Big Barn Studios Launches in Germany

Wangels, Germany (March 19, 2025)—Inspired by the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, German entrepreneur Jan Henric Buettner has launched Big Barn Studios in a thatched barn at the center of his 185-acre Weissenhaus Private Nature Luxury Resort.

Twenty years ago, Buettner, a German entrepreneur with a background in telecommunications and the internet, purchased a dilapidated historic estate and village in the north of Germany, overlooking the Baltic Sea, and turned it into a privately operated luxury resort, which opened in 2014. Several years ago, after seeing Bohemian Rhapsody, he was inspired to construct a recording studio in an unused area of the resort’s historic barn.

​“Queen produced Bohemian Rhapsody in a British barn,” says Buettner, referring to the now defunct Ridge Farm Studio in England. “When I was a child, my hero was Freddie Mercury, and I had a band; I was the singer. I thought, ‘Let’s build a music studio.’ Everything I touch escalates and I’m a perfectionist, so it had to be the best, most beautiful and most modern music studio possible.”

Designed to accommodate everything from songwriting sessions to multitrack recording and mixing projects, the studio features a large, high-ceilinged live room and a comfortable lounge area. The equipment list features high-end outboard equipment and signal processing with both stereo and immersive monitoring systems. A wide range of high-quality microphones are available for tracking and overdubbing.

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“We need a great sounding, flexible and reliable desk for recording and mixing,” says Swen Meyer, one of three sound engineers on the Big Barn studio team. ​ “For our situation, we need a ‘solid’ state-of-the-art desk. You can’t do wrong with SSL.” The AWS console was selected for its versatility and ability to handle whatever projects come through the facility, Meyer says.

The SSL AWS 948 δelta SuperAnalogue console was supplied by Digital Audio Service in Hamburg.

“I know SSL from the 90s and the 2000s; I worked on the E, G, and J Series many times,” Meyer continues. “Here, with this hybrid solution that we are providing for our customers, SSL fits perfectly in the studio. I like the sound, the headroom, the punch, the crystal-clear highs, and the analogue ‘SSL mojo.’ You can drive the mic pres hard, and I like being able to toggle between the G and the E series EQs, as well as its superbly integrated DAW control. The AWS’s stereo or dual mono channels offer a great deal of flexibility when mixing. Their Width control means you can precisely place sounds while making them sit in the stereo field.”