenciararasounddesign]

I couldn't even pay attention to the description of the studio's acoustics and equipment, I just focused on the 2 cups in the hands of the presenters, I wanted to see if they weren't going to have any accidents the whole time! What is this for?

[@vitavomloehberg]

2:19 so if this console is from EMI Lagos, Paul McCartney might have used this one for the Band on the run album which was recorded there ?

[@gregmason2760]

My thoughts exactly.

[@martindeane9631]

Yes, this was the TG12345 that was used to record the Band On The Run album. I learned that when I got a tour of British Grove Studios a few years ago.

[@mikeh2520]

I always thought that record sounded so good. And the drums really complemented the track so perfectly well and when I started working on records and was asked who my favorite drummers were I mentioned the Band on the Run record not knowing who the drummer was. It was Paul McCartney playing drums.

[@dizmix]

This studio is going CRAZY.. 😳

[@MartynWhite]

Hey @sweetwater Thank you for posting this. What a fantastic studio. Pretty much the dream studio almost audio text around the world I imagine. One small criticism of this great video though would be… Why did you use same backing track all the way through a 21 minute video? I was so close to stopping the video after about 10 minutes because I couldn’t bear to listen to a money for nothing rip off constantly repeating. You guys must be able to stretch to purchasing a couple more backing tracks surely? Other than that, the insight was wonderful !

[@karkmnopfler]

Who needs a backing track anyway?

[@juergenheinrich1656]

I watched it muted and with captions on. Unfortunately, I was not able to make the boys with coffee mugs disappear 😁

[@jfn467]

What's the deal with the coffee mugs? Product placement? 😊

[@timstapleman]

Why on earth are you both only holding one mug? Why not one in each hand? I walk everywhere with a coffee mug in each hand. Walking from room to room, never putting them down. It also solves the problem of having to choose which hand to hold the mug in. I don't swap the mug from hand to hand because I can't. I give presentations holding mugs. I catch buses holding mugs.

[@SashanMusArt]

😂😂

[@costelloandsilke7321]

What a fabulous studio. Caught sight of some Prism Sounds but would be good to know more about the converters being used.

[@PrismSoundRecording]

What we (Prism Sound) can tell you is British Grove have around 30 x ADA8XR installed as theirconverter of choice... of course we have now given them something to "think about" with the introduction of our Dream ADA-128 😎

[@zoltanrudolf]

Two things I observed about the coffee mugs: they are empty and they are clean?!

[@Prof.-ou812]

I did not hear a word they said ,I only saw two empty coffee cups ,,,so they keep their cup clean and with them at all time 🤔

[@SEGREDOSPROIBIDOS1]

I wonder how much a day of recording will cost there… probably more than my guitars are worth altogether 😅

[@MatthewBarelick]

OMG WHAT A DESK!

[@andrewsun4385]

Awesome!!!🌟🌟💯💯

[@appis01]

That couple of bars on a loop… 😂

[@CAMMYSINCLAIR]

pain

[@PooNinja]

Very cool studio. Love that big Neve. My dream studio is the Harmony Hut ohh what I would give to be the hermit of the Harmony Hut.

[@coolint]

Beautiful Professional Recording Studio.

[@AnthonyDunstan]

thank you SW

[@Thirsty_Deer_Studio]

I just got the Chandler TG-2 and have a BAE 1073 both 19" units so having those 2 consoles plus the REDD is so cool to me. I know the level they have taken my recordings to, and the history of them is the coolest

[@MarkusBoettner]

Heaven, right there.

[@jerrymckenzie1858]

World class facility!

[@porkpie2884]

I thought the two empty coffee mugs as props was interesting

[@markpavletich747]

But these jolly chaps never actually drank their tea…. Absolutely amazing sonic temple. One of the gods giving back to music.

[@ronnyangell665]

What kind of amplifiers are used in pro studios like this? Is it always a pre and power combo?

[@zakarysorensen3946]

I’m in Australia so I love it

[@sadul]

Nice museum.

[@gregmize01]

Seems nice. I might get a place like this when I move out.

[@Si1983h]

Absolutely incredible, this is how it should be done. So many modern recordings sound totally flat and lifeless… don’t think there’s any danger of that happening here!

[@shawncolemusic]

Every artists dream.

[@wkelly-hn4kb]

Pardon me for noticing ..but isn't there an annoying ground buzz on the return bus on track 73?

[@kenk910]

Amazing studio!

[@JibsMotoVlog]

Do you really have to hold your coffee on the board the entire time? Making me nervous

[@JibsMotoVlog]

Maybe the studio couldn't afford to buy a coffee table. Ikea has a great one

[@DavidOakesMusic]

Who is playing the fake Money For Nothing though ? 😀

[@Michiel1972]

BLACK LIFE ROAD · Frank Shelley · Dave Ellis

[@billyvalentine4365]

Where is the Apple Studio Helios console??? I thought you guys have it.

[@mellobotstudio]

These are Britts fellas, that's tea.😅

[@andreolivierulm]

background music really annoying

[@shayeasy]

the same thing on repeat for 20+ minutes. brutal

[@snoopywalker1881]

Do you use the Flock Patch in the studio. One of the engineers said in our “Patch”

[@willudallmusic]

amazing

[@adamcoe]

that's a confident man with a coffee mug

[@ThePottel]

mind blown

[@ClassicMusicianChannel]

And I thought my Allen&Heath 10-channel mixer was totally badass!

[@marialiamartelli4985]

If you want to make the real British Grove Studio and feel thrills, go to the Get Lucky behind the scenes British Grove Studios tour, hand in hand with Mark himself and Chuck Ainlay. Enjoy 😉

[@Architectureguy]

I guess that's the Bosendorfer they used on the 5.1 mix of Shine On You Crazy Diamond when they discovered that the piano that was on the stereo version (before the main guitar solo), was snipped into the 2 track master and NOT on the multitrack tape. If his studio and piano are good enough for Pink Floyd, that's all that needs to be said about how good it is.

[@morbidmanmusic]

"If his studio and piano are good enough for Pink Floyd, that's all that needs to be said about how good it is." silly

[@agross12345]

Why not show some musicians actually play in the booths etc.?

[@kristopher0815]

Next studio tour: Real World Studios !! 🙂

[@FearlessInTokyo]

Checklist for a Great KZbin "Studio Tour" 1. Expensive outboard gear. 2. Expensive Mics. 3. Leslie. 4. And most importantly... Coffee mug in hand.

[@LondonSteveLee]

Notice the "Money For Nothing" pastiche guitar at the end!

[@paulmarjoram2258]

This so reminds me of an interview I had for a tea boys job at Trident back in the early seventies. I was 16 and obsessed to get in to the game. I was taken on a tour around the studio and shown all the kit but wasn’t told anything about why it was there or how it worked. I didn’t get that job which, looking these two coffee/tea cup hugging junkies may have been a good thing.

[@massapower]

Let's see those ANALOG Tape recording Machines 😁👍🏻👍🏻

[@lowandodor1150]

i can't take it when they talk about the most amazing gear and the camera guy focuses on the guy talking about the most amazing gear.

[@kinasc1575]

​@lowandodor1150 yes that does my head in, together with out of focus panning shots.🤷🏻‍♂️🤦🏻‍♂️

[@emanuelstanley2523]

In the digital age we are in now, the time of big studios like this are mainly over.

[@jimlutz1290]

OK< Listenup Sweetwater Video Crew - This video is great, WHY? No time consuming questions. No yuk yuk back and forth head knoding acknowledgements, - Just great replys, immediate information and two well spoken guys. These two guys a Smarty Pants' and I hope are paid rather well. This Studio is Crown Jewel of the Industry - Thanks for not speaking during this Video - We need more STUDIO Tours less the Audio of the Questions . . . .Roll Tape, Lets Gooooooo ! ! ! Oh by the way, I was going to make a pilgramage to Sweetwater until it required multicity flights and you're so far off the normal metropolitan radar, it easier to get to the AMAZOM River to study Global Warming. You could have at least broke ground on your massive expansion years ago where jets land and nice hotels can be found. Noo, you guys are like some Discovery Ch. episode of some off beat Cold War Town full of Weapon ruins and train tranks to nowhere. Well Done

[@uriel-heavensguardian8949]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍Beautiful!!!!!!

[@dizmix]

🔥

[@nicmcv6925]

Blimey!

[@nifty1337]

Mind blowing multi million studio. 😎 Shame the guys couldn’t have been more self confident and ditched the £0.99 coffee cup props/safety blankets 😁 Who am I kidding, they’re probably £400 designer mugs .. 🤔🤣

[@That.old.mountain]

´Sort of.. I belive´

[@artsolomon202]

Whats up it all those guys in studio's, seems like they're easily dehydrated. Maybe the size of the studio has something to do with it, mine is a lot smaller, dont need my drink everywhere i go.;)

[@nick314]

This is the worst video presentation I've seen. Just a couple of dudes saying model numbers for 20 mins. No demonstration of anything - even just a clap in the booths... Play the piano - something!!... what a waste of time

[@CAMMYSINCLAIR]

these guys are never without their white mugs

[@throwingshapes6490]

For such a huge studio tour, you did'nt spend much time talking about or showing us, the equipment.

[@matthewblake2258]

i got a laptop in a tent

[@dustycooper]

How on earth can this be commercially viable?

[@PavelFomenkov]

It is not. Mark Knopfler said he lost money on this studio.

[@DavidOakesMusic]

@@PavelFomenkov Which might explain him selling so many guitars and still recording albums and touring despite being 103.

[@martinc9750]

@@DavidOakesMusic to be fair a huge portion of some of those sales went to cancer organizations...

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

🚬😎 how cool

[@calvertphoto]

I don't think there was anything in their mugs.

[@thaexception3406]

Nice

[@PJPsounds]

Talking to visitors you don't need to hold mug in your hand , you're at work not on your coffee break with mates. Too late to learn manners though...

[@DaveyWoodford]

What does it cost per day tho…..

[@DavidOakesMusic]

Its free but the coffee is £5,000 a mug :D

[@jesusislukeskywalker4294]

@@DavidOakesMusic😂

[@rainbowmade1880]

Who has actually recorded there?

[@DavidOakesMusic]

@@rainbowmade1880 Mark Knopfler

[@SEGREDOSPROIBIDOS1]

@@rainbowmade1880Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, David Gilmour, The Who… the list goes on and on

[@ianhurley-n2s]

2 sugars please

[@thekaratesuit]

why did he pretend he didn’t know it was italy? he definitely knew

[@HudUniSoundEngineering]

Oh hi University of Huddersfield sound engineering alumni Jason Elliot 😜🙌🏻

[@snoopywalker1881]

Catch the Mark Knopfler tour of the studio….Much better details on real use rather than this piece of gear or that.

[@GuitarzanPete]

ADR? Attention... Deficit... Reverb? :P

[@ajwpowertothepeople3766]

Lets hope someone writes any good music then.

[@ClassicMusicianChannel]

Millions of dollars worth of equipment to get the best sound, and what do people do? Listen to the music on their phones!

[@carltechmobile3983]

Beautiful studios like this are slowly meeting there fate as artists use other forms of recording. Just look at what is happening to an iconic studio like Sunset Sound in LA. Local governments are not enforcing the law with crime and homelessnes. Such a sad end for the magic that happens in a recording studio.

[@thomasachlios8302]

move around this gear with a cup of coffee??? you fired...both.

[@Charlie-cc7iu]

I know what boys with coffee cups look like. You don't have to show me. There's the greatest old equipment and you only give it a cursory glance. What a waste.

[@wariedl12]

The guys should dress up properly when presenting this beautiful pieces. 😊

[@BillonBass]

I’m sorry folks. But if you need all of that to make good music………

[@analogueman5364]

You don't. But you need it to record it well.

[@tauernhiker0001]

​ wrong.

[@meshplates]

Multi million studio deserves some good presenters. Sloppy.

[@AndyDrudy]

I wonder how much money they lose every year!

[@justice6480]

They are Brits- so it’s most likely tea and not coffee

[@ShimiHalperin]

That's a lot of antiquated and unnecessary gear.

[@sandybeansconqueso]

😂

[@SEGREDOSPROIBIDOS1]

Yeah, you probably know better than Mark Knopfler lol

[@morbidmanmusic]

says you, one who doesn't own or use it... please stop;

[@jamesm.3967]

Who cares.

[@morbidmanmusic]

says you, one who doesn't own or use it... please stop;

[@tobybaker5187]

Can we see the actual equipment, please? Not the engineers face?