Located directly below the main/live space is the Meistersaal – the indisputable crown jewel of the Hansa legacy and arguably one of the most iconic recording rooms in the world. The majestic ambience of the Meistersaal can be heard on seminal works by the likes of Nick Cave, U2 and R.E.M., just to name a few. Still to this day, the Meistersaal remains a vivid Berlin landmark and is a common stop on guided tours of the city. Since this room no longer is officially an operational part of Hansa, the amount of projects recorded here are few and selected very carefully. However, with the help of Michael Ilbert and the owners of Hansa Tonstudios, we were given the unique opportunity to capture drums in this historic space. This SDX would simply not have been complete without the iconic ambience and aura of the “Big Hall by the Wall.” The gear Michael used to capture the Meistersaal drums features a handpicked selection of U67s, extremely rare M50s and a whole array of V72 pre-amps, just to give a few examples. We also captured the room with a classic 5.0 surround microphone positioning setup with the addition of four extra height microphones, giving you even more surround possibilities. Furthermore, an additional amplifier was set up in the room to play back and enhance the low frequencies of bass drums and toms.

“This is just a unique room. Put any instrument in there, mic it up and it comes out amazing. I think this is a room that makes you a better performer. If those walls could speak…”
– Michael Ilbert

“This is just a unique room. Put any instrument in there, mic it up and it comes out amazing. I think this is a room that makes you a better performer. If those walls could speak…”
– Michael Ilbert

THE TWIN SHELL KIT.

This is the same kit as the one that was recorded in the Marble Room. In the Meistersaal, though, it has an altogether different voice. It sounds huge! We also captured it with mallets, which again, introduces a completely new voice.