When audio professionals invest in PMC monitors they become part of the PMC family, and as such PMC will always try to help if one of its family members' decides to rebuild their facility or relocate elsewhere.
In the case of Fluid Mastering, the internationally acclaimed mastering house set up by engineers Tim Debney and Nick Watson, PMC was happy to assist when Fluid announced it was moving out of its premises in Hammersmith and setting up two new studios in totally different parts of the UK.
As both Tim and Nick loved the PMC BB5-XBD Active monitors in Fluid's main studio, they faced a Judgement of Solomon who was going to take possession of these speakers, which had been a vital part of Fluid's set up since its inception in 2006?
We obviously couldn't take one half each, Tim laughs, so the only solution was to get a second pair. PMC staff were very accommodating and managed to source an identical system for us, so we didn't have to draw lots. The existing pair are now in my new studio in Surrey and Nick will soon install the second set in his studio in Bristol, once building work is completed. PMC also came to my studio and helped align them so that they are performing at their best.
Moving Fluid to two locations instead of one was a big decision for Tim and Nick, who first met while at Townhouse Studios in London. When they first set up the business, London was the obvious base, but more than a decade on both men were living outside of the capital Tim in Surrey and Nick in Bristol so the way the pair were working was very different.
It changed from being at the studios together for pretty much all of the week, to doing rotational shift work, Tim says. Nick had a lengthy commute, so it made more sense for him to stay in London for two or three days at a time and do all his work in one hit. My commute was only an hour from Hammersmith, so it was much easier for me to work around Nick's days. Eventually we realized there was no point in all the commuting time and overheads involved in London premises when we didn't have the benefit of working with each other anymore. We'd also got to the point where sharing one main studio didn't give us enough capacity as we were both so busy trying to fit all our work into roughly three long days each a week.
Although drastic, the solution was obvious both engineers wanted to stay partners in the business, but they also needed their own studios, and building them close to their own homes was much better than commuting. Tim's studio, which was built in his garden, is almost as large as Fluid's old room in London. Nick's studio will be equally spacious, but due to a few building headaches beyond his control it has taken longer to complete, so he is currently working from a temporary base.
Our old studios were centered around great outboard gear, Tim explains. We both use some fabulous plugins as well, but we tend to get most of the vibe and general tone for a master from our collection of valve and analogue equipment. We've had to buy second units of all the bits we shared in London, including another Manley MP, Neve Portico II, and various Prism Sound converters, but from my own point of view setting up a new studio has allowed me to indulge my love for analogue gear and splash out on some new toys.
Tim's studio now boasts the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor along with a Cartec Tone Harmonics Compressor. In addition, he has invested in an SPL PQ and an SPL DMC Mastering Console and Hermes router for all the monitoring and routing. But pride of place still goes to the PMC BB5-XBD monitors that Tim and Nick were first introduced to at Townhouse Studios.
The BB5s have always been my main speakers and I've been using them for almost 25 years, Tim says. They are the best speakers in the world for mastering because if there are any areas of the mix that need enhancement, you will really hear. I'm still amazed at the detail one hears, and how a great mix and production can sound on them. They're very unforgiving, which is exactly what you want from a speaker in a mastering suite because it is the last chance to iron out any remaining issues with a track, so you want to hear what s wrong and make it right."
In addition to the BB5-XBD monitors, Fluid also has a pair of PMC twotwo6 monitors currently with Nick in Bristol - that are used as a second listening reference. They sound amazing, and are a really good contrast to the BB5s, Tim says. They give another perspective and allow us to confirm the decisions we've already taken.
Since moving to his new studio, Tim mastered a plethora of tracks, covering many different styles and genres. Among them are projects for Peter Murphy, Brix Smith, Shed Seven, Buzzcocks, The Specials, The Wandering Hearts, Micah McLaurin, Bad Fractals, Tiggi Hawke, GIRLI, Jade Moss, The Wanted Sisters, Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott, Chloe Flower, Sea Fever, Dean Blunt, Look Mum No Computer, Blossoms, Xpropoganda, Altered Images, The Teskey Brothers, Melt Yourself Down, The Shires, Red Moon, AURORA, FIZZ.
With Nick equally busy in Bristol, it is easy to see why splitting Fluid geographically and building two main studios instead of one was such a good idea!
For more information about Fluid Mastering, please visit: www.fluidmastering.com
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
The Very Small Creatures
Jaime's Treetop Tales
Emerald
BooSnoo! Christmas Mashup
Pip & Posy's Spooktacular Party
The Very Sm...
10/07/2025
Thursday 10 July 2025
Brand new rewards are coming to Sky customers, with free ...
When audio professionals invest in PMC monitors they become part of the PMC family, and as such PMC will always try to help if one of its family members' decides to rebuild their facility or relocate elsewhere.
