The Red Lyon recording studio, recently relocated to a fascinating location in the north of the Isle of Man.

A large house in approximately 8 acres of land, there is plenty of opportunity to get away from the rigours of recording whilst never leaving the estate. A private river runs through the grounds, crossed by a huge slate bridge. 

There is a handy corner shop a short walk away (5 minutes!), but once in the grounds contact with the outside world seems a distant memory.

The Control Room is the combination of the best in analogue and digital.

Featuring no less than two TAC Scorpion mixing consoles, providing the classic warm British mic pre-amplifiers favoured by professional producers the world over.

One desk is used for recording, whilst the other desk provides monitoring for the digital system, in addition to 24 busses of analogue mixdown from the computer, if required.

The group outputs, and the line inputs of the recording desk are routed to a Tascam MSR24 1” analogue recorder, whilst the direct outs are converted to Digital by an Alesis HD24 Hard Disk recorder, fed optically to the computer via a MOTU 2408.

Digital editing duties are handled by a custom built, silent running P4 3gHz PC, with 2mB Ram running Windows 2000, Cubase SX and WaveLab. Cruel we know but this computer has never even seen the internet!

A Steinberg Houston human interface puts the fun back into piecing together final mixes, and one soon begins to take automation for granted!

This seemingly OTT configuration allows for many different options to be offered with minimal effort. Though true analogue recording is now a thing of the past, it is a legacy that we should never forget, and we can still offer that option.

A classic conservatory with a 180 degrees outlook over the garden is the favoured location for most recorded parts. <picture through window>

When required, isolation is provided by simply using other rooms in the house, chosen for levels of furnishing or hardness – a 4 way monitor mix can be fed to headphones in any location. <Picture of mermaid>

The secret to a good recording is ensuring that you have a good initial signal, and a good signal path to the recording medium. Using TAC Scorpion desks, by legendary manufacturer AMEK, we believe that our signal path is second to none. http://www.amek.com/

 Similarly however, the quality and tone of the instruments used play a large part in the process.

We pride ourselves on the diverse range of keyboards, guitars, amplifiers and microphones available for use, on the premises. Please see the comprehensive list of equipment available. Sometimes this equipment is shared with another local studio, so if a particular device is vital to your work, please advise ahead of any booking date.

With many years of live and recorded sound behind us, we are happy to assist in the overall production of your music, or simply to record it to the highest standards.

With strong links with the Manx Heritage Foundation, Folk or Celtic music is regularly catered for.

Similarly however, a long pedigree in live sound both on and off the Isle of Man has ensured a confident understanding of many different genres of music, Rock, Pop, Jazz, Alternative, Even more Alternative etc etc.

As with all things, negotiable.

Please contact us with details of your project and we will be pleased to forward a quotation.