Close to London’s central venues, Ritz Rehearsal Studios has assisted artists big and small to prepare their songs and live sets for public performance. A recent upgrade to the facilities has seen a major investment in Sennheiser equipment.
During its 40-year history, Ritzhas played host to the likes of The Stranglers, Blur, The Clash, Led Zeppelin and Amy Winehouse. It was acquired last year by 24/7 Productions, which provides services to the music touring, event production and TV production industries.
‘We were rehearsing at Ritz with one of our artists,’ explains 24/7 Head Production Manager, Andrew Thornton. ‘They wanted to upgrade the facility and were looking for some investment. John Pryer, who owns 24/7, was interested in helping them and, as a result, Ritz was incorporated into the 24/7 group.’
Ritz continues to operate independently, but the new ownership made it possible to undertake a substantial refurbishment of the studios, including a new package of Sennheiser microphones and in-ear monitor systems: ‘We needed audio equipment for the stage, so I contacted Phil Cummings at Sennheiser,’ Thornton says. ‘He was keen to join in and supplied a great package of live microphones for both studios, in return for which they can use us as a product demonstration facility. We also offer Sennheiser IEMs and Radio Mics as a separate rental item, which Phil supports as and when required.’
The Sennheiser equipment now available at Ritz includes the entire range of wired microphones from the evolution 900 Series for both instrument and vocal as standard, plus 24/7’s own stock of G3 and 2000 Series IEMs and 2000 and 5000 Series radio microphones. Recent artists to use the new equipment at Ritz have included Shawn Mendes and Nathan Sykes.
‘Shawn is a new 24/7 Productions client, who I’m production manager for,’ Thornton says. ‘He was at Ritz for a week, using all the in-house Sennheiser equipment, after which we went out on a European tour with him using vocal microphone, guitar and in-ear systems.
‘When Nathan went solo after The Wanted went on hiatus, he came to us for his production needs. Phil put together a package of Sennheiser 5200 radio mics and an in-ear system that have travelled with him on his support shows with Little Mix, TV shows, festivals and one-off promos.’
Thornton’s work with Sennheiser goes back a long way as both an audio engineer and production manager: ‘I’ve had a relationship with everyone that’s worked there for many years and was one of the engineers who beta-tested the evolution series with lots of different bands. As a sound engineer, I’ve been touring for about 18 years and Sennheiser has always been very supportive and helpful.
‘It’s a very constructive, two-way relationship; buying kit and getting great support from them and, in turn, giving them feedback which helps to develop the product. This recent investment means we now have consistency between the rehearsal studio and our touring productions, which is ideal.’
