AGP Recording Studio
 Recording Studio
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The Recording Area
(right) is 16ft by 9ft and is large enough for a number of musicians or a full drum kit and two musicians - ideal for a drummer and guitarist to record together. Flexibility of space is achieved with the use of a number of professional acoustic screens.
 

The Control Room
(below) is 17ft by 13ft 6in and is comfortably furnished. There is seating directly in front of the monitors for listening accuracy.

Studio Gear: AGP Studio is a small studio with world class gear. This is not an idle boast, the Soundscape hard disk recording system is known as the most reliable throughout the world. The most recent world credit is the music for the Australian Rugby World Cup.

Many London West End musicals are played through a Soundscape system every noon and night - people at the sharp end are using this system, and they use it because it is reliable. Longer established studios are rushing to incorporate digital recorders into their systems - if they are sensible this will be Soundscape [the only fully professional alternative being Pro-Tools]. I have 8 years experience with this software and you will benefit from this in the savings in time [and therefore money]

Soundscape 32: The SS32 offers 32 channels of recording/playback. If you are used to tape based recording then you will be impressed (and relieved) at instant rewinds and replay, seemingly effortless drop-ins to correct that rogue phrase in the middle of the otherwise perfect take, together with the possibility of loop recording a passage until you are satisfied.

The SS32 is a stand alone box [only using a Windows computer for display] and has the reputation of being almost impossible to crash. The SS32 has a record resolution of 24 bits for true CD quality and provides easy editing, muting and fades, as well as automation of all the main features.

 
Yamaha O2R digital mixer: The O2R mixer is the most established digital mixer and offers excellent built in features. EQ and dynamics (compression, limiting etc) are available for every channel with many tailor made presets for instruments such as bass or acoustic guitar. The O2R enables me to offer highly efficient recording and mixing for the sound that you want - saving you time - and money.

To augment those provided by Soundscape and Yamaha, AGP Studio can offer a select range of outboard effects which include the Digitech Vocalist Harmoniser, Behringer Multicom compressor, and the Dod 512 reverb/effects processor. If you have an effect that your recording would not be the same without I can patch it into a channel - the whole point is that you realise the sound that you want.

Mastering: The last stage in the process of producing a CD is Mastering. This has the reputation of being one of the black arts of recording but in essence it is about:

1. Making sure that all of the tracks sound like they belong to the same CD - overall tone etc
2. Adjusting the perceived energy levels of the tracks by adding the right amount of compression etc - is the sound that you have in your head a natural sounding folk band with lots of space around the instruments or a high energy in your face rock sound.
3. DO YOU LIKE IT - I have had recordings spoilt by expensive London Mastering houses who applied a style to a sound it did not suit - you will be the final judge of your recording. Mixing and Mastering is ideally done after a gap of at least a couple of days so that you have a more objective view of your recordings. I use the TC Electronics Dynamizer plug-in that is specifically designed to integrate with Soundscape - staying in the digital domain.

All of this gear, together with the HHB CDR 850 CD writer, and the industry standard microphones listed below means that AGP Studio offers the quality of equipment that enables you to record with confidence.
 

Control Room Monitoring: Monitoring is through the Mackie HR824 Nearfield Monitors which really do let you hear exactly what you have recorded.

Studio Monitoring: To monitor while you record I can offer two different mixes to any of 6 headphones via the MTR HPA-6 Headphone Amplifier, or through Genelec 1029a active monitors in the recording area.

Microphones: AGP Studio offers a full range of quality microphones which are equal to any recording task. These range from the industry standard vocal mic the Neumann U87a, through the AKG Solid Tube valve mic [great for fiddles] to the workhorses of any studio - SM57's x 2, SM58's x 2, C1000 x 3, C3000, and the D112 bass drum mic [also worth putting against Double Basses]. I can also offer various clip on wind mics and contact mics for strings.

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