We know that when you come to our studios if you don't leave with a recording that you're happy with, you're not likely to come again. We're fortunate to have been working with bands and solo artists for nearly 30 years now, and we're very proud that many of the people we worked with in the beginning are still our clients. Some have even brought their own "childrens" bands to us who are now adults themselves - a second generation of musicians!
But with todays cheap technology and "studio in a suitcase" who needs studios? It's certainly possible to achieve great results with some software and a home PC, and once you've bought it you have limitless time and no studio costs. That's a very attractive package.
Well, for several reasons. Although you can go to a shop and buy engine parts, it doesn't make you a mechanic who can build a working car. Similarly, owning a fast PC, soundcard and suitable interface won't turn you into a sound engineer - you'll need time to work out how to use it properly and even then you'll probably become aware of its limitations very quickly.
Then there's the question of the space needed to record a group of musicians comfortably, without even beginning to consider indefinable things like how to create the right "vibe" so everyone's comfortable, creative and can give of their best. How many hats can you wear at the same time? There aren't many musicians who excel at engineering, producing and playing all at the same time.
In a nutshell, we'll take care of the technical stuff so you can do what you do best - be creative. From the moment we first opened our doors in 1979 our "mission statement" has always been the same - to make you and your music sound as good as possible.
This sounds simple, and although the recording equipment we use has evolved out of all recognition (from our first humble 4 track tape recorder in 1979 to the virtually limitless digital tracks, total recall mixing desk and numerous plug-ins we use today) our philosophy remains the same - to provide a friendly, helpful environment where you and your music can flourish.
Although the studio equipment we use to achieve this is important, providing the right setting for you to relax and be creative in, is equally crucial. A large control room, daylight in every room, a comfortable chill out lounge, kitchen area and most important of all, decades of recording experience.
Musicians tend to be at their most comfortable when they all play together at the same time, in the same area, with that all important eye contact - just like at a live gig. That's when the magic happens, so that's how we built our main recording area - the drummer can be in a separate room behind glass doors for sound separation, but only a few feet away from the other players. It's like being at a rehearsal (a less pressured situation) and it feels more natural and comfortable.
This is also relevant when recording opera singers and recording jazz bands, as their performances are based even more around playing live and the interaction between players, rather than individual performances where each musician "overdubs" their part after the backing tracks have been recorded.
Of course, we can also offer complete acoustic isolation, if required. We have a variety of different rooms benefiting from various acoustic treatments, ranging from an (adjustable) very live "live" room to a much "deader" acoustic which is perfect for voice-overs and vocal recording.
Classical ensembles (like string quartets, etc) love using the live room. The most popular arrangement of players is usually having everyone in a circle, facing each other, where that crucial eye contact can be maintained. Our Yamaha baby Grand piano, recently restrung and overhauled, records beautifully, and we also have a Yamaha fully weighted 88 note digital piano which can be used by itself or as a master midi keyboard.to control the many soft synths and keyboard sounds we use.
You may just need to add some overdubs to tracks you are already working on, such as live drums, guitars, a real piano etc. That's easy to do, and we can import your pre recorded tracks into our system, record the new instruments and then burn everything back down to DVD for you. Some of our customers who came here intending to just record some overdubs were so pleased with the recordings they achieved that they ended up finishing the whole project here with us instead
As musicians ourselves we can offer (free!) access and use of a variety of vintage valve guitar amps and cabinets - Marshall, Hiwatt, Vox, Orange etc, all working and set up, ready to go. For guitarists who may never have had the opportunity to play through these before (after all, some of them are over 40 years old) it's often a revelation to stand in front of a "cranked up" Marshall for the first time. If you're searching for that elusive guitar sound, it's simplicity itself to "mix and match" the various combinations available. 1964 Vox AC30 top boost head through a 1969 Marshall 4 x 12? No problem…
We still have our trusty 2" 24 track Soundcraft multitrack. It doesn't get as much use as it used to, but it's very handy if you want to copy from 2 inch multitrack tapes and transfer them onto newer digital formats before burning them to DVDs for archiving or re-mixing. As we are constantly improving and upgrading our equipment and facilities it's possible that you may need something that that is not yet listed on our website - If so, please phone anyway to see if it is something we can help you with.
Thanks for reading this, and we hope to hear from you soon.......