Skip to main content
MusicRadar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
UK EditionUK US EditionUS AU EditionAustralia SG EditionSingapore
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Artist news
  • Music Gear Reviews
  • Synths
  • Guitars
  • Controllers
  • Drums
  • Keyboards & Pianos
  • Guitar Amps
  • Software & Apps
  • More
    • Recording
    • DJ Gear
    • Acoustic Guitars
    • Bass Guitars
    • Tech
    • Tutorials
    • Reviews
    • Buying Guides
    • About Us
More
  • Seven Nation Army
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Prince and The Beatles
  • 95k+ free music samples
Don't miss these
Sennheiser in ear monitors on a lit up dj controller
Studio Monitors Best budget in-ear monitors 2025: My pick of cheap in-ears for every type of musician
Adam F
Artists Adam F on making '90s DnB classic Colours – and why he’s re-recording it for 2025
Echotown Studios Main Room
Studios Echotown Studio: A world class recording studio in the stunning Dorset countryside
kid harpoon
Producers & Engineers “There’s a reason that the Juno-106 is still the greatest”: Kid Harpoon on vintage synths and studio secrets
Semtek aka DJ Persuasion
Artists 7 great house and techno tips from Don’t Be Afraid label boss Semtek (aka DJ Persuasion)
verses gt
Artists Jacques Greene and Nosaj Thing on the making of their new collaborative project, Verses GT
Steve Porcaro
Artists Steve Porcaro on the rise, fall and resurgence of Toto, working with Michael Jackson and his new solo album
MARIBOU
Artists “Each of our albums had a synth that really excited us. The first was a Prophet ‘08, the second was the MS-20, and this time the Moog Matriarch is on every track”: Maribou State on Hallucinating Love
Trevor Horn
Artists How Trevor Horn’s anonymous electronic group - the Art of Noise - revolutionised sample culture
DarWin
Artists “Most pop music is rubbish now”: Legendary drummer Simon Phillips on producing supergroup DarWin
jim-e stack
Tech “You can make the best album ever with just a laptop and plugins”: Jim-E Stack reveals his production secrets
Silva Bumpa
Tech Breakout producer Silva Bumpa on the secret to creating sub bass and UKG rhythms
modeselektor
Artists "The 808 is still one of the sexiest drum machines ever built": Modeselektor on classic Roland gear
Todd Rundgren
Artists Todd Rundgren on music, microdosing, accidentally creating hit records and why he ditched Pro Tools
Adrian Sherwood
Artists Dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood on embracing AI and playing the studio like an instrument
  1. Tech
  2. Recording
  3. Studios

Me in my studio: Paul Hardcastle

News
By Chris Barker ( Future Music ) published 7 September 2012

Tour his studio

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Intro

Intro

Hi, I'm Paul Hardcastle and this is my studio, it's been up and running since 1987 and it's mostly used by me, my daughter Maxine and my son Paul Jnr.

Paul Jnr is a sax player and has been working on tracks for Pacha as has Maxine, in fact we all have, my Pacha album came out just last month, Perceptions Of Pacha 8. I recorded the Sound track to the spice girls movie Spice world, for which I won best score award. What's nice is that it has a great view over the fields of Essex, and is not just 4 walls - well the Vocal room is but hey I'm not a vocalist so I don't go in there much!

Lately I have recorded all of my New album '19 Below Zero' in the Studio, which I have done for Universal Music, released on October 15th, it took around a year to put together and used the equipment as seen in the following pictures.

What was amazing was that in the loft while looking for some Midi leads, I came across an old 24 track master which I thought had been misplaced for good, it had an alternative version on 19 that I did at the same time as the original, so I bounced to Aiff files, remixed and added new sounds to it. It's called 19 Below Zero and is the last track on the Album, this Mix has ever been heard before, Rob da Bank also recorded a mix of 19 for the new album.

Page 1 of 8
Page 1 of 8
DDA. AMR 36 Console

DDA. AMR 36 Console

I still use this analogue desk occasionally when I'm using the outboard synths in the racks. Also had this since 1986, This has been used for all my Jazzmasters and Hardcastle series albums, for which I have won several awards.

Page 2 of 8
Page 2 of 8
Racks

Racks

Rack one and two contain lots of synth modules. Sometimes I switch it all on or if I'm feeling lazy I just use lots of plug-ins.

Page 3 of 8
Page 3 of 8
Moog Voyager

Moog Voyager

You can't beat a Mini Moog for bass and mellow lead sounds. I did have an original mini moog but I upgraded when they introduced this a while back.

I still use this quite a lot still especially on my chilltype stuff.

Page 4 of 8
Page 4 of 8
Prophet 5

Prophet 5

I used this on all my 80s hits including 19, Rainforest, The Wizard etc. Not switched it on for years but it still worked ok last time I used it.

Page 5 of 8
Page 5 of 8
Synclavier

Synclavier

This is my Synclavier which I have had since 1986 and was the worlds first total digital system i.e. no tape at all!

The first track I ever recorded on this was the Wizard The Top of the pops theme. There were not many of these around as the cost was astronomical. I was lucky to have just had the biggest selling single internationally and blew a lot of my royalties on it. Around £200.000 but now you can do the same thing and much more on an Apple Mac Pro for £2000!

Page 6 of 8
Page 6 of 8
Synclavier rack

Synclavier rack

It has a separate Machine room to house the Synclavier as it’s really noisy, it has 16 fans and sounds like a 747 jet when it’s on.

Page 7 of 8
Page 7 of 8
Jukebox

Jukebox

My prize possession in the corner of the studio is a Juke box, which was given to me as a present from the great late Phil Lynott, I worked with Phil just a few weeks before he passed away.

Page 8 of 8
Page 8 of 8
Chris Barker
All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more. image
All-access artist interviews, in-depth gear reviews, essential production tutorials and much more.
Get the latest issue now!
More Info
Read more
Adam F
Adam F on making '90s DnB classic Colours – and why he’s re-recording it for 2025
 
 
Echotown Studios Main Room
Echotown Studio: A world class recording studio in the stunning Dorset countryside
 
 
kid harpoon
“There’s a reason that the Juno-106 is still the greatest”: Kid Harpoon on vintage synths and studio secrets
 
 
Semtek aka DJ Persuasion
7 great house and techno tips from Don’t Be Afraid label boss Semtek (aka DJ Persuasion)
 
 
verses gt
Jacques Greene and Nosaj Thing on the making of their new collaborative project, Verses GT
 
 
Steve Porcaro
Steve Porcaro on the rise, fall and resurgence of Toto, working with Michael Jackson and his new solo album
 
 
Latest in Studios
Echotown Studios Main Room
Echotown Studio: A world class recording studio in the stunning Dorset countryside
 
 
subterra
Music studio complex opens in former nuclear bunker in The Hague
 
 
Adrian Sherwood
Dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood on embracing AI and playing the studio like an instrument
 
 
Adam Audio H200
“A good all round headphone suited to recording, mixing and mastering”: Adam Audio H200 Headphones review
 
 
An Arturia KeyLab 88 MkII synthesizer on a blue background
I’ve looked through all 372 deals in the Thomann Easter Sale - these are the 5 deals I’d grab right now
 
 
Universal Audio Standard SD-1
“A versatile and durable dynamic microphone suitable for a range of applications”: Universal Audio SD-1 review
 
 
Latest in News
Ritchie Blackmore and Jeff Beck
“He would always put himself down”: Ritchie Blackmore remembers Jeff Beck
 
 
Harley Benton Halloween raffle
If you could have €500 worth of Harley Benton gear, what would you choose?
 
 
Armin Van Buuren piano
“I feel a freedom behind the piano”: Armin Van Buuren on his surprising new musical direction
 
 
slower fragments
This free plugin captures the "evocative warmth and warped textures" of half-speed tape recordings
 
 
Deals of the week
MusicRadar deals of the week: The early Black Friday sales are here - score big on Gibson, PRS, Universal Audio, Casio and more
 
 
Loveday
"Artists have always been resourceful”: Emerging artist Loveday on why she’s turning to OnlyFans
 
 

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...