Co-founders Tony Osmond and Fiona Griffiths, ably assisted by Steve Jones (Studio Manager, Audio Engineer, Sound Programmer and Synth Tech) hosted thirty of our members and guests to a presentation and tour of their awesome SynthTemple facility. After being welcomed with drinks, cheese boards and fruit platters, we gathered in Studio 1 (the synth hall), where we were able to spend time wandering around, admiring the array of synthesisers.
Then Section Chair, Graeme Huon welcomed us and introduced Tony and his team, outlining the history of the facility, and the fact that they are housing some of the rarest synthesisers in the world.
Tony explained that his obsession with synthesisers had led to the realisation that the best way to house and maintain his growing collection was to house them in a commercial studio where musicians could use them, with the realisation that it was never going to be a profit-making concern, but that he and Fiona wanted to do something that was for the community of Melbourne and Australia, and frankly, the world.
He went on to describe the facility, which has two studios, the main Studio 1 with 125 synthesisers interconnected via audio and MIDI networking and the smaller Studio 2, both fitted with Dolby Atmos – 9.1.6 here in Studio 1, and 7.1.4 in Studio 2. He pointed out the striking hexagon design, explaining that this was employed to maximise space utilisation.
He also explained the synth pod system, that groups synthesisers into 9 pods to allow multiple users to work independently on headphones and record straight to the DAW in their laptop.
Tony went on to describe the cabling, pointing out that given the number of devices that had to be interconnected, they had taken advantage of networked audio, networked MIDI and networked lighting to reduce the volume of cabling. He also described the ergonomic furniture which housed the synthesisers allowing flexible and comfortable use.
Tony then introduced acoustic engineer Mark Hanson, who had been involved in the design.
Mark described the challenges of building a facility like this, adjacent to a tram depot with shunting trams out front. He described the floating floors, with significant air gaps, adding mass to the ceilings, and careful window design. Mark indicated that the design was by the well-known and experienced studio designers Peter Brown Architects. Mark went on to describe the acoustic treatment of the spaces and the design for Dolby Atmos.
Tony then told us of the power arrangements, with 3-phase power incoming , the synthesisers on a dedicated phase, and having a Wi-Fi power control system to simplify the process of turning hundreds of devices on and off each day, which is what they do.
He went on to describe the audio systems, highlighting the challenge to connect 250 channels of audio from the synthesisers and another 150 from the effects devices. He described the choice of Metric Halo’s MH Link as a networked audio solution. He spent some time talking about the converters they use – DAD (Digital Audio Denmark), and Avid matrix converters into their ProTools HDX rig.
Tony highlighted the low latency achieved with this setup. He then explained that they had chosen MH Link over Dante because the particular feature set of Metric Halo devices was a better match for the SynthTemple requirements than alternative devices from manufacturers using Dante.
He then covered the challenges when using MIDI of clocking all the interconnected devices, describing the use of several of Innerclock Systems’ SyncGen3 devices to keep everything in lockstep.
Tony then briefly covered the lighting systems in place, indicating that they used DMX systems to control the Studio 1 lighting, pointing out the truss lighting which can be used for performances, with DMX giving the flexibility for users to bring in concert lighting systems and directly interface to their system. He told us that the rest of the facility uses Crestron with DALI. He then briefly covered video, indicating the challenges of latency with live camera video, indicating that they were planning to move from HDMI cameras to SDI cameras to achieve the low latency they desire.
Tony then passed over to Steve Jones to speak on the challenges of keeping the 45-50 year old equipment running.
Steve commented that he didn’t find it too difficult to keep all of them running, as they are pretty reliable, and many of the discrete components are still available. (Ed note: though I’m sure that skill and deep knowledge play a part in that). He indicated that there are challenges with some of the specialised integrated circuit chips which are no longer manufactured, but he noted that most of the popular Curtis chips used in many synthesisers are now being remanufactured. Nevertheless, he said that the unavailability of some specialist chips could impede the repair of some synthesisers. Steve also displayed some circuit boards from various synthesisers, and also showed us circuit diagrams of some classic synthesisers, including a blueprint of an early Moog device. He commented that later models which used surface-mount components can be more of a challenge, and their smaller, less robust 9mm pots do require more frequent replacement.
Steve told us that he has several roles at the facility, including doing smaller engineering projects, the benefit of which was that in using the gear he can sometimes identify unreported minor issues that he can deal with there and then. Steve also helps artists with sound design and assistant engineers when tracking bands.
He then spoke briefly about the use of additional spaces for acoustic recording, and their collection of microphones and mic pre’s.
He finished by noting how the days of big studio builds is mostly over, and thanked Tony and Fiona for building this facility.
Tony then invited questions, which ranged from the room acoustics related to recording in the space (dry – RT60 of 0.43s in Studio 1), the applicability and future of Dolby Atmos (uncertain future), electrical interference from the tram depot neighbours (nil due to careful design).
Following the presentation Tony treated us to a demonstration of the Dolby Atmos speaker setup via a replay of some recorded material. Most impressive, indeed.
Then we could mill around, chat and continue to admire the awesome array of equipment in this most impressive facility.
Here’s a video of Tony’s presentation
It is also available for direct viewing on our YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/oDYCmZylZAs
Tony’s slides, as a PDF document, can be viewed here
https://aesmelbourne.org.au/wp-content/media/name.pdf
We thank Tony, Fiona, and Steve for their time and hospitality as well as for an insight into the capabilities of this impressive facility, and the planning that went into making it a reality – making this one of our more memorable meetings which was well appreciated by all who attended.
Related links:
SynthTemple: https://www.synthtemple.com/
DAD (Digital Audio Denmark) converters: https://digitalaudio.dk/
Metric Halo MH Link: https://mhsecure.com/3dEarlyAccess/
Innerclock https://innerclocksystems.com
Curtis chips: https://www.gearnews.com/curtis-chip-synth/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doug_Curtis
Peter Smerdon
22 June 2026
