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Show Off Your Studio: Christoph Salin
A look inside the creative space behind the emotive new release, La Vérité EP
With deep roots in 90s House and a lifelong passion for hardware, Christoph Salin has built a sound that’s as rich in groove as it is in soul. From early white labels and edits to launching his own imprint, Salin Records, his journey has always been grounded in a love for both tradition and experimentation. Now, with the release of his latest project — La Vérité EP — Salin invites us into the very heart of his process: the studio.
In this special Show Off Your Studio feature, we step into Christoph’s world of machines, melodies, and movement. It's here that the textures of La Vérité took shape — a record that channels house music’s essence through fun, fresh, and emotionally resonant tracks, all driven by Salin’s signature touch.
From analog gear to digital flourishes, Christoph’s studio isn’t just where tracks are made — it’s where truth is translated into sound.
Take it away Christoph…
'Thank you so much for inviting me to this feature.
I’m really happy to share my studio with you – a space I’ve been building over many years. Fair warning though: this won’t be a quick read ;-) This one is definitely more for the gear nerds out there.'
The Centre
Computer
At the heart of my setup is a MacBook Pro with an Apple M4 chip and 24 GB RAM. It’s powerful enough to handle heavy plugin chains without rendering or bouncing tracks, even at low buffer sizes. During mastering, I can run everything in oversampling mode and still monitor in real time.
DAW
I work mainly in Ableton Live. All my tracks are built in Live, and I do most of the mastering steps already during production. This way I keep things clean and avoid over-processing individual tracks or busses. For editing, conversion, and analysis I also use Wavelab – and occasionally RX from iZotope.
Audio Interface
The holy grail of my studio is the Mytek 8X192 ADDA – I absolutely love its clarity. It’s connected via ADAT to a MOTU Ultralite MK4, which serves mainly as a USB bridge to my MacBook. This setup gives me three benefits:
- a mobile audio interface for travel,
- additional I/O for triggers and hardware routing,
- and a MIDI interface.
The only downside: because of ADAT, I’m limited to 48kHz sessions. With plugin oversampling, that’s a compromise I’m fine with.
Monitoring
From the Mytek, the signal goes through an SPL 2Control and into my monitoring chain:
- Genelec 8340 (with GLM room calibration)
- Yamaha HS5 mono (for mono compatibility and balance checks)
- ADAM SP-5 headphones (my magnifying glass)
- Sony MDR-7506 headphones (the classic reference)
Room Treatment
I use absorbers, bass traps, and diffusers from HOFA and GIK Acoustics, combined with the Genelec GLM kit, to create a reliable sweet spot. I could improve the acoustics even more, but a studio also needs to feel comfortable and inspiring – so it’s always a compromise. A studio is never really finished, it keeps evolving.
Hardware & Routing
The Mytek gives me 8 ins and 8 outs:
- 1–2: Neve 1272 Mic Preamp/DI
- 3–4: 500-series rack (Electrodyne 501 Mic Preamp/DI + IMC500)
- 5–6: MasterSounds Radius 4 DJ mixer
- 7–8: free, for drum machines or synths (direct in without any pre-amp)
Outputs 3–4 are tied to the IMC500. 5–8 are patchable for hardware FX like the Akai MFC42 or Erica Synths Zen Delay.
For controllers I use an Akai APC40 (often seen in my Instagram and YouTube clips) or a Presonus Faderport 8. My main MIDI keyboard is an Akai MPK61.
Synths, Drum Machines & FX
I have a love–hate relationship with hardware. I need it for inspiration – the hands-on workflow and tactile controls are unbeatable. But 99% of my tracks are finished in the box. Total recall and detailed control over timing, pitch, and automation are just too important. Hardware is amazing for ideas, but software gives me the freedom to finish tracks.
Here’s the arsenal:
- Synths & Keys: Minimoog Voyager, Moog Matriarch, Korg MS-20 (original), Roland Juno-106, Doepfer Dark Energy 2, Roland S-1, Arturia Microfreak, Vermona Mono Lancet, Yamaha FB-01.
- Drum Machines & Samplers: MFB Tanzbär, Elektron Digitakt 2, Elektron Syntakt, Elektron Model Samples, Behringer Edge, Vermona Kick Lancet, Arturia Drumbrute Impact, Akai MPC 3000, MPC 1000, Alesis HR-16, NI Maschine.
- FX & Outboard: Akai MFC42, Erica Synths Zen Delay, Akai Flanger (Custom Shop), Boss SD-1, Specular Tempus, plus shakers and percussion.
Do you need all this gear? Definitely not. But still – I’m already eyeing the next toy :-)
Microphones
- Neumann TLM-103
- Shure SM57
Plugins
I treat plugins like hardware: I buy, I don’t subscribe. That way I carefully choose what becomes part of my workflow. Over the years I’ve collected way too many, so here are just the essentials I use in every session:
- DMG Compassion (go-to compressor)
- Kush Omega TWK (amazing preamp sim)
- Standard Clip (indispensable for kick shaping)
- LX480 Essentials (lush plates)
- LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven (Bricasti M7 in plugin form)
- Valhalla Delay (go-to delay)
- Sonic Academy Kick 3 (perfect kick design)
- Arturia Pigments (main software synth)
- Weiss EQ MP (go-to EQ)
Closing Thoughts
So that’s the full picture. I hope this feature helps you shape or refine your own setup. Feel free to reach out if you want advice on equipment, setup, mixing, or mastering.
Two tips I’d like to share:
- Don’t get lost in gear hype. Marketing is seductive, but the key is to stay focused on making music.
- Invest in proper education. Paid courses from producers and engineers you admire are far more valuable than random YouTube tutorials (though of course, some are great).
Thanks for your interest – and let love rule!
Christophe Salin (https://linktr.ee/christophesalin)
PS: You’ll see a Soundcraft M8 mixer in my photos and videos, but it’s not part of the active setup. I bought it years ago to try an all-hardware workflow, but it didn’t fit. I keep it around because it actually sounds great for the price – who knows, maybe I’ll need it again someday.
Buy Christoph’s ‘La Vérité EP’ HERE