London, UK (November 21, 2023)—Fluid Mastering founders Tim Debney and Nick Watson have closed their facility in London and have set up new studios near their respective homes of the past decade-plus.
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. Debney’s studio, which was built in his garden in Surrey, is almost as large as Fluid’s old room in London. Watson’s studio in Bristol, still under construction, will be equally spacious.
As both Debney and Watson 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, so the only solution was to get a second pair,” says Debney, who took the existing monitors. “PMC staff were very accommodating and managed to source an identical system for us, so we didn’t have to draw lots. PMC also came to my studio and helped align them so that they are performing at their best.”
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Moving Fluid to two locations instead of one was a big decision for the pair, 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, 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,” Debney 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.”
He adds, “Our old studios were centered around great outboard gear. We both use some fabulous plug-ins 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 analog gear and splash out on some new toys.”
