Studio owner and renowned producer Maxe Axelson reveals exactly which pieces of Focusrite equipment he uses in the studio: “almost all of them!”

For over 20 years Pama Studios in Sweden has been in the ascendant. What began as one man’s vision for recording perfection has grown to become a one-stop shop for anyone wanting to record, promote and sell music.
For Pama Studios founder and owner Maxe Axelson, a constant desire to innovate and push forward has kept both him and the facility he runs at the cutting edge. Sounds like a cliché? Maybe – but Maxe’s love of music has constantly pushed him to bigger and better things.
At the age of seven, Maxe picked up his first guitar and built his first speaker. By 15 he’d constructed his first 6-channel mixing desk so he could record his band, ‘Earthwing’. Maxe became so obsessed with the guitar that he would think nothing of practicing for eight hours straight. At 18 he took the next step, becoming a freelance sound engineer to the best studios in Sweden.
Pama Studios was a natural progression. Through Maxe’s experiences in some first class recording studios he’d formed a vision of how to raise the bar even further. Pama now houses three studios and caters to some of the best known artists in Sweden. But it’s about more than just the recording facilities. Pama is an umbrella for recording, installation, equipment hire, record sales and new media. Among the diverse range of clients, the likes of Universal, Warner Brothers, Century Media and Sheriff Records serve to cement the integrity of Maxe’s vision.

Studios like Pama are successful for many reasons. Clearly the expertise and passion of the people involved plays a key role, but without the right tools for the job you’re on a hiding to nothing. Look around any of the studios and you’ll find a wealth of classic gear that’s tried and trusted by discerning producers and engineers the world over. Choice items by the likes of Neumann, Neve, SSL and Eventide can of course be found, but some audio companies have garnered a more strident foothold in Pama’s sonic armoury.
“Which Focusrite products am I using? Practically all of them!” laughs Maxe. “We use the plug-ins – in fact we’ve just got in the new TDM bundle, so I’m really looking forward to checking those out. And of course we have a lot of Focusrite hardware – from the Platinum and the Blue series, a Green compressor, the Liquid Channel… and for recording I’m really liking the ISA828 a lot right now.”
With this latest addition to the ISA range, Focusrite have put eight transformer-based preamps into a robust 2U rack-mountable box. The result? The lowest cost-per-channel so far for anyone wanting the Focusrite signature sound. Based on the classic preamp design of the ISA110, the ISA828 also features four user-selectable input impedance settings to allow for even greater flexibility with whatever mic you care to plug into it.
“The 828 is just great on anything, but I’m particularly using it to record drums right now. The eight preamps are very transparent and clear, but they also impart a warmth to the sound that you don’t expect with digital. And it’s great that you can choose the impedance. In these digital days, it’s just the sort of tool we need around the studio – great quality and really easy to use.”
“We’re going back a few years now, but I’ve been a fan of Focusrite ever since the ISA110 first came out. In fact, I’m still using the 110, mostly because it has a great preamp and EQ. It’s stood the test of time – and for me, the ISA110 brings back a particular sound, it delivers music that I want to hear. I do need to buy more of the ISA series though – one of our clients loved the sound so much that he took it from the studio and told me that I’d just have to order another one!”