Liverpool’s Most Iconic Recording Studio

Al Groves

Al Groves is a producer and mixer with over fifteen years’ studio experience. Taking over the Motor Museum in 2012, 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 releases produced and mixed by Al include work by Glass Caves, The Reytons, and Haarm.

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 / Cast / Glass Caves / Paris Youth Foundation / Haarm

Al’s Showreel

Bob Mackenzie

In-house Engineer Bob Mackenzie brings a level of exuberance and inspiration that make his sessions wonderfully creative events.  His recording style puts the music first and his trademark ‘Ear Thrills’ reflect his passion for bringing an artists’ vision to life.

Joining us in 2020, Bob graduated from LIPA with first class honours and it didn’t take long for him to make an impression. This was illustrated when his production of Luke Royalty’s ‘I Do’ landed him a string of Radio One features and playlists.

An expert at turning the studio into an instrument, Bob provides a recording experience that is driven by creativity. He excels at thinking outside the box and draws on his technical knowledge to find new and innovative ways to make the recording process fluid and effortless, deploying traditional studio techniques and inventing some new ones along the way.

Loïc Gaillard

Loïc Gaillard is one of the visiting 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 an in-house engineer position 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

Tom Peters

Tom has spent nearly a decade behind the console of some of the the most remarkable studio’s in the UK.  As a client of the studio for many years, Tom was a natural fit for our engineering team and brings nearly a decade of experience to his sessions.

Tom’s career began in 2011 as an assistant at The Grande studio, working under a multitude of established producers.  By 2013 he had climbed the ranks to in-house engineer and studio manager, and in 2017 established himself as a successful freelance engineer.

Tom has an insatiable appetite for music and he applies his thorough, meticulous approach to engineering to create exceptional recordings.  His warm and friendly personality ensure sessions are always fun, productive and stress-free!  He’s also an accomplished musician and works well across all ends of the genre spectrum.

Credits include…

The Fall / Big Country / Jamie Lenman / Alpha Male Tea Party / Grace Davies

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

Neve 8232 Inline console

ProTools HDX1 (PT2019), Intel MacPro 5.1 w/ 24in & 40out

Burl B2 Bomber ADC

ATC T16 (x2)

Genelec 8351B (x2)

Unity Audio Boulder (x2)

Yamaha NS10M (x2)

Yamaha SW10 Sub

Cranesong Avocet

Hear Technologies Hearback Headphone Mixers (x5)

Beyer DT100/150/770 (x8)

Outboard

API 3124+ 4ch Preamp

API 560

Cartec EQP-1A (x2)

Neve 1073 (x3)

Ridge Farm Gas Cooker DI

Thermionic Culture Earlybird 2.2

Tritone Fethead (x2)

Alan Smart C2

DBX 160X (x2)

Drawmer DS201

Empirical Labs ES-8 Distressor (x2)

Retro Sta-Level Gold

Urei 1176 Silverface (x2)

Valley people 610

Valley People Dynamite

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

SPL Vitalizer

TC Electronic FireworX

WEM Watkins Copicat

Microphones

AKG C414 B-ULS (x3)

AKG C451B

Calrec CM1050C

Neumann KM84 (x2)

Neumann TLM170

Neumann TLM193 (x2)

Neumann U67

Neumann U87

Realistic PZM (x 3)

SE Electronics Gemini II

AEA R44CE

AEA R88 mkII (stereo)

Cascade Fathead II

Coles 4038 (x2)

AKG D112

AKG D12E

AKG D19

Audio-technica ATM25

Beyerdynamic M201

Electrovoice RE20

Sennheiser MD421 (x4)

Shure Beta 52A

Shure SM57 (x5)

Shure SM57 Transformerless

Shure SM7B

Yamaha Subkick (x2)

Guitar/Bass Amplifiers/Keys/Synths

Amp B15R

Ampex 8×10 Cab

Badcat Cub IIIR

Dr Z Maz 18NR

DWJ Princeton

Marshall 4×12 Cab (T75’s)

Marshall 7400

Mesa Boogie Rectoverb

Fender Rhodes MK2 Stage

Korg Trident Mk2

Moog Minimoog

Octave The Cat

Studio Electronics SE1-X (x2)

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

Electro-Harmonix Microsynth

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 Sensitone Steel Snare Drum 14 x 6.5

Worldmax Brass Snare Drum 14 x 5