Over the years, Natural Studio has experimented with a wide variety of equipment. Through this experimentation, we have settled on what we firmly believe is the best quality equipment available - particularly given the bonus of extreme portability.

RECORDER: Nagra VI. Relatively new on the market, the Nagra VI offers truly outstanding recording quality and capability, all in an unfathomably small package. Its built in pre-amps and digital converters are on a par with the best available in the world today. It can record up to six channels simultaneously, though we almost always choose to only use two. Why? Please read on...

MICROPHONES: Pair of Schoeps CMC6/MK21 - and usually that's it...! The majority of our recordings are made with one single pair of microphones. For most chamber music, a single pair of critically placed, correctly chosen microphones will almost always garner more accurate and pleasing results than a vast array of microphones. Clients used to extensive multi-mic'ing are often amazed at the results of our approach and often comment on the natural sound, accurate localisation, and realistic presentation.

Of course, there are occasions where the judicious use of an extra microphone or three might be beneficial, and we are only too happy to oblige when such an approach enhances the resulting sound.

Thanks to its even off-axis response and wide-cardioid pickup pattern, the CMC6/MK21 almost never fails to deliver as a main pair. However, we have also been known to turn to the use of ribbon microphones for their smooth, flattering sound. In these instances, we have found a Blumlein pair of AEA R88 or Coles 4040 microphones fit the bill perfectly.

NO ARTIFICIAL REVERB, NO ARTIFICIAL DYNAMICS. At Natural Studio we strive for natural sound. That means the reverb you hear on our recordings is the reverb you hear in the recording venue. Similarly, we like to hear natural dynamics in music; so, unless we're making MP3s for use on websites (where most people are listening on laptops anyway!), no dynamic processing is used. This preserves the original dynamics of the performance and ensures the instruments' reaction with the acoustic is faithfully captured.

EDITING & POST: Samplitude and Algorithmix. All editing and post-production work is carried out in Samplitude which, when used correctly, is sonically transparent. If equalisation is desirable, we use only the finest quality linear EQ; namely Algorithmix LinearPhase PEQ Red and Orange.

We make great pains to preserve fidelity and resolution from project start to end and always strive to preserve signal integrity. The digital workflow keeps sample and bit rate conversions to an absolute minimum.

Source recordings are captured at 88.2KHz/24bit and converted on output according to required delivery format.