Confessions of a Studio Rat

  C onfessions of a Studio Rat One mans journey through a world of recording studios and musicians in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s – without a net! TOKYO: I’m sitting at the SSL console at Onkyo Haus studio, on Day One of a recording session for a well known Japanese rock guitarist. The record label has put together a band of very accomplished sidemen to form the band to accompany this artist, and there was no shortage of people watching the show from the back of the room as we began the tracking session. After awhile, a gentleman approached me and asked me What did I do to get that drum sound? It turns out he was one of the house engineers for Onkyo, and I feared he had a real problem with the drum sound I was getting. It turned out my fears were misplaced. He told me something to the effect that they recorded this drummer many times in the past and never have his drums sounded so good. What was my secret? Well, I thanked him very much but didn’t have any explanation for him how this...

  C onfessions of a Studio Rat One mans journey through a world of recording studios and musicians in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s – without a net! TOKYO: I had a Japanese client who would come to London to record and mix   his projects with me. On this occasion however, he asked if I would travel out to Tokyo to record an album with one of his biggest acts, a Japanese rock guitar player. I had never been to Japan before, so I readily accepted the opportunity. I was briefed by the record label that this artist was regarded as something of a “wild man” of rock, and I should expect anything by way of outrageous behavior. After a long flight from London, I was delivered to Onkyo Haus Studio, a major and very modern facility owned by the electronics manufacturer. When I arrived at the control room door I saw seemingly dozens of technicians, scurrying around setting up for our tracking session. There was a sense of anticipation as not only had they brought over an engineer from London...

  C onfessions of a Studio Rat One mans journey through a world of recording studios and musicians in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s – without a net! (Hit Factory. If this wasn't the room we used, it looked very much like this!) ENGLAND (1988, 1994): I can rarely remember how these things come about, but I somehow found myself finishing off and mixing some projects with Gerry Rafferty and his friend/collaborator/producer Hugh Murphy. I enjoyed those sessions so much! The arrangements, songs and lineup of musicians were all superb! If memory serves, we did our first project together (which became the North and South album) at Comforts Place Studios, in Surrey, owned by my friend Andy Hill.   (Remember Bucks Fizz? His creation. No more playing bass on jingle sessions for him!) Comforts Place was a great mix room with a large SSL. I did several projects there very happily. Gerry and Hugh were simply a gas to work with. Complete gentlemen, never any problems. The two of them had reco...