Fieldgate Studio is situated in a large detached private house just outside Cardiff, not far from the sea-front, in a quiet area with plenty of parking. Penarth is an attractive Victorian town three miles south of Cardiff with easy links to the M4 and Cardiff International Airport.
Starting life as the in-house music production facility for composers Ben Heneghan and Ian Lawson, Fieldgate Studio was expanded to be available for bookings with house engineer Andrew Lawson.
The concept of the studio is a development of the one-room music production facility, where recording engineer and musician are often the same person. In our expanded version, we have situated the recording equipment in the centre of the room, creating two spaces for musicians either side. Putting the engineer among the players has obvious benefits for quick and easy communication. However, producers and clients still need a space where they can comfortably listen to the ongoing session in isolation. Hence the ‘listening’ room, from which proceedings can be monitored. Furthermore, once the microphones and main console have been set up the engineer is able to control events from either room.
Both the main studio and the listening room are fully air-conditioned with a completely silent system developed and installed by Silentair Ltd.
The main studio has an area of 500 square feet and houses a brand new 7’6 Fazioli concert grand piano. Other instruments include a Fender Rhodes, a Hammond Organ, and drum kits by DW and Gretsch. The main computer, an eight-core Mac Pro, is located in the store/machine room, which has been constructed between the main room and listening room to provide additional sound isolation. Two-way audio and video feeds connect the two rooms.
The listening room opens on to a spacious and private garden providing an attractive setting to relax in. There are many nearby bars and restaurants both along the seafront and in the town centre.
Fazioli pianos are considered by many to be the finest pianos made today. Paulo Fazioli and his company have been producing concert-grand pianos since 1981, they produce about one hundred pianos each year. Each instrument is individually handcrafted - combining high quality materials with the finest workmanship and technology. Our F228 model was especially chosen for the studio by Ian Lawson and purchased new in 2010.
I love Fieldgate studio. It’s always a pleasure to work there. The equipment is unrivalled and it’s a lovely location. Not to mention the beautiful Fazioli grand piano that sits there whispering to me, telling me go and enjoy its company every time I visit.
HARRI DAVIES
Tube Condensers
1x Neumann u47
2x Neumann u67
2x Flea 49
1x Gefell UM900
2x Lawson L47 MkII
2x Lawson L251
Condensers
1x Neumann u87ai
2x Schoeps CMC-64
2x Lawson FET47
1x Blue Kiwi
2x Beyer Dynamic MC740
1x Soundfield SPS422
3x Earthworks TC25
Ribbons
2x Coles 4038 (Matched)
1x Royer SF12 (Stereo)
Dynamics
4x Shure SM57
1x Shure SM7b
1x AKG D112
1x Beyer Dynamic M201
2x Shure Beta 56
Mic Preamps
DW Fearn VT2
2x Telefunken v72t
Neve 1073DPA
Chandler TG2
Forssell SMP2A
API 3124+
2x UA LA-610
A Designs REDDI
Oram OctoSonic+
Audient ASP008 ADAT
Outboard / Plugins
Charter Oak SCL-1
Tube-Tech CLA-1b
Lexicon PCM90
SSL Duende
Waves Horizon Bundle
UAD2 -12 Cores + Tons of Plugins!
Slate Digital VCC / VBC / VMR
Recording / Mixing
Protools 11 / Logic X / DP8
Antelope Orion 32
RME Madi FX PCIe Card
8-Core Mac Pro
Audient Zen + Flying Faders
Monitoring
ATC SCM100a
ATC SCM25a Pro
ATC SCM35 (Listening Room)
Dangerous Monitor ST Controller
Keyboard
Fazioli F228 Concert Grand
Fender Rhodes 73 Mk I
Hammond M101
Roland GX700
Drums (on request)
DW Maple Collectors
(22-12-13-16)
Gretsch USA Custom
(18-10-14)
Yamaha Recording Custom
(20-12-14)
Ludwig Super Classic (1971)
(22-12-16)
Canopus Zelkova Snare
Brady Sheoak Block Snare
Ludwig Titanium Snare
DW Acoustic EQ Snare
Range of Zildjian Cymbals
K and Constantinople
DW 9000 Hardware
Guitar / Bass (on request)
Fender USA Strat
Sadowsky Jazz Bass
Orange TC-15
Aguilar DB751
Bergantino NV610
Phil Jones M500
Phil Jones 6T/9B
If you would like further information, or to arrange a visit, please call or email us.