News

Touring Playback System - Working closely with Dan Roe - playback operator for the recent 21 world tour, Studio Creations supplied a fully mobile Apple Macbook Pro based solution running Logic Pro with custom manufactured breakout panels and technical wiring. The system was designed, configured and supplied on budget and time to meet the stringent requirements as briefed. Dan took advantage of our 24/7 technical support when ever and where ever they tour happened to be.

For the final part of the Keane tour along with head technician Dan Roe we supplied and support the playback rigs for the shows. Running on rack-mounted Mac Mini's with Logic 9 and MOTU Ultralite front ends  the system feeds into dual Radial SW8 for system redundancy . In addition we have supplied various midi solutions to integrate into the redundancy system.

UK's largest Avid D-Command Installation - With the final phase of the new performance center at the university in place Studio Creations supplied a large scale system for their Digidesign room's. At the Tremough Campus the main installation was based around a 40 Channel D-command HD2 system with 3 x 192 I/O and 4 x Pre I/O's  driven from the latest 8 core Mac Pro with dual 24" displays. The other 4 rooms were all based around Avid LE systems on both Mac Pro's and Imac's with Euphonix controllers and Genelec 8030 monitoring and a 5.1 speaker array.

While at the Woodlane Campus following the building of the new Control, Live and Video rooms Studio Creations have supplied and installed a bespoke video editing system, recording rig and lighting system to allow students to take their initial ideas through to completion. The recording system is a Protools LE rig on a Mac Pro Quad also running Logic 9,This system feeds the live area's Genelec 5.1 system, and the C/R Genelec monitoring system also from an Allen & Heath Wizard mixer. The video editing system is again based on a Mac Pro Quad running Final Cut Pro and Cycling 74 Max/MSP fed from a DV Vision mixer with audio taken care of from a Yamaha N12 digital mixer. The lighting system features a portable green screen, a full array of lights from Acclaim & Arrilite fed from a ZERO88 Juggler lighting desk for full DMX control. In addition to this all rooms were tied together with bespoke paneling linking all rooms on all formats for ultimate flexibility by our onsite wiremen.

Gil Norton's latest upgrade for his main rig has just been completed by SCL. Having started his career at Liverpool’s Amazon Studios, Gil has emerged to be a world-class producer, and over the past two decades has credits including The Pixies, Foo Fighters, and Counting Crows to name just a few.

His new system has been changed over from a G5 and Digidesign expansion HD to the latest generation fully loaded Mac Pro 3.2 GHz 8 Core. His HD5 Accel is now running from a Magma PE6R4 PCIe-PCIx chassis giving him considerably more power on tap than his previous system. The system was then re configured back into his 32 I/O flight-case ready for transport to Australia and his next project.

Revelation TV have recenty taken delivery of their new HD2 Accel PCIe system. Supplied in a custom 24U rack with 32 I/O the system is for use to record all the bands on their live shows to allow for editing in the SCL supplied studio upstairs at their brand new TV studio in New Malden, Surrey.

The system was supplied with custom Mac Pro racking system and heavy duty pull out shelf for the Digidesign Command|8 control surface, in addition to a Sync I/O to lock to the live show. Studio Creations also handled the design and installation of the cabling system to Revelation’s Allen & Heath ML3000 live console. Revelation have a string of world-class Christian artists confirmed over the coming weeks including the world renowned Mary Mary.

New Rig, New Studio, New Album - Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard of MUSE continue to work very closely with Studio Creations for home, studio and live requirements. The band are currently in pre production for the writing and recording of their new album, Studio Creations are working closely with the band and Air Studios to assist their audio requirements. We are midway through a full studio design, build and fit out for Chris Wolstenholme - while the studios will be for private use, the design is very high end professional with much care taken over isolation, internal acoustics, technical wiring and interior finish. Chris has an array of choice outboard both new and vintage, 5:1 Genelec DSP monitoring based around an Avid Pro Tools|HD system and D-Command control surface. Dominic Howard recently required us to design, build and fit out his personal drum practice room. His property on the French Riviera required an extremely high level of isolation because of both the surrounding area and his playing style. The build & fit-out was delivered by our european build team and run by our designer Josif Vezolli from his offices in Milan. We have recently upgraded Matt Bellamy to a Pro Tools|HD3 running on the latest generation fully loaded Mac Pro to in his Milan studio. The system was installed and configured here in the UK and shipped out on the final leg of the tour en route to Italy.

Kensington Studio Upgrade - When Universal Music Publishing required an upgrade to their Engine Room studios in Kensington they called on the services of Studio Creations. Primarily supplying Outboard from Universal Audio, Emperical Labs, Smart Research, Chandler and Tubetech along with microphones from Wunder and Coles the installation of which was combined with the re positioning of much of the system into a neighbouring machine room and the extensive associated cabling for the Pro Tools HD-3 Accel and Digidesign D-Control ICON, With a technical staff member on site for the duration of the job to ensure the strict timeframe was adhered to.

Zane Lowe once again called on SCL to provide his mobile writing rig, SCL supplied an Apple Mac Book Pro fully loaded with all of his favorite toys allowing him to work freely in-between gigs and keep up with Breaks Co Op productions while also allowing him to piece together mixes through Ableton Live.

New Studio - A Dream Come True! - Jamie Cullum was recently referred to Studio Creations with a requirement to design, build and fit out his new private studios. Jamie's brief provided us with a real design challenge - basically Jamie did not want anything like we had done before ... " I can hire rooms like these...". The brief was to design a workshop that had a dual use with acoustic properties suitable to play, record and mix. Essentially we devised an open plan space so Jamie could play and record his instrument of choice at any time. Studio Creations were also responsible for the technical wiring scheme which would allow Jamie's planned workflow. Having previously supplied the core of Jamie's studio equipment, there were additional choice items required to complete Jamie's studio inventory. Jamie is currently writing and recording his new album, we are collectively excited and look forward to hearing the results.... "... my new studio is a dream come true...".

SCL have just supplied three complete 16 I/O HD3 Accel Systems running on Apple Mac Pro 3.2 GHz 8 Core machines with the new Digidesign D-Command ES Main unit for their hire division Stronghire. In addition to this there is a massive array of software from Waves, Digidesign, Sonnox, MCDSP, Serato and Antares reaffirming Strongroom's reputation as the premier independent recording facility in the UK.

New Studio Has The X-Factor! - Rokstone Productions continue to be the new hit factory of UK productions, working closely with Simon Cowell they are the writing and production team behind many current artists including JLS, Leona Lewis, and Susan Boyle. Having worked with Rokstone for some years, we were delighted to be asked to design new recording facilities to improve their workflow and optimise the studio's output. The new facility comprised of large live room, control room with adjoining edit suite, drum booth and large machine room. The brief also included integration with the existing studio A and the 72 channel SSL console. Rokstone's in-house mix engineer Ren Swann selected the API 1608 modular console for its tracking capabilities alongside some choice outboard and various TDM plug-ins powered by Pro Tools|HD. Studio Creations are very proud of this new facility and look forward to refurbishing Studio A in the near future.

The Fratellis decided that they would record their current album Here We Stand in house and so called upon the services of Studio Creations Ltd and Funky Junk London. SCL specified and supplied a Digidesign Pro Tools |HD Accel system alongside a D-Control ICON control surface. Funky Junk handled all other aspects of the studio installation.

SCL installed a 32 Channel Digidesign D-Control ICON, surround panner and producer section alongside a 32in/16out Apogee driven HD-3 Accel Rig running on a Mac Pro 3.0GHz Quad Core. In addition to this was various plug-ins including a Waves TDM bundle DVI and USB extension from Gefen.

The system was built and tested in it custom flight case with breakouts and shipped directly to the Glasgow studio for installation and integration with Pro Tools and ICON.

SCL have recently finished a new studio for Hugh Goldsmith at his Surrey home to deal with the massive workload for his Sony BMG subsidiary. Alongside his in-house engineer (and general great guy) the studio is well equipped to deliver another stunning album for amongst others Newton Faulkner.

The system includes a 48out/48in Digidesign HD-3 Accel running on a G5 2.5GHz Quad with Logic 8 and PT|HD 7.3 and an RME core audio I/O running in tandem with a large amount of soft synths and TDM plugins from Waves, MCDSP, Sonnox, URS, Soundtoys, Arturia, NI,Toontrack, VSL, Spectrasonics, IK Multimedia, G Force, FXpansion, Linn and Digidesign’s Massive Pack 6. Outboard is catered for by Neve, API, Universal Audio, Focusrite and several of Andy’s own custom boxes backed on to a MCI console for summing.

Monitoring is taken care of by Yamaha NS10’s on a Chord SPA1032 amplifier and Genelec 8000 Series DSP Monitoring.

On The Move - Long term client and friend Fraser T Smith has recently instructed Studio Creations to handle logistics and technical integration for his move back to Matrix Studios. Fraser's workload is intimidating to most and so its imperative that the move goes without delay and Fraser's accustomed workflow is unchanged once the move is complete.

Blue Spirit Studios - Our European build team under the guidance of head designer Josif Vezzoli carried out the design, build and fit our services for Edizioni Ishtar in Milan Italy. Blue Spirit Studios were carefully designed around the principles of room acoustics to create a set of spaces with acoustical properties required for recording sound with precision and accuracy. Studio Creations worked closely with engineer Tommaso Colliva in the technical system design in order that Ishtar's extensive roster of artists and producers have access to a truly world class facility. All rooms are linked back to the impressive Solid State Logic Duality console, DAW powered by Avid Pro Tools|HD with a highly respectable selection of outboard and TDM processing. Co-owner Rosa offers, "Now that we have our recording studio complete, we can offer artists and producers the full package of recording, labelling and our expanding international market".

Having primarily mixed in the box for the last 8 years Ray has recently decided to go back to his roots and mix on a large format console. SCL were employed to make the transition as smooth and stress free as possible.

In association with Keith Skerrett at Recycled Audio SCL oversaw the installation of Ray’s new SSL 6048G and his 48 I/O HD-3 Accel Pro Tools rig into his new studio facility. The integration and configuration was paramount to match Ray’s previous workflow and included a large array of new high-end outboard including some choice pieces from the recently closed Townhouse studios.

Go Pro Tools|HD - Studio Creations are extremely proud to be associated with Haydn Bendall and Tony Platt who share a studio together at Strongroom London. Haydn was formerly chief engineer at Abbey Road and Tony holding the same position at Island records, their back catalogue is a who's who of legendary recording artists. We have recently installed a Pro Tools|HD core system with their chosen Lynx Aurora audio interfacing. The pair have a vast array of classic vintage and new outboard so have been adding additional pieces alongside specific TDM plug-ins to compliment their production pallet. Studio Creations continue to offer 24/7 technical support when the studio requires it.

When Universal Music Publishing required an upgrade to their Engine Room studios in Kensington they called on the services of SCL.Primarily supplying Outboard from Universal Audio, Emperical Labs, Smart Research, Chandler and Tubetech along with microphones from Wunder and Coles the installation of which was combined with the re positioning of much of the system into a neighbouring machine room and the extensive associated cabling for the Pro Tools HD-3 Accel and Digidesign D-Control ICON, With a technical staff member on site for the duration of the job to ensure the strict timeframe was adhered to.

Complete Studio Configuration - Pharrell Williams (N*E*R*D) describes Chase & Status as "the most exciting producers in the UK today", their star is rising fast with remixes of Jay Z, The Prodigy and Rihanna and the release of their new album No More Idols. Being huge fans it was with great pleasure that we received the call to assist their move to newly acquired studios at the prestigious County Hall complex. Studio Creations were responsible for a full technical re-design and configuration of existing and new studio equipment.

SCL have recently supplied a complete Genelec DSP system to the legendary band Queen. The band’s engineer Kris Fredriksson took delivery of the self-analysing DSP system complete with DSP control software, Griffin volume control and Genelec floor stands to help with the mixing of the bands latest live performances.

SCL have an ongoing relationship with Pendulum and their head technician on the tour Ben Adams to support their mobile recording rigs and to supply various items according to their schedule to allow the smooth running of the tour.

As a long standing client we have supplied Paul from Synesthesia for many years. We have recently updated his computer systems to the latest 8 Core Mac Pro's.

The central hub is a PT HD3 rig running on a Magma PE6r4 chassis with a MADI HD I/O & 192 I/O front end. This system is being fed from both a Logic 9 writing rig/sample playback rig and a secondary sample playback rig both on 8 core Mac Pro's running RME HDSP MADI cards on MADI optical streams, All systems are finally locked to his Rosendahl house sync. Generally these type of systems are the choice for film composition requiring large orchestral library playback.

Following the building of the new CR/Live/Video rooms at the Woodlane campus SCL have supplied and installed a bespoke video editing system, recording rig and lighting system to allow students to take their initial ideas and carry them straight through to completion.

The recording system is a Protools LE rig on a Mac Pro Quad also running Logic 9,This system feeds the live area's Genelec 5.1 system as well as the C/R Genelec monitoring system as well from an Allen & Heath Wizard mixer. The video editing system is again based on a Mac Pro Quad running Final Cut Pro and Cycling 74 Max/MSP fed from a DV Vision mixer with audio taken care of from a Yamaha N12 digital mixer.

The lighting system features a portable green screen, A full array of lights from Acclaim & Arrilite fed from a ZERO88 Juggler lighting desk for full DMX control.In addition to this all rooms were tied together with bespoke paneling linking all rooms on all formats for ultimate flexibility by our onsite wireman.

SCL have recently supplied the playback rigs for the Duffy live tour. Running on Apple Macbook's with solid state HD's with Logic 9 and MOTU Ultralite front ends  the system feeds into dual Radial SW8 for system redundancy . In addition we have supplied various midi solutions to integrate into the redundancy system.

SCL are the appointed Digidesign supplier for the UK's leading school for audio & video. We have supplied all their Protools systems and control surfaces to keep in line with the Avid/Digidesign certification requirements. Recent purchases include 2 x HD2, C24, HD Omni & 8 MBox's for their classrooms.

In addition we have supplied numerous Alchemea students with their Digidesign Protools systems ranging from LE to HD.

Chris decided for his studio at home in the west country to opt for a high end in the box system. Based upon a Digidesign HD3 with 32 Apogee I/O the system summed to a Great River 32 channel summing box. Monitoring was taken care of by digital Genelec 8250 DSP's with the 7070A Sub lined up by Genelec's own Steve Fisher. Outboard was extensive and included 3 x API 10 U Racks sporting units from Chandler,Shadow Hills,API,A-Designs & Great River in addition to a large microphones selection from Neumann,AKG,Royer & Earthworks.

SCL designed & installed the technical wiring system base around 5 Neutrik bantam bays. Furniture by Argosys.

SCL were called in to design & build a drum practice room and holding area/kitchen for the MUSE drummer. His property on the French Riviera required an extremely high level of isolation because of both the surrounding area and his playing style. The build & fit-out was delivered by our european build team and run by our designer Josif Vezolli from his offices in Milan,Italy.

Zane has had a Apple Mac based RME Fireface logic system installed in his london studio running Logic 8/Ableton. This feeds a Yamaha digital mixer and using a rack of compression/ limiting this gives him the flexibility to record and mix drums at home for Breaks Co Op. Monitoring is taken care of by KRK and microphones by Neumann.

London Gospel Community Choir came to SCL for an upgrade to their current facility and install & commission a Neve 66 vintage console. Their current Digidesign LE rig was updated to an HD2 running a Lynx Aurora 16 channel audio interface and outboard by Langevin and a vintage Neumann U87 microphone. Technical wiring was taken care of by our onsite wireman.

After supplying Chris original HD3 we have now updated his system to the latest generation Mac Pro 8 Core as well as several new plugin bundles to keep him at the cutting edge.

Ian has just changed his writing rig to a Cranesong Hedd fronted RME based Mac Pro 8 Core running Logic 9. His monitoring is fed from a Presonus Central Station to his KRK monitoring and his extensive selection of vintage outboard form PYE,API,Decca & Universal Audio was wired to a patch panel to allow patching anywhere for this mix in the box solution.

The upgrade to Lemar previously supplied SCL Protools HD rig has just been upgraded to run on the new generation Mac Pro 8 Core. The system has been upgraded to a HD2 PCIe, the perfect upgrade to go with his Manley valve mixer.

As a long standing client for their studio based purchases we also supply all the PSB live systems as well. Their new live system is based around the MT128, a bespoke live system first used on the Madonna tour. Alongside Audiopro's the UK distributor we supplied, installed  & supported the system on the current tour. It is a touchscreen multitrack playback system feeding a split second redundancy MADI switch with embedded timecode and splitting to analog feeds and MADI for the FOH Optocore and Digico SD7 desks. Last minute edits were taken care of by a Protools HD rig and bounced off in realtime.

The upgrade to the Pet's previously supplied SCL Protools HD rig has just been completed to run on the new generation fully loaded Mac Pro 8 Core.The system has been upgraded to a HD3 PCIe.

We have just installed for the legendary producer Hugh Padgham an HD3 Accel running on a Mac Pro 8 Core in his London based studio Stanley House Studios. I/O is handled by 48 I/O on Apogee AD/DA16's and interface to his 56 Channel SSL G+. Sync is handled by the Gaylor Designs Whizzer and a Digidesign Sync I/O. Hugh also installed a Massive Pack 7, Sonnox and a Waves Platinum bundle.

The PSB programmer and dance guru has changed his system from a previously SCL supplied G5 Quad to an RME PCIe Multiface based Logic rig on the latest generation Mac Pro 8 Core. The system was also supplied with a Universal Audio UAD Duo card to go along side his liquid mix and extremely large list of software instruments & plugins for this mix in the box solution.

SCL were commissioned to upgrade the DAW at London's Rak Studio " Studio 1". The upgrade from a Mix3 888/24 system to an HD3 and 24I/O on Digidesign 192's with synchronization via a Sync HD for the API equipped studio. The system was also configured as a Logic TDM rig should client's require playback in that format.

The "Florence & The Machine " writer came to Studio Creations when his writing rig required an update. We supplied a new Mac Pro running an Apogee Symphony system with a Rosetta 800 front end. The sequencer was updated to Logic 8 and his UAD PCIx was upgraded to a UAD2 Quad on a UAD endorsement deal. In addition all his other plugins were updated to run within the Intel framework.

Annie called in SCL to consult and design her new studio and oversee construction of a superstructure isolation shell in her new London studio, In conjunction with her own contractors SCL oversaw the construction process to ensure it was not compromised. Design by our UK designer Chris Clifford from our UK office. Build & fit-out by Radical Development.

The technical install in Annie’s studio was base upon a Digidesign HD3, 2 x Digidesign 192 I/O's and a Digidesign C24 control surface all running Apple Mac Pro 4 Core computer. The outboard allowed along with the C24 for a total of 32 Mic Pre's and a high quality channel from an Avalon VT-737. Monitoring was taken care of with Genelec 8250 Dsp's and technical wiring was dealt with by our onsite wireman. Studio furniture by Radical Development.

To deliver the keyboard and drum rig for the current tour was the brief for Biffy Clyro. The drum rig was a racked Mac Book Pro with up-rated HD's running Native Instruments Battery 3 with an RME Fireface front end. The keyboard rig was again a racked Mac Book Pro with up-rated HD's with an RME Fireface front end running Logic 9. Both systems were housed in bespoke joinable custom Oakleigh cases with custom panel breakouts on both systems.

When Pete required the technical wiring & furniture in his SW London studio to be upgraded SCL were commissioned to design & configure the system. The technical wiring was designed around Neutrik patch bays for ultimate flexibility while the furniture was configured from the AKA Pro Wave range.

SCL have recently facilitated an endorsement deal with the producer Dave Spoon for his Portsmouth studio with Universal Audio. Dave has been supplied a UAD2 Duo card with a full array of all UAD plugins.

Duncan turned to SCL for his large studio upgrade for his room at Strongroom Studios, London. We supplied and installed a Digidesign HD3 with a Lynx Aurora front end with a selection of high end outboard from API, Smart Research & GML.

Rak Studios have purchased another HD Native rig for Studio 4. Taking the place of an old HD3 the system was duplicated to run old and new sessions seamlessly as well as multiple out Logic sessions.

Having designed and supplied systems for Rod in the past, it was with great pleasure that SCL accepted the challenge from Rod to bring his facilities into the 21^st Century! Continuing in the tradition of many American writers Rod’s system’s front end is MOTU Digital Performer backed by a Digidesign Pro Tools HD|2 Accel core system giving him the flexibility to work between his own four studios and Pro Tools sessions. Removing a mixer from the equation and using multiple 192 I/O’s as his input source for existing samplers and synths while relying on three Mackie Universal Control units again gives him the flexibility of being hands on in both Performer and Pro Tools sessions. Based on an Apple Quad G5 and dual 23” Apple displays and 24/7 support from SCL, this is his system of choice for his next stream of hits.

The Stereophonics new studio is based upon a Digidesign HD3 with 32 Lynx I/O and summed to a Chandler 16 channel summing box. Outboard was extensive sporting units from Chandler, API, Neves & DBX in addition to a large microphones selection from Neumann, AKG & Senheisser.

SCL designed & installed the technical wiring system.

Furniture by Studio Creations.