Headquartered in Shanghai, the company is owned by one of the largest media conglomerates in China - The Shanghai Media and Entertainment Group. This flagship studio was originally built in about 1985 and was in dire need of refurbishment. Lighting and sound designer David Parry worked as consultant on the project and appointed Langdale Technical to handle the installation. The decision to use Van Damme cable was a popular one with the Chinese technical staff given its historical use in Abbey Road Studios.
Langdale Technical's Bill Ward explained: "When I was asked to carry out the installation I explained that one thing I don't compromise on is the cabling. If you install a duff piece of outboard it's easy to plug in another. If the cable is not first class it can mean ripping half the studio out to replace it. For that reason I always choose Van Damme cable."
The difficulty with obtaining missing parts and bits of cable at the last minute meant that the cabling had to be calculated and part assembled so as to arrive in Shanghai as a complete kit. Ward commented: "Having something missing didn't bear thinking about but thankfully our calculations were spot on and nothing was missing."
The studio was officially completed at the end of April and has already been busy recording classical orchestrations.
(Lee Baldock)
