RECORDING
AT 123
South London's live band tracking studio. World-class recording in the heart of Peckham — analogue soul, digital precision, built for full-band sessions.
ANALOGUE CHARACTER.
SURGICAL PRECISION.
Set up by producer and mixer Brett Shaw — Florence + The Machine, Foals, Daughter — the studio has worked on recordings amassing over 5 billion streams worldwide.
The vision was to capture the larger-than-life character of vintage Neve and API consoles during recording, while offering the flexibility and precision of SSL in the mix.
Known for its exceptional sound quality and warm analogue character, 123 is widely regarded as one of the best-sounding studios in London — at some of the most competitive rates in the city. The equipment doesn't change. The price does.
BUILT FOR FULL-BAND TRACKING
The live room is designed for versatility. High ceilings, adjustable ceiling cloud, interchangeable wall panels, and an electronic Drumbrella shift the sound from open and expansive to tight and focused.
Warm wooden walls provide a resonant tonality. With booths and clear sight lines, the room is ideal for full-band tracking across acoustic, vocal, and amplified sources.
Backline available at no additional cost.
RECORDING SESSIONS
All sessions include use of the live room, control room, SSL E-Series console, full mic locker, outboard, and backline. Engineer included — junior or senior.
THE SSL E-SERIES.
THE ROLLS ROYCE.
The control room (7m × 5.5m) is purpose-built with natural light and near-perfect acoustic accuracy — almost flat from 20Hz to 20kHz.
At its heart: a vintage SSL E-Series console — "the Rolls Royce of recording consoles in its day." Responsible for mixing more hits than any other console in history.
Monitoring via ATC SCM50ASL speakers. Recording to Pro Tools HDX with Lavry Gold converters, or fully analogue to the 3M 79 24-track tape machine.
Designed with acoustician Nick Whitaker — Abbey Road, Olympic Studios, The Royal Albert Hall.
THE BAND SOUND PROBLEM
A common frustration: the recording never quite captures what the band sounds like live. The energy is there in the room — somehow it doesn't make it to the record.
Brett has built a reputation for fixing exactly that in his productions. Not just capturing a band, but improving on the live performance — more weight, more definition, more presence than even the best live sound achieves.
If you've been disappointed by recordings before, it's worth a conversation.
WHEN THE TAKE IS THE RECORD
Foals' track Neptune — from their Mercury Prize nominated double album Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost — was recorded at 123 Studios as an unplanned live jam. The band set up, played, and what happened in the room became the final version on the album.
That track has since been picked up by a Hans Zimmer collaborator for a major TV programme and has accumulated over 38 million streams across all platforms.
It's a reminder of what a great live room can do — when the space sounds right, the performance happens naturally, and the best takes are the ones nobody planned.
SEE THE STUDIO IN ACTION
Keo recording live at 123 Studios — full band, one room, the sound you hear is the sound of the space.
THE 3M 79 TAPE MACHINE
The 3M 79 24-track is one of the most storied tape machines ever built. This particular unit was previously in Pete Townshend's Eel Pie Studio — now it lives at 123.
Tape mastering adds harmonic saturation, warmth and the subtle natural compression that defined the sound of the greatest records ever made.
THE GEAR
- Neumann U47 (Tube & FET)
- Neumann U67
- Neumann M249b (M49)
- Telefunken ELAM 251E
- Neumann U87 & KM84s
- Bock 251
- Coles 4038s
- RCA 77d · AEA 44
- AKG 414 · D19
- Shure SM7 · 441
- Sennheiser M160 · RE20
- SSL E-Series Console
- Vintage Neve 33102s & 1272s
- Red 47 Preamps
- Tree Audio Branch
- Coil Audio
- CAPI · Tonelux
- API · Harrison
- Clariphonic EQ
- Pro Tools HDX · Lavry Gold
- 3M 79 24-Track Tape
- Unfairchild Compressor
- UREI 1176 · 1178 · LA-2A
- API 2500 · Distressor
- DBX 160x
- Chandler TG1 & Curve Bender
- Pultec EQP-1A & EQP1S3
- ATC SCM50A Monitors
"The studio's great. It has a great atmosphere to it. It's very laid back and very light — somewhere that felt warm and alive. A pleasure to work in."— Yannis Philippakis · Foals
