ROCKINGHORSE - an Iconic Recording Studio in the Byron Bay Hinterland

Ever dreamed of recording your magnum opus in a location as idyllic as the Byron Bay Hinterland? What if you could do it surrounded by 70s interiors, dripping with style, reminiscent of the golden age of rock recording? Look no further than Byron Bay’s iconic Rockinghorse Studio - a space designed with efficiency and flexibility in mind.

Evocative of classic studios of the 70’s, Rockinghorse’s Studio A is wrapped in warm natural timbers with wide open windows that flood the space with glorious natural light. Clear sight lines connect the three isolated tracking rooms with the one of a kind control room. Boasting what is widely considered to be the best sounding drum tracking room in the greater region, this is a space that facilitates creativity and productivity.

Located in the Byron Shire Hinterland, Rockinghorse offers onsite accommodation, coupled with 24-hour studio access - a spacious 5 bedroom holiday home, nestled into a 70-acre property only 20 minutes from Byron Bay. Luxuriate in style with endless access to spectacular Hinterland views and step away from a busy world to unwind in your own private space. Your creativity will undoubtedly thrive as you bask in the sunlight of the beautiful surrounding countryside.

The studio hosts Neve and Avalon mic preamps and channel strips, GML and Pultec equalisers as well as Neve, Urei, DBX and Smart Research compressors. The control room is supported by a Slate Monitoring Control system and Slate Raven multi touch screen console, with precision monitoring by Genelec, KRK and Yamaha.

Recording System

Capable of handling sessions of the most heavy-duty variety, Rockinghorse’s powerful 2020 Mac Mini based ProTools Ultimate HDX system is ready to bring your music to life. To ensure your music arrives safely, the studio has selected the latest mastering grade 32 i/o Lynx Aurora interface.

Rather operate the session from your own computer? You can simply plug in via the thunderbolt 3 cable and install the HDX drivers.

Studio Effects

Rockinghorse’s collection of vintage effects will help you create lush, soaring soundscapes authentically. Choose from real plate reverbs, subharmonic generators, digital reverb and delay units and spatial chorus effects. You could even add a little boutique valve harmonic distortion to round things off!

Microphones

From the powerful depths of a bass drum to the soaring timbre of world class singers, Rockinghorse has the mic for every job. Whether it’s their recently restored vintage Neumann and AKG microphones, Chandler Limited REDD Tube Condenser Mic with built in mic preamp (a modern take on the classic EMI REDD.47 preamplifier) or modern classics by Royer Labs, there is no sound that can’t be exquisitely captured with the tools on hand.

Instruments

The studio’s centrepiece is a lovingly preserved Yamaha U3 upright piano. After close consultation with experts, Rockinghorse have settled on a timbre which transcends preconceptions surrounding upright pianos to provide artists with a rich, sweet and highly playable instrument.

For more general backline requirements, the studio is equipped with a range of quality instruments which are available for hire including: drums, guitars, basses, amps and keyboards.

The Gear

Patch into Rockinghorse’s wide collection of vintage Neve or Avalon preamps, a vintage Pultec or GML equalisers and enliven your sound through an original Urei, DBX, Smart Research or Neve Compressors.

Live Room Features

All of the recording spaces at Rockinghorse Studios have been purpose built to distinguish and enhance the sound of an artist’s instruments and production. From powerful drums and rich double bass to sublime piano and soaring vocals, this studio helps you to produce your best results as efficiently as possible. Why waste time and money fixing it in the mix? At Rockinghorse, you’ll get it right at the source, just like all of your heroes did.

Producers

Rockinghorse’s team of house Producers have a combined experience of over 50 years - offering a wealth of wisdom and skill to artists looking to expertly capture their sound. Rockinghorse’s house producers team includes Paul Pilsneniks, Nicholas Wilson and Walker Lee Robinson.

Rockinghorse is available for dry hire or in-house engineer/studio packages. For more information, head to rockinghorse.com.au.

BY ISABELLA VENUTTI