Anvil Recording Studio - Edinburgh

★★★★★

“Terry is beyond a pleasure to work with and the studio is world-class! Amazing gear and Terry is beyond knowledgeable! From a drummer's point of view, Anvil is ideal! A wonderful drum-kit, well tuned as well as top-notch cymbals and hardware. Terry also has everything mic'd up to perfection and works absolute magic on the backend where the drums have a fullness and depth you rarely get when recording. Cymbals are mic'd in a way that even picks up small intricacies and nuances. Could not recommend Anvil enough!!”

★★★★★

“Just back from recording for 2 days with Terry at Anvil with my band The Letting Go and I really wanted to write a review. Apologies but its a long one.... Firstly - the basics : - Anvil is in the village of Ratho, very accessible from Edinburgh and the M8. Loads of parking right by the studio and a decent pub/restaurant on your doorstep where you can go for lunch (real ale, Sky Sports) plus a canal to walk along and clear your head after laying down your tracks - Studio is in a stand alone building so you can play as loud as your band likes - Great facilities, endless tea, coffee and biscuits - Good value for money and a sound investment - There is a dedicated drum booth and vocal booth and a big room for recording other instruments. The process - We are a 6 piece indie band and recorded drums/3 guitar tracks, bass, keys, brass and vocals all to 16 track tape, with space to spare. - Band are all in their 50's so particularly attracted to recording to 16 track tape and half speed mastering. But - younger bands will also get a modern day sound from Anvil. - we recorded the spine of the band (drums/bass/guitar 1/guide vocal) as a live band. Once we and Terry were happy with the take , we then layered up the other instruments one at a time. - over the course of 2 days we recorded songs on day 1 (all instruments and vocals) and then dedicated day 2 to working with Terry on the production, edit, and final mixdown of two songs which we are delighted with. Song 3 will be finished at the next session! We have both .wav and MP3 filed which are suitable for sharing with your pals right up to putting on spotify or pressing to vinyl. Terry - Terry has decades of music industry experience and is a very useful guy to chat through your career plans with - even if you are just recording some songs for posterity or to share with your mates. Our goal is to come back to Anvil and record 10 - 12 tracks for an album and we've hatched a plan to do this, based on our experiences with Terry. - The equipment is second to none and Terry has a 'machine' for every purpose (for example a dedicated compressor and reverb just for the snare drum). The geeks out there will like the reel to reel tape machines and top of the range hi-fi as well. - We worked pretty quickly but have a range of musical experience. Terry was supportive to both the experienced and inexperienced amongst the group. Everyone can get nervous when the red light comes on, but you'll get a lot of guidance from behind the desk if you need it. - Terry advised us to split the weekend into (day 1) record all instruments and vocals (2) work on the overall sound, edit and mixdown. And to focus on getting 2 great recordings down, rather than try and blast through 4 songs and go for quantity over quality. This was great advice. A lot of care was taken on the EQ and overall final mix. For example you get to hear your song on up to 5 different sets of speakers so you get the feel for what it will sound like on a top notch hi-fi right down the a speaker in a supermarket. This is also so you can spot anything that doesn't sound 'right' on a mix. - Finally , Terry is a really sound (no pun intended) guy, very positive and enthusiastic and makes you feel at home from the first contact with him. For example, we swapped half a dozen emails about what we wanted to achieve from our recording, and also met up for a cuppa and a chat in the studio before we committed to recording there. Conclusion: The best testimonial is that we will be returning to Anvil soon and feel like we are in very safe hands with Terry!”

★★★★★

“I had the absolute pleasure of recording bass and trumpet tracks for a friend today at Anvil Recording Studio! Terry (the owner) is welcoming, friendly, and above all a true, experienced professional who knows his equipment very well - even going so far as to build any custom pieces of kit he requires! In our case, he was able to move nimbly between efficiently handling the recording side of the operation, logistics (including time management), whilst also coaching us musically and providing welcome advice for the best possible sound and feel. He is a talented producer, technician, and coach, and it is clear that he loves his craft. We had great fun! The studio is welcoming and peaceful, situated in Ratho which is perfect for both Edinburgh and Glasgow based musicians. It is incredibly unique, kitted out with absolutely top-notch analogue equipment which provides a warmth and polish to a track which would be very difficult/impossible to match in anything but an extremely high-end digital environment. I would recommend this studio to any band, singer-songwriter (Terry has a network of session musicians which he is able to call on), or choir, and I look forward to returning soon! Thanks Terry!”