About us

COMPANY DIRECTOR & EVERYTHING ELSE

If you mention “Sam from Make Noise” to any audio friends you’ll always get a smile back. A stalwart of the UK audio industry over the past decade, his passion for music and technology is felt by everyone he meets. Starting out prepping live tour rigs for music royalty, he went on to found Make Noise Pro Audio officially in 2020, quickly becoming one of the leading retailers of audio equipment in the country.

Sam has always taken the utmost care with every piece of equipment that comes into his hands. At Make Noise he pays huge attention to providing high quality equipment that looks and works perfectly, without breaking the bank.

Sam and the Make Noise Pro Audio community have continued to grow and there are few studios in the UK that don’t have a piece of equipment with a ubiquitous MNPA sticker on the back.

SERVICE & REPAIR

Born in Hollywood and raised on a musical diet of Pink Floyd, The Animals, Elton John, Queen and Supertramp, it was almost inevitable that Lawrence Ethan would find a home in the LA studio scene. Building his career at some of the West Coast's finest recording rooms - Sunset Sound, The Village, Conway and EastWest, to name a few - he worked in an era that demanded the highest of expectations be met in every way. “It was a time when you could get fired for forgetting the Taco Sauce on a producer’s food order.”

A stellar discography ensued and Lawrence played a part in projects for some of the biggest artists in the world like Motorhead, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Belinda Carlisle, Def Leppard and LL Cool J.

In his time heading up the technical department at EastWest studios, Lawrence was across a huge range of equipment, from the consoles and outboard to the air conditioning and lighting. He redesigned Studio 1 and Studio 5 for commercial use, and Studio 4 ahead of Spike Stent’s residency. “I’d often say I was in charge of anything you could touch.”

As a lifelong musician, the importance that Lawrence puts on keeping everything in peak condition is clear. “I’m a musician first - gear is pointless without music. Great guitars, amplifiers, speakers - all of it put together is the paint for the canvas. As a songwriter, I’ve had moments of inspiration dissolve into nothing because of broken or poorly set up gear and I hate that. The gear should be invisible and only enhance the creative process.”

So what are his favourite things to fix? “Vintage things, something that when you get it right, it makes you excited to hear it do its thing. Restoring the Trident A Range at EastWest to a usable condition was a highlight; people love how Studio 5 sounds at EastWest - the highlight is when the clients are excited.”

And the worst? “Poor knockoffs that would sound better in the bin.”

Having relocated to the middle of England, Lawrence enjoys spending more time with his family as well as revelling in some of the country's finest institutions - the cooler weather, the NHS and the local pub! He can be found repairing and maintaining equipment for some of the finest engineers, producers and studios in the UK, all from his workbench at Make Noise HQ. And which piece of equipment does he wish would magically appear on his workbench for a service tomorrow? “A mug filled with coffee.”

CONTENT KING

You’ve probably seen this handsome, hairy hunk before; Benni is often the host and face of all things content at Make Noise Pro Audio.

Outside of Make Noise, Benni has worked as a recording engineer, producer and mixer on genres ranging from pop through to metal. Previously working between a variety of studios, he is now based from his home studio in South West London.