Liverpool’s Most Iconic Recording Studio

Al Groves

Al Groves is a producer and mixer with over sixteen years’ studio experience. Owner of The Motor Museum, he has curated a musical utopia to reflect his vision of the ultimate recording experience.

Al has made his name with acts such as Bring Me The Horizon and Cast as well as developing a whole of host of new talented upstarts. Recent artists produced and mixed by Al include STONE, The Reytons, and The Sherlocks.

Al’s productions regularly feature on radio and streaming playlists, and his work has earned him Platinum, Gold and Silver awards worldwide.

Al is available for Production, Mix, and Writing sessions and is represented by Pip Newby at Friends Vs Music.

Credits include…

Bring Me The Horizon / The Sherlocks / STONE / The Reytons / KO KO MO

Al’s Showreel

Ben Harper

Partner-engineer Ben Harper brings a wealth of talent to his sessions. Cutting his teeth in a bands around Liverpool Ben has been a part of the Merseyside music scene for almost a decade on both sides of the glass.

After graduating Lipa in 2020 his longtime relationship with The Mysterines led him to contribute to their debut album ‘Reeling’ earning him his first top ten album credit. He quickly capitalised on this early success that has led to him participate on records for The Luka State and The Sherlocks.

Ben’s strengths lie in how he supports artists through the creative process; his gentle personality nurtures creativity in those around him, and he is a master of guiding sessions to being wonderfully productive events. He cares deeply about the music he is entrusted with, and is an advocate of ‘doing things right’ when it comes to applying recording techniques.

Ben is comfortable on a variety of genres spanning Guitar to Pop, and has a special interest in recording live and capturing performances. He is also an exciting co-writer!

Credits include…

The Zutons / The Mysterines / The Sherlocks / The Luka State / BANNERS 

Ben’s Showreel

Loïc Gaillard

Loïc Gaillard is another of our partner-engineers at The Motor Museum.  Originally from Switzerland, he moved to the UK to pursue a career in the recording industry, and in 2017 was awarded the Music Producers Guild Prize to recognise his achievements.

He joined The Motor Museum as an assistant, before his exceptional work ethic earned him engineering roles in 2018.  He later graduated to leading our engineering team, working closely with Al Groves and regularly engineering projects for him.

Holding a Bachelors degree with first class honours from the prestigious Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Loïc brings a wealth of knowledge and technical prowess to his sessions.

Loic left the in-house team in 2021, but continues to deliver Motor Museum Mastering from his new studio and still a familiar face around the studio.

Credits include…

Little Comets / Larkins / Neon Waltz / Zuzu / Stealing Sheep

Loic’s Showreel

Sam Pierpoint

The man behind the scenes of operations is Studio Manager Sam Pierpoint. 

An exceptional drummer (Al says one of the best in the north west!) Sam had already spent many hours behind the kit in our live rooms and understands The Motor Museum culture perfectly. Friendly, conciencious and highly professional, Sam ensures the studio runs like clockwork. He’s a great people person and a friend to everybody, with great insight into what makes an artist-friendly recording studio.

Sam looks after day to day operations, technical projects, social media and client liaison. He’s also an avid fan of Formula One!

Recording

Recording is our bread and butter, and we think we’re pretty good at it. We see recording as an art form, and our engineering team are dedicated to the perfect application of it. We specialise in both live recording and overdubbing, and we’ve curated a workflow that takes the obstacles out of recording to focus on capturing amazing music. Whether loud band or an intimate acoustic, our recording services are focused on capturing amazing music in the most authentic way possible.

Mixing

Some of the most acclaimed records of the last decade have been mixed at The Motor Museum. Whether it’s the incredible sounding control room or our vintage Neve console, mixing makes up a large part of our work. Our in-house engineers are experts in balancing sound and creating beautiful sonic landscapes, and Al Groves brings his unique high-impact style to bring a mix to life. The magic of what we do can be applied to songs recorded elsewhere too, and all our mixes include instrumentals as standard.

Mastering

Mastering is the final step in producing a quality recording.  It’s very much like framing a great photo, and is the final buff and polish before a track goes out into the world. Good mastering focuses the energy in a mix and ensures the music we create in the studio sounds just as good outside it.

Priced at £50 + VAT per track, our mastering service provides a cost effective way of preparing a mix for release, and we offer DDP and ISRC embedding for easy integration into streaming platforms.

Recording/Monitoring

SSL Duality Delta SE 48

ProTools HDX1 (PT2019), Intel MacPro 7.1 w/ 28in & 50out

Burl B2 Bomber ADC

Genelec 8351B x 2

Genelec W317A x 2

Cranesong Avocet

Hear Technologies Hearback Headphone Mixers (x4)

Beyer DT100/150/770 (x8)

Outboard

API 560

Cartec EQP-1A (x2)

Neve 1073 (x3)

Ridge Farm Gas Cooker DI

Thermionic Culture Earlybird 2.2

Tritone Fethead (x2)

DBX 160X (x2)

Drawmer DS201

Empirical Labs ES-8 Distressor (x2)

Retro Sta-Level Gold

Urei 1176 Silverface (x2)

SPL Transient Designer 2

Little Labs Redcloud 8ch Attenuator

AKG BX20 Spring Reverb

Aphex 204 Aural Exciter

Chandler Industries Tube Driver

Eventide H3000-D/SE

Korg Kaoss Pad

Lexicon 960L

Lexicon PCM90

Radial Phazer

Solid State Logic Fusion

SPL Vitalizer

TC Electronic FireworX

WEM Watkins Copicat

Microphones

AKG C414 B-ULS (x2)

AKG C451B

Calrec CM1050C

Flea U47 Vintage

Neumann KM84 (x2)

Neumann TLM170

Neumann TLM193 (x2)

Neumann U67

Realistic PZM (x 2)

SE Electronics Gemini II

AEA R44CE

AEA R88 mkII (stereo)

Cascade Fathead II

Coles 4038 (x2)

AKG D112

AKG D12E

Audio-technica ATM25

Beyerdynamic M201

DrAlienSmith Alien8

Electrovoice RE20

Sennheiser MD421 (x4)

Shure Beta 52A

Shure SM57 (x5)

Shure SM57 Transformerless

Shure SM7B

Yamaha Subkick (x2)

Guitar/Bass Amplifiers/Keys/Synths

Ampeg B15R

Ampeg 8×10 Cab

Badcat Cub IIIR

Custom 2×12 Cab (G12H30 + G12M25)

Dr Z Maz 18NR

DWJ Princeton

Fender Super Twin Reverb

Marshall 4×12 Cab (T75’s)

Marshall 7400

Mesa Boogie Rectoverb

Fender Rhodes MK2 Stage

Moog Minimoog

Octave The Cat

Studio Electronics SE1-X

Challen Upright Piano

FX Pedals/DI’s/Signal Tools

Boss CE-2 Chorus

Boss CS-3 Compression Sustainer

Boss HM-2

Ceriatone Klon Centaur

EQD Afterneath

EQD Arpanoid

EQD Disaster Transport Sr

EQD Transmisser

Ebow

Elextro-Harmonix Freeze

Electro-Harmonix Microsynth

Electro-Harmonis Superego

Hudson Broadcast 24v

Dunlop Crybaby Wah

Lovepedal 4 Knob Blackface Deluxe

Marshall Jackhammer

ProCo Rat

Sansamp Bass Driver DI

Zvex Super Hard-on

Zvex Wah Probe

BSS Audio Active DI (x2)

EMO Passive DI

Little Labs STD (x2)

Radial Reamp

Drums/Percussion

Ludwig Super Classic 1968
22×14 12×8 16×16

Premier Silver Jubilee 1975 24×14 14×10

Tama Starclassic Bubinga Elite
24×16, 14×12, 16×16, 18×16

KD Customs Vented 14×5 Snare

Mapex Black Panther Snare Drum 14×5

Pearl Free Floating Brass Snare Drum 14 x 6.5

Pearl Sensitone Steel Snare Drum 14 x 6.5

Worldmax Brass Snare Drum 14 x 5