All
the sessions that will appear on this site are taken from real
recording sessions undertaken by the Reelsound
mobile or Fairview
studio in Hull. I have attempted to choose a variety of
different types of music and of course, with the mobile, different
locations, to give you the opportunity of mixing a variety of
work of different styles. I have decided to post all the downloadable
tracks as MP3 with a sample rate of 98kps at 44k which seems
to be the best compromise between fidelity and download times
but do remember they are MP3s and have been heavily compressed
for the internet and you will need a decent broadband connection
to stream them. If you really want to hear the full bandwidth
audio, then for a nominal sum I will happily send you the complete
session as recorded in Cubase at 44k 16 bit.wav.
Also bear in mind that as real recording sessions they are bound
by the normal constraints of commercial working studios such
as time and money and that also means that some of the playing
you will come across might be a bit suspect. That said, this
being the real world, if you want to spend 8 hours correcting
the kick drum with multi layer samples and retuning the vocals
in autotune, then go for it! We would both love to hear any
remixes of these sessions that you want to send in and time
permitting will be happy to answer any questions through the
forum. As far as possible I will attempt to give you the tracks
as laid down without EQ or compression though little bits of
both do get put down at the tracking stage. I think it will
help to know a little background about the mobile and the studio....
Fairview
was set up in 1966 and has been a busy commercial concern for
41 years now because of a couple of reasons. Firstly, the vibe
of the studio is that great mix between the classic old analogue
with the latest technology where original AMS and AKG reverbs
sit in racks alongside Urei 1176 and Focusrite Red compressors.
The microphone cupboard is a delight with a list of classic
German mics along with some great new mics like the AEA R84
ribbons and the Blue Mouse. In the live rooms for those who
want to play the real thing is a Hammond C3 and Sharma Leslie
and a lovely Colard upright piano. This mix of the best of old
and new continues through into the control room with a fully
serviced 2inch Otari 24 track tape machine alongside a RADAR
digital recording system and racks of Focusrite and TL audio
pre-amps. However the main reason that the studio is so busy
and bands come back time and time again is resident engineer/producer
John Spence who has built up a massive reputation over the past
25 years recording artists from the Happy Mondays and Bill Nelson
to the Beautiful South.
The Reelsound
Mobile is one of the busiest and well equipped Mobiles in
the UK and has over 20 years produced hundreds of CD recordings
for choirs such as the English Baroque choir and countless Brass
and Jazz bands and orchestras as well as solo instrumentalists
and singers. Reelsound specialises in location stereo recording
and microphones include the mighty Soundfield and a pair of
Sennheiser MKH30s along with new additions such as the AEA R84s
and a pair of Hebden Sound 3010s.
