Over the years a reputation has been established for quality music recordings at many Canberra venues. Our background in radio outside broadcasts over 15 years has taught many lessons, and given enough planning a CD quality result is easily achieved. The main thing is to leave nothing to chance and to be ready for the unexpected.

When preparing for an outside recording the first decision is whether to use multitrack or not. Having more than a stereo pair of channels available means one can focus more on getting the best signals to tape rather than thinking also about the mix. This is essential for rock and roll type recordings where there may be 24 channels coming in from stage at once. A typical setup has been to use a modified Yamaha 02R digital desk feeding two or three Tascam DA-88 recorders.

For classical style recordings the emphasis is on using the best microphones and the cleanest possible signal chain. This may involve our Apogee A->D converters feeding a 24bit digital signal direct to a computer hard disk or other high resolution media. From time to time an AMS Soundfield microphone has been used to capture the three dimensional properties of the sound, which can be tuned later to the needs of a stereo recording. Bringing in good loudspeaker monitoring in a separate temporary control room is always advisable.

We're not afraid to use the latest and the best technology, however that should not get in the way of the performance. Anything that improves the atmosphere and ability of the musicians is a good thing.

Recent recordings that were both innovative and achieved high production values were CDs for The Rebel Astronauts and The Clarity Clarinet Quartet. Please contact us for more up to date client information.