Trev Wilkins and Scadge Productions:
Rely on the sound of Cakewalk’s SONAR:
“It’s the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of our studio!”
The best recording studios are those that get results, and to do that the engineers need to understand exactly what the client wants. And what better way to understand what’s required than to have had a career that spans almost every possible stage of the music creation process?
For Trev Wilkins, owner and engineer of Telford-based Scadge Productions, the last 25 years have seen him take on all manner of roles in the industry – from running recording studios, touring as both a musician and engineer, authoring books and producing videos to order.
It’s this wealth of real-world experience that’s made Scadge Productions the first choice of production venue for clients who need guaranteed results. “We have to be very flexible in our approach here at Scadge,” Trev says. “We’re recording a choir one day, then we’ll have a video interview the next, perhaps a rock band in the day after that. Consequently we can’t afford to spend time fiddling around with anything in the studio, especially the software. We need to guarantee that we can get the job done and cover any eventuality quickly and with total confidence – and that’s where SONAR shines through – we rely on it as the ‘Swiss Army Knife’ of our studio!”
“SONAR is the ultimate total recording platform for me. It’s easy to use, intuitive and really fast to work with – which is very important for our clients. When they’re in the studio and on a roll they don’t want to wait between takes, and with SONAR I can record the whole band in real-time and be ready to record the next take with just a few clicks of the mouse. The last take is, of course, safely stored and easily accessible. Our standby engineers and visiting producers are always impressed with how easily they get used to SONAR. I’m pretty sure we’ve converted more than a few people to SONAR!”
But with SONAR it’s not just about the ease of use or the huge array of tools that are at your disposal – it’s also about how you’re good to go right out of the box, as Trev explains…
“You don’t really need to buy any other plug-ins or soft synths if you use SONAR Producer as it’s all right there from the get go – in fact there are many features that I don’t get around to using as I’m just so used to working another way. On the odd time when I start digging deeper I often learn even easier ways to do things. And, of course, there are also loads of ‘how-to’ videos online, which are perfect for getting you up to speed on new features very quickly.”
“SONAR enables me to work with a very eclectic range of projects with total control. Clients come to our studio for results within budget and we always deliver. SONAR is central to everything, the ‘mission control’ that enables us to do it. Often I’ll get asked to tweak some audio or MIDI by a client who seems doubtful that what they ask is even possible, and they’re often amazed when we can accommodate their requirements, usually within seconds. With SONAR there are apparently no barriers to professional production!”
“Our philosophy here at Scadge Productions is simple – to get the job done in the best way possible, and SONAR allows me to do that. I don’t want to answer questions or program software – I want to record, mix, and master. Cakewalk software has always been very intuitive for me so I see no reason to change. I’ve used other packages but they just don’t cut it for me.”
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