Anvil Recording Studio - Edinburgh

The Anvil recording studio is a hidden gem of a recording studio situated in the peaceful countryside of Ratho. If you are a fan of analogue recording the place is perfect for you. Terry is a friendly soul with good expereince of capturing the right sound, and he also knows a lot about electronics gear which is a bonus too. The studio is warm with a relaxed atmosphere. Terry is good at understanding what the artist wants out of the project and I had very good in-depth conversations with him regarding this. Since all the gear is hardware and there is no pro-tools or logic software involved, it makes a difference to hear this gear being tweaked during both in the recording and mixing process. He has two tape machines, one is a multi-track for caturing the mixes, whilst he uses the other one for bouncing down the mixes on to 2 track stereo. The electric guitar amps and bass amp that Terry has are versatile enough for most acts I'm sure. The options for creating cd's and testing vinyl are also very interesting and useful for finished products. If a solo artist is looking for a drummer, Terry has access to an amazing session drummer called Dave Major who has already carved a name for himself in Edinburgh who I used for my project. Overall, I would highly recommend the studio for bands and solo artists who are looking for a true analogue sound recorded to tape.

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!!

Felt at home from the start - that was down to Terry himself. But the studio’s natural daylight, and how it’s set up also helped us settle in for two very productive days. Experienced and empathetic, Terry judged well how best to help us record a live performance in the studio. Cleverly positioning and miking us and providing a good headphone mix, enabled us to easily play what we’d rehearsed. The mixing process was also a joy - a very energetic Terry buzzing back and forth between the various speakers and the desk as we gradually got to our final mix. We’ll definitely be continuing the recordings here. All best, Mindchangers

We had an excellent time at Anvil studio today. This analog studio is really well kitted out and has a fabulous space for crafting your sound. Terry is an expert in his field and a dab hand at helping you find your sound. He’s also fantastic at putting you at ease and will coax the best results from your performance. We are all really happy with the results as a band. We’ll be back for more!

Terry kindly had me round to see the studio and discuss all the cool gear he has there. Really beautiful space filled with quality equipment. We also managed to squeeze in a little jam! Super nice guy and extremely knowledgeable, definitely would recommend to any artists looking to have a great analogue recording experience!

Just back from a weekend recording at Anvil so wanted to write a review while it's still fresh in my mind. Have recorded in a number of studios over the years and have no hesitation in saying my experience here was by far the best. This is the endangered species of the recording world; an all analogue studio. You want autotuned or your stuff snapped to a grid with sterile drums? Anvil isn't for you. You want to record the same way as the greatest records from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin to The Clash to The Smiths to early Oasis with a warm professional sound and a band feel? Go to Anvil. Have to say when you go there, you're not getting an engineer who will just record your stuff and make it sound good. Terry is more than that. He's a producer too. He'll help you shape your songs with helpful and friendly suggestions and do it so that he's working with you. His people management skills are only matched by his wizardry behind the desk. Some of the gear you will use was made by the man himself. He knows how to get the very best out of it and you. Oh and he serves great coffee and Ratho has a great vibe. I'll be be back. Again and again. You should go too.

I recorded a song here for my Gran's funeral and the experience as a whole was amazing from start to finish. Terry was very patient and knew his stuff and was happy to help with anything I needed and the song sounds perfect. Will definitely be recording more with Terry in the near future. Thank you so much!

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!

An excellent audio Mastering service. Project Overview: We are a two-piece Pop band using mainly electronic instruments, we had a set of 12 pre-recorded & mixed tracks for our second release. Our project required a final pass on the mix with a fresh set of ears & audio Mastering for Vinyl to bring the tracks up to industry standard for our planned physical release. We booked 3 days in the studio with Terry to review the tracks for minor edits to prep all tracks for Vinyl Mastering and booked the bulk-discount Mastering for multiple tracks (Up to 12 Tracks). Studio: Great facilities. We were working directly from our own system on Logic Pro connected directly into the studios hardware (all mixing edits done on our own system). Terry was an excellent engineer & sounding board for the mixes able to review the tracks critically to get the best out of each. Utilising the analogue equipment (EQ and compressors etc.) he was able to sharpen the vocals and brighten the tracks along with taming the low-end bass and kit sounds while maintaining the punch and depth. The studios playback options were also of the highest quality allowing for full review to pick up on any flaws or issues. Mastering remains a dark art & I cannot comment on how the great work is achieved. I do advise if you take this approach to bring all connectors for your own equipment possible just as a precaution. Completed Work: Brilliant audio quality. Due to the limitations of vinyl, we were only able to successfully complete 10 of the 12 tracks to full vinyl Mastering industry quality (adhering to the time limitations per side.). We are both very impressed by Terry’s work & the final product. The tracks have been improved greatly and exceeded our expectations. To be certain we would highly recommend the studio & Terry’s expertise for a project of this type.

I spent 3 days recording with Terry at anvil and was very happy with the results. It was great to be part of the whole recording process right down to the final mastering - a special mention to Dave who was the session drummer who really brought our acoustic songs to life.