Record ProductionWatch our special live band recording feature at Rimshot Studios. Engineers Mike Thorne and Russ Cottier show some standard, creative and unusual drum mic setup's plus guitar and bass with audio samples to listen to. With such a nice range of microphones to choose from it's a good contrast with some of our 'one mic' techniques but this is filmed in the same studio as a few of those on our channel so you can compare :-)
Rather than just show a drum recording setup or a guitar feature we decided to get three musicians together to record some of Russ Cottier's music to experiment with and to demonstrate Mike and Russ' recording techniques with a whole band.
Currently our website is being rebuilt, once it's done we will have all of the multitracks/stems available to download for you to play with and anyone that send us their own mix that is outstanding will get some sort of prize, yet to be worked out.. :-)
Special thanks to the musicians who gave their time to record this:
A big super thank you to Mike Thorne, engineer and owner of Rimshot Studios. This studio is fantastic, has a range of great mics and some very cool gear - and tape machines!!
Another super big thanks to Josh Holland for his ace camera work and to Russ Cottier for being the 'front man' and producer and also the composer of the tune!!!
If you've read this far, you might be interested to know that coming soon is the same multitrack directed and re-mixed but top mix engineer Al Groves on his SSL Duality console - stay tuned...
How to Record a Band - Special Feature (with audio samples - 2 top engineers)Record Production2021-10-10 | Watch our special live band recording feature at Rimshot Studios. Engineers Mike Thorne and Russ Cottier show some standard, creative and unusual drum mic setup's plus guitar and bass with audio samples to listen to. With such a nice range of microphones to choose from it's a good contrast with some of our 'one mic' techniques but this is filmed in the same studio as a few of those on our channel so you can compare :-)
Rather than just show a drum recording setup or a guitar feature we decided to get three musicians together to record some of Russ Cottier's music to experiment with and to demonstrate Mike and Russ' recording techniques with a whole band.
Currently our website is being rebuilt, once it's done we will have all of the multitracks/stems available to download for you to play with and anyone that send us their own mix that is outstanding will get some sort of prize, yet to be worked out.. :-)
Special thanks to the musicians who gave their time to record this:
A big super thank you to Mike Thorne, engineer and owner of Rimshot Studios. This studio is fantastic, has a range of great mics and some very cool gear - and tape machines!!
Another super big thanks to Josh Holland for his ace camera work and to Russ Cottier for being the 'front man' and producer and also the composer of the tune!!!
If you've read this far, you might be interested to know that coming soon is the same multitrack directed and re-mixed but top mix engineer Al Groves on his SSL Duality console - stay tuned...
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR and SESSION WALKTHROUGH at StudiOwz - Featuring Dan Moore on KeyboardsRecord Production2024-04-23 | Alongside our studio tour we have just recorded this NEW session walkthrough of StudiOwz showing owner and engineer Owain Fleetwood Jenkins - he shows us his microphone choices, instrument placement and more while recording top session musician Dan Moore.
This video hopefully gives some insight in to how the studio sounds and shows the in-house instruments available to use if you book the studio - Dan Moore shows off the keyboard selection very well in 2 short tracks to showcase the studio.
A big thanks to Dan Moore, Tom Sinnett and Owain for making this feature possible!
More information is here: recordproduction.com/features/session-walkthrough-at-studiowzPiano Recording Techniques & Tips - from Steinway to Upright ( GREAT audio samples)Record Production2024-03-24 | Super in-depth feature with 3 GREAT pianos to record - each completely different, from Steinway D to Yamaha to 'Mrs Mills' - HEAR the various treatments (dampers etc) and microphone positions and choices - listen to at least three different mic setups for each piano with plenty of music to listen to with an excellent pianist helping demonstrate the various techniques.
00:00 Introduction 00:27 Prepared piano - Ear Plugs 01:20 Felt on piano strings (upright Yamaha) 02:20 Character piano (Mrs Mills) 02:45 Microphones - Steinway setup 08:20 Steinway microphone audio samples 10:30 Yamaha upright mics and samples 15:30 Character piano mic setup 19:25 Andrew Sunnucks on Piano for Film 25:35 EFFECTS piano 29:00 3 piano ending
Watch how leading engineers and composers setup and record piano for film and general music recording. A film composer and pianist plays for us to help demonstrate 3 different pianos and how they approach recording - mostly with 3 different mic setups so that you can compare and hopefully use these ideas to help you get a better piano recording.
Some of the things that can make the most difference are what you do to the piano before event recording it and just a few examples of this prepared piano treatment ideas are shown and we hope to record further features with more. From felt or ear plugs on the strings to dog leads laid over the Steinway's strings, there's a whole world of creativity open to you to create unique sounds.
Some of the microphones used include: Telefunken ELA M260 Coles 4038 B&K 4006 Copperphone Carbonphone AEA R88A Active Ribbon Microphone ... and many more
Special thanks to School Farm Studios for their pianos and time! Owner Andrew Sunnucks of Audio Networks and engineer Stefano Civetta were brilliant hosts and a very big thanks to them and Hester for her assistance. A huge thanks to Ben Andrew for giving up his time to play and come up with some music for us to record and to Stuart Bruce for asking the questions and helping organise this feature.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comDrum Recording Tips (Comprehensive session walkthrough with audio samples)Record Production2024-03-17 | Walk around Matt's drum recording session, covers the drum placement, treatment and the microphone choices & positioning with some really GREAT audio samples to audition - we think you will be impressed at the drum sound that Matt is getting with this setup. Mastering the Beat..
Shot at ARC Studios with Damo Webster playing the drums and 2 x Grammy winning Cameron Craig producing, this short video captures the spirit of the studio and the engineers expertise and helps explain why Matt Taylor won the British MPG's Rising Star award 2022. Some of the microphones that Matt used include:
Kick Drum - AKG D25 and Neumann U47 FET Snare Drum - Austrian Audio OC 818 on top and Shure SM57 below Hi Hats - Beyer Dynamic M818 Toms - Neumann KM86 Overheads - Coles 4038's Floor mic - Turner Crystals 22X Over Kick facing snare - STC 4037 Room mics - Sontronics Sigma 2
The drum kit is a Yamaha custom recording kit. Placed in the corner of the recording space aimed in to the middle of the room and with good sight-lines to the control room.
Special thanks to Damo Webster for playing drums for us, Issac Neilsen for letting us take up time from his session, Cameron Craig for also letting us eat in to his recording schedule and to everyone at the very lovely ARC Studios based just outside of Oxford, England. Super special thanks to Matt Taylor!!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comKeyboard and Leslie recording #studio #recording #piano #keyboard #musicproducer #recordingstudioRecord Production2024-01-21 | A super short look at the video that's coming very soon showing top keyboard player Dan Moore in the studio with Owain - showing tons of recording techniques for Leslie cabinets and much more.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRecord Upright Piano - Easy tips with an award winning recording engineerRecord Production2024-01-09 | See and hear how easy it can be to record a great piano sound for your track using affordable microphones. Matt Taylor recently won Engineer of the Year at the MPG Awards so is a perfect person to guide you to getting a lush and beautiful piano recording.
We shot this video at Matt's studio, ARC Studios in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, UK. Watch out for other videos that we have recorded here.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR - Are Friends Electric Studios - NEW underground studioRecord Production2023-11-05 | This is different!! Imagine you're in beautiful countryside, miles from anywhere but under your feet is an amazing studio hidden away making this one of the most unusual and interesting studios we've visited*.
Studio owner Paul McCracken says that this is his 4th and very last studio he's building. We can believe him, with so much effort and expense sunk in to this amazing studio it's hard to think of how he could do better.
Are Friends ELECTRIC? is located deep in the rolling and picturesque hills of Southern Devon. Clearly, Paul McCracken and head recording engineer Rob Waite have spared no effort, money and vision in developing this impressive recording and mixing facility.
Equipped with an SSL 8k console (giving 4 stereo busses so great for sending drums down one buss for treatment before injecting back in to the mix etc), tons of excellent outboard that we run through in the video, a nice range of recording spaces most upmarket big city studios would find it hard to compete.
There's a great ambiance, to quote Paul; "The equipment and the environment combine to create the ideal space to realise your artistic vision. AFE is already attracting artists and producers from around the world."
Rob who is the main engineer at the studio has 20+ years of industry experience working with artists including; Kasabian, Foo Fighters, Leona Lewis, Ava Max, Duran Duran, Phil Colins, Bryan Adams, Van Morrison, Cliff Richard, Robert Plant, Pearl Jam, and many more.
The equipment list at Are Friends Electric? includes:
SSL G+4048 loaded with 40 mono and 8 stereo channels featuring Ultimation and Total Recall via the THD Labs Tangerine interface.
1 x Purple Audio MC76 1 x Universal Audio 1176 2 x Empirical Labs Distressor EL8x 1 x Drawmer LX20 1 x Drawmer DL240 1 x Manley Labs Nu Mu 4 x IGS One (500 Series) 2 x DBX 166 (500 Series) 1 x Universal Audio LA2A 2 x Tube Tech EQ1P 4 x Black Lion Audio Bluey 1 x Neve 33609 1 x Smart Research C2 1 x API 2500+
Microphones include:
1 x U47 Fet 2 x U87 4 x Austrian Audio 818 2 x Soyuz 013 Fet 2 x KM184 2 x 12 Gauge Microphones Gold12 1 x SM91 1 x Beta91 4 x Beta58 1 x Beta52 2 x SM57 1 x M201 2 x AT4030 4 x MD421 2 x Extinct Audio BM9
Find out more and arrange your visit to see this studio! https://www.arefriendselectric.studio
* Check Master Chord Studios in London for a similar but different studio concept.Recording Studio Tour around a NEW top residential studio - School FarmRecord Production2023-10-08 | Look around a NEW top residential recording studio set in over 300 acres of landscaped grounds including woods and lakes is a barn that dates back to 1600 something that has been converted in to an amazing place to record. Available instruments include at least 3 excellent pianos including one of the best Steinway's D Grand's we've heard.
00:38 - Studio tour 04:16 - Control Room 10:57 - Interview with Studio Owner Andrew Sunnucks
@RussCottier visited School Farm to record a tour around the studios and sit down with engineer Stefano Civetta and owner Andrew Sunnucks to chat about why they undertook such an ambitious project - did their history of regularly booking some of the biggest studios in the World shape their thinking (and equipment choices)?
Some of the instruments available include: Steinway Model D Grand Piano, Yamaha Upright Piano, Hammond C3 and Leslie Amp, Drums, Fender Acoustisonic Guitar, Theremin and a collection of percussion instruments.
The studio live room has 4 booths, built in an expansive and converted 17th Century barn which has been placed inside nearly a metre of acoustic treatment on the outside walls and roof leaving the original timbers and finishes exposed inside. The main recording room has a very high ceiling, a well controlled acoustic and a big window offering views over a beautifully landscaped lake.
The recording equipment is top level featuring a massive range of microphones, SSL Duality console, full Dolby ATMOS and so much more - this is a recording studio tour that we think must place this in the top 3 residential studios in Europe.
The control room features ATC monitors with full 7.1.4 Dolby Atmos mix utility. As an alternative to the onboard preamps there's 26 channels of Neve pre’s, 12 Montserrat, 12 1081s and 2 1081s with 4 Band EQ and 8 Millennia and 1 Chandler REDD.47. High end DAD converters take care of conversion.
Desk – SSL Duality Fuse 48ch, equipped with SSL δelta control and Fusion colouration processor. 24 channels of Neve preamps, 12 Montserrat and 12 1081s Dolby Atmos with 7.1.4 ATC monitoring Apple Mac Pro using a Pro Tools Ultimate HDX-3 system. DAD converters Bricasti System 3 Reverbs
Preamps Neve Montserrat Neve 1081 Neve 1081 with 4 Band EQ Millennia HV-3D-8 – 8 Channel AEA RPQ2 Dual Channel Chandler Limited REDD.47
500 Modules Maag EQ4 API 500B Standard Audio Stretch Heritage BT500 DBX 510
Reverbs & FX Bricasti M7 Lexicon PCM96 Echo Fix EF-X2
Russ Cottier sat down to talk with studio owner, Andrew Sunnucks, and engineer Stefano Civetta to talk about why motivated them to build the studio and the background in music production, Audio Networks, film score recording and much more.
To quote the School Farm website: "After 30 years and perhaps 6,000 sessions at Abbey Road between them, Andrew and Stefano generally know someone who can help with almost anything. Their friends and contacts include players of pretty much any instrument and in any style imaginable, fixers, copyists, orchestrators, arrangers, conductors and singers…they are all part of the School Farm Studios family and if we know them, so do you."
School Farm Studios Little Maplestead Halstead Essex CO9 2SN
What3Words ///excellent.confused.notes
Thank you to @RussCottier for the great interview and Andre Sunnucks for the amazing drone footage!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comJarle Bernhoft - Musician and Producer Interview at his studio in NorwayRecord Production2023-10-02 | Jarle Bernhoft joined us from his personal studio to talk about his love of making music - Oscar Ball who chatted with his asked about Jarle's interest in production and record making. Having created so many great sounding records we were keen to find out more about what motivates and drives an artist such as Jarle to deliver such great sounding music.
Bernhoft's album "Avenue of Loveless Hearts" will be out on October 6th and available to order from bernhoft.org/store.
Jarle has worked and learned from many great producers including Adrian Bushby and Gil Norton.
A big thanks to Jarle for making the time to film this interview and to Jack Kaye for making the connection and making this happen and Charlotte for helping clear the music to make the video that bit more interesting! Thank you also to Oscar Ball for giving up a day at his studio, Otterhead Studios, so that we could make the link up happen. Ellis at Otterhead Studios also did a great job so a big thanks to him too!
Find out more about Jarle Bernhoft - visit his site: bernhoft.org
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comKen Scott and John Webber talk Production at Air StudiosRecord Production2023-09-26 | Ken Scott met with John Webber who's mastering the Bowie catalogue, half speed vinyl etc, to chat about the complexities of the project and all manner of other mastering related issues in front of an audience of fellow producers and engineers.
Ken started at Abbey Road Studios. Back then, nearly 60 years ago, part of the transition to becoming an engineer was to spend time cutting discs. Most of these would have been for people such as George Martin to take home an acetate to listen to at home. Learning what you could get away with and what you couldn't get away with helped the fledgling engineer understand the limitations so once a full recording engineer only recordings that would cut it were sent for mastering.
With this in mind, it seemed like a great idea for Ken who spent a brief period cutting discs could chat with someone who masters for a living to discuss progress and much more.
Keen eyed people might spot a number of leading producers in the audience, a surprising number of questions were asked by the audience which caught us off guard as we hadn't put up a room mic to capture questions (rookie mistake!) so had to pull audio off the camera mic - sorry about the average quality!
A big thanks to everyone at Air Studios for making this possible and for providing a great venue to record a relaxed and informative chat with so many industry professionals. A very big thank you to Ken Scott and John Webber for taking time out to do this and to Nikki Affleck for making everything come together.
Just some of the artists that Ken has worked with: The Beatles • Elton John • Pink Floyd • Procol Harum • Mahavishnu Orchestra • Duran Duran • Jeff Beck
John Webber background
Official UK Top five albums recently mastered or vinyl cut by John include David Bowie’s posthumously completed studio album Toy, Duran Duran’s Mark Ronson & Erol Alkan produced Future Past and Hozier’s number one album Unreal Unearth. He is considered a go-to for indie artists and bands including new projects for Ash, Coach Party, Junodream, Band Of Skulls, Benjamin Clementine, Iraina Mancini and Divorce.
Further mastering work includes artists such as Matilda Mann, Clint Mansell, Clean Bandit, L7, MF DOOM, Rodrigo Y Gabriela, Husky Loops, Echo & the Bunnymen, Tom Grennan, Yungblud, Alexis Ffrench, Tina Turner, David Arnold, We Three, Oscar Scheller, Josh Klinghoffer’s Pluralone and George Michael, including work on his final number one studio album Symphonica & the 2023 re-issue of Older. In 2019 John worked with Anna Meredith on her Mercury Music Prize-nominated album, Fibs.
Also known for his extensive mastering work with David Bowie, John has mastered half-speed vinyl releases of Ziggy Stardust & The Spiders from Mars and Aladdin Sane. Further vinyl cutting includes work for Animé, Bugzy Malone, Ben Howard, Primal Scream, Bloc Party, Amy Winehouse, Jazmin Bean, Jon Murry, Burna Boy, Nick Cave & Warren Ellis.
Priding himself on being able to work with any currently available format, John has been involved with Dolby Atmos mastering projects, which includes work for Duran Duran, Husky Loops and Junodream.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRecording DRUMS - Mic placement with Dave Pemberton (Prodigy, Orbital, Motorhead) - plus interviewRecord Production2023-09-17 | Dave Pemberton's Drum Recording session walkthrough - Dave shows how he recorded a classic Ludwig kit. The mic's chosen depend on what’s available but in this example Dave chose to use the following:
First off is a Shure SM57 on snare aimed pointing at the centre of the drum. Under the snare is a Sennheiser 424. Toms are each using a a standard 421 on the top of each drum, the mic just far enough from the drum skin so that you can get your fingers under.
Kick drum used a Neumann FET 47 on the outside with an AKG ‘egg’ in the kick facing the beater, an inch from the skin. A pair of U87’s angled at 90 degrees mounted above the kit as overhead mic's, they are reverse panned so it gets a good balance with the snare in the middle and above the middle of the kick drum about 2.5 drum sticks above the snare. With the over head microphones Dave says to move them up for more room or move them down for more cymbals.
There's AKG 451 on cymbals. Placed above the drummers head and just behind where he is sat is an Electrovoice RE20 that’s designed to be the crush microphone with lots of compression to be used but in Dave's view can be the only mic needed to get the drum sound, maybe adding a bit of kick or snare but this mic could easily be swapped out for a Shure SM58 or whatever sound right.
For the room/ambience, in this example Dave is using Coles where in many cases he would choose these as his overhead's, in this room the Coles as room mics and 87’s as overheads worked best.
Dave likes to move the drum kit around a room to vary the sound from song to song as having the ‘same old sound’ on each track 'is boring'. Dave EQ’s on the way in, in this case using Distressors on the kick using SSL mic pre. On most of the kit he is using the desk’s dynamics and EQ, rolling some LF off the overheads. There's just a touch of EQ on the snare, 1178 on overheads and LA4 on snare. The approach is filtering/EQ'ing what’s not needed and making it ‘sound nice’. The important things are the drummer, the kit, the room. Everything else is secondary, 'if you don’t have those main points covered you’re wasting your time'.
Dave has a long career in the industry having recorded and produced artists including Orbital, The Prodigy, Motorhead, even The Spice Girls.. Having been based at Strongroom for many years Dave has worked at many studios around the World but is now based at his own room near to Manchester, England.
We caught up with Dave at Soundhouse Studios in Liverpool as he likes the (very) big SSL 4k desk, the vast array of outboard and large number of good sounding recording spaces. In this video we don’t see 3 or 4 of the other spaces and hope to record a studio walkthrough in the near future.
Special thanks to everyone at Soundhouse Studios for making this feature possible and for their amazing hospitality. Again, special thanks to Russell Cottier for taking time out of his busy schedule to come and chat with Dave and of course, a huge thank you to Dave Pemberton for letting us catch up with him 22 years since the last RecordProduction.com feature!!
00:00 Intro 00:35 Drum recording setup 07:50 At mixing desk listening to drums 22:10 Interview
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comHow to Record Piano and get a GREAT SOUNDRecord Production2023-09-03 | Using a good grand piano recording engineer Owain Fleetwood Jenkins shows his approach - getting a beautiful piano sound using a stereo ribbon microphone and a pair of AKG 414 mics.
00:00 Piano Recording Overview 03:11 Piano Sample 04:22 End Out-take
Getting a great piano sound firstly requires a really good pianist and thankfully we had a great player - Dan Moore who we recorded so that you can hear this mic setup. The piano and the space that it's in makes a large contribution and the lovely acoustic space at StudiOwz offers a wonderful range of sounds - here we went for a more atmospheric sound and took advantage of the lovely Hum Audio active stereo ribbon microphone.
Before recording the piano, Dan put down a bit of a synth backing so everything you hear was created specially for this video with the stereo mix being synced up with the picture. In a later video we will again be at StudiOwz recording upright piano and a range of other excellent keyboards so please look out for those and please check out Owain's studio tour around this magnificent recording studio.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comGreat Drum Sound with One MicRecord Production2023-07-31 | @RecordProduction - check out the full video on our channelAmazing studio in Wales with LOTS of instrumentsRecord Production2023-07-20 | Watch the FULL studio tour - youtube.com/watch?v=jZv6dC_FMHc&t=637s @RecordProductionStudio Piano Recording Techniques - Close / Boundary mics (with audio samples)Record Production2023-07-18 | Using sDPA microphones including interesting Boundary Mounts to try out in this video! We decided to try a few unusual mic placements for a more 'solo piano' sound, see what you think :-)
01:45 Overview 03:50 Audio samples 06:01 Reviews of the mics in the control room 07:25 About the microphones in more detail 10:30 Further audio samples as Danny tweaks the balance
There are many well documented ways to record and capture great piano sounds but there is always another approach that might suit a particular track - having the time to experiment is always an issue on sessions where a quick and guaranteed piano sound is needed in the heat of a session so often we end up going for a good tried and tested technique.
It’s nice to have time to step back and think about different approaches that might offer additional variety to draw upon when the situation demands. On a recent piano recording workshop with several engineers it was impressive how the same piano with the same player can sound so different with a varied range of techniques, each sounding good but maybe one might suit a particular track and so on. So, it’s always good to have a bunch of techniques ‘in a bag’ that you can reach for speedily knowing what to expect.
This is why it’s great to have the time in a lovely studio such as Ten 87 in Tottenham, London. And have access to their Yamaha baby grand. Their piano sounds great and Rob and the team at the studio kindly let us have time in the studio for a morning so that could experiment with a method he had been interested in trying for some time. This video documents the experimentation but edited out the previous attempt at using a pair of Coles over the soundboard.
Studio assistant engineer, and seriously impressive musician, Amelia Lawn, helped set up and played some improvised piano for us so that we could compare the mic setups documented in this video.
The video hopefully demonstrates an alternative style of recording that might prove useful on the right session. It might also trigger some experimentation and if you have an interesting way of recording piano and would like to be involved, please let us know so we can visit you.
A big thank you to Rob and everyone at Ten 87 Studios for giving us access, Amelia Lawn for not only helping set the session up but being a brilliant musician and thank you to Danny Trachtenberg for taking time out and making this feature possible.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of The Crypt StudiosRecord Production2023-07-13 | Nestled next door to Paul Epworth's The Church Studios is this hidden gem, The Crypt Studios. Take a tour around this lovely studio perfect for band recording with large main studio space, good sized dead area/booth and full Dolby ATMOS equipped control room.
The large recording space has a lovely range of drums, guitars, amps, keyboards, pianos and much more for musicians to choose from to help add colour to their music.
Set up with a lighting grid it's a perfect place to record a band's video and even stream live performances. With such good height the room has a good 'volume' to it offering a huge degree of artistic choice in the sounds available, from screened for nice tight close sounds to a large and epic recording studio space for 'massive drums'.
Should reverb be your thing, the stair well is large and beautifully reverbant, perfect to feed drums, vocals or anything to be re-mic'd.
The smaller dead space is set up with a number of bass amps and cabs, it's a perfect place to put a nervous singer if being out of sight to the control room is desired. It has a nice smooth sound and is also perfect for punchy guitar sounds.
In the control room a large range of gadgets are available, the full equipment list can be found on their website but there's little that we might ask for that isn't here already.
Overall, the studio is clean, has a kitchen and is in a brilliant spot on Crouch End/Hill. You're moments away from great pubs, cafe's and more trendy places to eat. If you don't fancy recording in a nice residential Welsh studio and want to be in town, this is a great choice. Bands will love it and the staff are superb, really friendly , helpful and interested in helping musicians feel at ease and ready to make a great record. A highly recommended studio that's well worth checking out.
Many thanks to Ricky, David and Joe for taking the time out to chat and make this studio tour possible!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR - StudiOwZ - a converted Welsh chapel - In our top 10 studios listRecord Production2023-06-13 | Deep in South Wales Owain Fleetwood Jenkins has created a fabulous residential recording studio in a now very impressive once abandoned chapel. We had head several producers talk about StudiOwz and were keen to find out more so after a four hour drive arrived on a sunny day and at once felt like a holiday was about to start.
This is a very tucked out of the way studio. In all the time there only one vehicle passed which turned out to be a local farmer. While some distance to travel makes this studio most suitable for artists wanting to be away for a week or more the journey is well worth it - the studio is one of the best musically equipped studios visited and you'll get the idea when you watch this studio tour!
Some of the outstanding instrument selections include a wonderful Bechstein grand piano which has one of the best tones heard, sadly Owain wearing the tie clip mic showing us around hints at just how good it really sounds. We hope to visit very soon to record a feature demonstrating the piano's ability. The selection of drums is very impressive and sadly had to edit out most of Owain demonstrating some of the drums as the lav mic wasn't really capturing it and we, again, will be over to cover the vast range of drums on offer later.
The recording space is very impressive having a lovely smooth sound with loads of height and balcony areas for you to put the choir if you have one or to maybe set up mics in interesting places. There's a small booth for singers and then there's the 'dead room'.. The dead room isn't super dead but is very well controlled. Open one door in the room and there's a well organised collection of mic cables, mics and other 'stuff'. Open the other door and pull out the amazing rack of drums. Not seen that before! Not to forget the range of organs, guitars and amps to choose from - it's the kind of place you can hitch hike to (maybe not so easy out that way) and make a record bringing nothing with you.
Technically, the mic selection is well curated. Some very desirable mics are here. Upstairs, the control room is vast, it's 'airy', sunlight coming in from all four directions giving the space a relaxed and comfortable vibe with the plants everywhere and almost 70's feel, probably due to the large orage sofa and choice of colours. This is one control room that will not feel tiring on a long album project.
One notable feature of the studio is that the control room is possibly the only studio we have visited that faces away from the studio! A nice touch for nervous artists feeling the pressure of a first recording but pressure isn't the kind of thing anyone would feel here.
Owain is to be congratulated, this is one of the finest 'band recording studios' we have visited in a long time. For someone so young to have built this is most impressive. We strongly recommend this studio and hope that you enjoy the tour around, maybe call Owain up after and set up a trip to check it out.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comProducer Interview with Heff Moraes - Will Young, Paul McCartney, Grace Jones..Record Production2023-05-28 | Heff Moraes is a producer and engineer based in London who started his career at SARM Studios. Heff's credits include Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Will Young, Paul McCartney, Sade, Annie Lennox, Rush, Simple Minds...
Heff was mentored by the then chief engineer Stuart Bruce, so it was really great to bring them together to discuss the recording industry and how it's evolved in their time with some great conversation about working with Trevor Horn, Steve Lipson and many great artists and producers.
Heff is now Head Engineer at Tape London and consults with PMC which is why the conversation took place at their London demo studio - and the enormous number of speakers on show!
Timestamps
00:00:00 Intro 00:04:20 Starting work at SARM Studios 00:08:08 Working with analogue tape and recording basic techniques 00:13:20 The Recording Engineer has to remain calm 00:17:50 Making calls as a record producer and decision making 00:25:00 Hardware vs Plugins and how it changes artist performance in recording 00:31:35 Working with Annie Lennox and Steve Lipson 00:40:30 Live sound mixing at Central Park 00:47:17 Frankie Goes to Hollywood re-recording and Grace Jones 00:53:30 The Art of making Cheesy but Great Records 01:00:00 SARM as the centre of the UK Music Industry with George Michael etc 01:02:15 Now there are more music studios than ever 01:08:40 Early days mentoring from Jill Sinclair 01:12:00 Helping young people with their music and production career 01:30:00 Budgets for recording are shrinking 01:36:30 Advantages of working on mixing desks
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Echo StudiosRecord Production2023-04-10 | Tour around a lovely recording studio outside Buckingham in the UK - studio owner Jamie Masters met with Grammy winning producer Mike Exeter to show him around.
The studio is really well equipped with ATC monitoring and a great selection of keyboards, amps and a nice selection of choice microphones. With a small but well featured kitchen and outside space to relax this is a perfect studio for a band or solo artist to spend a few days or much longer without going stir-crazy due to the spacious and open spaces with loads of natural light flooding in.
We highly recommend visiting the studio and meeting Jamie. In the near future we will be adding an interview with him talking about production so please subscribe to our channel :-)
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comUSB microphone for Drum Recording - it works!!Record Production2023-01-27 | Can an affordable USB mic with multiple capsules give results good enough to make a record? Recording engineer and musician Russ Cottier tests a unit out - Put on your headphones to hear the results!
We selected Immersive Mode to access all of Connex’s mics separately and recorded them individually to test the USB mic to record drums in a rehearsal/live room. Russ Cottier played the drums and tried moving the mic around to see how well the affordable and simple mic can be to record a demo before taking the files back to his studio to add guitars and play with the audio.
We also recorded some spot mics on to a Sound Devices Mix Pre 10-II. Rather than just A/B USB mic vs spot mics, we wanted to hear how well the mic(s) work with an almost complete track to give a much more useful guide for budget recording.
Please let us know what you thought in the comments section, we hope you found this interesting!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comGuitar Recording at Marshalls own Studios in the UK (+ Piano recording too!)Record Production2023-01-15 | We return to Marshall's HQ to spend time at their recording studio learning how in-house engineer Adam Beer records a Marshall cab.
In this video, recording engineer Adam Beer and assistant engineer Oliver Brightman's guitar recording feature shows off the sound and flexibility of Marshall Studios. After the guitar recording Adam shows us their piano and we get to be the first people to record it at the studio!
AMPS AVAILABLE AT MARSHALL STUDIOS
• 1959HW Head • 1962 Bluesbreaker Combo • 1974x Combo • 1987x PW Combo • 2555X Head • Astoria • AS50D Combo • Class 5 Head • Code25 Combo • DSL40 Combo • EL34 50/50 Rack amp • EL34 100/100 Rack amp • JCM 800 2203 Head • JMP-1 Head • JTM 2245 Head • JVM410H Head
• MG15R Combo • Origin 20 Head • SL5 Head • Studio Classic • Studio Vintage • YJM100 Head • 1960a Cab
• Natal Cafe Racer Kit - 22”, 10”, 12”, 16”FT • Natal Maple Original Kit – 22”, 12”, 14”FT, 16”FT • 13” x 6.5” Natal Walnut Snare • 13” x 7” Natal Steel Hammered Snare • 14” x 5.5” Natal Walnut + Maple Snare • 14” x 7” Natal Mappa Burl Snare • Natal percussion • Zildjian K Cymbals
INSTRUMENTS
• Fender Stratocaster Ultra HSS • Fender Ultra Jazz bass • Gibson Les Paul Standard 50’s • Yamaha FG • Tanglewood Banjo • Extensive range of guitar pedals
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Real World StudiosRecord Production2022-12-04 | Watch an on-session 'behind the scenes' quick tour of Real World Studios with engineer / producer George Shilling with George taking us around most of the spaces and studio accommodation.
This was filmed by George on his portable device but we think it looks great - camera work also by Vanessa Hurst so a bit thank you to them both for taking time out of their session to capture this tour!
We think Real World is one of the very best studios and it's completely unique in style and character. Without any doubt, the main studio, 'The Big Room', is not big - It's GIGANTIC. The Big Room features a huge K Series SSL console and the range of outboard is second to none. Although the control room could accommodate a Boeing 747, it sounds great and is a superb space to work, be it recording or mixing!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRecording guitar with multiple mics - Dan Austins Pink Noise method gets it all in phase!Record Production2022-11-21 | Top British engineer / producer Dan Austin shows his PINK Noise method to get great guitar sounds. In this video shot at Otterhead Studios Dan shows Oscar Ball how to do this and we can hear the effect of this as he moves the mics on the cab around.
Edited by Ellis Powell Bevan Technique by Dan Austin Questionmaster - Oscar Ball
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comUpright Piano Recording techniques - by a great engineer with audio samplesRecord Production2022-10-23 | GloWorm Studios has a great upright piano that we discovered on a studio tour feature (look up our GloWorm video) so we were keen to ask engineer Iain Hutchison to show us his various methods for getting a great piano sound - we've got a bunch of samples for you to compare the various mic setups so please put on your headphones.
In this video we compare two main piano recording setups; Shure SM57's on the back and Schoeps CMC6 condensers on the front with additional room and effects mics including the Placid Audio Copperphone and the Scope Labs Periscope. When all blended together they give a lovely sound but as can be heard, the setup really is dictated by the tracks requirements - if the track is less dense a fuller piano sound might be more appropriate but on a thick and full sounding track something that cuts through might be more suitable.. Anyway, we hope that these samples show just how different the sounds from one piano can be so hope this inspires some experimentation.
Track details are: - Sleep Fast - Take it All Both by @siigatv Siiga (artist name) and used with permission.
Assistant engineer seen on camera setting up and also playing piano was Ewen White.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Beat Street (in Leeds, U.K) with engineer Oliver SekundaRecord Production2022-09-25 | Look around this Aladin's Cave of a studio, so much equipment and so many instruments in such a compact but flexible space that's designed for bands to be affordable. Based in Leeds the studio has now built up a great track record so we wanted to take a look around and was given a tour by resident recording engineer Oliver Sekunda.
Oliver Sekunda started his career at Chairworks studios in Castleford then moved to assisting at a studio in France. On his return to Britain he took the engineering helm at Beat Street Studio.
Oliver is an expert engineer when it comes to recording and mixing bands. He also has an extensive number of production credits under his belt. In the past he has worked with a diverse range of artists including The Pigeon Detectives, Cud, KRS One, Young Thug and Ginger Wildheart.
As well as recording bands Oliver has a deep knowledge of electronic music and instruments. He has great experience in writing and producing for artists that are using electronic elements in their productions.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Marshall Recording Studios - A tour that goes to 11..Record Production2022-09-19 | In this tour we take you around an epic recording studio built by Marshall next to their amplification manufacturing plant in Milton Keynes, England.
This is not any ordinary studio, this is something designed to be far more flexible than most - due to the size of the space available this studio offers a recording area able to fit an audience of 250 people so you can set up as a band to go for live takes with a packed audience giving a completely new range of possibilities. Whatever the way you wish to record, you can do so here.
Packed with vintage and classic recording equipment including esoteric distortion units, analogue delay lines, compressors and a patch bay one imagines used to be housed in an old style phone exchange for a small town sits the Blake Devitt engineered Neve 8048 console. This is gargantuan and hails back to its beginnings in Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris way back in the early 70’s.
Following much work and re-engineering, including many recycled modules and parts from a multitude of old desks, Blake has brought in to the World something akin to a battle cruiser class of mixing desk. This is one of the most brawny, well built and Herculean desks available in the Milton Keynes area (and about 1,000 miles around). It’s so burly it possibly bends light due to its density!
In this video, studio engineer Adam Beer and assistant engineer Oliver Brightman take us on a tour of the studio and equipment in the racks. We also recorded a piano recording video and also a guitar recording feature to show off the sound and flexibility of Marshall Studios, there will be links added once these videos have been edited and up on the RecordProduction.com website.
Many thanks to everyone who helped in making this studio tour possible - we highly recommend Marshall Studios and are confident that anyone visiting too check it out will be impressed enough to think of booking when a suitable session requires the unique mix of facilities.
EQUIPMENT
DESK
The centrepiece of the Marshall studio is a Neve 8048 console. Record through Focusrite RedNet A/D converters on to the latest version of Protools Ultimate and numerous relay points mean you can record anywhere.
Website: https://www.RecordProduction.comMusic Producer Dan Austin Interview at Otterhead Studios, UKRecord Production2022-09-04 | Dan Austin is a leading British producer and engineer - many people know Dan for his amazing guitar and drum sounds (we have another feature on that) so while he was visiting Otterhead Studios Dan sat to chat with Oscar Ball about production, recording and studio life.
Dan celebrated his first UK no 1 as producer of DOVES’ album ‘The Universal Want’ which was their first album in over 10 years and for Dan it was the culmination of more than 15 years working working with the band - starting with engineering their 'Some Cities’ album in 2004 and then co-producing and partially mixing their 2009 ‘ Kingdom of Rust’ album, as well as producing and mixing singer Jimi Goodwin’s debut solo offering ‘Odludek’.
Dan learned his craft engineering, programming and mixing for producers including Steve Osborne, Paul Corkett, Gil Norton, Flood and John Leckie on a wide variety of projects including PIXIES, B 52s, BIFFY CLYRO, MAXIMO PARK, AFI, THE CORAL (to name just a few) but he was quickly noticed because of his energy and ability by artists including THE COOPER TEMPLE CLAUSE, and OCEANSIZE who sought him out for his first solo production opportunities. Other acts including CHERRY GHOST, THE NINTH WAVE, SLøTFACE and MASSIVE ATTACK followed suit loving his creativity and inventiveness in the studio.
As his years with working with DOVES show, when artists work with Dan, they tend to keep on coming back - MALLORY KNOX, YOU ME AT SIX, TWIN ATLANTIC and PRETTY VICIOUS and many of the bands mentioned above have all forged trusted relationships with him - for his boundlessly inventive approach to production and his great energy and temperament. In 2017 Dan finished work on his own mix / production room near his home in the SouthWest of England. Having his own studio has enabled Dan to maintain a regular flow of mix work, either for the bands he is producing or for bands seeking him out as a mixer for their project. In recent years he’s been nurturing long term ‘finishing and mixing ‘ relationships with bands who are self-financed and need some experienced ears to help finesse their recordings.
More recently Dan has also been working with artists on writing sessions too….. either remotely, at his own studio or wherever suits the artist.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comJohn Parish - Composer / Producer Interview at his private studioRecord Production2022-08-30 | Ben Turner from Axe and Trap Studios visited John Parish at his amazing studio with ace cameraman and editor Harv to record this incredible video.
John is a composer/producer/artist/collaborator who over the past twenty years has contributed to more than fifty albums, toured globally with PJ Harvey, Eels and his own bands, and written and recorded music for film, television and stage.
Johns producer credits include Eels, PJ Harvey, Aldous Harding, Dry Cleaning, Tracy Chapman, Giant Sand, and Sparklehorse.
Find out more about John by visiting his website: john-parish.com
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Momentum Studios with George ShillingRecord Production2022-08-03 | George Shilling was working at the studio recording Billie Bottle’s Temple of Shibboleth (link below) and liked it so much that he got out the trusty iPhone to record a quick tour around Momentum Studios. We hope to visit and record a feature with the studio owner when we can but this is a great look in to a very nice studio - a perfect studio if you're looking for a nice place to record in the South West of England!
Momentum Studios was founded by Josiah Manning in 2009. The original recording space was solely designed and built by Josiah with the help of his Grandfather when he was just 18yrs. Momentum has since tripled in size and continues to accommodate large production projects, major label signed bands and artists from all over the world. The main live room has been specifically designed for recording drums but the studio also offers 2 separate ‘dry booths’ with adjustable acoustic treatment. Josiah prides himself on being a multi-genre producer with a diverse taste in music but is especially passionate about cross-genres.
Many thanks to George Shilling for taking time to record this!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of EchoTown Studios - new studio in the UKRecord Production2022-07-25 | Tour around Echotown Studios - Singer/songwriter Nick Capaldi and his wife, Grace, shared a dream to build a high end studio in their hometown and Echotown Studio is the result! We were delighted to visit to find out more about this super well equipped studio.
Much of the studio equipment has history, an Otari 24 track tape machine that was last used by Tom Jones with producer Ethan Johns, a Fender Bassman rig that belonged to Mani from the Stone Roses, a Hohner Clavinet D6 played by Stevie Wonder, and a very rare Baldwin Electric Harpischord that used to have a home at London’s renowned Olympic studios.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Penhesgyn Hall StudiosRecord Production2022-06-12 | George Shilling was working at Penhesgyn Hall Studios based in North Wales - at the end of the week long session he picked up the iPhone to record a short tour of the facilities. George really enjoyed his time at Penhesgyn Hall Studios - it's not got a website that we are aware of and have no idea how George found the studio in the first place! Well worth seeking out though!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of GloWormRecording Studios - top Glasgow studioRecord Production2022-05-16 | GloWormRecording is a high end studio complex in Glasgow City Centre. It's an inviting and creative space equipped with everything you need to make an amazing recording, from SSL console to U47 microphones this is a great space for making great records.
Studio 1 is a large tracking and mixing studio with room to facilitate a whole band playing live. The control room is built around an SSL AWS 948 Delta Analogue Console, Barefoot MM27 Monitoring, Burl Mothership A/D conversion and a high quality selection of outboard. The studio is flooded with natural light in the control room, and has large windows to the first of 3 isolation booths on the left, and a large live room on the right, allowing significant line of sight for live tracking.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comMike Fraser - Archive interview (2008) with a TOP recording / mix engineerRecord Production2022-04-26 | Mike Fraser is one of the top engineers and mixers in the World - in our view. Not only is he a super nice guy but he is immensely talented and has worked on a vast number of iconic records with artists such as AC/DC, Aerosmith, Nora Jones etc..
This is a lower quality video shot at the old Sphere Studios in London just after the AC/DC Black Ice album had been released. There is so much useful 'stuff' here for people interested in making great records and well worth a watch!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comHow To Do Tape BakingRecord Production2022-03-27 | Recording and Mastering engineer Mike Thorne shows us how he bakes his tapes in this very short video on tape baking!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comProducer of Skindred, Bjork & My Vitriol, James Loughrey, talks with George ShillingRecord Production2022-02-26 | Over ten years since our last conversation with James Loughrey we caught up with him at the lovely Axe and Trap Studios during the Festive break in the South West of England where James likes to bring many of his projects. The discussion is wide ranging and the topics range from Auto-Tune to using pianos as reverb units so please take 20 minutes out to get some perspective on how production is going.
James has recently signed to be managed by 7pm Management and their owner Seven Webster said about it that “it was a natural progression for us to add James to our roster as he is someone we have worked closely with across three successful Top 40 albums for Skindred”. James produced the successful singles That’s My Jam which spent an impressive 4 months in the US Top 40 active rock chart last year and Big Tings as used in the trailer for Sky TVs critically acclaimed TV show Brassic.
Having cut his teeth while working at most of London’s most prestigious recording studios, Metropolis, Eden and Brittania Row working with acts that included the likes Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode), My Vitriol, Scott Walker, Bjork, Beverly Knight and Page and Plant to name but a few Loughrey has gone from strength to strength. It was his work with the aforementioned acts as well as with some of his exemplary work with more underground electronic artists like Flux Pavillion that first brought him to the attention of Skindred who were looking for someone that could push boundaries and break down barriers while also having the ability to rock the dancefloor. Over the last 10 years James LeRock Loughreys work with Skindred has attracted him to numerous artists including 7pm Management’s own artist Andy Taylor (Duran Duran/ The Power Station) who he has just finished mixing his excellent forthcoming Single Reaching out to you (BMG Records) a tune co-written by Ricky Warwick (Thin Lizzy/ Black Star Riders).
For more details or a showreel or to discuss working with James email seven@7pmmanagement.com
Special thanks to Ben at Axe and Trap Studios for making this interview possible - axeandtrapstudios.com
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comDrums - 20+ Recording Tips (with Audio Samples)Record Production2022-02-15 | Renowned in the metal scene with bands including SikTh, Enter Shikari and Young Guns, Dan gives us a behind the scenes look (and listen) at his drum recording setup with a tour around the kit to look at mic's and tuning etc on a session at VADA Studios in the heart of the UK. We counted 21 interesting tips on getting great sounding drums!
Clint Murphy has mixed many of Dan's records and he was keen to see the drum recording setup that Dan uses with a keen interest in the setup of the kit as a whole, the use of dampers and drum tuning etc..
Dan kindly ran off a stereo mix of this drum setup after we left, a pass with the close mics and then a full mix with all of the room mics included. This conversation is one of our favourite features on the subject - even if Dan's approach isn't what you might choose we are pretty sure that there will be things in this video that might help you get an even better drum sound :-)
A very big thanks to George and Matt at VADA Studios for helping make this possible, to Dan for giving us his time and to Clint who asked the questions day's before re-locating back to New Zealand!
London based Dan Weller is an award winning producer/mixer, writer and guitarist, known for his work in rock and metal, but with credits as diverse as Children’s BBC to his name.
Dan began his musical career as founding member/producer of metal band SikTh. Renowned in the metal scene and credited with spawning the microgenre ‘djent’, SikTh are often name-checked as an influence by bands the world over. In a career spanning almost 20 years SikTh have toured the globe extensively. In 2015 they toured with US metal titans Slipknot and were featured on the cover of the Rolling Stone magazine in India.
Away from his band Dan is best known for nurturing talent and extracting the very best from the artists he works with. Production and mix credits include Enter Shikari (2 x UK top 5 records*), Monster Truck, Bury Tomorrow, Young Guns (Active number 1 in US**) and many more.
In more recent years Dan has found a balance between Producing/Mixing and his first love — Song writing. Credits include Taylor Swift approved Austrian based Hunger, Shvpes, Sea girls, Cody Frost and many more.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comDan Weller (Enter Shikari, Young Guns) Producer InterviewRecord Production2022-01-26 | After a fun but long day working in the studio Dan sat down to chat with fellow mix-engineer Clint Murphy about the art of production. There will be a follow up video with Dan taking us around his drum recording setup but in this video, as well as the conversation and insight, Dan takes us through his favourite guitar pedals so please stick with the video and watch it to the end!
Dan Weller is an award winning record producer, mixer, writer and guitarist. Dan's best known for his work in rock and metal but he does work in other genres.
He started out as a founding member and producer of the metal band SikTh who are highly regarded in the heavy metal scene and together with Meshuggah he's credited with spawning the micro-genre 'djent'. To quote Dan's website: "SikTh are often name-checked as an influence by bands the world over."
In a career spanning almost 20 years they released six records and toured the world. In 2015 they toured with US metal titans Slipknot and were featured on the cover of the Rolling Stone magazine in India. Their final show was in 2019 where they were invited to Manila in the Philippines to support Slayer on their farewell tour.
Now, Dan is best known for growing talent and bringing the very best out of the artists he works with. His long time studio collaborations with UK's Enter Shikari have 3 x UK top 5 records including a number 2 in April 2020, Monster Truck, Bury Tomorrow, Young Guns (Active number 1 in US) and many more.
To further quote from Dan's website: "In more recent years Dan has found a balance between Producing/Mixing and his first love - Song writing. Credits include Taylor Swift approved Austrian based Hunger, Sea girls, Holding Absence, Shvpes, Cody Frost and many more."
A huge thanks to Dan for taking the time, to Clint Murphy for asking the questions days before relocating back to New Zealand, George and everyone at VADA Studios for making us welcome.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comHow to record Acoustic Guitar and Vocals with just one microphoneRecord Production2022-01-02 | Top recording engineer Russell Cottier shows 3 tips on how to get the best acoustic guitar and voice recording using a single microphone. Getting the mic position worked out first, by wearing headphones to hear the microphone's output is well worth the effort as just a small movement can sound better or worse but also, you can find the tone that best suits your taste for the track etc.
Check out the @RussCottier channel.
Using sound absorbing panels can make a significant difference, deadening the acoustics and bringing the sound in to focus is shown here and we switch between fully live and dampened room sound. As Russ says, spending a little time at the beginning can really improve your production - a slapdash recording might require significant work to make it useable but even then, it might not equal the sound possible by experimenting for just a few minutes.
We used an Austrian Audio OC 818 microphone with Cardioid pattern plugged in to a very affordable Zoom H4n Pro recorder. We used a cheap pair of earbuds to monitor as we wanted to replicate the most basic setup. No EQ, compression etc was used - you are free to experiment but we wanted to give you a clean output to compare with.
Many thanks to Andy Bowes and Catalyst Studios for making this feature possible, Russ Cottier and our mystery visiting L.A. producer, cheers Rick!
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comAndrew Raphael - Music Producer interviewRecord Production2021-11-28 | Andy has been working on recordings with Everything Everything, Blossoms, Charlatans, Slow Readers Club, Charlotte Church, Nadine Shah and so we were keen to learn about some interesting production methods that he's now using..
Andrew Raphael is a Music Producer based in the North West of the UK and Russ Cottier visited Andy while he was on a session at Catalyst Studios tracking a band on the SSL.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comMix engineer interview and tips with Al Groves (at Motor Museum Studios)Record Production2021-11-14 | Top British mixing engineer and producer Al Groves has bought and updated Motor Museum Studios with new SSL Duality console, Genelec monitors and even a new kitchen!
Al sat down to chat about the studio upgrades with Russ Cottier before doing a mix that we filmed and will bring that video to you shortly showing Al's top mix tips and techniques.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comOn Record: Mix & Recording Engineer, Kevan Gallager Interview (November 2021)Record Production2021-11-07 | Mike Exeter talks with Kevan Gallagher, a self-taught guitarist who has worked in-house at many of London’s top studio. Kevan was fortunate in learning his craft working with many of the best engineers and producers assisting at Battery Studios.
Later, after working at several other top studios he was based at Marc Angelo Studios where Kevan recorded many string sessions for classical and jazz artists. He has since been busy as a freelance engineer working with many major artists such as Annie Lennox and Ronan Keating.
Kevan specialises in recording and mixing a wide range of pop and rock music, with a particular emphasis on great songwriters. In this interview at a private studio in the UK, we have an hour long chat about what makes a great recording and so much more...
The video was shot with two cameras but for technical and artistic reasons we decided to use just a single camera so please excuse some occasional re-framing of the camera that would usually be unseen. This was shot with the intention that it could also be used in a future podcast so it's a really good video to listen to while doing other things but we hope you find this as interesting as we did and welcome your comments and thoughts that this discussion raises :-)
Many thanks to Mike Exeter for taking the time out to record this and to Gavin Backhouse for letting us use his beautiful private studio to film in.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Parlour Studios with top metal producer Russ RussellRecord Production2021-11-01 | Russ Russell tells us why he leaves recording the Bass Guitar until after recording most guitar parts. This is not just for tuning, telling if a bass guitar is perfectly in-tune tracking the drums isn’t easy and also, knowing the bass guitar sound that will fit with the track and all the guitars isn’t possible. Much easier to record the guitars first and then when you record that bass guitar you’ll know what works with the drums and guitars. Learn about how he approaches a tracking session.
Another tip of Russ’s is that you don’t have to have the same EQ for the bass guitar all the way through the track, this allows you to make the bass fit the various sections. This can apply to guitars or any other elements.
In this video Russ talks with Mike about guitar recording and how he approaches tracking sessions at Parlour Sound Studios and then gives us a tour around the hidden equipment room where the various guitar amps, drums and all the other instruments and microphones are kept. Half way through the tour Mike and Russ reference Woodworm Studios so we inserted a brief whirlwind tour of there to do our friends there a favour!
The full interview sat in the control room rounds off this video and we hope that this more in-depth feature gives some useful tips and we look forward to visiting the studio again to do some guitar recording workshops in the near future.
A big thanks to Russ Russell for giving us the time to chat and to Mike Exeter who took time out of a session to nip over to Parlour Sound to look around and talk record production.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comMixing Magic: Unleash YOUR Sound with EXPERT Mixing TipsRecord Production2021-10-17 | Al Groves has produced, recorded and mixed many big name artists, here he shows us a load of great ideas and things to try while sat behind his SSL Duality mixing desk in his fantastic Liverpool studio, UK.
Russ Cottier met up with Al to chat about him now being the owner of Motor Museum Studios and after about 12 minutes of Al chatting about his mixing approaches and treatments tells Russ about the studio and how it's evolved.
In this video we are using the multitrack recorded at Rimshot Studios by Mike Thorne - that video showing the recording session and techniques is here: youtu.be/W_Bhamjinew
Special thanks to the musicians who gave their time to record this:
Sam Woods - guitar - samwoodsmusic.net Will Freed - drums - https://instagram.com/willpfreed?utm_... Jamie Lawrence - bass - https://instagram.com/jamielawrencear...
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comHow to: Recording & Mix Drums (30 minute special feature)Record Production2021-08-15 | Grammy winning engineer Mike Exeter shows his great sounding Drum Recording methods with top session drummer Karl Brazil. Hear the sounds that he recorded individually so you can hear the benefit of Mike's microphone placement in solo and as a whole - in context with a song. At about 15minutes in you can watch the tour around the drum kit.
Mike has worked with some amazing artists and bands but the ones that stand out are Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Dio etc.. Karl Brazil has worked with Take That, Ed Sheeran etc.. Together they offer a depth of knowledge and experience that is here for you to digest and hopefully can pick up some useful tips for your next drum recording session :-)
A big thanks to Mike Exeter and Karl Brazil plus Gospel Oak Studios, Baz Bayliss, Gavin Backhouse and Joe Hieatt-Smith.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comMetal Producer Russ Russell - New Studio - New InterviewRecord Production2021-07-11 | Russ Russell is a British based rock and metal record producer and recording engineer. We met up with him at Parlour Studios in Northamptonshire to talk about the studio's rebuild and his production & recording techniques. Mike Exeter stopped by to chat while both were on brief breaks from the studio.
Based in the UK Russ was also the guitarist in the psychedelic band Draw, and now plays in British metal band Absolute Power and cosmic mind metal trio, Reformat.
To Quote Russ on what he's worked on: "I've worked with every kind of metal, rock, classical, blues, jazz, pop, acoustic, dub, bhangra, country, hip hop, trip hop, sea shanty, drum & bass, drill & bass, psychedelic, reggae, indie, space folk, prog, mantra, tap dance, breakbeat, heads down, no nonsense glam thrash boogie..."
Some of the artists and bands that Russ has produced/engineered include: Napalm Death, Evile, Dimmu Borgir, The Ga-Ga's, The Wildhearts, Space Ritual, The Exploited, New Model Army, Sikth, Jet Plane Landing, Amorphis, Junket, The Peccadillos, Draw, Jnr Loaded, Defenestration and lots more.
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Eastcote Studios - Lots of vintage gear, MCI 500, Trident B Series..Record Production2021-06-20 | Eastcote Studios is where Adele recorded 'Rolling In The Deep'. Things haven't stood still, now after 40 years they've just upgraded the studios so we wanted to show you how it's now even better than before.
The studio has been running for forty years and continues to attract some of the biggest artist. In this tour you'll be able to look around all of the main recording spaces and see Studio One has 4 nice recording spaces, from the large main room to more compact spaces perfect for a band to do a live take and go for something with lots of feel. Studio Two has an iso booth (not shown much due to the session from the day before having things set up still) but is mostly designed to be an open and airy space that musicians can compose and create all in the large room with daylight flooding in.
There's a great range of instruments available to use and the mic collection and outboard is extensive so why not pay them a visit?
Studio One has four recording spaces with variable acoustics giving good separation while giving good visual contact for the musicians and producer. As can be seen on the video, there are six home brew headphone mixers with meaty headphone amps directly routed from ProTools and proclaimed by the studio as "the best foldback system in London".
A large collection of outboard gear includes tube EQ and compression and the legendary MCI JH500 console custom built in 1971 for Island Records and claim to fame is being the desk that Exodus was recorded on! There's ProTools and also two analogue 24 track 2" Otari MTR 90 machines.
The studio is awash with instruments and these include: Yamaha Disklavier 6′ 6″ grand piano with MIDI in/out, Hammond C3 Organ and Leslie tone cabinet with Trek interface, Rhodes ‘suitcase’ electric piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, Hohner Clavinet. Guitar amps include: Marshall 50w & 4×12, Mesa Boogie combo, Vox AC30, Ampeg Bass amp.
There is an enormous microphone collection, vintage and modern mics including many ribbon mics to choose from.
Eastcote's Studio Two features a large, open, control room with large windows looking out onto a surprisingly green courtyard. The studio is designed to feel more like a living space but with quality instruments and recording gear and less like a standard music studio. There's an additional vocal and drum booth.
Notable equipment in Studio 2 includes centrepiece Trident Series B mixing console with a Neve Kelso side-car desk to give further options.
The vast range of instruments available to use at a moments notice includes: Yamaha upright piano, Rhodes Suitcase and more keyboards, 808's etc. Amps include: Fender Deluxe Reverb, Watkins Dominator. There's a wide range of acoustic, electric and bass guitars as well.
There is also a good mic collection of classic and modern microphones featuring many ribbon mics.
A selection of past clients from the last 40 years:
Adele, Aswad, Arctic Monkeys, Bat for Lashes, Beth Orton, Billy Bragg, Birdy, Bloc Party, Brian Eno, Depeche Mode, Duran Duran, Ed Harcourt, Elastica, Grace Jones, Jack-Knife Lee, Jake Bugg, Kaiser Chiefs, KT Tunstall, La Roux, Laura Marling, Magic Numbers, Mark Ronson, Maximo Park, Mumford & Sons, Neneh Cherry, Paul Oakenfold, Pixie Lott, Plan B, Razorlight, Scouting for Girls, Sly & Robbie, Soft Cell, Starsailor, The Klaxons, The Specials, Tindersticks, Tom Jones, Two Door Cinema Club...
Special thanks to Julie Bateman for making this studio tour possible and to George Murphy who took 30 minutes out before starting a session to take us around :-)
Eastcote Studios 249-251 Kensal Road London W10 5DB
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of an amazing Private Studio - One of the UK’s best equipped studiosRecord Production2021-06-13 | Visit this amazing private recording studio that's as well equipped as any top studio. We recorded top drummer Karl Brazil at the studio to find out how good it sounded and there's a follow-up feature on our recording setup coming soon..
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The studio is in a converted coach house in rural Oxfordshire, UK. If you have a serious project that you might like to work on at the studio it's not in the phone book but please message us and we will connect you (if you can show you are serious!).
Not many private studios have an SSL Duality console, a live space that's as flexible, massive microphone collection, a chef musician owner that cooks superb food and is set in a tranquil and private setting away from it all so you can just relax and focus on the session. As Mike's enthusiasm can be seen, this is a pretty special place.
Special thanks to everyone involved in making this video possible, Gavin Backhouse, Karl Brazil, Mike Exeter and Joe Hieatt-Smith.
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Visit our website: http://www.RecordProduction.comRECORDING STUDIO TOUR of Masterchord Studios - Londons unique underground studioRecord Production2021-06-08 | Michele Catri has opened his recording studio in London. He's excavated under a large house and garden to build an impossibly amazing studio with the help of top studio designers, he's turned it in to an brilliant recording and mixing space with a concert Steinway Grand Piano.
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There aren't any studios that we've visited that are as unique as this. The studio is under a house in London but is as large as most big rooms you'll find, a large recording space with four booths, some large enough to fit a concert grand piano. Top recording engineer Ronan Phelan shows us around.
Master Chord Studio is a private recording studio based in Finchley, London. The studio features an outstanding Steinway & Sons “Model D” Pianoforte and a legendary SSL 4040 G+ console is the centrepiece of the control room.
All rooms has its own independent floating floor, walls and ceiling, built by different layering materials and thickness in order to create a solid yet live structure, which reacts to vibrations in a natural way, letting the musician “feel” his performance and not only hear it. This technique allows modern multitrack recording and mixing to be carried out with the best possible sound isolation between rooms. For “all in one room recording”, the booth’s doors can be left open, letting the sound spread from one room to the others, creating an amazing “ensemble” ambience. All rooms are equipped with regulated power outlets, heating/cooling via filtered fresh air systems, noiseless and low power consumption LED lighting systems and carefully designed bespoke acoustic solutions built using eco-friendly and nonallergenic materials only.
We hope you visit the studio soon to see just how unique this is: masterchordstudio.com
Ronan Phelan is a recording and mixing engineer based in London.
In 2007, Ronan left his native Ireland and joined Sphere Studios in London. Starting with Queen, Ronan quickly went on to become the in-house engineer and worked with some the biggest acts in music including Adele, The Script, Mark Ronson, The Pixies, James Bond : Skyfall (Thomas Newman), Rudimental, Ed Sheeran, Duran Duran and Wave Machines amongst others.
In 2014, Ronan joined Angel Studios, where he worked on numerous film and television projects such as Terminator Genisys (Lorne Balfe/Hans Zimmer), Downton Abbey (John Lunn), Poldark (Anne Dudley), Wolf Hall (Debbie Wiseman), The Night Manager (Victor Reyes), Open Season (Rupert Greyson-Williams) and Michael Nyman, while also engineering for musical artists Dame Shirley Bassey and Chilly Gonzales.
Since leaving Angel Studios, Ronan has continued to work with clients across both the music and film and TV world including Rod Temperton, U2, Paul Epworth, Jamie Cullum, Paloma Faith, Alexis Ffrench, George Fenton, Rachel Portman, Doctor Who, Paddington Bear 2, as well his work alongside pioneering producer Alex ‘LEXXX’ Dromgoole on projects for Jessie Ware, Nao, Mura Masa, Rosie Lowe, Sohn, Hayden Thorpe (Wild Beasts).
Website: http://www.RecordProduction.comThe thing to watch out for with a Sennheiser 421 mic clipRecord Production2021-06-03 | Russell Cottier takes a moment out of a recording session to point out the issues with the Sennheiser 421 microphone clip and it's love of flying off the mic stand! Top tip: Wrap the mic cable around the stand to help reduce the chances of having a dented microphone!