SynthTemple Melbourne – Genelec ATMOS
It’s not every day you come across a project of this calibre, in fact it’s probably a once in a lifetime opportunity that will spark the interest of synth lovers and sound aficionados the world over.
Tony Osmond, a prominent Melbourne based synth collector contacted Studio Connections over 4 years ago. We sat down with Tony to discuss his visionary project and Steve Spurrier, Studio Connection’s Genelec Product Specialist, went to work with Tony to advise on speaker installation. Tony’s idea was to build a fully working synth facility/museum to house his growing collection of rare vintage analogue and digital synths, samplers and drum machines – a place open to the public for people to come and play, record and jam. This collection is one of, if not, the biggest collection of rare synths and samplers in the world and one that most people would have previously only ever seen in books, or on the internet.
During their discussions Steve and Tony mapped out a complex Genelec monitoring experience that had never before been achieved, and had only been possible through the use of Genelec’s extremely flexible SAM reference monitors and GLM software.
What is SynthTemple?
SynthTemple is a synth focused, fully working recording facility/museum in Melbourne’s inner-city suburb of Kew. The facility houses the biggest (we believe) collection of synths the world has ever seen. There are two main areas, Studio 1, or Synth Hall as it is affectionately called, and Studio 2, the control room. Synth Hall is a 195 square meter open space lined with the rarest of analogue and digital synths including the largest Roland System 700 modular in the world. Here you’ll find synths like the Yamaha CS80 in triplicate, Moog Modular, DotCom Modular, Korg Modular, OSCAR and Prophets. It’s not all synths though. You’ll also find a fully functioning Fairlight CMI sampler, Emulators, drum machines, vocoders and so much more. There are 9 PODs each of which has its own patchbay, outboard effects, pre-amps, tuner, DIs, A/D and D/A, headphones, local Genelec monitors and MIDI. Rather than being isolated, each of the 9 PODs are also connected to the main 9.1.6 Genelec ATMOS System for monitoring and playback, as well as to Studio 2. Studio 2 is a much more intimate room designed for recording and playback with a hefty Genelec 9.1.4 ATMOS rig. The building houses a service room (Tech Shop) managed by legendary synth repair and Sound Engineer, Steve Jones, a solo iso room, hang out Hub, kitchenette and bathroom facilities.
In this article Steve Spurrier, Studio Connections Genelec Product Specialist, talks us through how it was possible to build a system that is so unique.
From Steve Spurrier (Studio Connections)
Tony first visited us in early 2021, to discuss his plans for SynthTemple. His planning was already extremely well developed – I think he had been dreaming about it most of his adult life. The scale and complexity of his vision was extreme to say the least. You could tell this was a very personal project and his drive for perfection was evident.
The initial plan for Synth Hall was for pairs of speakers for each “POD”, something around a 5” or 6” speaker and a pair of larger speakers at the front of the room as main monitors. Synth Hall is a cavernous 195 square meter open space with 4.5 meter ceilings. Studio 2 would be a stereo control room, completely separate but tie lined to the main space. During 2021, there were many discussions about how best to tackle this project, we discussed the flexibility that SAM monitors and GLM would provide, and like all solution driven projects do, the use case for the monitors and how the monitoring system could be implemented morphed every time a new idea was proposed.
The big change happened late in 2021 when we proposed an ATMOS solution. We had been busy in 2021 helping specify a number of ATMOS systems, but this was still very early days for the format in music. This idea was instantly adopted when Tony and Steve Jones visited an ATMOS Mastering Studio we had set up in early 2022. We had just finished this 7.1.4 ATMOS system, and the owner was over the moon about the performance and the benefits of ATMOS. It only took a few moments, but the look on Tony and Steve’s faces said it all, SynthTemple would be ATMOS based in its monitoring.
Tony’s design had many objectives – the needs of a solo artist using just one “POD”, the use of Synth Hall in an ATMOS playback scenario, and of course when he and a few friends simply wanted to jam, or hang out and listen to music. This was an extremely complex undertaking and one that needed the flexibility that only Genelec GLM software and Genelec SAM monitors could provide.
Studio 1 (Synth Hall)
9 PODS and 9.1.6 Genelec ATMOS System
Each of the 9 PODS connect the Synths within that POD to a local Analogue Sub mixer via a patch bay. Each patch bay is normalised to one or two Metric Halo Audio LIO interfaces providing 8 or 16 analogue inputs per POD. These interfaces feed a Genelec 9301B multichannel interface VIA digital AES/EBU and then distributed to the large hanging ATMOS 9.1.6 system. The hanging ATMOS system is also connected via analogue connections so that you can just turn a synth on and start playing without booting the main room computer. The local Genelec speakers for each POD are fed from the Sub Mixer via analogue connections. You can be listening to your desired synth in any POD with either headphones, the local Genelec speakers or the main system with a flick of a switch.
Genelec Synth Hall Speaker Configuration
9 x Genelec S360AW – L, C, R, Lw, Rw, Ls, Rs, Lrs, Rrs
6 x Genelec 8350AW – Ltf, Rtf, Ltm, Rtm, Ltr, Rtr
1 x Genelec 7382A – LFE, Bass Management
2 x Genelec 7380A – LFE, Bass Management
3 x Genelec 9301B – AES Multi-Channel Interface.
1 x Genelec 9320A SAM Reference Controller
12 x Genelec 8330A
Studio 2 (Control Room)
Genelec 7.1.4 ATMOS System
The control room (studio 2) features an Avid MTRX II interface feeding a Genelec 7.1.4 ATMOS system. Studio 2 is designed as a production, tracking and mixing room, built around a Pro Tools Ultimate rig with extensive outboard gear, including 32 pre-amps. Studio 2 is networked to the Main Synth room (Studio 1) via a Metric Halo interface allowing up to 128 channels of audio to be fed to the Studio 2 Mac.
Genelec Control Room Speaker Configuration
2 x Genelec W371A – L, R
4 x Genelec 8351B – Ls, Rs, Lrs, Rrs
4 x Genelec 8341A – Ltf, Rtf, Ltr, Rtr
2 x Genelec 7370A – LFE, Bass Management.
Although the Synth Temple Project was four years in the making for us at Studio Connections, with many iterations, discussions and meetings, it’s one that will not be forgotten anytime soon, and one that we are very proud to be part of. We Australians are so lucky and fortunate enough to have access to a place like Synth Temple in Melbourne. It’s truly world class!
If you would like to book in for a session at Synth Temple Click HERE
For More Information on Synth Temple Click HERE
For more information on the Genelec Setup contact us HERE