Miloco

The Motor Museum Overview

The Motor Museum studio is based in a large and beautifully designed warehouse, which over the years has existed as both a public transport repair depot and the 'Lark Lane Motor Museum', before being converted into a recording studio temporarily known as 'The Pink Museum'. Over the last twenty years it has played a pivotal role in the music industry of Liverpool and the North West, and was hugely influential in the birth of bands such as Oasis, The La's, Arctic Monkeys and The Coral. The studio as we know it today was built by OMD's Andy McCluskey, but is now occupied by producer Mike Crossey.






It is no surprise that The Motor Museum is now considered the premier recording studio in Liverpool. Its unique design and very original layout has created a cool and inspiring environment to work in, and the studio boasts a world-class specification of both analogue and digital gear including one of the best selections of rare guitars, pedals, synths and microphones you'll find in the UK. Not only that, but the buzzing strip of Lark Lane - which is lined with popular bars, pubs and restaurants - is on the studio's doorstep for clients to fully enjoy. The Motor Museum's rich history is associated with some of the most iconic British bands who have helped put the studio firmly on the map of Liverpool's world-famous music culture, and now under the wing of Mike and Miloco, it has an incredibly exciting future too...

The warehouse measures a vast 240 sq meters and is flooded by natural light through the many large skylights in the roof of the building. Beneath them in the centre of the space is the studio itself, which has been built within a selection of expertly designed cabin-like rooms that yield a fantastic range of sounds and provide plenty of space for bands to spread out in. There are four main areas of the studio: the control room, live room, stone room and booth.



The control room is housed at the rear of the facility and measures 38 sq meters. At the centre of the room is a Neve 8232 In-Line Analogue Recording Console with 32 in-line Channels. It is complemented by a comprehensive selection of monitors including a whole host of terrific speakers and amps, amongst them Yamaha NS-10Ms, Tannoy Little Golds, ATC T16 Active monitors, and amplifiers by Bryston, Dynaudio and Amcron. The range of outboard on offer is also exceptional with an exhaustive choice of the finest compressors, eqs and processors. There is an Apple Mac Pro with 23" Cinema display, three Digidesign 192 interfaces and an Lynx Aurora 16 and Lavry LE4496 converter. A very powerful top-of-the-range Protools HD5 Accel rig is housed in a machine room to the left of the console.




Through a large set of sliding glass doors is the main live room measuring 26 sq meters. The room was refitted in 2008 to give it a new look and enhance its immense sound, and features customised absorbers which provide a wide variety of acoustics. It leads into a 16 sq meter stone room which provides further great-sounding options, and also a good size isolation booth. Clients who come to track will of course love getting their teeth stuck into The Motor Museum's hugely impressive array of backline, mics and mic pres. There are many rare guitars and basses by the likes of Gretsch, Gibson and Fender, keyboards such as Minimoogs and Roland synths, plus a huge collection of pedals and FXs.




Outside the studio area on a raised mezzanine level is The Motor Museum's rec room. This light and spacious hang-out comprises an open-plan kitchen and lounge featuring some comfortable sofas and a large TV, and is the perfect spot for taking a break from a day's work. Adjoined to the lounge and running down the side of the warehouse is a gallery overlooking the studio area, which is lined by some fantastic orange and lemon trees growing in the natural sunlight. Throw in a number of other beautiful tropical plants, a terrific collection of graffiti-themed artwork along with platinum discs of past successes, and you might well have just discovered the most originally themed and enticingly cool studio around..!