Prozone Music also offers a full location rig for recording groups of any size. This can be a wonderful way to capture a concert, or to record choirs, orchestras, brass bands, wind bands and anything else you can imagine.

The full spec of Prozone Music Studio can be found on the in house studio page. The same spec facility is available on location recordings.

Please go to our audio samples page to hear some examples of our location recording.


There are a few things to bare in mind when choosing a venue to make a location recording as not all buildings are ideal:

Acoustic:
Bigger isn’t always better! The common misconception of acoustics is that the bigger and boomier the acoustic, the better the sound. Not necessarily so!. Some beautiful recordings have been made in smaller acoustics, and some terrible ones in larger acoustics. It is a sound engineers job to manage an acoustic through setting their mics accordingly. There are many processing tricks in post production that can be used to give the idea of space, and that lavish shiny sound. (rarely a recording is released without SOME sort of false acoustic added – even when recorded in venues such as the Barbican!!) In terms of mixing and editing, a sound engineer can be more limited when recording in catherdrals etc. Don’t let any of this baffle or scare you when choosing, but it’s always better to be aware of these things in advance – and if in doubt, give us a call, we’re only to happy to help!  

Extraneous noise:
High quality microphones pick up EVERYTHING. All air conditioning, heating systems, and any other noise making machine will need to be turned off. Noise that may not be noticeable to you on first look at the venue may be a problem, so have a very good listen. Road sound, even if only feint, can ruin a recording. Also, the group, particularly if un used to recording, needs to be aware that all coughs, hiccups, page turns, creaking conductors podiums, jangling keys etc etc will be picked up by the mics, and if time pressure dictates, may make it onto the disc, so………sshhhhh!

An extra room:
Whilst it is possible for a sound engineer to sit in the room with the group, in our experience it is not ideal. Prozone Music has full talk back facilities to be able to communicate with the musical director, so we require a separate room for our control rig. We can be up to 40 meters away from the recording space.

Setup / Breakdown time:
Particularly on live concert recordings, it often gets overlooked that we will need one and a half hours (absolute minimum) to set up our rig and control space. Prior to the engagement, the client would need to ensure that Prozone Music could enter the building to begin setting up. It is not possible for us to setup during a rehearsal as we need to make a bit of noise and disruption. Once we’re set up, we disappear into the control room and out of the way. After the concert or recording, we require a similar amount of time to break down, so somebody needs to be prepared to hang around afterwards to lock the venue up. Whilst it is most appreciated, it is better if members of the group don’t try to help our engineer/staff break down the equipment, as breakages cost A LOT of money, so it’s always better if they are our fault, and our fault only!

Live Concerts / Recording professional musicians:
Recording a concert is a fantastic way to document all your groups hard work. Often groups, particularly choirs, choose to record concerts when they have taken the step to book an orchestra or band to play in the concert with them. It’s important that all the professional musicians playing in the concert are aware prior to the day that it is being recorded. There are some very strict Musicians Union rules that require a recording fee to be paid to any of its members on the recording. Most musicians are incredibly generous people and when approached enough in advance are happy to allow concerts to be recorded. They are however, if they feel they are being taken advantage of, within their rights to refuse to perform.