radar sounds
Analog recording studios
A pursuit for sonic excellence.
IT STARTED WITH
An Endless Passion for Music
For Discovery, for that special moment.....
Having spent many years touring in various bands and recording in too many subpar studios that advertised themselves as “professional” only to be handed a recording that equated to demo quality at best. I found myself drawn to “the other side of the studio glass” i began a lifelong journey (aint over yet) to find out how to create recordings that could sit alongside the great sonics of the albums of yesteryear.
My first stop was to get down to brass tacks and examine the differences between the demo studio recording and the real thing and the first thing that was apparent was WHERE WAS THE FEEL on the demo? and why did our rehearsal room analog recording studios recordings capture the essence of our band far better than this “professional” digital recording did?! didnt take long to realise that on all these old studio pics of the bands recording at the industry studios the bands recorded TOGETHER LIVE and onto tape in a analog recording studio, thus the feel of the band was totally intact! EUREKA! i then knew my main goal! to bring a recording studio to musicians of every level where you could play together as a band and get THAT SPECIAL MOMENT down on tape and captured for eternity for all to hear.
Every studio i had been to previously i had to supply a scratch track for the drummer to play to so he could go over it again and again
The next step was to find the equipment that the big Analog Recording studios used that was usually not viable for the smaller studios to attain. The thing is, we didnt want RADAR SOUNDS to be a “usual” studio so out we go to try and source as much vintage gear as we could . One thing that i never saw in ANY other analog recording studios was a true analog reverb .This rare beast came in two guises , the easier to obtain spring reverb and the altogether “rare as hens teeth” PLATE REVERB , the most acclaimed being the EMT 140. I managed to track down not only a EMT 140 but the ” holy grail” being the stereo valve version ( incidentally after i bought it from an old film editing suite the previous owner let me know this plate has been heard on the original STAR WARS film amongst other big films of the time)…..
TO BE CONTINUED…
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- STUDER A800 24 Track
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- Neve Genesys G32
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- EMT 140 plate reverb
and finally
A message to all artists
“Singers and Musicians are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime. Every day, they face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get real jobs, and their own fear that they’ll never work again. Every day, they have to ignore the possibility that the vision they have dedicated their lives to is a pipe dream. With every note, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life – the car, the family, the house, the nest egg. Why? Because musicians and singers are willing to give their entire lives to a moment – to that melody, that lyric, that chord, or that interpretation that will stir the audience’s soul. Singers and Musicians are beings who have tasted life’s nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another’s heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes.”
Stay Hungry and Strong
