George Shilling

Real World Studios - One of the finest studios in the world

George Shilling recently worked at Real World Studios and found the time to record a short studio tour mid-session to give us a his perspective on this amazing recording studio. Completely unique in style and character, Real World is a collection of stunning studios.

Momentum Studios - George Shilling's studio tour

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.

Penhesgyn Hall Studios - George Shilling shows us around

George Shilling was working at Penhesgyn Hall Studios based in North Wales - George really enjoyed his stay so at the end of the week long session he picked up the iPhone to record a short tour of the facilities.

Decoy Studios - Studio tour with Cenzo Townshend

George Shilling and the RecordProduction.com crew visited Cenzo's Decoy Studios in Suffolk, UK, to capture a flavour of his working methods, some insight in to his working methods and took a sneek look around the studios.

Chestnut Recording Studios - Chris Young video interview

George Shilling popped in to see record producer Chris Young at his super amazing Chestnut Studios in London's trendy West Kensington to find out about his space ship design and to chat about production.

Bryn Derwen Studios - UK residential recording studio features

Bryn Derwen is situated 6 miles from the city of Bangor in the Snowdonia National Park. The local area boasts countless sites of natural beauty and is a great place to get away and focus on your project.

Kore Recording Studios - George Shilling talks with Kore Studios owner George Apsion

Kore Recording Studios are a bit of an amazing find. We had heard of the studios and have met producers that raved on about the studios but for some reason we have taken our time to visit and what a shame, it's one of the...

Danton Supple - Music producer interview at RAK Studios

What's it like to be a record producer that's worked on so many records with the likes of Coldplay, Suede, Morrisey, Starsailor, Patti Smith, Amy McDonald, Pet Shop Boys..

James Loughrey - Interview at Axe and Trap Studios

It's been over ten years since our last conversation with James Loughrey but thankfully we caught up with him during the festive break at the lovely Axe and Trap Studios in the South West of England where James likes to bring many of his projects.

John Leckie - Record producer interview features

John Leckie is one of the most revered British record producers and it was amazing to have John give up his time to come over to chat with George Shilling about so many aspects of production covering subjects as diverse as how to make a...

Ben Baptie - Mixing engineer and record producer

Ben Baptie is a seriously 'up and coming' mix engineer and producer who is currently based at Strongroom Studios following his return from the US where he was based at Electric Lady Studios working with Tom Elmhurst.

Emre Ramazanoglu - Producer & musician talks with George Shilling

George Shilling dropped in to chat with top drummer and producer / mixer Emre Ramazanoglu in a break in the Beardy Man session he was working on to find out more about his unique career..

Ricky Damian - Talks with George Shilling at Mark Ronson's studio

Riccardo Damian, A.K.A. Ricky Damian took time out to chat with George Shilling about recording equipment, getting credits on records and much more while at the very nice Tileyard Studios in Mark Ronson's rooms.

Daniel Boyle - Dub engineer / producer feature

We recently recorded an interview with Daniel Boyle at his private recording studio in East Anglia. George Shilling wanted to find out about is dub mixing techniques and how he was nominated for a Grammy.

Ian Caple - Talks with George Shilling about searching out new sounds

Early in 2014 George Shilling visited Ian Caple to do an interview and found himself at Yellow Fish Studios.

Catherine Marks - Record producer and recording engineer

Record producer and recording engineer Catherine Marks talks with George Shilling about her unique take on music production.

Wes Maebe - Interview at Dean Street Studios

Wes Maebe is from Belgium and he's currently based in London. Wes is as happy in the studio as out in front mixing FOH at gigs, he will work on classical right through to heavy metal.

Pete Waterman - Legendary record producer

We recently recorded an interview with 'hit maker' music producer Pete Waterman at his private music studio in the North of England.

Mike Exeter - Recording and mixing engineer

Mike is a leading rock recording and mix engineer who's recent 'big credits' include Black Sabbath's and Judas Priest's albums. We have known Mike for many years and are very pleased to at long last get him in front of the camera.

Romesh Dodangoda - Interview at Longwave Studios

Watch Romesh Dodangoda in a special producer / engineer video interview at his Longwave recording studios, Cardiff. George Shilling asked the questions.

Greg Haver - Record producer interviews with George Shilling

In this new video recorded in 2013 at George Shilling's Bank Cottage Studio, we managed to catch up with Greg on his return from New Zealand where he currently lives.

Jake Gosling - Interview with George Shilling at Sticky Studios

Jake Gosing has had huge success with One Direction, Paloma Faith and Ed Sheeran. He grew up with music all around him, his father was involved with Fleetwood Mac and Eric Clapton used to pop in.

Mike Pela - Music producer interview at Real World Studios

Mike Pela (1950 - 2022) was a Grammy winning music producer, recording engineer and mixer who has helped to shape the visions of a wide variety of artists, including Sade, Maxwell, Savage Garden and Corinne Bailey Rae.

Stuart Bruce - Music producer feature

Stuart Bruce began his recording career at London's SARM studios under the tuition of legendary engineers Gary Langan and Julian Mendelsohn.

Simon Efemey - Music producer interview

Simon Efemey took an hour out of recording at the Chapel Studios in Lincolnshire to talk on camera about everything from getting started to in-depth recording techniques.

Edd Hartwell - Interview with George Shilling

We met up with ex-SARM Studios engineer Edd Hartwell at George Shilling's studio to chat about his recording methods and we were keen to find out how serving an apprenticeship under such legends as Trevor Horn and Steve Lipson has shaped his career so far.

Jimmy Hogarth - Record producer interview

George Shilling visited Jimmy at his lovely studio on a wet and rainy day in London to find out more about Jimmy's huge success and to find out how he made the long journey from the Orkney Islands to top of the charts.

Yoad Nevo - Music producer video feature

George Shilling visited Yoad Nevo with the camera crew in to find out about his carrer in programming, record production and his work with Waves creating new plugin's at Nevo Sound Studios.

David Pye - Recording engineer & producer interview

Freelance recording engineer David Pye and George Shilling met up to chat on camera at Leeders Farm Studios, Norfolk, where David has been working recently. David Pye has engineered countless independent release for bands from Norwich and the surrounding area.

Dimitri Tikovoi - Record producer video feature

George Shilling visited Parisian born and classically trained Dimitri Tikovoi with the camera crew to talk with Dimitri who has recently produced records for Rosie Oddie fronted band Oddysey and a beautifully crafted sonic masterpeice for The Irrepressibles.

Nick Tauber and Jack Ruston - Interview with George Shilling

George Shilling and his video crew tracked down legendary producer Nick Tauber and his co producer Jack Ruston at their private studio in South London. We hope that you enjoy this video that covers everything from Thin Lizzy to the current day.

Jake Jackson - Film scoring and recording engineer interview

George Shilling visited Jake Jackson at Air Studios with the camera crew in August 2011 to find out how he has got on since winning the 'Breakthrough Engineer' award at The Music Producers Guild (MPG) Awards at the end of 2010.

Phil Harding - Interview at Strongroom Studios

At last. We are delighted to feature the new Phil Harding Record Producer video interview.

Toby Smith - Feature at Angelic Studios, UK

Sadly, we heard the news today, 12th April 2017, that Toby Smith has passed away. This feature will stay here as a memorial to one of the very nicest people that we've been fortunate to feature.

Kipper - Music producer interview at Chapel Studios, London

Kipper is best known as a Grammy winning music producer for his work with Sting but has a huge production credit list.

Tony Faulkner - Talks orchestral recording with George Shilling

Tony Faulkner is one of Europe's best known orchestral recording engineers and we are delighted to at long last, after many years of trying, bring an interview with Tony talking about his mic placement techniques.

Simon Gogerly - Interview at Hub II Studios

George Shilling visited Grammy winning mix engineer and producer Simon Gogerly at Hub II Studios to chat about his views and techniques. This video runs for just under an hour but we think it's worthy as the conversation is very interesting.

Bernard Butler - Record producer at Edwyn Collins Studio, London

George Shilling met up with Bernard Butler at the amazing private studio of Edwyn Collins to ask Bernard about his rise and rise as a leading British producer.

Sean Genockey - Record producer feature at Rockfield Studios

We met up with hot producer Sean Genockey at Rockfield Studios and George Shilling was keen to find out how Sean's become such a hot music producer.

Dan Carey - Music producer video interview

Dan Carey is one of the hottest British producers around. He's produced Franz Ferdinand, CSS, MIA, Hot Chip, Athlete, Emiliana Torrini, Sia, Kylie, Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, Santo Gold, Roisin Murphy, Lily Allen, Brazilian Girls, The Long Blondes, The Kills, La Roux.

Russ Russell - Record producer features

Record producer Russ Russell is best known for his acclaimed productions for major rock acts that include Napalm Death and the Wildhearts.

Chris Kimsey - Record producer and engineer feature

We recently caught up with Chris Kimsey, legendary record producer, recording engineer and musician at Sphere Studios in London to talk about his amazing career.

Mike Bennett - Record producer feature at Far Heath Studios

Mike Bennett has been producing, writing and remixing since the early eighties gaining several Gold discs.

Mike Hedges - Interview at Alpha Centauri Studios

George Shilling met up with possibly one of the UK's greatest record producers, Mike Hedges, at the new Alpha Centauri studios in London to talk about his extensive career and his role as A&R man on camera.

Tommy D - Interview in his studio

Tommy D has worked with a diverse range of artists including Right Said Fred, KT Tunstall, Corrine Bailey Rae, Kanye West, Janet Jackson, Jay Z, Kylie Minogue, Joss Stone, Tom Jones, Mundy, Catatonia and Michael Jackson to name a few.

David Wrench - Video interview at Bryn Derwen Studios, Wales

Since filming this short interview with David Wrench, he has gone on to become very in-demand working with Bat For Lashes, Everything Everything, Guillemotts and Beth Orton as engineer and he won the prestigious Music Producers Guild 'Mix Engineer of the Year' award, 2016.

James Towler - Recording engineer video feature

We recently recorded a video interview at Steve Winwood's recording studio with seriously talented recording engineer James Towler.

Nick Patrick - Record producer feature

Nick Patrick's productions have sold 10's of millions in all genres including pop, classical, and world music. George Shilling met up with Nick at his Shine Studios in the countryside in Southern England to find out more about his secrets.

Chris Sheldon - Interview at London's Kore Studios

Chris Sheldon is one of the most talented and nicest people that you could meet and maybe that is one of the reasons that he's so in demand as a producer.

Clint Murphy - Recording / mix engineer and producer

Clint Murphy, record producer and engineer, was based at York Street Studios in Auckland, New Zealand but in 2009 moved to the UK to be based at Modern World Studios.

Tristan Ivemy - Music producer interview

Tristan began his music production career in 2004 while working at Metropolis Studios starting out assisting many highly regarded producers, Tristan worked with some of the UK's most influential artists. In 2005 Tristan produced, recorded and mixed the classic single GENERATOR by THE HOLLOWAYS.

Jon Cohen - Producer video feature at Sphere Studios, London

Jon Cohen chats with George Shilling about recording a number of diverse projects including a major project with bagpipes and how not going to 'posh' classical schools didn't stand in his way.

Laurie Latham - Producer feature at Helicon Mountain Studios

Laurie has been producing records since the mid 70's but he looks and acts much younger than he must be. Some of Laurie's work is iconic, for example Ian Dury's 'Sex and drugs and rock and roll' is a classic.

Chris Tsangarides - Record producer video interview

Chris Tsangarides is one of those producers that has been a driving force in record production for longer than we can remember. We had never met Chris before so were wondering what this Grammy nominated writer, producer, engineer and mixer was going to be like.

Andy Jackson - Recording engineer feature at Astoria Studios

Video feature with legendary Pink Floyd recording engineer Andy Jackson. Andy Jackson is possibly one of the most gifted recording engineers working today.

Steve Orchard - Recording engineer & record producer

Video feature with engineer / producer Steve Orchard at Air Studios, London. Steve Orchard has gained massive amounts of experience working with some of the greatest artists around, from Travis to George Michael, Peter Gabriel to Dido and U2 to John Williams.

Steve Lipson - Interview shot at SARM Studios London

Steve Lipson is one of the most important record producers of recent years. Steve Lipson is innovative, talented and possibly one of the brightest producers anywhere. Take a look at his discography below.

Giles Martin - Interview at Air Studios

We are very pleased to bring a video featuring record producer Giles Martin shot at Air Studios, London. George Shilling talked with Giles in the Hall at Air about his views on production and naturally, that Beatles 'Love' album.

Tony Visconti - Record producer interview at Metropolis Studios

Some time back we got in contact with Tony Visconti. We can't remember if he got in touch with us first or not but we were worried that it was a hoax and having booked some time at Metropolis Studios to record his feature it...

Kevin Shirley - Record producer interview

A video feature with legendary record producer Kevin Shirley at Metropolis Studios, London.

Mike Oldfield - Exclusive video interview

Few musicians can match the impact of a first record that launched Mike Oldfield to household name status. George Shilling met with Mike at his private recording studio to ask about Mike's career and his most recent recordings.

Alex Silva - Video interview at Mayfair Studios

Three days after starting at his first studio as an assistant Alex Silva was thrown in to the deep end to engineer the session while the owner/engineer rushed off for the birth of his child.

Sergio Galoyan - Video interview at Townhouse Studios

We caught up with Sergio at Townhouse Studios, London, and George Shilling asked Sergio about his unique talents and his unusual route in to making records. Sorry for the poor audio on this video.

Tony Platt - Video interview at Townhouse Studios

We are delighted to present a new video interview with Tony Platt. We have kept the archive interviews and these can be found further down the page but this video uses the recording of AC/DC's legendary Back in Black album as an example of how...

Hugh Padgham - Legendary record producer interview

Hugh Padgham is possibly one of the few producer 'names' that members of the public would know, possibly due to the vast range of artists that he has worked with for the last thirty years. The catalogue is huge.

Gary Langan - Record producer video interview

Gary Langan, record producer, artist and recording engineer, is simply in a class apart. From his earliest days as a rookie at SARM Studios, Gary's work has always stood out. We caught up with Gary at Metropolis Studios, London, watch our exclusive video interview here.

Bob Kraushaar - Video interview

Bob Kraushaar is a very popular British mixing engineer and record producer having worked with Pet Shop Boys, Elton John, Tom Jones, Gary Barlow, Paul McCartney and Trevor Horn.

Ed Buller - Video interview at Sahara Sound

We are delighted to feature record producer Ed Buller in an exclusive video interview shot in September 2004 at the new SSL K Series Sahara Sound Studios in London.

Paul Borg - Interview at Sahara Sound

George Shilling talks with Paul Borg in London's newest SSL K Series studio. We are delighted to feature Paul Borg in an exclusive video interview while working at the new SSL K Series Sahara Sound Studios in London.

Greg Penny - 2003 video feature

The son of famous pop singer Sue Thompson and musician / songwriter / producer Hank Penny, Greg's early production successes led him to work with one of the greatest living vocalists: K D Lang.

Paul Wright - Interview at Townhouse Studios

We caught up with Paul at Townhouse Studios and George Shilling asked the probing questions. Paul Wright is a World class engineer and re-mixer having recently gone freelance after serving as Chief Engineer at SARM Studios for many years.

Trevor Steel & John Holliday - Interview at Air Studios

We are delighted to bring a new video interview filmed at Air Studios. Watch Trevor Steel and John Holliday talking on camera with George Shilling. Find out about this great production team in our exclusive video feature.

Oskar Paul - Archive interview at Strongroom Studios

Watch Oskar Paul talking with George Shilling for RecordProduction.com at Strongroom Studios, London Oskar moved to London after a period as chief producer, engineer and programmer in Syrland studios in Iceland for 5 years.

Ken Allardyce - Producer & recording engineer video feature

Ken Allardyce is widely known as one of LA's outstanding engineers and mixers. Ken has recorded numerous chart-topping popular bands like Goo Goo Dolls, Green Day and Weezer in the recent years. Watch Ken talking on camera about his amazing career.

Rafa Sardina - Interview at Abbey Road in 2001

Record producer Rafa Sardina began his recording career doing sound for live shows in Spain. Later he became an assistant engineer at Hollywood's Ocean Way Recording and Record One studios.

Rick Nowels - Interview from 2001

Rick Nowels, legendary producer of Madonna, Mel C and many other great artists talked with George Shilling during a short break in the studio in 2001. The interview was used by Studio Sound magazine.

Cenzo Townshend - Mixing engineer features

Cenzo Townshend is well known for his brilliant mix work with artists as diverse as Sophie Ellis-Bextor to Kaiser Chiefs, Editors to The Specials.

Gary Katz - Producer interview

Please note that this is one of our oldest and lowest quality videos but is still very interesting.

Chris Porter - Live sound for King Crimson at the Royal Albert Hall

Our old friend Chris Porter has an incredible list of Production and mixing credits including the likes of Wham!, George Michael, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Tina Turner, Chris de Burgh, Pet Shop Boys, David Bowie, Marti Pellow, Hall & Oates, Diana Ross and...

Music producers round table discussion at The Church Studios

Seven leading record producers, mix engineers, A&R and artists spent an hour talking about how the recording industry has evolved recently, changing workflows, does equipment matter now, the role or need of studios, quality of MP3's and much more.

Andy Sneap - Interview with George Shilling

Top metal record producer Andy Sneap was working at his studio in Derbyshire when we popped in with the cameras to record an in-depth video interview about recording, production and metal bands.

Tommy D - Recording equipment video

Tommy D talks about his SSL Matrix console, Tea Boy software to recall the outboard and more recording equipment.

James Loughrey - Record producer feature at Britannia Row

James Loughrey began his engineering career at Bop Recording Studios, South Africa's premier studio, before emigrating to England. Having freelanced at Metropolis and Eden, James joined Britannia Row building himself a reputation as a great live recording engineer and mixer.

Dave Eringa - Archive video feature

Who is Dave Eringa? That's what we were at Bryn Derwen to find out. Dave is one of the names that we hear mentioned all the time but for some reason hadn't met him so we were relieved to find that he is one of...

Kevan Gallagher - Producer feature at The Dairy Studios

Archive video shot at The Dairy Studios with George Shilling in 2009 We met up with Kevan Gallagher at the Dairy Studios, London, and George Shilling recorded a video interview covering Kevan's career to date.

Tony Visconti - Outtake video

We recently recorded an interview with legendary record producer Tony Visconti at Metropolis Studios, this is a short out-take from that video.

Greg Haver - 2005 interview with George Shilling

Greg Haver has gained praise for his warm productions and lush arrangements. Watch our exclusive video interview to find out more about why Melenie C and the Manic Street Preachers have been working with him on their recent albums.

Danton Supple - Archive video interviews

This is an archive video feature with Danton Supple. We have since recorded a new interview with him, to view that click here.

Phil Bodger - Archive interview at Townhouse Studios

Watch our archive low resolution (2002) Phil Bodger video interview by George Shilling filmed at Townhouse Studios . Get an insight in to why Phil's become firmly established as one of the world's leading engineers and re-mixers. This interview covers Phil's career.

Piano recording workshop at Rimshot Studios

March 2017 - We were at Rimshot Studios recording some production videos in our series for the site with musician Nigel Powell, pop producer superstar Gary Stevenson and ace engineer / producer George Shilling . We were joined by several leading recording engineers.

Drum recording methods with George Shilling

George Shilling is an in-demand producer and recording engineer with a vast wealth of experience.

Drum recording masterclass with George Shilling

A number of leading recording engineers and record producers gathered at Modern World Studios in the UK countryside mid January 2010 to record a series of drum recording masterclass videos.

Craig Silvey - Drum recording methods

Since the early days of his career as Chief Engineer on the scoring stage at the legendary Skywalker Ranch, Craig Silvey has worked with many prestigious music producers on both sides of the Atlantic including George Massenburg and Walter Afanasieff, working with artistes such as...

Steve Orchard - Drum recording tips

Record producer recording engineer Steve Orchard drum mic and recording techniques.

Sonuscore Chroma Upright Piano - Virtual instrument plugin

The story from Sonuscore is that a team was sampling a high quality grand piano, but were drawn to an “unassuming upright” in the same studio. So having completed the initial job, decided they should comprehensively sample it.

Teaching Machines Wellspring - Stereo analogue spring reverb

Before digital delay and reverb became commonplace in the early 1980s, reverb on records was created by analogue means.

Sonuscore The Score - Virtual instrument plugin

Sonuscore have been producing sample libraries for 12 years. NI Komplete owners may be familiar with their Action Strings instrument, cleverly generating moving string parts with preset phrases.

ifi ZEN One Studio - Digital to Analogue converter with Bluetooth

ifi have been designing hifi products in Britain for over 20 years. I first came across the brand several years ago when I was alerted to the importance of using a good quality phono preamp to boost turntable cartridge gain and implement the required RIAA...

Baby Audio Atoms - Physical modeling synth plugin

Following on from their retro-inspired BA-1 synth plugin, Baby Audio sends me into some other worlds with their new Atoms plugin. The first of Baby Audio’s virtual instruments was a fun re-creation of a mini vintage synth.

Audio Ease Altiverb 8 - Convolution reverb plugin

It has been some years since I reviewed a new version of Altiverb. Audio Ease have however continued during all this time to quietly add new impulse responses. And these are available free to users of this grandaddy of convolution reverbs.

Baby Audio Transit - Multi-effects plugin

Baby Audio are relatively new kids on the block, making some innovative and very groovy plugins that a number of influential producers have adopted and lauded.

Accentize dxRevive - Speech restoration plugin

dxRevive is a speech restoration plugin, designed to correct audio problems such as background noise, clipping, overly-reverby recordings. It can also restore missing frequencies using AI. Although designed for dialogue restoration, we thought we would have a look at uses for this in music.

Kalide Collage - Creative effects plugin

Collage is a “modular effects system” bundled up as a single plugin. Its processor modules include all kinds of effects like modulation, dynamics, EQ, filters, reverb, delays, distortion, panning and width controls and more. But that doesn’t really tell the whole story.

Distortion In Music Production: The Soul Of Sonics

So it is with a slight scepticism that I come to education and training. While good practice and studio techniques are something to teach and learn, some of what makes great records is not necessarily teachable.

AMS Neve 1073 OPX - Eight remote controllable mic pre-amps

AMS Neve have recycled the 1073 mic preamp countless times, and adding digital connectivity is not new for Neve.

Vacuvox U23m - Valve based vari-mu compressor limiter

The first audio compressor was the Telefunken U3, used at the 1936 Olympics, and in the 1940s came the U13. Then, Rohde & Schwarz developed the third generation U23 in 1953.

Leapwing Al Schmitt - Signature sound plugin

Leapwing have scored themselves something of a coup by bagging Al Schmitt’s talents and working with him to make something useful for mixing and mastering engineers.

Scope Labs Periscope - Condenser microphone with built-in compressor

There have been quite a few ‘character’ microphones that provide a non-linear response, e.g. the Bastard BM88. It’s cheap fun for a bit of lo-fi telephoney character if you are going for a wax cylinder sort of sound.

Warm Audio Bus-Comp - Stereo VCA compressor

Since 2011 Warm Audio of Austin, TX have built up quite a range of studio outboard based on classic designs, marketed at bargain prices. The Bus-Comp is no exception.

Bettermaker EQ232D - Equalizer plugin from Plugin Alliance

Many Bettermaker outboard processors have passed through my studio including the knob-less (but still very physical) version of the hardware EQ232P, with its excellent sonics and clever expansion on the Pultec theme.

Tone Projects Unisum Mastering Compressor - Multiband compressor plugin

Rune Lund-Hermansen is the brains behind Tone Projects – clearly a man of many talents, as for nearly 7 years he was Lead Product Designer for every wine drinker’s favourite phone app, Vivino.

Bettermaker Bus Compressor - Stereo VCA compressor with digital recall

Bettermaker’s new Bus Compressor treads a now familiar path for the Polish hardware manufacturer. They have built a reputation for digitally controlled, recallable, high quality analogue hardware since the EQ230P Pultec-style EQ.

Eventide H9000 - Harmonizer and multi-fx processor

Eventide invented the Harmonizer in the 1970s and have updated the line as technology has progressed. The studio where I started in 1984 had a H910 in each studio, so I have always enjoyed a bit of harmonizing.

AMS RMX16 500 - 500 Series digital reverb module

When I started work at Livingston Studios at the end of 1984 there was an AMS RMX-16 in both studios. This was the only source of artificial reverb other than the EMT140 plates.

Sonnox Oxford Drum Gate - Gate plugin

Engineers have been gating drums since the Kepex was introduced by Allison Research in 1970, and apart from the 1982 Drawmer DS201 adding useful key filters, not much new has happened in the world of noise gating, apart from the ‘look ahead’ function afforded by...

Thermionic Culture The Snow Petrel - Two channel valve mic pre-amp

Thermionic Culture have long developed products which include a valve-based microphone preamplifier section, like the Rooster, and dedicated mic preamps like the Earlybird.

Thermionic Culture The Kite - Stereo valve equaliser

Thermionic Culture’s enormous (and expensive) Fat Bustard summing unit includes a smooth-sounding EQ specially geared to mix buss usage. Perhaps inevitably, founder and designer Vic Keary received requests for a unit that include the EQ and Attitude sections, but not the summing.

Toneforge Guilty Pleasure by Joey Sturgis - Guitar amp simulator plugin

Joey Sturgis is an American record producer with a studio in Indiana and a reputation as a leading expert working in the metalcore scene.

Empirical Labs Arouser - Compressor plugin

Dave Derr introduced his first hardware unit the Distressor in the mid-1990s and scored remarkable success with what was perceived to be a modern advance on classic knee compressor designs like the 1176 and LA-2A.

Tim de Paravicini and his 1-inch stereo recorder

In the music industry, there are two types of people: those who cannot wait for every new software update and aspire to own every piece cutting edge technology, and those who prefer the tried and trusted, only accepting 'new' when it has really proved itself...

Audient Zen - Analogue recording console

It’s not often you get the chance to review equipment that is named after the editor of the magazine, so the email with the subject “Zen for review” initially led me to some mistaken assumptions.

AnaMod AM670 - Stereo Limiter

So, here we go again with yet another Fairchild 670 recreation. Only, hold on, this one really doesn’t feel quite right. Yes, they’ve made a good stab at the front panel, but this thing is almost as light as a feather.

AnaMod ATS-1 - Two channel analogue tape simulator

AnaMod was founded in 2006 by two industry veterans, Dave Amels (formerly of Bomb Factory, Voce and others) and Greg Gualtieri who is currently president of Pendulum Audio. The company has a unique ethos, with a fascinating approach to design.

API 1608 - 16 channel recording console

The 1608 is a small format recording console based on the 1604 which API produced in the 1970s and early 1980s. Although I have never encountered one in the UK, examples in the USA are still cherished and lovingly restored.

Cartec EQP-1A - Mono valve equalizer

Surely the audio industry’s most copied product, in hardware and latterly in software, is the Pultec EQP-1A Program Equalizer.

CharterOak SCL-1 - Stereo compressor

CharterOak have been making boutique microphones since 2002. Endearingly, rather than boosting his ego, founder Michael Deming, (an engineer and producer of some note), named the company after a local Connecticut landmark.

Focusrite Liquid Mix HD Plug-in - Convolution based TDM plugin

Since Focusrite impressed everyone with their remarkable hybrid digital and analogue Liquid Channel microphone preamp (using a clever combination of convolution software and emulation hardware), they have brought their ‘Liquid’ convolution technology to a popular audience with the compressor and EQ emulating Liquid Mix, a...

Gyraf Gyratec XIV - Stereo valve equalizer

Gyraf are a Danish company who have been quietly making valve-based outboard equipment for over 15 years; it is five years since Resolution last looked at any of their products.

McDSP Retro Pack - EQ, compressor & limiter plugin bundle

McDSP have for over a decade been providing plugins which are much loved by professionals. In particular, the long-established FilterBank EQ and CompressorBank plugins are standard requirements for many mixers, with rock-solid sound quality and low latency.

Phoenix Audio DRS-Q4M - Mono mic pre & 4 band EQ

Phoenix Audio’s DRS-2 and DRS-1 microphone and instrument preamplifiers have been delighting audio professionals for a number of years, and I have been a regular user since reviewing the DRS-2 in 2002. From May 2009 Phoenix units have been built in California.

Prism MMA-4XR - 4 Channel Mic Pre Amp

This four channel mic preamp is part of the Maselec Master Series, an all-analogue unit designed by Swedish audio wizard Leif Masses.

Klark Teknik Square ONE Splitter - Active signal splitter

Whenever out on a mobile recording job, it has always been reassuring to encounter Klark Teknik splitter units when interfacing with the house system.

ACME Opticom XLA-3 - Leveling Amplifier

The Opticom is a 2U mono opto limiter which combines high speed photocells with all-valve circuitry.

Universal Audio 2-LA-2 - Dual optical compressors

UA have been at it again. Previously, the 2-1176 packed a pair of mono 1176s into the space usually occupied by just one of them. And UA have performed another magician’s trick with the LA-2A.

Universal Audio UAD Plugins - DSP powered software

Universal Audio are widely respected not only for impressive hardware reissues and original designs, but also for the quality of the ever increasing plugin range available for the UAD range of cards.

SSL Mynx and E Series Modules - EQ and dynamics based on the 4000 E consoles

SSL’s XLogic X-Rack system is now well established with a large range of modules with the flexibility to cater for all kinds of application, and boasting the major attractions of mixer configuration possibilities and Total Recall, utilising the excellent sonics of SSL’s SuperAnalogue circuitry.

SSL X-Desk - Rackmountable line mixer

No relation to Monty Python’s Ex-Parrot, nor Nissan’s X-Trail (a derivative of the N-Trail?!), the X-Desk is perhaps an SSL for everyone.

Groove Tubes The Glory Comp - Mono valve compressor

The Glory Comp (GC hereon) is a sister product of the ViPre microphone preamp.

Neumann TLM 103 - Large diaphragm condenser microphone

Georg Neumann started making microphones in 1928. His first microphone, the CMV3 condenser was way better in sound quality and noise performance than the recording formats of the time.

D.W.Fearn VT-7 - Stereo valve compressor

Such is his perfectionism, Douglas Fearn spent nearly 10 years researching and designing this stereo compressor.

Apogee Rosetta 200 - Stereo A/D & D/A Converter

This high-end stereo converter usefully includes a FireWire option, George Shilling plugs in his red-hot cable. Founded in 1985, Apogee initially designed filters, and later, armed with this expertise, their converters were soon regarded as the best of the breed.

Audio Ease Speakerphone - Speaker simulator plugin

The clever Dutchmen who brought us Altiverb have been beavering away at Speakerphone for some time. It finally arrived proclaiming to be the ultimate speaker simulator plugin, and includes 5GB of background environment samples.

Ted Fletcher Audio Gear P38 - Stereo Mastering Compressor

King Edward is dead. Long Live King Edward the (P)38th, proclaims George Shilling… The P38 “Edward the Compressor” is the latest in a line of designs from Ted Fletcher that officially started with the Joemeek SC2 in 1993.

Chandler Limited EMI TG Mastering Pack - Abbey Road EQ plugin bundle

Whilst Chandler have painstakingly recreated and customised ancient EMI/Abbey Road circuit designs to great effect in hardware form, many DAW users have also been enjoying the TG12413 Limiter plugins. The follow up to those is this pair of EQ plugins.

Chandler EMI TG12413 - Compressor / limiter plugin pack

A few years ago I was lucky enough to use an original EMI TG12345 console which was owned by Mike Hedges – seemingly built to military spec, Mike had acquired and restored it for his private studio.

Chiswick Reach - Stereo Valve Compressor

Chiswick Reach Studio has carved out a niche for itself in the London studio market as a provider of vintage recording technology.

Crane Song STC-8 - Stereo compressor / peak limiter

This is a sophisticated US-built stereo compressor, designed with attention to detail in both function and form. The unit's designer David Hill has taken a very scientific approach: the manual is littered with charts and diagrams. But this approach is firmly based on sonic performance.

Eventide DSP 7000 - Ultra Harmonizer

Eventide's Orville is a Rolls-Royce effects processor, with 96kHz/24-Bit capability and multiple audio connections enabling surround-sound usage. But it will be some time until we all work exclusively in a surround format: for many, two-channel stereo is adequate, preferred, stipulated or more cost-effective.

Eventide H7600 - Ultra Harmonizer

This new Harmonizer is not quite the top-of-the-range model, that honour goes to the H8000FW, an eight channel unit featuring 5.1 presets. But the H7600 is now the top stereo unit in the range, replacing the DSP7000 series.

Daking 52270 Mic Pre/EQ and 91579 Compressor/Limiter - Geoffrey Daking pro audio

I suspect that many readers outside the US have never heard of Geoffrey Daking. I hadn't. The man himself is a studio owner and 'audio tinkerer'.

Mutronics Mutator - Stereo analogue filter, modulation and envelope follower

It is not uncommon these days for record producers to have ProTools systems with software plug-ins to digitally emulate analogue effects.

Neve 8801 - 88R console channel strip

This is a product that now seems obvious, and although there have been board room and financial shenanigans, one might wonder why it has taken Neve so long to produce it.

Neve 8803 - Dual channel equalizer and filter

The 8803 features comprehensive four band EQ, plus high and low filtering. The case is fairly shallow, and while the colour scheme is very Neve, the build quality is not quite as reassuring as chunky 1073s and 1081s.

Presonus ADL 600 - Dual channel mic, line, instrument pre

The story of Italian-American designer of boutique outboard Antony DeMaria meeting up with PreSonus president Jim Odom at the New York AES Show will be familiar to some readers from press releases.

Purple Audio MC76 - Mono FET compressor

I have yet to meet a recording engineer who dislikes or actively avoids using Urei 1176 limiters . Every commercial music recording studio worth its salt usually has two or more of these mono units in the rack as standard.

Roll Music RMS755 - Super Stereo Compressor

Minneapolis-based Roll Music… (which is a different company from Rolls Corp in Utah, here ‘Roll’ is derived from the difference between ‘Rock’ and ‘Rock and Roll’ music) …claim that the RMS755 is designed to squeeze life into your mix, not out of it.

Rupert Neve Designs 5088 - Discrete Analogue Mixer

At 80, Rupert Neve can look back proudly at a career of console design, his CV including numerous models which pushed the boundaries of audio quality and ergonomics.

Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5033 - Five Band EQ

George Shilling walks through another doorway to find out whether this EQ provides the entrance for classic Neve sounds... The pro-audio industry is littered with remnants of Mr Rupert Neve’s distinguished - if disjointed - career.

Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5043 - Compressor / limiter duo

Industry legend Rupert Neve adds a compressor to the Portico series, George Shilling finds the way in. Rupert Neve founded the famous Neve console company many decades ago, and it is many years since connections were severed with what is now AMS-Neve.

Sonnox Oxford SuprEsser - De-esser plugin

New from Sonnox is the Oxford SuprEsser, designed to be “the last word” in De-Essing.

SSL Alpha Channel - Pre-amp and EQ with digital conversation

SSL seems an increasingly go-ahead and dynamic company, especially since the last change of ownership.

SSL Duende - DSP powered plugins

Duende is a Spanish word – “A mysterious power that all may feel and no philosophy can explain.” But I’m going to try anyway… Duende comes as a 1U rackmount box which houses a board with 40-bit floating point DSP processing engine chips.

SSL X-Rack Mixer - Modular rack system

I took a look at the SSL X-Rack a while back but back then the only module available was a Dynamics processor.

Summit Audio TMX-420 - Four channel tube mixer

The TMX-420 comes accommodated within the familiar silver-coloured Summit 2U rack housing. It is built like the proverbial brick outhouse, and weighs a stonking 23lbs. Large black and red knobs and industrial strength toggle switches adorn the front panel.

TC Electronic DVR2 Digital Vintage Reverb - TDM Plugin

DVR stands for Digital Vintage Reverb, which might sound like an oxymoron, but this Pro Tools HD or HD Accel plugin is a faithful recreation of the EMT 250, the first useable digital reverb, designed back in 1975.

TC Electronic NonLin2 - TDM Plugin

NonLin2 is another reverb plugin for Pro Tools HD or HD Accel ported directly from tc’s flagship M6000 processor. Perhaps more of a niche effect, NonLin2 provides the ultimate flexible gated reverb effect.

TFPro P10 the Mighty Twin - Dual channel strip

‘You ain’t seen nothing like the Mighty Quinn’ sang Manfred Mann. George Shilling ain’t seen nothing like the Mighty Twin… Ted Fletcher, the original Joemeek founder and designer, now develops products under his own name.

Thermionic Culture The Rooster - Dual channel valve pre & EQ

Subtitled “Valve pre-amp with EQ & attitude”, The Rooster continues the series of bold, mildly eccentric, all valve, proudly English outboard from the workshop of the legendary Vic Keary, with partner Jonathan Bailes looking after front panel design, manual writing and so on.

Thermionic Culture Vulture - Valve distortion unit

When I reviewed the TL Audio Indigo Valve Distortion Unit I predicted that we would see further expansion in this area of outboard equipment, and, belatedly, here it is.

TL Audio M1 Tubetracker - Small format console

Whilst the VTC design has been around for some years and is now established as a successful mid-range/project studio console, TL Audio have toyed with a few different lower-order models over time.

Waves API Collection - Native / TDM plugins

With the proliferation of SSL and Neve emulations that have appeared over the last couple of years, it is perhaps inevitable that there would be an officially licensed set of plugins based on these well-loved API (Automated Processes Inc.) analogue processors.

Phoenix Audio Nicerizer 16 - 16 channel DAW summing mixer

The Nicerizer series comprises two distinctly different models; the ‘8’ has a slightly different concept from the ‘16’ which we have here. Both are summing boxes for out-of-the-box DAW mixing.

Vertigo Sound VSC-2 - Stereo VCA compressor

This German unit is also known as the Quad Discrete VCA Compressor, but the first thing to point out is that the Quad does not refer to multi-channel audio, as this is strictly a stereo unit.

Thermionic Culture The Earlybird 2.2 & The Pullet

Whilst Crane Song lovingly craft transistor-based birds, Thermionic have been building an increasing reputation for bird-based quality valve gear over the last few years.

Crane Song Trakker - Mono compressor / limiter

The Trakker is a new mono compressor/limiter from Cranesong. Although similar in appearance to the STC-8 Stereo Compressor, the designer has taken a somewhat different approach.

TC Electronic FireworX - Stereo effects processor

I was intrigued. A couple of die-hard analogue-loving colleagues were salivating over some new equipment. I presumed it was another valve compressor or somesuch.

Aphex 661 Expressor - Tube Compressor / Limiter

A friend of mine has a theory that any audio equipment is guaranteed to be good if it is American and has an 'X' in its name.

CLM Dynamics DB500s Expounder - Stereo / dual mono dynamic equalizer

In the area of studio outboard, there is always room for a new twist on an old idea, and Scottish company CLM have popped up, seemingly from nowhere, with this ‘Dynamic Equaliser’, an EQ with several new twists.

dbx 160S - Two channel compressor / limiter

The dbx 160 was standard equipment in any studio worth its salt when I started in the business. Not for the faint-hearted, I always suspected that this half-rack, 2U machine was compressing far more than the meter indicated.

Digitech Studio 400 - Four channel multi-effects processor

The 400 is a black 2U multi-fx box, fairly shallow in depth. On first glance one is immediately put in mind of the Eventide H3000. However, this unit is about half the price of an H3000D/SX.

DPA 3541 - Vocalist and Instrument Microphone Kit

When scouring the microphone cupboards of the commercial studios I use, I am always delighted to encounter Brüel & Kjær models, (now available under the DPA name). Frequently, these are Type 4006 omni-directional condensers, known for their bright, clear and true characteristics.

Drawmer Front End One MX60 - Mic / line channel strip

In the high-end 'voice channel' market, one can easily forget that Drawmer were an early entrant with the Vacuum Tube 1960. They now enter the crowded budget end of this market with the feature packed 'Front End One' MX60.

E.A.R. / Yoshino 660 - Compressor / Limiter

Esoteric [es–o–ter'ik], adjective inner; secret; mysterious; taught to a select few – This is the dictionary definition of the ‘E.’ of E.A.R. (Esoteric Audio Research), which says much about the philosophy behind the company and its designs.

Eventide DSP 4500 - Ultra Harmonizer

The Eventide name is synonymous with the studio harmonizer. Their more recent designs include many other types of effects, but the pitch-shifter remains central to all 'Ultra-Harmonizer' models. The most widely known Eventide unit is the H3000 and its variants.

Fat Man 'Fat One' by TL Audio - Stereo valve compressor

I was just a few days into my health diet when the Fat One arrived, threatening to spoil things.

Inward Connections Vac Rac TEQ-1 - Modular stepped valve EQ

The Vac Rac was originally reviewed by Dave Foister in the March 1996 edition of Studio Sound. This revisit is to evaluate the new EQ module, but first, a quick recap..

Joemeek MeekBox VC6 - Input amplifier and channel strip

Since the introduction of the Joemeek Compressor a few years ago, Joemeek have been steadily increasing their range. They have found a particular niche with the all-in-one type of processor for use mostly as a direct-to-tape microphone processor.

Joemeek MeekBox VC2 - Valve channel strip

I have long been a fan of Joe Meek's productions. I even went to a Joe Meek Appreciation Society event a few months back. But until recently I had not tried any of the famous JoeMeek range of outboard equipment, designed by Ted Fletcher.

LA Audio Classic Compressor - Two channel compressor

There are currently available many compressors and other outboard devices which use vacuum tubes and which have fairly hefty price tags. Some of these units have a limited range of useful features, and many lack the qualities of vintage valve designs.

LA Audio Millennium Series - UK designed audio equipment

Outboard equipment - "Toys" to use the technical term - I love them. Big ones, small ones, red ones, blue ones, (thank you, Dr.Seuss!), and especially ones with lots of colourful knobs on them, and big flashy displays.

Lexicon MPX1 - Stereo multi-effects processor

Hot on the heels of Lexicon's mid-range multi-fx PCM80 came tc's reply: the M2000. This incorporated many of the PCM80's innovative features, along with the much vaunted Wizard feature, and a price lower than the Lexicon unit.

Lexicon PCM 90 - Digital reverberator

Lexicon's top of the range 480L and its predecessor the 224X have for over ten years been held in the highest esteem. No high-end studio looks complete without the familiar LARC remote control on top of the mixer.

Mackie 1604-VLZ - 16 channel microphone / line mixer

Without doubt, Mackie mixers have empowered an army of musicians and DJs to record their efforts with greater control and flexibility than could ever be imagined ten years ago.

Manley Massive Passive - Stereo valve EQ

Manley have established a mighty reputation for their no-compromise outboard equipment. The attention to detail is astonishing, the manuals informative and entertaining, and the sound quality undeniably superb.

SPL Tube Vitalizer - Stereo program equalizer

The Tube Vitalizer looks impressive, with a nod towards vintage valve equipment. It is a 2U steel box, with a bare metal front panel. There are plenty of black knobs, and three grilles revealing glowing tubes.

Symetrix 562E - Windowing expander / gate

Gates have been around for many years, most offering the same features. The popular and fully featured Drawmer DS201 has remained cheap and unchanged in design for many years.

Symetrix 628 - Digital voice processor

Want to sound like Dave Lee Travis? I thought not. However, if you are in the broadcast business you will need to apply some processing to your announcers' or deejays' microphones.

T.C. Wizard / M2000 - Multi effects processor

The M2000 is a 20-bit dual multi-fx unit in a shallow, lightweight, but solidly-built 1U box, aimed firmly at the Project Studio section of the market, in direct competition with units such as Lexicon's PCM80.

Thermionic Culture Phoenix - Stereo valve compressor

Vic Keary has been involved in Pro-Audio since the 1950s, when studios often had to customise and build their own solutions. This environment has ultimately led Vic to the happy position he now occupies as Research and Design guru of Thermionic Culture.

TL Audio VTC - In-line console

The TL Audio VTC (Valve Technology Console) has been two years in development with designer David Kempson. The ex-Neve project leader was also responsible for the hugely successful (and recently upgraded) TL Audio Classic Valve series.

Universal Audio 1176LN - Mono limiting amplifier

It is over two years since I reviewed the Purple Audio MC76, an enhanced recreation of the Urei 1176LN, my absolute favourite desert-island compressor/limiter. Perhaps awakened by the continued demand for this design, the two sons of original designer, the late M.T.

George Shilling

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