Residential Recording Studio in the UK with Pro Tools

Residential recording technology comes of age as Monnow Valley Recording Studio is reborn as a self contained state of the art recording environment for the 21st century.

Continued... Why Choose Monnow Valley Studio for Residential Recording?

4. Leisure Facilities

When the bands are not recording, there are plenty of leisure facilities to enjoy in and around the studio. Our games room has pool and table tennis tables and a dartboard. The band can relax in the lounge with its sumptuous leather sofas, widescreen TV, SKY+ complete with all movie and sports channels, and surf the internet with the studio PC. The entire facility has wireless business broadband internet access for bands to use their laptops also.

Monnow Valley Studio offers fantastic coarse fishing with its own mile of private fishing rights on the beautiful river Monnow. Depending on the season, chub, grayling and salmon can be caught here.

There are many scenic walks around the countryside, which can also be used for jogs and mountain biking if the band are feeling more energetic!

Golfers have several superb courses to play: The Rolls of Monmouth is four minutes drive from the studio; Monmouth Golf Club, "arguably the prettiest golf course in Wales", is within five miles; and seven miles away are the two Forest of Dean courses and driving range. Favourable rates for all the courses can be attained through the Studio.

Should the band wish to venture into Monmouth, there are several lively pubs with many a tale to be told of previous rock bands visiting the pubs over the last four decades.

5. Food

At Monnow Valley Studio, all food is home-cooked and prepared in-house, so it can provide all types of catering to suit a band's individual palates. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are provided as well as snacks and coffee. A self-catering option is also available should the band wish to prepare their own food, which can be purchased from any of Monmouth's three supermarkets, grocers, butchers and shops.

6. 24-Hour Staff

In the studio, we have our live-in engineer, Jim Anderson. Jim has worked at Monnow Valley for two years and knows the equipment inside out. He has produced many recordings himself, and has also engineered for many top producers such as:

Owen Morris (Oasis, The Verve, Ash, The View),
Chris Sheldon (Oceansize, Foo Fighters),
Head (PJ Harvey, Massive Attack),
Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Blood Red Shoes),
Bob Marlette (Toni Iommi, Rob Halford, Tracy Chapman),
Rob Ellis (PJ Harvey, Nathalie Nordnes, Marianne Faithfull, Placebo),
Charlie Francis (REM),
Greg Haver (Manic Street Preachers, Mel C),

and assisted:

Stephen Street (Smiths, Blur, Sleeper, Cranberries),
Andrew Schepps (Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, U2) and
Pedro Ferreira (The Darkness).

Working hours are flexible so if the band wants to work from 9 to 5 or 3pm to 7am... Monnow Valley Studio can accommodate your requirements. Since taking over in 2006, the studio has never had to stop a recording session due to technical problems as any problems have been able to be fixed immediately. The equipment is regularly maintained and serviced by Richard Griffiths, an SSL specialist previously of Olympic Studios in London.


News

11th July 2008 - Congratulations to The Anti-Podes who won the Monmouth Festival, Battle of the Bands last night at the Three Horseshoes. As well as a spot on the main stage at the festival, they also win £3000 worth of recording time at Monnow Valley Studio. We look forward to seeing you, guys!

7th July 2008 - Listed on our Recording Equipment page, we have new microphones and effects pedals.

7th July 2008 - Producer John Goodmanson who has worked with Deathcab for Cutie, The Blood Brothers, Sepultura, and others has flown over this week to work with Welsh band Los Campesinos.


History of Monnow Valley Residential Recording Studio

Monnow Valley Studio was originally the rehearsal facility of the world's first residential recording studio, Rockfield Studios, started by brothers Charles and Kingsley Ward. When they went their separate ways in the 1980s, Charles took over Monnow Valley and turned it into an independent recording studio.

In 2006, Monnow Valley Studio was taken over by Jo and James Hunt and has undergone substantial reinvestment including an acoustically engineered control room, new recording equipment, redecoration and improved leisure facilities for the clients.

Over the decades, many of the musical world's biggest artists have used Monnow Valley for writing, rehearsing, or recording, including Led Zeppelin, Queen, Oasis, Stereophonics, Black Sabbath, and many more. The recent book, Rock Legends At Rockfield by Jeff Collins, documents the history of bands staying at both Rockfield and Monnow Valley Studio.


Benefits of Residential Recording

There are many advantages of choosing a residential recording studio over a non-residential studio. Cost is a major factor:

  • It usually works out far less expensive to record at a residential studio than for a band (and sometimes producer, engineer, etc.) to stay at a hotel nearby to the studio
  • There are no travel expenses to get to and from the studio and hotel each day
  • A residential studio can accommodate a band's meal requirements and the cost is usually included in the price of hiring out the residence.

Also, a residential recording studio can provide a more homely, relaxed and private atmosphere than staying in a city hotel.

Many residential recording studios are set in rural surroundings, which allows the band to concentrate on their music, writing and recording without the distractions of a big city on their doorstep.


Why Choose Monnow Valley Studio for Residential Recording?

1. Pedigree

Formerly part of the first residential recording studios in the world, Monnow Valley Studio has been chosen by many famous bands, producers, and artists over the last four decades. Recent clients include The Pigeon Detectives, Blood Red Shoes, and The View.

2. Location

The studio is set amongst 400 acres of green rolling hillside located two miles outside of Monmouth, Wales, which is a lovely picturesque market town with several pubs, three supermarkets, etc. Monmouth has excellent logistics with two international airports (Bristol and Cardiff) within 45 minutes drive from the studio. Abergavenny train station is only 10 miles away. A map of the location is on our contact page.

3. Equipment

Of course, Monnow Valley Studio has the some of the best recording equipment available including many producer's preferred gear such as Pro Tools 7.2 and SSL 4064G+. At 1200 sq ft, the live room is one of the biggest of any residential recording studios in the UK and has variable acoustics which makes it easier to achieve the optimal sound a producer is looking for. It has been described as the best drum room in the world by producers and drummers alike.

Continued...

 

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