Recording studio · Stokes Croft, Bristol · Since 2011

Records made in a room, not a laptop.

Two analogue rooms, a 1988 console and engineers who like bands to play together. Recording, mixing, mastering and production.

Now playing · Side A
Hollow Rooms
Mara Vale

The studio

Fernhill is two rooms, one old console and a lot of cable. Bands come here to play together in one room, and leave with a record that sounds like them, only better.

What we do

Four ways to make a record

01

Recording

Your band, live in the big room, with vocals and overdubs in the booths. Engineer and assistant included.

Your band, live in the big room, with vocals and overdubs in the booths. Engineer and assistant included.

From

£45

/ hour

·

£340

/ day

A band recording together in the live room

02

Production

Ada produces the song with you, from arrangement to final mix. Session players on call.

Ada produces the song with you, from arrangement to final mix. Session players on call.

£600

/ song

· mix and master included

A producer giving notes to a singer through the control-room glass

03

Mixing

Mixed through the console with real plate reverb and tape. Two rounds of changes.

Mixed through the console with real plate reverb and tape. Two rounds of changes.

£180

/ song

Hands on the faders of the analogue console

04

Mastering

Priya masters for streaming, CD and vinyl in the room at the back.

Priya masters for streaming, CD and vinyl in the room at the back.

£45

/ track

The mastering room at Fernhill Sound

The rooms

Four rooms, one console

Every room has a window and a tie line to the control room, so the band can see each other and still play together.

Live room at Fernhill Sound
Live room at Fernhill Sound
Live room at Fernhill Sound
Live Room
46 m² · 4.2 m ceiling
A five-piece band, a string quartet, or a drum kit with room to breathe.
See the rooms

Live Room

46 m²

A five-piece band, a string quartet, or a drum kit with room to breathe

The live room, empty and ready for a session
The drum kit miked up in the live room
A band mid-take in the live room

Control Room

28 m²

Engineer, producer and up to four listeners on the sofa

The control room from behind the console
The 16-track tape machine beside the console
Studio monitors above the console

Vocal Booth

9 m²

One singer, or a voice and an acoustic guitar

The wood-lined vocal booth with a vintage microphone
A singer recording in the vocal booth
A large-diaphragm condenser microphone in the booth

Iso Booth

6 m²

Guitar and bass cabinets, or a second vocalist

The iso booth with a guitar amp and microphone
An electric guitar against a valve amplifier
A guitarist playing through the amp in the iso booth

Rates

Plain prices. No surprises on the invoice.

Recording by the hour

£45

£45

/ hour

For demos, overdubs and short sessions. Minimum three hours.

Full day

£340

£340

/ day

Ten hours with an engineer. Most bands record three to four songs a day.

Half day

£190

£190

/ half day

Five hours, morning or evening. Good for vocals and overdubs.

Mixing

£180

£180

/ song

Mixed through the console, with two rounds of changes. Bring your own sessions or record here.

Mastering

£45

£45

/ track

Mastered for streaming, CD and vinyl by Priya Shah in our mastering room.

Production

£600

£600

/ song

Ada produces the song with you, from arrangement to final mix. Session players can be booked.

A 25% deposit holds your dates. Tape is £180 a reel. Prices include VAT.

Records made here

Press play on a few of them

Hollow Rooms album cover

Mara Vale

Hollow Rooms

Produced

2026

2:26

Low Tide album cover

The Dunmores

Low Tide

Recorded

2026

2:22

Paper Lanterns album cover

Ione Hart

Paper Lanterns

Mixed

2025

2:58

Kingsdown album cover

Sable & Rook

Kingsdown

Produced

2025

2:55

Glasshouse album cover

Wren Ashby

Glasshouse

Recorded

2025

2:54

Signal Fires album cover

Northwood

Signal Fires

Mastered

2024

2:58

The console

Everything runs through one console.

Twenty-four channels, built in 1988 and rebuilt in 2019. Every session, every mix and every live night goes through it, then on to tape or Pro Tools.

201075310+1+2+3VULEFT201075310+1+2+3VURIGHT

Press play anywhere on the site and the needles follow the music.

2011
2011
2011

Open since

400+
400+
400+

Records made

180
180
180

Artists through the door

4.9
4.9
4.9

Average review, 120 reviews

How a session runs

From first demo to final master

  1. A singer-songwriter playing a demo for the producer
    01Week 1

    Send the demo

    A phone recording is fine. We listen, then call to talk about the sound you want and how many days it needs.

  2. A band rehearsing before the session
    02Week 2

    Pre-production

    One rehearsal visit: tempos, keys, arrangements and the microphones we will use. No surprises on day one.

  3. Recording drums in the live room
    03Studio days

    Tracking

    The band plays together in the live room. Vocals and overdubs follow in the booth.

  4. Mixing at the console late at night
    041–2 weeks

    Mixing

    Mixed through the console, with two rounds of changes. You hear every version online.

  5. Tape running on the reel-to-reel machine
    05Release ready

    Master & deliver

    Mastered for streaming, CD and vinyl. You get every file, plus the multitracks to keep.

The people

Three sets of ears, one studio

1

Ears first

We listen to the demo twice before anyone touches a fader.

2

Patience

Take nine is fine. So is take one, if it is the one.

3

Craft

Microphones chosen for your voice, not for the brochure.

4

Finish

You leave with every file, labelled, the day the mix is done.

A solo piano evening in the live room, with a small seated audience

Live at Fernhill · No. 14

Wren Ashby plays “Glasshouse” on the 1972 grand, recorded straight to tape.

Next live night: 21 Nov →

What artists say

After the final take

Mara Vale

We played the songs live in one room and it finally sounded like us. Ada knew when to push and when to leave it.

Mara Vale

Hollow Rooms, 2026

Callum Dunmore

Tom got the best drum sound we've ever had in about twenty minutes. We spent the rest of the day playing.

Callum Dunmore

The Dunmores

Ione Hart

I sent home recordings and got back a record. Same songs, but warmer and wider than I knew they could be.

Ione Hart

Paper Lanterns

Questions

What to know before we hit record

Booking now:

November

Bring the demo. We’ll make the record.

Tell us what you want to record and when. We reply within one working day with dates and a quote. A 25% deposit holds the days.

Fernhill Sound

A two-room analogue recording studio in a former piano workshop in Stokes Croft. Recording, mixing, mastering and production since 2011.

Visit

Unit 4, Hamilton Yard, Stokes Croft, Bristol BS1 3QY

hello@fernhillsound.example

0117 496 0384

Instagram

Fernhill Sound

Fernhill Sound

Fernhill Sound

© 2026

Fernhill Sound

·

Sessions 10:00–22:00, seven days a week

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