such a bloody pity
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php?t=87678
townhouse studios in london are apparently closing down. it's a downright shame, really. i LOVE recording studios, probably more so than i love music venues. why? i dunno, more gear, more knobs! plus, the beauty of recording is that it is ALL A LIE. there is nothing real encapsulated inside a rotating disc, be it wax cylinder, vinyl, cd or hard drive. same as photos. recordings offer a deformed perspective of what was once alive and real. recordings capture air, photographs capture light.
i have been lucky enough to witness most of the famous recording studios in london and new york. i have seen a full orchestra perform before my very own eyes at abbey road. i have rooms where many known records were made.
i think a lot of people underestimate the sound of a room. if you go to abbey road for example and walk about inside studio 1 (the orchestra room) or 2 (aka the beatles room), you feel familiar. the reason is simple, because all the records you heard that came from the studios contain sounds of musicians playing in that room. every wondered why your bedroom recordings sound bad? room sound can be a cause. ever wondered why the vibe of a room isn't doing it for you? because it sounds bad. rooms all have their own signature sounds.
ok, capitalism accelerates. many record company people don't even know how records are made anymore, let alone the spec of their product. i am sounding like an old fart, but i don't care.
you want quality music? depending on the project, you need quality surroundings to an extent. you can't make a led zeppelin album or whatever in your bloody bedroom with protools. it just isn't that easy. ok, you can make a led zepplin likeness album in your bedroom with protools, just stick on preset reverb 489 "leevee breaks". but that's like having sex with an inflated doll. from my perspective, it just ain't the same thing, at all. where's the imagination in that? no perspiration, and most of all, you don't have anyone shouting lovable, obscene messages such as "f**k off and get on with it, yer knob tiwddler!". that's what i love about studios that work, they provide the setting for a creative vibe and the rest is all about documenting human interaction under all those lights. it is for me, the ultimate boy's club hideaway.
i mean, i talk about this with friends at times. there is not a single room in tokyo anymore where i would go "hmm, i want to record drums in this room", not a single one, cos they all closed down, or changed their room too far to "be with the times". actually, there is one room but it's not commercially available. but that's it. if i keep making records in that room, they're all going to feel the same. japanese productions have far too many people in the room that actually take away a lot from creativitiy, but that is a different issue.
big recording studios have a vibe, like hanging out backstage at a festival or something. there is the vibe of friendly competition in the air. the canteen ladies and all that tea in british studios. i remember the canteen lady at abbey road giving me a hard time because of my accent and taking the piss on me about "bet you don't know how to make tea, luv". conclusion was, i lost.
that vibe of a big, respected studio facility, all those eyes looking at you. it's like wearing a tie to go to work, you shift yourself into the mindset of "work". ok, this vibe is not for everybody, i know, but for those that do get off on that buzz, there is nothing else like it.
the townhouse had a local indian restraunt that was nice.
steven wozniak and some other people should start buying up known recording studios and preserve them. because when you take those walls down, it's gone. it will never, ever come back.
when eric clapton's old electric guitar sells for a million dollars, i don't see why not people value the rooms that made the music more. they were, in some ways, effective as much as the instruments that made the music.