Our live room is extremely well suited to recording instruments that benefit from a great room sound. Drums, strings, acoustic guitars, brass – anything that would normally depend on the sound of the room to allow the instruments to “breathe”, our live room is perfect for them.

Drums and strings in particular sound much better in rooms that have high ceilings and treatable surfaces. When recording a drum kit,  can tailor the sound of our live room using the baffles and wall hanging absorbers, so the kit can sound as large (or small) as we want.

The same idea applies with acoustic guitars – I can create a walled-in booth to give a very dry, direct sound, but more often than not I’ll have a semi-open setup to capture some of the “room sound”. It is that combination of the direct and reflected sound that makes the instrument sound the way you expect.

For electric guitars and electric bass, you can either be in the room with the amp or sit with me in the control room and connect via “tie-lines” to the amp.

The “Dead Room” (cheery name, I know) is the place for all things “dry”. Think Vocals, 1970’s drums, any kind of intimate sound. The room definitely has its own vibe, we decorated the place to be nothing like your usual studio space.

There are a few things I really lie about this room. First of all, I think it is a great place to record vocals. On sessions where it is just me and the singer, we cannot see each other as the control room is directly above the Dead Room. This privacy allows the singer to be more expressive I feel, and that results in better takes. Unlike a vocal booth, the room is not claustrophobic. This also tends to get better performances from singers.

Another great feature is the line of sight to the Live Room. We’ve got huge glass sliding doors between the rooms that are fitted with specialist acoustic glass. You’l see the drummer, but you won’t hear them!

Of course there are tie-lines to the Dead Room also, so we can use amplifiers in the room to record, but play the instruments up in the control room. This can be very useful for working out parts and trying different settings quickly. It is also more comfortable, though sometimes I like to be in the room with the amp I’ll admit.

The Control Room is where we listen to what is being recorded. It has been designed, built, and treated to sound as neutral and clean as possible. We’ve got a pair of KRK RP6 monitors in Bay Studio which sound real nice indeed. The hub of the setup is a Universal Audio Apollo interface. I love those things. It allows me to use extremely authentic software emulations of classic compressors, microphones, and desk channels while recording. It also does an incredible job of emulating 2″ tape, which I use all the time. Your headphone mix will sound amazing, guaranteed – almost like a finished mix! Ah yes, the Apollo – it just sounds great.

I’m a Logic Pro user so that’s what I use to record, but it’s no problem to export for work in Ableton Live or Pro Tools if that’s needed. I’ve got some of my favourite synths, pianos, bass synths and drum machines installed so we can use them if we think they are needed. Then when we come to mix in Dublin, everything is there just as it was.