Blasterjaxx Upgraded Their Studio with Genelec 1234s
Headliner Magazine 18, Published on Dec 7, 2016
Since 2013, this talented DJ-producer duo have been doing their thing all over the globe, and have cemented themselves in the top tier of the DJ Mag Top 100 list. As impressive as that is in such a short time, they remain humble in their approach to their art: “To be honest, we find it unbelievable that we’re really doing this, making our living by doing what we love more than anything,” says Thom Jongkind. We dig a little deeper, chatting music, studios, and giant speakers.
Blasterjaxx recently upgraded their studio facility with the help of renowned Dutch studio designer (and excellent wine drinker), Jan Morel. We know him well at Headliner, as he’s been pivotal in so many studio designs for the likes of Hardwell, David Guetta, and the current world number one DJ, Martin Garrix.
“We are currently using the Genelec 1234s. Man, those things are so powerful - and crystal clear! In the beginning, it took us a while to get used to working with them – you know, it’s a whole new environment, big-ass speakers, and a new acoustic to work in. But Hardwell has the same ones, so we kinda used him as a reference to purchase our own pair. And they are incredible.”: Blasterjaxx
“The guys gave me a call when they were making a new studio two years ago,” Jan Morel recalls. “They’d had some problems, and asked me to come over... Just in time! We changed the whole thing into a more functional and professional studio, and started creating a much bigger place. They were very curious about the big Genelec 1234 speakers, and at that time, they’d started to make a lot of money, but not spend a lot of money. The new car comes first, then the speakers! [smiles] So we had this huge control room, and the speakers they already had just didn’t have the power or the dynamic at all. There was just no low end.”
Morel had already recommended Genelec 8030 nearfields, which replaced their previous monitors, but holes had already been made in the studio walls to accommodate something much bigger. It was at this stage that Morel brought in the Genelec 1234s, along with the Genelec 7073 subwoofers.
“They had never heard anything like them before, of course; and I demonstrated some different types of music through them to one of the guys: some very nicely recorded Marcus Miller stuff, and then some Knife Party – really good EDM sounds. Blasterjaxx were then very keen to have a listen to their own stuff through the Genelecs, but because those speakers don’t have any mercy, they were pretty devastated! ‘Switch back to Knife Party,’ they said. [laughs] So then, next month, I came back to do a few tweaks, and they had a very different outlook: ‘We changed our old songs! You can’t imagine what it sounds like now!’ And I have to say, it was a big improvement. You often find when young DJs move to serious monitors, their mixes suddenly get much better.
Read the full Headliner Magazine's article here.