Run by Engineer and Producer Mike Lowe in Cardiff, UK, Studio 10 can get you that "Big Studio Sound" and provides the following pro-quality audio services.
Writing and recording your own music is a deeply personal statement. I want to inspire and encourage you to get the very best results. When working on any project I treat the material as if I'm in your band, where my passion for sound, music and production comes to life.
My obsession with sound began with a Waltham tape recorder and microphone way back in the early 1980's. Being able to record the Top 40 hits off the radio had me sold!
Moving on to the guitar in my late teens, I was onstage at the world famous 'Marquee Club' by the time I was 22 with the glam punk band 'RAGDOLLS'. Several bands followed but it was becoming clear that I wasn't going to make a living playing guitar.
Deciding to pursue a career in I.T., I continued my love of sound recording by building a small setup at home, starting out with the ubiqutous 4-Track Tascam cassette recorder and a few microphones.
Fast forward to the last few years, I've built the custom project studio facility I've always wanted in an out building at home.
Building on a 'Masterclass in Recording' at renowned recording studio Rockfield (Queen, Rush, Oasis, Kasabian etc.) in Monmouth South Wales, I've spent the last few years devouring as much information as possible about modern audio mixing, sharpening and honing my mixing skills by completing projects for friends' bands. Initially specialising in rock & metal, I'm looking for a wider range of genres going forward, as this reflects my musical taste. During this time I've completed a full 12 track album with RAGDOLLS.
Mike with RAGDOLLS at The Marquee Club, London, 1991.
Rockfield Masterclass, pictured here with owner Kingsley Ward.
The course was run by renowned producer
Matt Butler.
Studio 10 is an acoustically treated mixing space that has been designed to provide an accurate sound-stage for digital music production.
Here's a link to the dimensions of Studio 10 as we're a small but "cozy" space.
Here is an overview of how we approach a typical recording project.
Here are some selected examples of our work. Please also see the testimonials section.
Cardiff based Glam Punks RAGDOLLS recorded their entire 12 track album here at Studio 10 Music. Using a combination of modern tech such as Drum VSTi, Guitar Amp Sims, tempo analysis of old recordings, samples, re-amping cranked valve amps and mobile recording, RAGDOLLS have created a loud 'n' proud album that rocks hard.
The album was mastered by Mike Marsh (The Darkness, Kasabian, Prodigy) at
'
The Exchange - Mike Marsh Mastering' in Exmouth, Devon.
White Knuckle Ride
Addiction
Crisis Talks are a Rock band from Newport, South Wales. www.crisistalks.com
"My Biggest Fear" was recorded, mixed & mastered at Studio 10, with Mike contributing to production ideas throughout.
Switchblade Overdive are a Hard Rock/Heavy Metal professional live act from Cardiff/Bristol who have in their time supported: Motorhead, Bon Jovi & Persian Risk to name a few.
This song was part of a demo recorded at a large studio in Cardiff. The band were unhappy with the results and approached Studio 10 to re-mix and master.
Further to this, the band wanted to remove the existing vocals and try out a new vocalist. There were several issues to fix on this recording, including a lot of drum mic spill.
Presented below is the original mastered mix and the Studio 10 mastered re-mix.
Constantine - Original Mix
Constantine - Studio 10 Remix
Telegraph Hill are a songwriting duo from Cardiff who have years of experience playing in bands on the local scene. The duo have now directed their creative energy into writing songs for other artists and have a huge backlog of quality material. Mike was recommended to them in the capacity as a producer, to help realise their ideas, sharpen up their songs, and craft a contemporary sound.
What has followed is an ongoing association with the duo, with Mike taking over production and engineering, as well as providing guitar, bass and keyboards. Presented here is an example of progress made from a simple rough iPad acoustic demo to a fully realised idea.
Original iPad Idea
Studio 10 Production (un-mastered work in progress)
Silent Self are an indie-rock band from London who needed some re-mix work.
The band explain here: "Silent Self recorded 'Hide Away' a year ago at a different studio but never felt that our original mix of the track truly captured the essence of the songs live energy or presence but we couldn't figure out what needed to change. We gave the track to Mike Lowe and, with no real brief, he realised the true potential of this track and gave us the sound we'd been chasing. A total professional that understood what we wanted and needed better than we could ourselves. We'll be using him again!"
"Mixes that were full of clarity, power and good separation between the elements."
I had the pleasure of mastering the new Ragdolls album that Mike recorded, mixed and produced. His mixes were a joy to work on as he captured the magic and energy of the performances with mixes that were full of clarity, power and good separation between the elements. During mastering, to get the tracks sounding like a coherent body of work and taking them to the next level of a commercial sound was a straightforward task of minimal EQ balancing and selective dynamic control as the mixes delivered were natural sounding, uncluttered and not riddled with over processing that can sometimes make the task much harder. Keep up the good work Mike – you clearly understand the acoustics within your listening environment as this is truly translating to your finished mixes
"Not just a recording studio but a complete creative production service."
Studio 10 is not just a recording studio but a complete creative production service that helped to bring out the best in our music.
Mike instinctively knows the best musical route to take in creating the best creative recordings
"Come get some serious work done, be inspired, comfortable and creative."
Mike is a top notch engineer and producer, and Studio 10 Music is a gloriously cozy, beautifully appointed, spiritual and sonically superb space! Come get some serious work done, be inspired, comfortable, and creative. I feel confident about the end result of any project I'm working on at Studio 10 Music with Mike.
"Mike has transformed our ideas into contemporary songs"
After many years of recording I can honestly say that working with Mike Lowe from Studio 10 has been one of our best experiences. Not only with his in depth understanding of all recording techniques but also an ability to push and bring out the best in all of our songs. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to all fellow musicians.
The following prices are presented as a general guide. Prices can rise if substantial editing and correction is needed on 3rd party recordings.
For complex projects I am always open for a discussion on price and discounts.
Please tell us about your next project and we will let you know what we can do to help you.
