Rosewood Music - Studio - Hire - Tech - Pro Services
UK based studio and PRO shop for Musicians
Recording and production
PRODUCTION
At Rosewood Music, we believe every stage of a production is just as important to get right. From creating the right atmosphere, choosing instruments with the correct sound, through to recording with the best gear in a great acoustic and making the right decisions in post-production. Every instrument and piece of equipment in the building has been carefully chosen with great thought to bring the best possible results to our recordings. Between our facilities and a team of highly experienced audio and music professionals, we offer a wide range of bespoke music production services that are constantly evolving to keep up with the ever-changing industry.
The STUDIO
Our state of the art facility was designed with the great studios of the past in mind, but with a 21st century approach. This has helped minimise technical setbacks and maximise productivity. An important part of the design was to create a space that promotes creativity. From the moment you walk through the door, this is reflected in the meticulous thought given to the aesthetics and layout, accommodating your every need with ease. Building inside a warehouse with 9 metres of height removed any of the usual limitations with space, allowing the studio to be built to the optimum specification for purpose. With 96dB of attenuation, there is never an issue with external noise so it really is a blank canvas for music creation.
The control room is built around our Audient 8024HE console which is supplemented by a full rack of custom picked mic pre’s from Neve, SSL, Summit Audio and many more. There are 4 more racks filled with carefully selected compressors, EQ’s and other outboard. Our monitoring is handled by a pair of ATC SCM100ASL mid-field monitors, Neumann KH310 and Avantone mix cubes for near-field requirements. Our Mac Pro hosts a 32-channel Avid HDX system with HD I/O conversion and is set up to run Pro-Tools HD, Logic Pro X and Ableton Live. We also have an extensive selection of plugins from UAD, Waves, Sound Toys, Fab Filter, Softube, Kush Audio and many more.
Our live room boasts 5 meters of internal height and has enough floor space to comfortably fit a medium-sized band or ensemble up to a maximum of 10 to 12 musicians, depending on requirement. The slate wall not only adds a timeless feel but also provides a pleasant diffusion to the room sound. The acoustics, having been given prime importance during the design stage, show their worth when recording drums and percussion in particular (though we’ve yet to find something that doesn’t sound great in there!).
Just off the studio is a booth that can be used for guitar cabs/vocals and also hosts our mic cupboard containing a large array of high end microphones from the likes of Neumann, Coles, Shure, Telefunken, Sennheiser and many more (please contact us for a full equipment list).
It is fairly common knowledge that the choice of microphone, outboard gear and plugin is almost always trumped by getting the sound right at source. Perhaps then one of the most significant features of the studio is the additional warehouse space containing a vast collection of the finest drums, percussion and backline available on hand for sessions. This includes over 20 drum kits, 50 plus snares, cymbals, sound effects, timpani, bass drums, all tuned percussion, Latin and world percussion, tuned nipple gongs and everything in between. Why reach for a plugin when you can just grab a different snare drum that does the job instead! This space also has an upstairs lounge area on the mezzanine with ‘vibey’ lighting to suit and a pool table.
We also have a separate fully-fitted kitchen and multi-purpose ‘wind down’ space with a large sofa, TV and a Bowers and Wilkins hi-fi system, as well as excellent tea and coffee facilities. This space is accessed via a 6-metre-high stairwell which has been set up to double as a reverb chamber. This adds a truly unique character to our productions and our sound.
Tie lines are fitted throughout the premises allowing a huge number of options for complex setups, but also great if you want to try putting drums through the warehouse!
PRODUCTION SERVICES
RECORDING
Our world-class studio is available for dry hire, although we do recommend using our in-house engineers. Not only do they know the studio intimately, but they carry decades of studio experience across the board in commercial, film and classical music. They have worked for the likes of Abbey Road Studios, Tileyard Music, Spitfire Audio and Extreme Music to name a few. We put a strong emphasis on the importance of minimising technical distractions and providing a calm and relaxed session environment to maximise efficiency and creativity under often high-pressured situations.
MIXING, MASTERING & POST-PRODUCTION
Our team have a wealth of experience mixing all genres of music from commercial records to film and TV scores. Our purpose-built control room offers a highly tuned listening environment as well as an extensive selection of equipment and plugins. While we do offer mastering in house, we also work closely with a team of highly talented external mastering engineers. We believe strongly in the benefits of getting fresh sets of ears and bespoke listening environments for the final stages of projects before they go out into the world. We also offer other types of post-production from re-amping and creative processing to audio repair work (e.g. removal of extraneous noises, hiss/buzz reduction and phase alignment).
ARTIST DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION
Our in-house team has vast experience when it comes to making records. We believe strongly that one of the most crucial aspects in enabling creativity to flourish is having a safe and private environment in which the artist feels both inspired and comfortable to express themselves freely without judgement. Our highly private studio is the perfect setting to forget about the outside world and delve deep into exploration and creation. Our multifaceted producers have worked with a plethora of artists (Paul McCartney, Ella Eyre, Duke Dumont, Don Black, Mica Paris) and can take on any level of involvement from simply guiding and enabling the creative process to fully producing tracks from scratch.
BESPOKE MUSIC COMPOSITION
Our in-house composers and multi-instrumentalists Edward Scull and Sebastian Truman can cover almost any ground when it comes to writing music, from classical to gritty electronic, rock and pop. Edward is an established Classical Percussionist and writer, while Sebastian has had over a decade of experience writing and performing music for bands as well as composing music for picture and games. Sebastian has worked closely with award winning media composer and Spitfire Audio co-founder Christian Henson. Though they have a vast and comprehensive selection of high-end sample libraries and synths at their disposal, they have a passion for creating their own bespoke sounds. They often sample real instruments through heavy FX chains to create new ‘organic’ synths and, wherever possible, choose real instruments and live performance over quantised midi and loops. This gives their music a truly unique and cutting-edge sound. They currently write regularly for an array of production houses, including 2nd Foundation Music and Arrow Production Music. Their music has been used across and array of film, TV and radio shows around the world for the likes of the BBC, Amazon, BT Sport and Channel 5 plus many more.
SOUND DESIGN & EDITING
We can provide a range of services for the film, TV, radio and advertising industries. These include full sound design and stem mixing, voiceovers, SFX, foley and music editing. Our team has experience on an array of productions of this sort including the award winning ‘Piano To Zanska’, BBC Three’s ‘Fresh Meat’ and adverts for the likes of Audi and Mr Porter.
PERCUSSION OVERDUBS & REMOTE SESSIONS
Not local? No problem! We are set up to run a high-quality remote audio feed via source connect should a client wish to dial in remotely from wherever they are in the world. We can also take on projects where client attendance is not needed. In particular for percussion overdubs, our studio was first and foremost designed to record the vast array of drums and percussion located in the warehouse. Rosewood Music’s co-owner Edward, a Foundation Scholar of the Royal College of Music, has established himself as one of the go-to players in London. The last few years have seen Edward perform and record extensively with Rick Wakeman. He has also recorded percussion at Abbey Road for Pink Floyd’s Symphonic ‘Wish You Were Here’ album, tour multiple countries and perform regularly in London and the UK’s main concert halls and arenas. Edward loves working with composers and orchestrators helping develop their music when it comes to pushing the boundaries with what can be done when it comes to percussion. His love and devotion to his craft means that clients always feel safe and comfortable when it comes to handing the project over to him. No need for full scoring, just tell us what you are after and let him do the rest. With all instruments at the full disposal of the studio, Edward can take care of all your percussion requirements.
ORCHESTRAL PROGRAMMING
We have an extensive selection of ultra-realistic orchestral samples (Spitfire Audio, Native Instruments etc.). We take any score or midi arrangement and send back a fully programmed piece of music for when real recording isn’t an option.
GEAR REVIEW & PROMOTION
Our strong social media presence and attractive studio setting lends itself perfectly to equipment promotion and review for brands. Our online posts have been used by Korg, British Drum Company, Audient, Neumann and Sabian. We have strong working relationships with various manufacturers and continue to work in partnership, promoting their new products and ‘road-testing’ their latest creations.
VIDEO SERVICES
The dawn of internet and the ever-shrinking consumer attention spans, mean great video for music is more of a necessity than ever before. We work closely with a handful of established videographers. They have a wealth of experience putting together anything from music videos to ‘live from the studio’ performances and promotional content. The slate studio wall is a great backdrop for artists and the warehouse space offers an array of other options. The studio is also kitted with a large variety of lighting options including par cans, moving heads, gobos, lasers, haze machines and everything in between.
TESTIMONIALS
