Ryan kelly
Contact
Email
info@topfloorstudios.com
Phone
+46 (0)702 647 574
Location
Stora Teatern
Kungsparken 1
411 36 Gothenburg
Sweden
Find the studio
(Google Maps)
About
Jakob Herrmann
Studio owner and producer Jakob Herrmann and his work has earned a wide reputation within many different genres and styles. The same level of reputation goes for Jakob’s immense knowledge about music production, drum recordings, and his great ear for song arrangements.
He has worked with albums awarded with several international Gold albums as well as wins and nomination for Grammis, the Swedish equivalent to the Grammy, Jakob has worked as producer, engineer, and drum tech on a large number of albums, and has also been the producer for plugins and software companies, such as Toontrack’s Superior Drummer/EZDrummer, Softube, Bogren Digital, Centipeak, Addictive Drums, etc.
Clients & Colleagues
The client list for Top Floor Studios and Jakob Herrmann as producer, recording engineer or drum tech includes artists and musicians such as Devin Townsend - Anthrax - In Flames - Europe - Hurts - Machine Head - Raised Fist - Dark Tranquillity - Cyhra - Suicideboys - Vildhjarta - Amaranthe - Danko Jones - Hardcore Superstar - Evergrey - Diablo Swing Orchestra - VOLA - Cane Hill - Peter Wildoer - Justin Hawkins (The Darkness) - Avatar - Arkentype - Manimal - Mikael Wiehe - Kee Marcello - Bob Hund - Thyrfing - TEMIC - Darby Todd - The Resistance - Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed) - Body Count - Engel - Mustasch - Hurula - Matt Guillory - Andreas Weise - Grand Magus - Freak Kitchen - Draconian - H.e.a.t. - Art Nation
Other collaborators include producers and mixing engineers such as Roberto Laghi - Jacob Hansen - Jay Ruston - Joe Barresi - Adam "Nolly" Getgood - Tobias Lindell - Jens Bogren - Tue Madsen - Buster Odeholm - Forrester Savell - Jonas Quant - Ryan Kelly - Steve Lagudi
Top Floor Studios
In the heart of central Gothenburg lies Stora Teatern ("The Big Theatre") built in the 1850s. It is one of the city’s trademark buildings, and the home of Top Floor Studios. When working here, the city is just outside the door. Inside the building, two spacious guest apartments are available, holding up to 8 people in total. There are also more than 40 hotels available within walking distance.
The studio design includes floating floors, double doors, high ceilings, natural daylight, and a smart climate system that ensures a perfect work environment. Defined by a controlled yet lively sound, the live room is designed for recording a variety of music styles and instruments. Discrete wall mounted input channels together with dedicated guitar amp/cab connections and ethernet outputs makes this room suitable for all styles of recording. The comfortable control room is designed from ground up for both recording and mixing, and features a fully equipped SSL 6000G console, along with state of the art outboards and speakers.
Upstairs from the regular studio lies the theatre stage, with 40 microphone channels straight down to the control room, transforming it into Gothenburg's biggest studio connected recording room. Highly suitable for grand piano, choirs, brass or strings.
Gallery
Videos
Testimonials
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“I have mixed several albums recorded at Top Floor by Jakob Herrmann, and he’s a real pro. Everything delivered is top-notch and flawless, which is of utmost importance for a great mix these days.”
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“Jakob is plain amazing, tweaking and digging out exactly the good stuff in a mix, that is so hard to achieve. It almost hurts, the true know-how he possesses. Splendid!”
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“Just an amazing place to record. Jakob’s knowledge of drum engineering, tuning and recording is immense, so there’s no need for samples. This studio is one of the most productive musical environments I have ever worked in. Can’t wait to come back!”
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“I had a great time working on this project, and I will say the tracks were easy to work with all around. I’d love to work with you guys again in the future.”
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“Without a doubt one of the best studio experiences I’ve ever had! First of all, you’re in heaven here as a drummer. The location is also amazing, in the center of Gothenburg.”
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“Professionalism wrapped in awesomeness. I will be back!”
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“I wanted to record drums without editing and without using samples. Jakob was a great asset for making the drums sound as good as possible. When we sent the raw files to the mix engineer, he replied “Jakob is a genius when it comes to capture drums”, and he was right. Jakob also knows how to make you releax but at the same time push you to get the best possible result, and I could not be more happy with the final product.”
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“I’ve recorded several projects at Top Floor Studios over the years, and it’s become my go-to studio for tracking in Europe. Jakob has gotten, by far, the best sounding drums I’ve ever recorded. Amazing space and wonderful gear, Top Floor is my home away from home!”
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“I have recorded with many producers and in countless studios, but working with Jakob Herrmann will always stand out as one of the best experiences. It’s a joy to work with him as he is a drummer himself and “gets” things other producers simply can’t understand.”
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“Jakob is mainly known for being a fantastic drum producer, but his skills actually encompass the whole production process. We worked together on an album session for several weeks, and were impressed by his attitude not only towards the engineering and production, but also his approach to the songs themselves, which he helped craft into something totally unique - exactly what we were looking for.”
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“Recording guitars at Top Floor studios was easily the best guitar tracking experience so far. As a very precise musician himself, Jakob understands the importance of cutting edge equipment and zero latency - and most importantly a great sound - as few others.”
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“The collection of different snare drums is a dream for any drummer, and the recording room sounds great!”
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“This studio is the place to go if you want the sound of your dreams. Jakob Herrmann knows what he is doing, and the fact that the studio is located in the heart of Gothenburg gives the whole recording experience that extra edge! I’m truly happy that we decided to work with Jakob and Top Floor on our latest albums, and I recommend all bands to check it out for themselves!”
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“One of the most creative, effective and vigorous producers I’ve ever hired. And a great guy to hang out with.”
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“Jakob and Top Floor Studios created awesome tones, making my mixing easy.”
Rates
The rates for Jakob Herrmann and/or Top Floor Studios are calculated depending on your project. This is to offer the best solution for the client and to make sure to work within their budget.
At Top Floor Studios, you are guaranteed a great working environment, top-notch producing and engineering, and high quality equipment. Along with the studio itself, all the available recording and backline equipment is included, with a large number of microphones, drums, amplifiers and instruments. The two spacious guest apartments are available depending on scheduling. All located in the middle of central Gothenburg.
With the flexibility and experience of working with many different kinds of projects and genres, as well as a network of assistants and collaborating engineers and studios, Jakob Herrmann and Top Floor Studios will work with the needed schedule, as well as finding a solution for any budget level and geographical location.
If you're looking for a price quote, or want to discuss the best solution for your project - get in touch.
Gear
CONTROL ROOM
Mixing console
SSL 6000G - 48 channels with "Black" model EQ
DAW
Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, StudioLive - all on a fully maxed out Mac computer.
For the benefit of the customer and guest engineers, we´re not bound to a specific program.
Recording is virtually latency-free, even during large sessions, due to lightning fast AD/DA converters.
Speakers
Two flush mounted Genelec 1038B in front. Two elevating Focal SM9 in front.
Two elevating Genelec 8030 in the back. One wall inserted Genelec 7070 subwoofer.
Additional Dynaudio and Genelec speakers.
Other
KHE 8x4 guitar amp switch including fx loop. Dynamount robotic microphone mount.
Preamps / Outboards
Tube/Solid-state
UA LA-610 Putnam Edition, UA 6176 (x2), Vintage Series (x2), Joemeek VC1Q, Vintagedesign M87D Neve-style, SSL 6000G (x32)
Compressors
UA LA2A, UA 1176 (x2), TFProP38 (stereo), Klark Teknik SQ1 (x8), SSL 6000 (x32 mono, x8 stereo)..
Reverb/Delay/EQ
Klark Teknik DN360 (x5), Roland SDE3000, TC Electronics M2000, Yamaha SPX90, Lexicon PCM81, V-Verb 2496, BBE Maximizer, SSL 6000G (x32 mono, x8 stereo)
Microphones
Dynamic
Shure SM57 (x10), Shure Beta57 (x5), Shure Beta52 (x2), Shure Beta56 (x2), Shure SM7B, Sennheiser 421 (x2), Sennheiser e902, Sennheiser e904 (x4), Sennheiser e906
Condenser
Neumann U87 (x2), Neumann TLM103, Milab DC96C (x2), Milab VM44 (x6), Milab BDM-01, Rode Classic MK1 (x2), AKG C451B (x3), AKG C214 (x4), Rode NT5 (x5), Rode NT2 MK1 (x2), Rode K2, AKG SE300B
Other
GAP Ribbon (x4), Shotgun mics, Shure Beta91 (x2), Sennheiser e901 (x2), Yamaha Subkick (x2)
Drums / Amps / more
Kits
4 kits from Pearl Masterworks, DS Drums Custom kit, Ludwig 70s Vistalite.
Snare drums
30+ snares from DW, DS Drums, Ludwig, Pearl, Yamaha, Premier, Tama, Beat Head, Mapex, Spunky, etc.
Cymbals
30+ high-end cymbals from Sabian and Zildjian
Amps
MLC, 5150, Engl, Mesa Boogie, Vox, Fender, Marshall, Orange, EBS, etc.
Cabs
Mahler Engineering granite cab with 6 interchangeable speakers, Suhr, Hiwatt, EBS.
Pedals
Delays, reverbs, fuzzboxes, distortion, wah-wah, noise gates, compressors, etc.
Keyboards
M-Audio midi controller. Yamaha acoustic grand piano on the stage
Third-party plugins
Softube, Soundtoys, Waves, iZotope, FabFilter, Accusonus, Antares, Plugin Alliance, Positive Grid, Soundradix, Stillwell, Toontrack, Valhalla, Wavesfactory, Celemony, Native Instruments, XLN Audio, Slate Digital, and maaany more.
Monitoring
Ethernet-based Aviom A16 Personal Monitoring System (x8)
Headphones
Sennheiser 280 (x6), AKG K240 (x3), Total Isolation (x2), Metrophones (x2), Vic Firth headphones (x2), Bose, etc.
Duality
Two sample packs for Superior Drummer and EZDrummer by Toontrack.
Produced and recorded by Jakob Herrmann at Top Floor Studios using the studio’s own drums and equipment. and played by drummer Alex Landenburg (Kamelot, Cyhra).
Duality I
For dark, warm and organic-sounding
hard rock and metal.
The custom made Pearl Masterworks in birch, maple and carbon fibre, along with Sabian cymbals. This kit features big sizes and thin drumheads, and have an old-school sound full of overtones that sounds amazing in the room mics.
Duality II
For bright, metallic and progressive
hard rock and metal.
The new hand built DS Drums from Italy, made to our exact specifications. It is the smaller, punchier and more modern kit, with thicker heads, and overall sounds more controlled and ”self-compressed” with a very full natural sound.
Big Stage
A new sample pack for Superior Drummer and EZDrummer by Toontrack.
Produced and recorded by Jakob Herrmann at Top Floor Studios recording the big theatre room. Played by drummer Darby Todd (Devin Townsend, Kee Marcello, etc).
Big Stage
Arguably the most unique and iconic setting in Toontrack EZX history.
An empty stage facing a massive mid-1800s theater auditorium, recorded to provide the broadest possible sonic palette. Featuring four contrasting kits as well as ambience microphones positioned on the far ends of the stage, the balconies and other key positions. Ideal for anything from thunderous rock and metal to modern ambient pop, soul and more
Bogren Digital - The Heaviest Cab In The World
A collection of impulse responses made with the Mahler Engineering 2x12, the world’s only speaker cabinet made out of granite.
Captured by producer Jakob Herrmann and guitarist KJ Melgoza at Top Floor Studios, where the speaker cabinet is also included in the backline..
40 IRs from a unique 300-pound Mahler 2x12 cabinet made of solid granite
Engineered and mixed by producer Jakob Herrmann and guitarist KJ Melgoza
Captured through a high-end recording chain, including an SSL 6000G console
Mic'd, EQ'd, and tailored to fit into your mix
Compatible with all software and hardware IR loaders
