Studio Building
The studio is in a converted external guesthouse
This is the main control/mixing desk. I like to work standing most of the time. It helps me concentrate, and stops me dying from sitting disease. It's a thing.
Studio Door
The studio has a sign. This thing is officially real
If you look closely at the monitor stand on the right, you can see a tin whistle that I bought in the Highlands of Scotland many years ago. It has a very airy sound compared to a standard Irish tin whistle, and actually sounds more like a flute. It records fantastically.
It's important to have a colorful pop shield for your mic. Sometimes a mic can just get plain bored otherwise
It's important to have a window in the booth. Else the singer can get cabin fever and forget there is an outside world.
The vocal booth is extremely comfortable, and also has a quiet ventilation unit for any long sessions or voiceovers.
Your feet will never be cold with this delightful rug in the booth
A faction of the guitar army lives quietly outside of the booth. The yellow guitar can be a bit of a loose cannon, so beware.
With permission, you can eternalize yourself in a Polaroid picture, and have it stuck to the booth using your sweat, blood or tears. The option is yours. Note - THESE ARE NOT HARRY POTTER STYLE PHOTOS AND DO NOT MOVE, so stop asking.
Everyone needs a rest at some point.
The panel above the couch is used for reflections coming from the monitors when mixing
All treatment is from LA Panels, and does a fantastic job. The door on the left reveals a secret restroom
The strange looking thing in the top left corner is a bass trap, which absorbs low frequencies in the studio
Another faction of the guitar army, that is currently harboring banjo and Didgiredoo
A cowboy boot is a very practical door stop for the booth
The most evil looking guitar strap I have is also my favorite one. The Tex Mex Strat from about 6 years ago isn't bad either.
This tele was broken in over the course of a few years in London, playing in a rock band. It has a chip on the bottom from when I crashed it against the drummer's cymbal at the end of a song
Sam discovered that the gap where the door handle is, was a perfect fit for a wine glass
Hello Jen!
The 'Live' area is great for recording acoustic guitar. This particular recording of Mitchell was made by blending large and small diaphragm mics
In this example, the piano is recording directly to midi, and the electric guitar is going through a guitar amp simulator via the audio interface. This is extremely useful for live recordings, as it provides a completely isolated vocal.
One of the Gobos is used here to isolate the sound of the singing on the left, and the instrument being played on the right. The microphone on the left is using a 'figure of eight' polar pattern which also helps isolate the vocal by nulling any sound coming in from the side, so that only the front and back are operational
The LadyBoy pizza. Radish, ginger, bacon, and broccoli with a sauce of Thai coconut, topped with cheddar (needs a strong cheese)