Joe Elliott recently gave a tour for AMS Neve, showing off his studio, ‘Joe’s Garage.’ Initially set up in a space that once included three bedrooms, Elliott created the studio in 1988.
The push to build a home studio came after the band felt the financial pinch from recording their 1987 album, ‘Hysteria.’ The time and money spent in professional studios were high, so the singer decided to cut down on these costs by creating a space of their own:
“[‘Hysteria’] was a raging success that it was. It’s one of the biggest selling albums of all time. But then when we saw the bill afterwards… That’s why we’re in this room now. Because that was another learning curve. It’s like, ‘If we’re gonna make another record of that standard, we’re not paying that amount of money for it.’”
The Studio Proved To Be Useful
The singer explained what building a studio for the band meant by saying:
“So, I decided I was gonna build my own studio, and then, we could turn the clock off. You know, we weren’t watching the red bulb come on and thinking, ‘This is 5,000 a week.’ I invested. I bought all the gear and I was happy to do that because it was my studio and I was going to have it forever.”
Although he describes it as a place for fun, it has been a serious workspace for Def Leppard since their ‘Adrenalize’ album in 1992. Elliott noted:
“Here we are, 35 years later. We’re still using it, I’ve pretty much recorded something on every album since ‘Adrenalize’ in this studio.”
The studio was also where Def Leppard’s latest album, ‘Diamond Star Halos,’ was recorded in 2022, alongside remix projects for Thin Lizzy, involving collaboration with members of both bands.
It Makes Things Easier For The Singer
A key feature of Joe’s Garage is the Neve 8424 console, recommended by Ronan McHugh, Leppard’s live and studio engineer. Elliott ended up buying two, appreciating the return to traditional studio workflows.
Elliott explained the benefits of the analog console, saying:
“This is my first analogue console since 1988. We had a controller before and trying to do everything in the box – like multi-input guitar tracking and that kind of thing – is quite fiddly.”
He further mentioned:
“It’s just more natural, it’s easier – it’s faster. We had a bunch of stuff but it was all in racks. Now it’s all here in front of me and it makes life easier.”
You can watch the Def Leppard frontman’s studio tour in the video below.
