Toe Rag Studios is an analogue

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for Sound recording and reproduction, recording and Audio mixing, mixing of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home proje ...

located in Hackney,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England.

History

The studio was founded in 1991 by Liam Watson and Josh Collins in the

Shoreditch Shoreditch is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Hackney alongside neighbouring parts of Tower Hamlets, which are also perceived as part of the area due to historic ecclesiastical links. Shoreditch lies just north ...

area of London. In 1997, the business relocated to Hackney due to rising overheads. Although the studio didn't open exclusively in the analogue market, it was formed to eventually only use analogue equipment (despite the cost), as "there were loads of heap digital studiosopening up all the time and then closing down every week because they didn't really offer anything unique".

Facilities

Toe Rag offers clients music production using eight-track

multitrack recording Multitrack recording (MTR), also known as multitracking, is a method of sound recording developed in 1955 that allows for the separate recording of multiple sound sources or of sound sources recorded at different times to create a cohesive who ...

technology, and all recording media is

magnetic tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magnetic ...

Equipment

Recording is centred on an EMI REDD.17

mixing console A mixing console or mixing desk is an electronic device for Audio mixing (recorded music), mixing audio signals, used in sound recording and reproduction and sound reinforcement systems. Inputs to the console include microphones, signals fro ...

(originally from

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

) and Studer A80 tape machine, as well as microphones by

Neumann Neumann () is a German language, German surname, with its origins in the pre-7th-century (Old English) word ''wikt:neowe, neowe'' meaning "new", with ''wikt:mann, mann'', meaning man. The English form of the name is Newman. Von Neumann is a varian ...

, Reslo and STC. Monitoring is performed through Lockwood Major loudspeakers. Vintage backline includes Vox and Fender amplifiers, and instruments include

Farfisa Farfisa () is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professional and VIP ranges, and later, a se ...

and Hammond organs, as well as a 1965 Ludwig

drum kit A drum kit or drum set (also known as a trap set, or simply drums in popular music and jazz contexts) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and sometimes other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one p ...

.
As well as hardware, the studio's live room was specially built to maximise the acoustic properties. In addition to this, the studio makes use of

echo chamber Echo chamber of the Dresden University of Technology Hamilton Mausoleum has a long-lasting unplanned echo An echo chamber is a hollow enclosure used to produce reverberation, usually for recording purposes. A traditional echo chamber is cove ...

Notable clients

* A-Bones * Action Swingers * Nic Armstrong *The Before & After * The Bishops *

Billy Childish Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper; 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer, and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing, and visual art. He has ...

* Clocks * Hugh Cornwell *

The Cribs The Cribs are a British indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that formed in 2001. The band consists of twins Gary Jarman, Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The ...

* Colorama * Dan Sartain * The Datsuns *Didier Wampas & Bikini Machine *Dog Ugly * Electric Wizard * The Ettes * François Evans * The Flaming Stars *Galley Beggar * Holly Golightly * The Hugs * James Hunter * The Jekylls * The Kaisers *

The Kills The Kills are an English-American rock music, rock duo formed by American singer Alison Mosshart, Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie Hince, Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Recording Company, Domino Records. Their fi ...

*The Liberty Takers * Bobby Long * Madness *

Metronomy Metronomy are an English electronic music band, formed in Totnes in 1999. Their lineup consists of founding member and leader Joseph Mount (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Oscar Cash (keyboards, backing vocals, guitar, saxophone), Anna Prior (drums ...

*Pete Molinari *My Drug Hell *The Mystreated * Neils Children *

Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. It was the only British fighter produced continuously throughout the ...

*Strip Kings *

Supergrass Supergrass are an English rock band formed in 1993. For the majority of the band's tenure, the line-up consisted of brothers Gaz (lead vocals, guitar) and Rob Coombes (keyboards), Mick Quinn (bass, backing vocals) and Danny Goffey (drums, ...

Tame Impala Tame Impala is the psychedelic music project of Australian singer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker (musician), Kevin Parker. In the recording studio, Parker writes, records, performs, and produces all of the project's music. As a touring a ...

Television Personalities The Television Personalities are an English post-punk band formed in 1977 by London singer-songwriter Dan Treacy.Earp, Joseph.The Missing Man Of Music: A Search For The Elusive Dan Treacy Of Television Personalities. ''The Brag'', 26 July 2016 ...

Temples A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

*Toybloïd * Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats * The Undertones *Vibrosonic * The Wave Pictures *

The White Stripes The White Stripes were an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1997. The group consisted of Jack White (guitar, keyboards, piano, vocals) and Meg White (drums, percussion, vocals). They were a leading group of 2000s indi ...

* Wolf Alice * The Wytches *

The Zutons The Zutons are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool, in 2002. The band currently consists of Dave McCabe (vocals, guitar), Abi Harding (saxophone), Jay Lewis (guitar), Neil Bradley (keyboards) and Tim Cunningham (bass). The band's ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Coord, 51.5529, -0.0410, display=title Recording studios in London Privately held companies of the United Kingdom