AudioAficionado.org - Our visit to Northstar Studio, The Netherlands

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Our visit to Northstar Studio, The Netherlands

Last week, we were lucky enough to be invited by Bert van der Wolf, recording engineer with 3 decades of experience.
Thank you, Ben van Leliveld, for arranging this visit!

We were thrilled about this event, as we enjoy his albums so much.
We own dozens of them, and listen in multichannel in our living room.

He started his own label, Turtle Records some 2 decades ago.
He has worked for almost all the major labels in the world, and has been on the payroll of dCS.
Since dCS left the pro-world, he is working with Merging Technologies, like many recording engineers do.
Lately, he's also the importer of Merging Technologies for Germany, Austria, The Netherlands and Belgium.

I won't repeat information that has been everywhere on the web.
Like this good interview here: https://www.psaudio.com/article/bert-van-der-wolf/

His studio is situated in a quiet neighbourhood in a little town in The Netherlands.
You wouldn't expect that behind a very "normal" looking facade, some of the greatest recordings of the world are being mixed.

Bert was waiting for us, with good coffee and tea, and started to tell about his career, but also his children.
You can easily sense Bert's passion.
The love of the music is the driving force in his life.

The place he's working in is the fruit of steady improvements and adjustments.
It's a warm and welcoming room.
I could see myself functioning here, it is inviting.
Room treatments have evolved from Bert's own efforts till the RFTS devices that Ben himself has installed.

This is the studio when it is cleaned up, a couple of years ago.
Bert sent it to us after our visit.
Maybe to give a tidier impression?

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...14untitled.jpg

The other pictures are taken by my wife Meta, my faithful audio companion.
I do prefer his studio like this, it is much cosier.

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...23untitled.jpg

9 Avalon speakers, of which the Eidolons are the left and right front speakers.

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...24untitled.jpg

Bert told us a couple of anecdotes.
Like the circumstances in which he sometimes has to record orchestras.

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...28untitled.jpg

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...29untitled.jpg

Sometimes, you arrive, and the orchestra's waiting impatiently in the concert hall.
Then you have 30 minutes to set up the microphones, acoustic devices, and your own little surround system, somewhere in a small room.
It's sheer experience that steers you through such rough circumstances to still capture the qualities of the orchestra.

Very often, your reputation alone, is already enough to soothe the stress that ensembles often have when they are to record.
They only have limited time in that expensive recording studio, will they succeed?
And you enter, they relax and you see them thinking: Now everything will be alright!

.

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...30untitled.jpg

My 5 large Avalon speakers are already more than 10 years old, says Bert.
So, with newer designs, I could maybe reach even better sound, but I'm so used to this system, that I will not change them now.

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...33untitled.jpg

A turtle on every Avalon.
A statement, not a voodoo device.

http://metazahren.com/photography/ge...32untitled.jpg

Bart, thanks for the pictures, I bet with 5 Avalon Eidolons that studio sounds insanely good. Looks fantastic too. Those speakers really are amazing for the money

- Buck