Recording and Production in the News

Prism Sound and FX Rentals help new signing Stoner find their HD groove

London - July 2006: In the dog eat dog world that is the music industry talented new bands need all the friends they can muster, which is why Prism Sound and FX Rentals were only too delighted to step in when asked to help new signing, Stoner.

The three-piece band - brothers Des and Gavin Lambert and drummer Rob Flanagan - has been playing venues around the UK since 2003. Thanks to a strong following on the networking site MySpace, the band recently came to the attention of Rhythmbank Records, a US independent label whose founders include legendary Ready, Steady Go! producer, Vicki Wickham.

Rhythmbank Records made Stoner its first UK signing and appointed producer Rik Simpson, head of Criptic Music, to produce their first album. With a credit list that includes Coldplay, Athlete and Kasabian, Simpson was ideally placed to get the best sound possible from his new protégés.

Stoner recorded their album at Antonio's Freshly Frozen Fish Market, a private studio in London, where Simpson used Prism Sound converters and plenty of old analogue gear, including a vintage Neve console, to ensure he captured a great sound on his Pro Tools HD set-up, supplied by FX Rentals.

For the mixing stage, Simpson and the band chose Overtones Studio in Holborn, a unique studio that offers recording and mixing facilities to musicians from all walks of musical life.

"We wanted to work at Overtones because it has such a cool vibe," says Simpson. "The studios are great and we really loved the relaxed atmosphere. But although Overtones had Prism Sound ADA-8XR converters, it didn't have the necessary HD cards we needed to work with our Pro Tools system."

As the band's budget was tight, Overtones' directors Lesley Willis and Lesley Wood came to the rescue by contacting Prism Sound to see if they could help. Prism Sound immediately dispatched five Pro Tools HD cards and three extra D-A cards, enabling Simpson to mix the album using a 40-output Pro Tools HD system.

"Our ADA-8XR units usually come with HD cards but Overtones had requested mix cards for their units because the studio doesn't normally offer HD facilities," says Prism Sound's sales director and founder Graham Boswell. "We were only too happy to help and are delighted that Stoner's album has been recorded and mixed using Prism Sound converters."

Rik Simpson adds that he first became aware of Prism Sound converters when he was working on the second Coldplay album. "I was really blown away by the clarity of the audio and the way these converters made everything sound so great. They are significantly superior to the Digidesign converters and we were really grateful to Prism Sound for helping us out. I really couldn't have got such punchy, three-dimensional mixes without them. I have also been using FX regularly over the past 10 years or so and have to say that they have never let me down. Whatever I need they have always delivered, even at very short notice. Their technical support is second to none and I must admit to calling them sometimes when I find myself in a fix on a session, even if I'm not hiring gear from them! Their Pro Tools team is particularly on the ball and helpful."

Lesley Willis adds that Overtones is about to upgrade both its studios to encompass HD and will be buying another Prism Sound ADA-8XR unit in the near future. When asked why Prism Sound and FX, Lesley says: "Because they are simply the best, the very best! Both companies always go the extra mile and deliver the quality, efficiency and backup we need."

Recently awarded the coveted PAR Excellence Award 2005 by Pro Audio Review and nominated for the 2006 TEC Awards, Prism Sound's precision eight-channel ADA-8XR is already proving popular with a variety of recording studios and mastering facilities around the world. To date it has been used for film scores, music recording projects and, most recently, for a prestigious computer games music project for Sony's Playstation 3.