• Recording • Mixing • Production • Mastering •

A really cool studio with loads of attitude, great microphones, excellent acoustics and monitors - Highly recommended!

- Reuben Humphries (Captain, Charlie Simpson)

Recording, Mixing and Mastering

Half-ton Studios provides professional recording, mixing and mastering services to bands, musicians and producers, in all musical genres. We also offer high-quality spoken-word recording for podcasts, voiceovers and dialogue replacement. Read more about recording at Half-ton and how we can help with your project.

Music Recording

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At Half-ton you’ll find knowledgeable and creative engineers, great-sounding rooms, top-quality microphones and some of the best analogue outboard equipment available. We still proudly use a proper large-format Audient ASP 8024 recording console, combined with the latest digital audio workstation software including Pro Tools 12, Ableton Live, Logic and Studio One. Our clients get a high-quality recording experience, experienced guidance (if required!) and fantastic value for money.

Voice Recording

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As well as music recording, we regularly host voiceover sessions for English exams, media interviews, conferences, gaming and podcasts. Regular clients include Cambridge University Assessment and ARM Holdings. Our setup is extremely flexible, so if you need high-quality spoken-word recording, get in touch and we’ll explain how we can help.

Production

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The role of the producer is different from that of the engineer, and is often misunderstood. Our house engineers will give you all the help they can during your session, and if you want our opinions, of course we’ll be happy to offer knowledgeable advice on sounds, arrangement, vocal performances and more.

Music production is a different and more creative role, where we help to steer the direction of the project. This is usually a collaborative process, where one of our team works closely with the artist from the start to deliver the best possible results. If you’re interested in seeing what a producer can bring to your music, get in touch and ask for more details — or if you have a specific team member in mind, we can put you in touch!

Mixing

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Even musicians who record at home often choose to use Half-ton for the mixing stage, and it's important to understand just how important this part of the process can be. An experienced engineer, with the right equipment, can transform even modest recordings into something special. In the age of streaming, where listeners quickly audition new music, it's more important than ever that your music stands out from, and stands up against, whatever else is out there. Our engineers regularly write mixing technique features for Sound On Sound, the world’s leading music technology magazine, and our work can often be heard on BBC Radio 1 and 6Music.

Mastering

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Thanks to our engineers’ experience, our high-end ATC monitors and acoustically treated control room, we're increasingly being asked to help clients with the mastering stage of their projects. Mastering is the final stage of the process, where material that has been recorded and mixed is given the final polish and prepared for release. Mastering identifies any problems that may need addressing, ensures your music will sound as good as possible on all playback systems, and helps to bring together a disparate collection of recordings into a satisfying and coherent album or EP. It's only possible to do this successfully in a very high-quality, treated listening environment. We offer very competitive rates for our mastering, and we also have good relationships with exceptional mastering engineers around the world if you want to have projects mixed at Half-ton mastered elsewhere.

I really enjoyed working with Bugs at Half-ton on my latest solo album. I knew the recording side of thing was in safe hands and I was able to focus on the important stuff: trying to make a great record!

- Steven James Adams (The Broken Family Band)

The Studios

Half-ton Studios is purpose-built for music recording, and most of the action takes place in the control room and our great-sounding main live room. These two rooms are separated by a large, soundproofed viewing window which provides excellent lines of sight. A good studio should be a creative playground, and alongside the main recording setup, we have an ever-growing selection of guitars, classic keyboards, a Fender Rhodes, amps and a well maintained upright piano. We also have tons of FX pedals, tape echoes, spring reverbs and things to hit, shake and inspire you!

Control Room

Very much at the heart of things, our acoustically treated control room looks through to our main live room via a large soundproofed window. The room has carefully been set-up to provide the most accurate monitoring possible and alongside the mixing desk and our precious analogue outboard units, we have an ever growing selection of guitars, FX pedals and other musical toys to experiment with during your session. There's also a comfy sofa for mid session lounging.

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Main live room

Featuring a wooden floor, high ceilings and a live piano, our live room has been acoustically treated to provide a bright but controlled sound that is especially great for drums but will enhance any live instrument recordings. Big enough to accommodate larger live recording sessions, but with the capacity to become a smaller, drier, recording space if required, via movable acoustic panels.

Additional rooms

We have two other rooms we use for recording sessions: Our second live room, whilst being slightly smaller than our main room works great for acoustic guitars or for isolating amps during live sessions. Our smaller room 3 used to be our control room in another life and, as such, is an extremely well balanced room to record in and great for dry, tight drum sounds. All the rooms are fully connected via our main patchbay so microphones can be placed pretty much anywhere in the building.

Studio Equipment

These are our Equipment Highlights. For a full detailed list including all available instruments, guitar pedals etc. Please get in touch, and we'll happily send over a PDF.

Digital Audio Workstation

  • Custom built quad-core PC running Pro Tools 12, Studio One 4 and Ableton Live.
  • Numerous high-quality plug-ins by Waves, Soundtoys, Softube, Oxford, Melodyne etc.

Convertors

  • Lynx Aurora 16 converters with Lynx LT-FW card system: Mastering quality A/D conversion with very low latency.

Mixing Desk

  • Audient ASP8024 (24 channel larger format console)

Monitoring

  • ATC SCM20ASL
  • Yamaha NS10's
  • Various High-Quality Studio Headphones

Analogue Outboard

  • Neve 1073LB x 2
  • API 3124+ (4 channel transistor mic pre-amp)
  • SSL 611 EQ
  • Trident 80B 500 EQ
  • Warm Audio EQP-WA (Pultec Style EQ)
  • Thermionic Culture - Phoenix HG15 - Valve Compressor
  • Universal Audio 1176 compressor (x2)
  • DBX 560A VCA Compressor
  • JLM LA500 Optical Compressor
  • Little Labs - IBP phase alignment tool
  • AKG BX5 - Spring Reverb
  • Roland RE210 Space Echo

Microphones

  • Vintage Neumann U87 (x2)
  • Neumann KM84
  • AKG 414 B-ULS (x2)
  • AKG 414 EB (x2)
  • AKG C451B (x2)
  • Earthworks HDM TC25 (x2)
  • Earthworks HDM SR25
  • Audio-Technica ATM25
  • Audio-Technica 4033a
  • Royer SF-12 Stereo Ribbon
  • Beyer M160 Ribbon
  • Sennheiser 421 (x2)
  • Beyerdynamic M88
  • Shure SM7
  • Shure SM beta57 (x3)
  • Shure SM57 (x2)
  • Shure SM58 (x3)
  • AKG D112

Instruments/Amps (selected, please get in touch for full list)

  • Mapex Saturn 4 Piece Kit
  • Ludwig Supraphonic 400 Vintage Snare
  • Full Set of vintage Zildjian cymbals
  • Ampeg SVT Classic Bass Amp Head
  • Traynor Bass Master YBA-1A MkII Head
  • Traynor YT-15 1x15 Cab
  • Warwick 1x15 Cab
  • Fender 50’s Japanese Reissue Telecaster
  • Gibson SG Standard
  • Fender Vibro Champ Combo
  • Fender Hotrod Deluxe Combo
  • Fender Supersonic Head
  • Marshall JVM205H Head
  • Orange 4x12 Cab

FX Pedal/Misc

  • Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Memory Man
  • Electro-Harmonix Electric Mistress
  • Upright Piano (Get in touch to ask about tuning etc.)
  • Hammond B2 Organ
  • Rhodes Stage Piano Mk2
  • Korg MS-20 Monophonic Analogue Synth
  • Polivoks Analogue Synth
  • Leslie 16 Cab

Studio facilities

  • Kitchen with microwave, toaster, kettle etc
  • Wireless internet access
  • A large supermarket two mins across the road
  • A fish and chip takeaway, chinese, pubs, etc

At half-ton, my vision finally became a reality after about 3-4 years of trying to record the same 11 songs. I've never been happier with anything in my whole life!

- Daniel Flay (The Travis Waltons)

About Half-Ton

Half-ton Studios was started in 2007 by engineer and producer Neil ‘Bugs' Rogers. The challenge was to build and develop a high-quality recording space while keeping prices low, so that artists could afford to spend sufficient time crafting their recordings. Over the years, the studio has doubled in size, and we’ve invested in high-end gear so that our equipment list now rivals studios costing many times more. All of this has been made possible by ploughing back every available penny we've made from recording sessions into the studio. Many of our long-standing clients say that it feels like they're investing in the studio when they pay for a project, and this is more true than most of them realise!

Crucial to the success of any recording is the quality of the engineers. At Half-ton you can be sure that you're in very safe hands. We're very much a musician's studio at heart, and whether you want to track an entire band live or build up a production layer by layer, our team will help you plan the sessions to make the most of your time in the studio. As well as being technically capable and able to work quickly, a good engineer knows when to give an opinion and when to stay out of the way. No two recording sessions are the same, and the real craft is knowing how to get the most out an artist, or band, and how to run a productive and successful session.

The Team

Neil 'Bugs' Rogers

Neil Rogers, or 'Bugs' to many, has over 20 years' experience performing and engineering in recording studios and understands the process from both sides of the mixing desk. He has recently produced recordings for Captain, Steven James Adams, The Travis Waltons, Freeze the Atlantic (ex Reuben and Hundred Reasons), The Broken Family Band and The British Public, to name but a few.

A creative engineer at heart, who's not afraid to experiment to get the right sound, Bugs manages the day to day running of half-ton and combines his relaxed but firm production style with excellent technical knowledge. He is also a regular contributor to Sound on Sound magazine, providing features on mixing, recording and product reviews.

Matty Moon

Matty has over 10 years experience working as an Engineer in both live and studio environments. As an accomplished guitarist, his years recording and touring with his own bands provided the platform for him to hone his Engineering skills. Perhaps best known for his work developing Lonely the Brave's early sound and recordings, Matty has also worked with the likes of B-Sydes and Daniel O'Dell and record labels: Columbia, This is Fake DIY & Lockjaw. He became one the in house Engineers at half-ton in 2008 and his unassuming production style hides a striking ability to bring clarity and direction to projects under his watch.

I really love going into half-ton. Great sound, great people and a totally relaxed atmosphere. We're lucky to have such a great studio in Cambridge.

- Mo (Lonely The Brave)

FAQ

Do you still do rehearsals?

Yes, but these are now run from here: www.resonantrehearsals.com

How much is it to record at half-ton Studios?

Prices start at £240 for an 8 hour day but get in touch and we'll put together a quote for you. The minimum booking is half a day (4 hours). If you're a young band/artist (with no funds) it's always worth a quick email to see if we have any downtime deals available.

What is included in the price?

Full use of the studio, a skilled engineer, all equipment and instruments in the building, tea, coffee and mixes to take away.

What's not included in the price?

Replacement guitar strings and drum heads, sticks and other breakables. You might want to consider getting the piano tuned if you’re planning on using it and the tuner is available. This costs about £60-£70.

Is there parking at the studio?

Yes, we have a few dedicated parking spots, but if you need to bring large vehicles or lots of cars it’s best to let us know in advance.

How do I book and do you require a deposit?

We can book and confirm your session via email or over the phone. For first-time clients, we usually ask for a 25% deposit. This is only non-refundable if you cancel your session outright; we’ll do our best to accommodate you if you need to move dates around

What happens to the files from our session?

Ultimately, your data is your responsibility. We do, however, have a house policy of keeping sessions backed up on multiple hard drives for at least 1 year ,with one copy off-site. After this time there's a good chance we'll still have them, but make no guarantees. It's always a good idea to take away an archived version of your session and most projects can easily be fitted on a small flash drive these days. We might ask for a small fee for this service for larger projects to cover our time.

Can we take the raw audio files away with us?

Yes, no problem. We may, however, ask for a small fee to cover our time preparing them for larger sessions. This would be charged at an hourly rate.

Can I do work experience at Half-ton?

It's unlikely we'll be able to find a role for work experience students, but do get in touch if you want some advice or ideas. We’re a pretty friendly bunch.

Half-Ton Studios Location

The studios are located just outside the centre of Cambridge. As you enter the village of Milton from the A14, you can find us down the bottom of the 2nd industrial estate on your right.

TEL: 07973414317

EMAIL: info@halftonstudios.co.uk