Restrike News

Studio for sale

cormac — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 14:23:43 +0000

For sale - one recording studio. Much as I love the studio I’m afraid my personal circumstances mean I have little time to run it any more so it is now up for sale. Given the amount of work that has gone into it I’m hoping to sell it in situ as a working studio. Anyone interested in owning a Manchester based studio can contact me at cormac@restrikestudios.co.uk for the full particulars of sale. Cheers, Cormac

Work starts on Restrike Post

cormac — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:54:02 +0000

We’re just getting started putting together the new Post Production mix suite at Restrike. The old office space has been cleared and we’ve knocked up a layout plan for the new room which we’re pretty happy with. We’ve also started gathering the equipment together and made a trip to Audio Cooker in Leeds to audition some Focal monitors. Steve was very helpful and indulged us whilst we watched huge chunks of Ghostbusters and Das Boot. After running them through their paces we’re pretty convinced we’ll be ordering a set of Focal’s for the new room. And just today I managed to score an SPL surround monitor controller so things are moving forward. Of course, buying stuff is the easy part (aside from the acute pain it causes in my wallet), the real graft starts next week when we begin tearing the room down to prep for the new walls. I’ll take some pics so you can check on our progress.
cheers
Restrike

New Year, New Music, New face

cormac — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:36:16 +0000

Hello and a Happy New Year to you all
hopefully you’re all over the initial New Year hassle of remembering the year though personally, I’m still struggling with it. 2009 was a great year at Restrike, lots of interesting bands came to see us and we did some great work together (as well as having a lot of fun). We also expanded into doing some sound for picture and worked on a few short films. Our online presence was also aided greatly by the introduction off this shiny new website courtesy of the lovely people at Design by Day.

To kick the New Year off in style we have new music for you from no less than 3 bands. The Yellhounds are old mates of the studio and came in to work on their 3rd EP with us. Delayed Promise likewise came to work on their EP and stayed to help alphabetise the studio’s vast collection of videos which was greatly appreciated. The McCormicks are a band in transition so we’re not entirely sure who they might turn into but if the 3 tracks they did with us are anything to go by they’ll be a band to watch.

We also have a new face at Restrike in the shape off Tony Berriman. Tony is an accomplished engineer and will be a valuable addition to our engineering staff. We’re really looking forward to hearing some of his stuff.

Speak soon
Restrike

Track 2 from the new Wizard Beard album

cormac — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:51:52 +0000

following on from our stream of track 1 (Juice of the Fire) from the new Beard album we’re on to track 2 this week, Whorewitch.

Wizard Beard aside we also have some new music coming shortly from The Yellhounds, The McCormicks and Delayed Promise.
cheers
Restrike

Early Christmas presents from Wizard Beard

cormac — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:02:18 +0000

I know we’re a few weeks early but there’s a reason. We’re going to be showcasing the new Wizard Beard album in the run-up to Christmas, releasing 1 track a week for your listening pleasure.
Without further ado here’s Track 1 - Juice of the fire
Enjoy
Restrike

New music from Sander Kommander

cormac — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:10:58 +0000

Hello again
have managed to steel away a day from film mixing to get some new music online. These tracks (currently adorning the music page player) are from Sander Kommander (formerly Richard Tabern and the Tom Toms). In their new guise the band’s music has taken a slight change in direction, for the better of course. Check out the tracks and head over to their myspace for gig info.
More new music soon including a new song a week from Wizard Beard in the run up to the festive season.
cheers
Restrike

Angel Range record ‘Endings EP’

cormac — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 09:42:52 +0000

Hello again
we’ve been buried in film work for the last few weeks but have managed to get some new music together for you from Angel Range. The band came in to record their EP before heading to the Leeds Festival to play the Oxjam stage. Clips from 2 of the tracks are on the music page and you can download the EP free from the bands website. Enjoy
cheers
Restrike

Review on Manchester Music of the Yellhounds EP

cormac — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 16:02:56 +0000

Hi
just wanted to post this link to a review of The Yellhounds new EP ‘Cursed Words’ which we recorded at the studio some months ago. They seem to like it and say some nice things about Restrike as well which we appreciate. If you like get a chance to see the guys live they put on a great show.
cheers
Restrike

The Sensations go analogue

cormac — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 20:07:28 +0000

Hi all
some new music for you from The Sensations who popped into the studio recently to record 3 tracks. The band were dead set on using the tape machine and it didn’t let them down. Check out the Restrike music page for a clip from ‘Somethings there’ and clips from their other tracks are available on our myspace and Facebook pages. The band will also be playing The Ruby Lounge on 7 August so check them out.
cheers
Restrike

The Ribbon dilema

cormac — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 16:48:37 +0000

I’ve been using some Chinese built ribbon mics now for a few years and, in the right circumstances, they can be very good; the odd guitar amp, male vocalist or (rarely) drum kit. Once considered the height of microphone technology (okay, 80 odd years ago) the ribbon has been left in the wake of more precise and more robust microphone designs.

The list of issues that can affect your ribbon mic is substantial; poor design and build can lead to saggy ribbons, bad wiring can cause accidental phantom power burnout and, while some ribbon mics can handle very high SPL’s their thin ribbons can be easily snapped by loud plosives, a simple ‘p’ from an enthusiastic vocalist could put your mic in the workshop. Then there’s also the issue of gain. When using a ribbon you can find yourself whacking on all the gain you have available and I always find things get a bit dicey at the extremities of a gain pot.

There are solutions out there to make using your ribbons a little easier. Oktava Mod offer a variety of upgrade options to your basic ribbon mic to get it sounding lovely (I’ve heard the results and am planning to send my own pair in for surgery). A bit of care with your wiring should mean that even if phantom power does get to your ribbon, it should survive intact and, using a pop shield should stop your ribbon being pranged, regardless of the source. To help with the gain you can try getting your hands on a preamp with a variable impedance load. Generally (your mics specs should give you more details here) the higher the load the better your ribbon mic will perform. The other options is to use something like the Rode Power Plug which gives a 20db gain boost inline. This was my own solution to the gain problem for a while and I’ve spotted that Cascade Microphones recommend the same solution for their own range of very nice Ribbon mics and even sell the Power Plug through their site.

Of course the more expensive Ribbon mics out there will (probably) not have saggy ribbons, bad wiring and might even come with higher outputs making most of this post moot. But for those of us paddling in the shallow end of the ribbon mic pool it’s good to know there are options out there to make our ribbons perform.