Strongroom by name, strongroom by nature. I know, because the enormous blued-steel motorised door which admits you to the place nearly took my hand off at the wrist in a moment of mechanical madness. Still at least no one'll be half inching your gear on lockout. Unless they've got an oxy-acetylene torch, of course.

Housed in a rambling ex-warehouse in Shoreditch called, logically enough, The Bank, The Strongroom sprawls over three floors shared with, amongst other things, a graphic design company — all parts of studio co-owner Richard Boote's expanding empire. Expanding right along with him is the studio's other partner Dave Formula, one-time keyboard player with Magazine.

Their office occupies the building's top floor, along with the spacious reception area overseen by studio manager Shelley Maple and her assistant who'll get their clients anything from a taxi to a Synclavier on request. One flight down, and you'll find the obligatory 'relaxation area' featuring comfy chairs, TV, Video and hi fi, a snooker table, and basic kitchen facilities. If that gets boring the studio, within walking distance of Liverpool Street and Old Street stations, is well served by pubs, snack bars and the like. Incidentally the rest and relaxation area (which actually overlooks the studio) is wired to the control room, and can be used as an additional recording area if required.

Finally, and to the relief of roadies everywhere, the 24-track studio and control room itself are located on the ground floor, behind an even more impressive studded chrome door. Better still, gear can be wheeled through a side door straight into the studio main room from the ample parking area at the rear of the building.

A relatively new studio (it's been operational for just over a year), The Strongroom was designed by Dave and Richard, in consultation with studio builder Tom Brody with an emphasis on modern recording needs. Hence, the control room area itself is large enough to accommodate a number of keyboards (and people!) in comfort (18x25).

Included in the basic rate of £45 per hour (or about £600 a day for full lockout) are a MIDI-equipped Prophet 5, a DX7, a DMX drum machine, Kawai Grand piano and Roland MSQ700 sequencer. A rack-mounting Prophet 2002 will also be available by the time you read this, at a small additional cost, and of course any additional equipment can be hired in as part of a package deal.

If required, a second 24 track set-up can be brought in alongside the studio's Amek Angela 32/24/4/2 desk and Otari MTR90 Series II multitrack to take you up to full 48-track capability, and for Audo/Video post-production, Q.lock can be provided by prior arrangement. Mastering is to MCI JH 10B, or to Sony Digital. Two sliding glass panels isolate the control room from the studio without obscuring your view of it, and as an additional bonus, the area enclosed by the glass panels functions as a vocal booth.

The effects rack stars the usual cast of Yamaha REV 7 and AMS reverbs, AMS DDL with harmoniser, de-glitch card and keyboard interface for sample playback, Drawmer gates, DBX limiters, a Scamp rack, and various other bits and bobs — good value for the money. Plenty of mikes knocking about, too — more familiar faces: — AKG, Neumann and ElectroVoice all feature prominently.

One notable feature of control room tackle is the monitors: tri-amped DL7T's from Discrete Research; these motional feedback speakers provide an exceptionally true reference sound.

But the studio's prize, and strongest selling point, is the main room itself. Measuring 32'x20' this high-ceilinged, parquet-floored room has an extraordinary natural reverb decay of 2.4 seconds and, almost uniquely for a London studio, is well lit by natural light from the large window at the rear (which also serves as a convenient location for one of the studio's PZMs). Should a client not actually require such a live room, a selection of movable acoustic screens can cut it down but this rather defeats the point of using The Strongroom in the first place.

Unsurprisingly, a large proportion of the clients who've used The Strongroom over the past few months have used it to record vocals and drums, though Depeche Mode were in to remix their backing tracks for their recent tour, and Hipsway have used it for the 12" remix of The Honeythief. Other notable names sticking their head round the door include DC Lee, Nico and John Cale (both of whom recorded their entire albums there) Bucks Fizz, Andrew Poppy of ZTT fame, and Brian Eno.

To sum up then — The Strongroom may not be the cheapest or most flexible 24-track facility in town, but it prides itself in its high standard of maintenance and quality of service, has a unique asset in the liveness of its main room, and, for those who appreciate that sort of thing, the natural light and general feeling of space evident not only in the studio but throughout the complex comes as a welcome change from the usual submarine atmosphere of London studios.

The Strongroom (Contact Details)