Recording studio network in Sandhausen with 11 control rooms and recording halls for music, audio and video production
Alte Zigarrenfabrik – AZF Studios
Sandhausen (Schneidmühlstrasse 25)New on Amplifa
About the Alte Zigarrenfabrik
The Alte Zigarrenfabrik (AZF Studios) is a recording studio and production network in Sandhausen near Heidelberg. In the building of the former Havilla cigar factory, acquired in 1980 and converted into a recording studio, selected producers and sound engineers independently operate their studios and collaborate as a network. The studio complex comprises 11 control rooms and several recording halls across around 1000 sqm on the ground floor, and is air-conditioned and acoustically optimized. Offerings include a rental studio on a daily basis including equipment and a microphone collection, audio productions with resident producers and sound engineers, Dolby Atmos mixing rooms, and control rooms for video and photo sessions. Since 2024, SRH has been using the studio to train media professionals.
- Site
- Sandhausen
- Processes
- Daily rental studio incl. equipment and microphone collection, Audio production with resident producers/sound engineers, Control rooms for video and photo sessions, Dolby Atmos mixing rooms
- Materials
- Rental Studio 1, Dolby Atmos, Video and Photo Sessions
- Founded
- 1982
- Industries
- Music production, Audio/video production
- 01
Enquiry and scheduling coordination
- 02
Studio rental or production with a resident producer
- 03
Recording in recording hall 1 or 2
- 04
Mixing (incl. Dolby Atmos)
- 05
Final mix/approval and handover
Studio Equipment and Services
Rental Studio 1
Daily rental including equipment and microphone collection for productions with your own team.
Dolby Atmos
Mixing rooms in Dolby Atmos technology for immersive audio formats.
Video and Photo Sessions
Recording rooms 1 and 2 are also available for video and photo shoots.
Locations
Sandhausen
DEOffice and studios (Alte Zigarrenfabrik)
- Materials
- Studio 1 (rental studio), control rooms 1–11, recording halls
- 11 control rooms
- Recording halls 1 & 2
- Dolby Atmos mixing rooms
- SSL control room
- Microphone collection
Studios and Rooms
Inside the production
Industries
Additional services
Reference customers
History
- 1929–1966
No records exist on the use of the building.
- 1966
Havilla Zigarrenfabriken GmbH puts the building in Sandhausen back into operation.
- 1969
Closure of cigar production due to competition from the US cigarette industry.
- 1970–1980
Building used as storage space, among other things as winter quarters of the Circus Roncalli.
- 1980
Acquisition by sound engineer Teije van Geest and cellist Gisela Reith-van Geest; conversion into a recording studio.
- 1982
Opening of the studios 'Tonstudio van Geest' and 'Klangstudio Leyh'.
- 1991
Eckhard Steiger and Markus Born join the teams of both studios.
- 2006
Winnie Leyh moves to Mannheim; Markus Born founds 'kleine audiowelt'.
- 2012
Teije van Geest sells the building to Christian Stader; all studio rooms united under the label 'Alte Zigarrenfabrik'.
- 2014
Daniel Deboy and Elena Klinova (Timebird Music) join control rooms 9 and 10.
- 2017
Control rooms 8–10 newly occupied; Delta Soundworks (Daniel Deboy, Ana Monte-Assis) moves into control room 5 and expands with a Dolby Atmos mixing room.
- 2019
Daniel Mudrack takes over control room 8; Tobias Schirmann takes over control room 4 and installs a Dolby Atmos system.
- 2021
Sound engineer Günter Appenheimer dies on 10.10.2021.
- 2022
Dirk André leaves the studio; Thilo Zirr takes over.
- 2023
Control room 3 newly occupied: Noah Simma, Thilo Zirr and Lazzaro Locher.
- 2024
SRH moves in to train media professionals on the studio equipment.