The Pool

With nearly 2000 sq ft of creative space, towering ceilings, natural light, modern interior design, and of course a spec fit for a studio king, The Pool ranks alongside the very best recording studios in London.

The Pool has been in evolution for several years. Launched in 2006 under a partnership between Miloco and producer Ben Hillier, it was at first a completely open, no-separation tracking room. In Summer 2009, it underwent a reconstruction that saw a new control room and drum booth built above its vast live space, which was also aesthetically revamped and acoustically improved. Two years later in Summer 2011, music entrepreneur Johan Ekelund joined the partnership, moving his huge collection of vintage outboard in to enhance Ben’s own impressive choice of rare analogue gear. Most recently in 2020, producer Anu Pillai moved his beautiful vintage Neve 5315 console to the studio and we added some select bits of outboard to compliment it, cementing The Pool's position as one of the country's best tracking rooms. 

The control room sits at the front of the studio. Its centrepiece is a rare 24-channel vintage Neve 5315 console, featuring 33115 mic pre/EQ modules. It's complimented by an Avid Artist Mix for on the fly fader moves and monitoring. The outboard racks feature classics such as a distressors, 1176, Tubetech LCA 2B along with more esoteric units from Fairchild, Tweed and Gates. The Pool’s monitoring includes Augspurger Treo 812 CFM Close Field Main Monitors, Yamaha NS10s, Genelec 1031s, and Adam S3A's all controlled from a Grace M905. The NS10's are powered by a choice of Quad and Yamaha amps. The studio runs on a Protools HDX rig, however tape fanatics have the option to book a 24 Track Otari MTR 90 2” machine.

The control room looks out over 1120 sq ft of powerful, punchy and dynamic live space equipped with an enormous collection of backline. We have three drum kits: a 1963 vintage Premier drum kit, Slingerland kit and a fantastic Yamaha 9000, with additional snares by Ludwig and Mitchell, and countless cymbals by Istanbul, Paiste, Pearl, Sabian, Zanki and Zildjian. Pick your kit and then choose your space! We have a custom-built booth measuring 3 meters high and capable of yielding all sorts of interesting sounds, or, you may wish to go all out in the main live room using a selection of acoustic panels to fine-tune your drum sound.

The rest of The Pool’s backline consists of Timpani, a vibraphone, glockenspiel, bongos and congas, plus an assortment of other percussive treats. And then… over 20 keyboards and analogue synths, an immense range of guitars, bass guitars, amplifiers and pedals, and a Yamaha Baby Grand piano, all of which can be recorded by a total of 40 different microphones. A bespoke amp box large enough for an Ampeg SVT is also at your disposal.  

We have then turned our attention to making The Pool’s creative atmosphere worthy of such a great equipment spec. During the day, thanks to the large skylights in the roof, the studio is beautifully lit, but when the sun goes down the hue lighting can be turned on and create a completely different night-time ambience. Any bulb can be any colour so the vibe is yours to be set.