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Video Tour around Foel Studios, Wales, with Recording Engineer Chris Fielding

Engineers, RecordProduction, UK Studios Comments Off

May 242011

Foel Studios have been around for ages, so long the list of people who’ve recorded there include Van Der Graff Generator! Wow! Strangely, we’ve noticed that they keep a rather low profile so thought that it was about that we got down with the cameras and lights to record a feature!

recording engineer chris fielding gives his video tour around foel studios wales

Watch the Foel Studios Video Tour here

Watch house engineer Chris Fielding talking about the studios here.

Foel Studio is a residential recording studio set in the idyllic Welsh countryside, about 15 miles from the Mid-Wales Border town of Welshpool. They are situated on the side of a beautiful secluded valley and comprise of the studio itself and two cottages.

Established in 1974, it has progressed from humble 8-track beginnings to the current combination of classic analogue equipment and a state of the art digital ProTools HD3 Accel system. Foel also offers an additional 48 digital tracks of RADAR 24 and CD mastering facilities.

Foel’s well proportioned control room provides beautiful scenic views across the valley and a birds eye view of the studio floor. Designed around their vintage Trident Series 80B console and ProTools HD3 Accel system, a selection of the best of vintage and modern outboard plus masses of software plug-ins gives the producer and artist complete control over their sound. Monitoring is provided by a Genelec 5.1 surround sound system as well as Yamaha NS10. The acoustic treatment ensures a true sound enabling the client to feel completely confident in the final sound of their mixes.

The main studio recording area offers two adjacent isolated recording environments, large enough to record a full band completely live if required whilst giving acoustic separation. The studio floor measures 22′ by 30′ with the live area measuring 22′ by 15′, perfect for that “Bonham” drum sound!

recording engineer chris fielding gives his video tour around foel studios wales Good visual communication between both live and dead areas of the studio and the control room is a feature of Foel’s construction, enabling musicians and producer to remain in visual eye contact. Additional instrument and speaker tie-lines from the control room allow the other ancillary rooms of the building to be used as recording spaces providing extra versatility.

Artist accommodation is in the recently refurbished 17th century cottage adjacent to the studio. The large property sleeps 7 people with full self catering facilities including a large kitchen, bathroom and living area. The usual relaxation and entertainment is provided by satellite TV, large plasma screen television, DVD, hi-fi and a slate bed pool table. WiFi is also available.

For those that are more adventurous and enjoy the open air there are countless walks, places of interest and activities immediately available in the local area.

Watch the Foel Studios Video Tour here

Watch house engineer Chris Fielding talking about the studios here.

Small new Welsh studio video tour: Opec Studios

News, RecordProduction, UK Studios Comments Off

May 232011

jon constantine gives video tour around opec studios wales

Watch the short Video Tour around Opec Studios

Opened late in 2010, Op:eC Studios have converted an old pub just off the beautiful South Wales coast, which now houses a fully equipped professional music recording studio together with purpose built accommodation for up to 7 people. We visited with the cameras to take a quick look at the studios and recorded a short Video Tour.

Since opening Op:eC, the recording facilities have been used by a diverse range of performers including voice overs for commercials, training web sites, acoustic musicians, heavy rock bands and a 50 piece choir.

Op:eC offers a unique and homely atmosphere, artists can relax in their own kitchenette/lounge with a PS3, DVD player into a 42 inch TV whilst taking time off from recording. The studio is just outside Porthcawl and only 2 minutes off the M4 between Swansea and Cardiff. The building is over 200 years old and served the local community as a pub until the end of 2008.

The pub was brought by Operation:Eclectic in October 2009 when they began looking for a premises and found the location and size of the building was perfect for what they wanted. “The surroundings are tranquil yet we are still close enough to the M4 to be easily accessible and only one junction away from the McArthur Glen Retail outlet” say’s Jon. “We also have the added bonus of having a drive through Indian Restaurant around the corner(Le Raj, we love them). Porthcawl Waterfront is only a couple of minutes away by car and houses a selection of some great bars and restaurants, as well as Rest Bay for surfing and playing in the sand”.

The conversion process began in October 2009 and ran through until September 2010 with the building undergoing a facelift with new rendering, additional sound-proofing installed to the live room and control room and a lot of the old internal layout being removed. “The studio has turned out better than any of us could have imagined and all the feedback we’ve had from musicians and clients has really mirrored what we feel about the place, it is somewhere you can get away and just focus on the task” Jon enthuses.