In my studio: multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Anna Phoebe

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My studio is both a sanctuary and a working space. It’s where I spend my time composing, recording, practising and collaborating, so it needs to feel creative and calm. Aesthetically it’s a white space with photography and artwork on the walls, rugs on the floor and small objects gathered over time - ceramics, plants, and lots of instruments.

Acoustic screens divide the main room. One half is the seating area where I drink coffee, have meetings, work on emails and admin, and then on the other side, is where the Bechstein piano and all my instruments live. It’s also where I spend the majority of my time, writing and producing music.

At the centre of my instrument world is an acoustic violin made for me by Melvin Goldsmith. The front is made of spruce from the Dolomites obtained from a 300-year-old beam. The maple for the back of the violin is from Transylvania.

Melvin watched videos and listened to recordings of me playing, and chose to make a violin inspired by Paganini’s ‘Il Cannone’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ from 1743. He added elements inspired by my playing and personality - I wanted something passionate and explosive, but also with the ability to be raw and vulnerable.

He sent photos updating me on every step of the process - from the original chunks of wood, right down to the final layers of varnish. So when I visited Melvin’s workshop in Devon and played the violin for the first time it felt like I already knew the instrument. It was such a special moment playing those first notes.

That was 2019, and since then we’ve become more intertwined - my playing responding to the violin just as the wood of the violin responds to my playing. It’s what I love most about wood instruments - the history of the tree, the maker and the player are all embedded into the instrument, and then you evolve together.

For performances I use the pure sound of the Goldsmith, amplified by a DPA mic which allows me to keep the natural acoustics of the violin.

The second violin which I use is an 18th Century Johann Gottlob Pfretzschner violin which I bought from Bridgewood & Neitzert in Stoke Newington. This was the first acoustic violin I ever bought in my early twenties. It has a lovely warm tone with a broad, resonant low end. I now have a permanent Realist pickup sat under the bridge of the instrument which has a quarter inch jack-to-jack output, so this is the violin I use for gigs when I’m going through lots of electric guitar pedals to process the sound.

The pedals I use include the ElectroHarmonix Cathedral pedal which adds reverb, their HOG pedal which means I can add octaves and fifths, and I use a BOSS loop pedal which allows me to build up layers and textures. I have a viola I bought from Colin Parker violins which also has a Realist pickup and goes through the same system so I can switch between instruments.

For creating textures and sounds for live and studio work I use a six string Violectra violin made for me by David Bruce Johnson. The extra two low C and then low F strings means the traditional violin range is extended, moving first into viola territory and then the cello’s upper register. It was originally pink and recently got resprayed white.

The Violectra is hand crafted out of solid maple, lacquered, and uses an embedded piezo element transducer in the maple wood bridge - this means the electric sound is crystal clear and has the best tone out of all the electric violins I’ve tried. I recently paired it with an Eventide H90 synthesiser pedal and the Strymon Night Sky pedal - which means I can create whole new worlds with this instrument - it’s extremely exciting and takes the violin into new sonic frontiers.

Other violins include my first childhood violin and some some found almost by accident which I’ve accumulated over time.

My two acoustic violin bows are a Morizot and a Lambert, again sourced by Colin Parker Violins. For outdoor festivals and for the Violectra I have a whole basket of Coda carbon-fibre bows - their Joule and Prodigy bows are excellent and extremely reliable - they withstand fluctuating temperatures and travel. For the six string Violectra I prefer their heavier viola bows.

Shoulder rests are from Kun and Wolf.

For recording violin I use a combination of Neumann and Coles mics - the Neumann U87 in combination with stereo Coles 4038 works really well - the Neumann gives all round clarity and precision while the Coles’ ribbon mic gives depth and a creamy warmth. I also have stereo pair of Neumann KM184 which I use on the piano.

For studio work, writing my albums or scoring for film and television I use additional instruments like a cello fitted with a Realist pickup for granulated textures, plus a range of synths including Prophet 6, Moog Sub 37 and Waldorf Blofeld, plus more unexpected instruments like recorders, Stylophone theremin, mandolin, balalaika and some small percussion.

Through the Arturia keyboard and large collection of sample libraries and digital tools I have access to a whole world of sampled instruments - the choice is infinite - but they don’t replace the act of drawing a sound from string and wood. I prefer to start organically taking inspiration from the physical instruments around me.

The studio is where ideas come alive.

Anna Phoebe presents a new EP of string reworkings of Dawn, Divergence, Reconcile and Untamed from DIVERGENCE. Out 27 February via Eat the Peach, listen on Bandcamp or stream digitally here. Anna Phoebe continues to tour Divergence in 2026 – for dates and tickets visit here. 

Photos courtesy Anna Phoebe and Patty Owen.