Services
For the past 38 years Chamber Studio has been a full commercial recording facility in a purpose built location. Since wrapping up operations at West Granton Road in spring 2023, I have relocated to East Lothian and have decided to continue working from there until a suitable permanent location becomes available. I’ve also had some time away to consider how I’d like to move forward and figure out what really works best for me when it comes to making records. Some artists and engineers need the constant buzz of a big studio in a big city with lots going on to inspire them and get things done. I understand that energy, and on certain projects, It’s the right way to work. For me, most of the time it’s quite simple…time, space and peace. And that’s what I’m pursuing.
For the most part, I like to take my time and allow space for ideas to develop fully. Budgets are tighter than ever but that’s something I’m willing to compromise on to get the results the artist wants.
If you are interested in working together, give me a shout via the contact page and we can have a chat through your project.
Recording:
Chamber built it’s reputation on live, analogue recording. Capturing great performances on great gear in a great room. Whilst I have given up that particular live room, there are a number of places and ways to make great music.
Where I am currently situated is not suited for full live band recording, but see below…I can still easily make that happen as everything is portable. The bulk of solo instruments / overdubs can all be done in my current space without any compromise on quality, and whilst it won’t be suitable for everything, I have a number of great locations that I’ve been using for the tracking stages of bigger projects.
Location Recording:
Since doing my earliest location recordings, some 20+ years ago, this has always been a way of working that appeals to me. Removing artist and technical staff from their normal surroundings and placing them in an unusual working environment always leads to interesting creative choices. Time and again, it’s a way of working that has yielded great results for me and something I’m keen to pursue going forward.
When deciding on how best to equip the studio going forward, being mobile was always at the forefront of my mind. Together with technical guru Reuben Taylor, I’ve designed the equipment to be as portable as possible without any compromise on quality. The gear is as good as you’ll find in any professional studio, but it’ll also fit in the back of my van. I’ve got a standard set of tools that I would take to any tracking session but should the project require a more complete setup, I can take everything and rebuild it quickly and easily anywhere. This full system does come with some caveats, but it can be done.
The standard system would include up to 32 channels of high quality preamplifiers, the digital recording system with converters, a headphone distribution system plus all microphones, cables, stands etc required.
Mixing:
As more and more artists choose to record themselves or in a disparate manner with musicians all doing their parts remotely, the mix is now, more than ever, the finishing touch required to bring the whole project to life.
I am just as happy to mix sessions sent in remotely as I am to work on the project from conception. Mixing no longer needs to be a process done with everyone in the room at the same time. It can all be done collaboratively online and mixes recalled easily to work on at a later date.
Production:
I have always shied away from labelling myself a producer. That term can mean so many different things to different people these days. If you want someone to write you a pile of music/beats to vocalise over, that’s not me. If you are an artist or a band with great ideas and the means to pull them off but need a bit of creative input and help getting things over the finish line, I might well be your guy. Whilst I am happy to record and mix any music that is put in front of me, I won’t get into actual production work unless I think i’m the right person for the job. If I’m not, I can probably recommend someone who might be.
I also work closely with a lot of arrangers, composers and heaps of session musicians, so whatever you need for the finished article to come to life, I probably have the contacts to make that happen.
Mastering:
Mastering has always been, and remains a bit of a dark art to me. I’ve always chosen to leave that part of the process up to specialists. I also don’t think the same person should produce, record, mix and master a record (with a very few exceptions).
Having a different person’s perspective to round things off always feels like a great finishing touch to me. So whilst I won’t do it myself, I can account for it whilst doing budgets for your record.
I have built a close working relationship with a number of incredible mastering engineers over the years and have recommendations for all budgets. Happy to recommend even if we aren’t working together.