Showcasing their latest album, Marks To Prove It, The Maccabees are currently touring the UK and European. Written and recorded in their Elephant & Castle studio, the record was produced by the band’s guitarist and Audient iD22 owner, Hugo White.
‘We spent a lot of time in that place,’ White says, explaining that this is the first complete album that the band has recorded in their South London studio. ‘There were a lot of extra pressures and extra hours involved, but it was a great experience and a dream project to focus on. We were no longer working on someone else’s time; we could work when and as we wanted, and craft the studio into a space that we could make the record.
‘There are many occasions where we have kept certain elements of early demos, so it pays off when it’s been recorded well. Recording demos needs to be fast and uncomplicated, that’s where I feel the iD22 comes into its own, as you can capture recordings at a high standard in a very simple set-up.’
The iD22 audio interface was positioned in the band’s vocal booth room and used as a second recording set-up along with a laptop and a Distressor. ‘We did all the guide vocals in that set-up, some of which made the final record,’ says White.
‘In the studio, we have a fairly large live room that we use to rehearse and record – each band member has their own corner of the room, so all the amps/kits are set up and ready to go. In a separate control room we have our Pro Tools HD rig and all our outboard and effects units, Adam A8X speakers along with NS10s. It’s all pretty seamlessly hooked up in there, making it great for experimenting with stuff as well as taking care of the projects. There’s also our Room 2, which has an upright piano and is used for anything really, it’s like a big vocal booth.
White’s guitar recording chain is fairly straightforward: ‘I generally use my old 1970s Selmer amp hooked up with a bass speaker. Also, my GigRig G2 is the perfect companion for effects chains while recording. Getting the right tone from the amp in the room is the easy bit, it’s getting the mic choice and placement right that makes the difference. I was lucky to work with a great engineer, Jag Jago on our last record, we spent a lot of time experimenting with that. There is no “one-fits-all” answer, it all depends on the situation.
‘It’s hard to find time and space on the road to be productive’, White admits, although he describes the inspiration for songwriting as ‘ever-present’: ‘We’ve just discovered recently that most libraries have piano rooms you can use, so that’s been a good way to find some peace and be able to write.’
The Audient interface also features in his home set-up: ‘I have a laptop running Pro Tools and Logic Pro 9, my iD22, a Wurlitzer piano, a couple of guitars and Sennheiser HD650 open-back headphones. That pretty much covers all I need there,’ he continues. ‘I generally use the iD22 at home and on the road. It does all I need in those situations: two great preamps, a good headphone preamp and a simple interface.
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