MTF Week 3 (August 9th, 2007) "Paradise Studios"

This week in MTF, the class ventured down to Hendon, where we experienced another fine studio setup, known as Paradise Studios - appropriately titled due to the ownership of Paradise Community Church.

Their setup, at a first glance was much more... modern, nothing like the cousey-ness of Mixmaster's studios. It raises the question of how exactly different people like to setup their studios and the way in which the environment greets the guest upon first arrival. "It's about making the musicians feel as comfortable as they can, because if the musos are happy the recording process is going to be much more enjoyable." Even though Mixmasters and Paradise studios had different arrangements to tackle this area they still showed the importance of remembering that producing music is a consumer satisfaction affair. Let's face it, as a musician in a studio paying between $75 and $100 per hour you'd want the whole thing to be as fast and productive as possible.

I enjoyed the feedback on my pseudo-piano recording done very quickly, with just one U87. The advice sent to me from was to use EQ and even compression, something which I would never had expected for such a natural instrument. Other tips which were expressed I liked was to use no reverb while monitoring back to the vocalist, taking as much breaks as possible, keeping sane, and remembering to use the equipment you have at hand efficiently and effectively.

Another thing which I have noticed is the variance of opinion. Some things within the recording industry seem to be givens but others are and appear to have been shaped over many years of let downs, successions, hard work and the environment in which you work in. Dewald, who guided us seemed to not be fussed by the lack of attendance of a tape machine. I wonder what his views on tape and analogue recording were, something which I forgot to ask.

References:
Quote from Dewald Hartzenberg (9th August, 2007) Paradise Studios, Hendon – MTF

Paradise Studios

Paradise Studios MySpace (This has a great up to date list of their outboard gear)