Russell Cottier

School Farm Studios - Residential recording studio in Essex

Set in over 300 acres of landscaped grounds including woods and lakes is a barn that dates back to 1600 something that has been converted in to an amazing residential studio.

Beat Street Studio - Engineer Oliver Sekunda shows us around a very nice studio in Leeds

Look around this Aladin's Cave of a studio, so much equipment and so many instruments in such a compact but flexible space that's designed for bands to be affordable.

Catalyst Studio - Andy Bowes' studio tour

Owner Andy Bowes has upgraded to a new desk with the lock-down giving time to wire up and fine tune the newly upgraded control room and as you can see, the range of three main recording spaces gives plenty of flexibility and isolation, perfect for...

Rock Hard Studios - A tour around top Blackpool Studio

Take the 4 minute studio tour around Blackpool's leading recording studio - Russ Cottier meets up with Daniel Atkinson of Rock Hard Studios to find out about the rehearsal and recording complex. Daniel Atkinson of Rock Hard Studios shows us his comprehensive microphone collection.

Parr Street Studios

25 Years old in 2017, Parr Street has seen many major artists through its studio doors so Russell Cottier visited with a video crew following behind to find out a little about the studios success and history.

Motor Museum Recording Studio - Al Groves interview

Russell Cottier visited the super talented engineer and producer Al Groves at his Motor Museum Studios late in 2017 to find out more about how Al gets his superb drum sounds etc and to take a bit of a tour around the Motor Museum.

Rooksmere Studios - Mark Hutchinson feature

We recently recorded a new video interview with Rooksmere Studios' Mark Hutchinson. Russell Cottier asked the questions and Blair Dunlop joins the conversation half way through to discuss Mark's Folk Music production techniques.

Abbey Road Studios - Iconic recording studio

Abbey Road Studios are the Worlds best know recording studios and are the oldest purpose built studios in the World, building started in 1926 and was opened by Sir Edward Elgar. Abbey Road celebrates it's 90th Year in 2021.

Andrew Raphael - Interview with Russell Cottier

Andrew Raphael is a Record Producer and Arranger based in north west UK. Russ Cottier dropped in to chat with Andrew at Catalyst Studios to find out more about his unique production methods.

Al Groves - Video interview at Motor Museum Studios

Al Groves is a British record producer, mix engineer and recording engineer. He's based in Liverpool at Motor Museum Studios. Al has over sixteen years experience as a producer.

Sugar House - Production team based in the North West UK

SUGAR HOUSE is a music production duo based out of Catalyst Studios in St Hellens, near to Liverpool, UK.

Tom Peters - Trapdoor Studios

Tom Peters has moved in to his new recording studio up in Liverpool and we took a tour around and had a demonstration of Tom's guitar / pedal setup for recording.

Sylvia Massy - Creative producer legend interview

When we set off to meet Sylvia we had only legend to go by so it was a relief to meet her and find out that she's one of the nicest people that we've met.

Scott Mathews - Talking outside the Cavern Club

We first featured Scott many years back, way back, probably more than ten years back so it was great to hear that he was over in the UK and we managed to track him down to Liverpool and Russell Cottier called him and did a...

Andrew Scheps - Interview at Monnow Valley Studios

Russell Cottier and the RecordProduction.com crew visited Monnow Valley Studios to meet up with the legendary mixing engineer Andrew Scheps to find out about how he became such a 'brand name' and cover hot topics ranging from 'mixing in the box' to being the 'audio...

Jim Moray - Interview at Edwin Street Studios

Jim Moray took time out from a recent tour to chat at Edwin Street Studios with Russell Cottier about folk music and record production.

Fay Hield - Interview with Russell Cottier

Recently Fay Hield invited us into her beautiful family home to talk about production of her new album 'Looking Glass' and her academic work on traditional music with Russell Cottier.

Russell Cottier - Producer video features

Based in the north of England near Liverpool Russell Cottier has worked for Clients such as Sony, Tamoki Wambesi Dove, Trojan records etc. Specialising in rock and metal (but embracing all) genres.

Metal producers round table discussion with engineers & producers

We managed to get a bunch of great metal engineer and producers to meet up and talk about a wide range of issues facing modern metal production.

Andrew Scheps - Talks about moving to the UK

Russell Cottier talks with record producer, recording engineer and mix legend, Andrew Scheps at Monnow Valley Studios in out fourth short video.

Andrew Scheps - Mixing in the box

Mixing legend Andrew Scheps is known for working with artists at a high level and most people would agree that Andrew knows what he's doing behind a mixing desk but Andrew is now discussed so much due to his switch to 'in the box' mixing.

Hannah James, Sam Sweeney and producer Andy Bell

Russell Cottier met up with Hannah James and Sam Sweeney who are one of the foremost duos performing English Folk music today at Hannah's studio in South Yorkshire. Russ wanted to find out about their recording methods with top folk engineer and producer Andy Bell.

Ken Scott - Discussion about Epik Drums EDU DVD

Ken took time out to meet us in the newest studio at Abbey Road Studios so that we could find out more about Epik Drums and the new 'EDU' DVD Tutorial version.

Drum Recording with Dave Pemberton

Dave Pemberton's Drum Recording session walkthrough - Dave shows how he recorded a classic Ludwig kit.

Drum Recording with a USB Mic - Tracking drums

Can an affordable USB mic with multiple capsules give results good enough to make a record? Recording engineer and musician Russ Cottier tests a unit from SSL (better known for mixing consoles) out to find out how technology has advanced - Put on your headphones...

Acoustic Guitar & Vocals with 1 Microphone

Getting a good sounding recording with a guitarist that's also singing can be challenging. Top recording engineer Russell Cottier shows 3 tips on how to get the best acoustic guitar and voice recording using a single microphone.

Mixing Tips with Al Groves

Al Groves has produced, recorded and mixed many big name artists, here he shows us a load of great ideas and things to try while sat behind his SSL Duality mixing desk in his fantastic Liverpool studio, UK.

How to record a live band in a studio

Recording a band live in the studio can be great fun, it can increase the tension but also musicians can produce a performance that can be hard to beat - assuming the musicians are good and that they play well together.

Drum recording with two microphones - Comparing AKG 414 and Coles 4038

We are planning a full studio tour and video interview with Andy Bowes at Catalyst Studios in the next few months but for now, we hope you enjoy watching this short video that we recorded with Russell Cottier pre-COVID on comparing two pairs of mics...

Sylvia Massy recording setup and explanation

Russell Cottier and the RecordProduction.com crew visited Edge Studios in Cheshire , UK, on a rainy day to find out about the famous recording techniques that Sylvia is known for - recording guitars through cheese and light bulbs, using hose pipe to get a different...

Andrew Dudman - Takes us around his live recording setup

Around 80 producers and engineers met up at Abbey Road's Studio Three in October 2018 to participate in a live recording workshop with senior Abbey Road Studios engineer Andrew Dudman.

Dan Logan - Talks about recording drums at Orchard Studios

Russ Cottier met with Dan Logan at Orchard Studios and talked drums. Recording drums is one of those subjects where you just can't get enough information and opinions - we think, anyway.

Andrew Scheps - Drum recording techniques

Russell Cottier talks with recording engineer and mixing legend, Andrew Scheps.

Andrew Scheps - Recording guitars

Russell Cottier talks recording guitars with legendary producer, engineer and mix engineer Andrew Scheps. In this short video segment taken from our hour long interview at Monnow Valley Studios recently this feature covers Andrew's love of recording guitars.

Mike Cave's mixing tips - Pt 3 - Working with mix buss processing

In this episode of Mike Cave's mixing tips he tells Russell Cottier about his methods for getting a better sounding mix.

Mike Cave's mixing tips - Pt 2 - Better vocals in a mix

In this episode of Mike Cave's mixing tips he tells Russell Cottier about his methods for getting a better vocal sound and getting vocals to sit better in the mix.

Mike Cave's mixing tips - Pt 1 - Better bass in a mix

Russ Hello and welcome to the RecordProduction.com masterclass tips. We are at Loft Studios in Liverpool with Mike Cave.

The thing to watch out for with a Sennheiser 421 mic clip

Russell Cottier takes a moment out of a recording session to point out the issues with the Sennheiser 421 microphone clip and it's love of flying off the mic stand.

Russell Cottier Video Blog 4 - The Haas effect

This month recording engineer and producer Russ looks at the Haas Effect and how it can be used by anyone looking to widen the soundfield.

Russell Cottier Video Blog 3 - Out of the speakers

Russell Cottier takes a look at expanding your sonic horizons In this issue of the video blog Russell Cottier tries to find ways to enhance the sound stage and create additional width in the stereo soundfield.

Russell Cottier Video Blog 2 - The Issues Raised

Welcome to Russell Cottier's Video Blog Number Two: In The Studio With 'The Issues Raised'.

Russell Cottier Video Blog 1 - Impedance needn't be boring

In the first of a new series Russell Cottier takes a look at the little understood subject of Impedance and why it's worth paying attention to it..

Eiosis e2deesser - De-esser plugin

Eiosis was the brainchild of renowned plugin designer Fabrice Gabriel, who set up the company before teaming up with Steven Slate to co-found Slate Digital.

Electrodyne Summing Station - Console centre section

Electrodyne has been in operation in several different incarnations over the past half century. In the late 1940s and early 1950s they manufactured valve broadcast gear. In the 1960s Electrodyne made consoles under the Quad-Eight brand.

PSP FETpressor - FET compressor plugin

Polish plug-in designer PSP has been producing hardware inspired plug-ins for nearly 15 years. The plug-in solutions tend to be tools in their own right with a generic analogue feel to them, but not specific emulations.

Warm Audio WA73-EQ - Single channel mic-pre with EQ

Warm Audio was founded in 2011 by Bryce Young and has come a long way, now offering accessible incarnations of classic studio pieces at reasonable prices. What’s more, you won’t have to expect huge repair costs with these all new ‘vintage’ racks.

AMS Neve BCM10/2 MK2 - 10 channel mixing console

Neve have been building high-end characterful consoles for decades, the BCM10 being one such desk.

Eventide Tony Visconti Tverb - Reverb plugin

Berlin, 1977, in Hansa Tonstudio: Tony Visconti is recording Bowie's soon-to-be hit song Heroes, but he has run out of tracks. Hansa's studio 2 was the historic Meistersaal Hall constructed in 1910 for classical music performance.

Antelope Audio Orion 32+ Gen 3 - Thunderbolt and USB audio interface

Housed in a sleek 1U rack-mount, the Orion 32+ Gen 3 from Antelope Audio offers an amazing 64 simultaneous audio inputs and outputs. 32 analogue I/O is on the rear panel, with the remaining connectivity via various digital connections.

Focusrite Red 8Pre - Thunderbolt audio interface with Dante & Mini-DigiLink

Focusrite has long been in both the preamp and convertor games, the Red 8Pre combines the two.

LiquidSonics Seventh Heaven Professional - Convolution plugin Reverb

Seventh Heaven is a high-end reverb plug-in from LiquidSonics. LiquidSonics has been bringing advanced reverb plug-â¨ins to the market for the bestâ¨ part of a decade. Based onâ¨ Fusion-IR technology these â¨are more than just convolutionâ¨ reverbs.

Vertigo Sound VSC-3 - Discrete VCA compressor

German based Vertigo Sound has been a name in high-end audio gear since 2007, launching with the VSC-2.

Miktek MPA-201 - Dual-channel microphone pre-amplifier

The Miktek MPA-201 is a dual-channel Class-A microphone preamplifier providing a certain amount of character from its multiple transformer stages.

Roger Mayer 456 Microphone Pre-Amplifier - Four pre-amps with tape simulation

1964 he started building effect pedals for Jimmy Page. Mayer also designed and built pedals used by Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck and session guitar legend Big Jim Sullivan.

Newfangled Audio Elevate & EQuivocate - Multiband limiter and EQ plugins

Eventide partnered with Newfangled Audio (founded by former Eventide DSP developer Dan Gillespie) in 2017 to launch the Elevate multiband artificial intelligence driven limiter.

Toontrack Superior Drummer 3 - Sampled drums virtual instrument

Toontrack has a solid reputation in the software instrument world primarily for its flagship product, Superior Drummer. Back in May Toontrack flew journalists from across the world to Galaxy Studios, Belgium.

McDSP ML8000 - Limiter plugin with multi-band option

Silicon Valley plug-in boffins McDSP cite ML8000 as the next generation in advanced limiting technology. The ML8000 plug-in features two discrete processors. The first being multistage, multi-band lookahead peak detection and limiting, followed by a broadband master limiter with some rather flexible controls.

SSL Nucleus 2 - Control surface and Dante audio interface

The Nucleus controller released in 2010 brought SSL automation hardware to those people for whom a full SSL console was beyond practicality. The new SSL Nucleus 2 offers several useful upgrades and shifts to the Dante protocol for the internal 2x2 audio interface.

Antelope Audio Goliath HD - 64-Channel audio interface with HDX connectivity

Regular readers will be aware that Antelope Audio has been rolling out a new range of its converters which include HDX connectivity.

Antelope Audio Orion 32 HD - HDX and USB 3 audio interface

Antelope Audio has been in the converter and clocking manufacture business for over 20 years now. The Orion 32 HD is the latest in the Orion series, sporting similar topology to the Orion 32+ but with a sleek black look.

Antelope Orion Studio HD - Audio interface with HDX and USB3 connectivity

Those who have been following Antelope Audio’s product releases over the past year or so will be aware that HDX compatible versions of these high-end studio interfaces are now available.

Waves Scheps Parallel Particles - Parallel processing chain plugin

Plugin design giant Waves has worked with many top flight producers and mix engineers over the last few years to deliver their Signature Series.

PreSonus Quantum - Thunderbolt audio interface

The new 26x32 channel Quantum is PreSonus’ fastest interface yet. Whilst it works with any DAW the design and integration aims to make usage ideal for Studio One users.

XI Machines Recorder.1 - Rackmount computer solution

It is not often that you walk into a professional recording studio bereft of that familiar aluminium keyboard, white mouse or a glowing fruit logo.

PSP 2445 & E27 - Reverb and EQ plugins

Living under a metaphorical rock would not have prevented most recordists from encountering the ubiquitous PSP Vintage Warmer plug-in. Launched in 2002 it was this release that catapulted Polish plug-in designers PSP into the limelight. However PSP has released dozens of packages since.

Antelope Audio Orion 32+ & MP32 - Audio interface and mic preamp solution

The Orion 32+ is the follow up to the Antelope Audio Orion 32 released three years ago but offers a considerable increase in connectivity options.

McDSP AE600 - Active EQ plugin

The AE600 is the latest in the line of active EQs from this Silicon Valley based plug-in company. Offering six bands of both active and fixed EQ this is more than just your average plug-in.

Waves Cobalt Saphira - Harmonic synthesis plugin

The idea of bringing to market a plug-in that is deliberately difficult to hear but easy to feel is no mean feat. However this is ostensibly what Waves has done with the Saphira, the first plug-in from the new Cobalt series.

Antelope Audio Satori - Monitor controller with talkback and four headphone amplifiers

You may know the work of Igor Levin from his Aardvark convertors that created a buzz in the early days of computer-based recording. His Antelope Audio company has likewise become known for its attention to minimising clock jitter with ‘atomic clock type’ technology.

Russell Cottier

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