Creation X Recording, a music production business, enables full bands and individuals alike to produce songs and bring their projects to life. At the beginning March 2020, coinciding with the first UK COVID-19 lockdown, CXR’s Nikki McGuinness began building a hybrid recording studio from scratch for the business – enlisting the support of VDC Trading to supply custom-manufactured cabling for the build.
The new room-within-a room studio, based in the grounds of 100-acre Birchin Inhams Farm in Wokingham, took 12 months to construct. Nikki learnt what materials to purchase and built the whole thing, including all the internal acoustic treatment, with the support and expertise of her friends and contacts. Halfway through the venture, she broke her leg and fractured her foot by falling off a ladder whilst putting the bass traps in. She then completed the project on crutches, after a 10-day stay in hospital and three months’ recuperation at home.
The 21ft by 14ft space is now the perfect place for inspiration and creating new material -with or without the help of the roster of session musicians – and offers great gear and plug and play facilities.
VDC Trading supplied custom manufactured cables to make Nikki’s dream a reality. It provided D25 multis made with the classic Van Damme Blue 8 Pair, as well as both speaker and microphone cables of various length. Van Damme Blue Series 2 Pair, Blue Series 2×2.5mm and Purple and Black Quad were chosen for their outstanding performance as well as their flexibility and toughness.
All the manufacturing assemblies were handmade at VDC using Black and Gold Neutrik connectors, ensuring the highest quality and performance throughout. All of the cables were custom labelled for clear and robust identification and ease of use. VDC turned these around quickly to allow the installation to continue without any more delay.
McGuinness said: “As a recording artist turned producer and engineer myself, I know only too well how important the feel and position of a studio is. Acoustics are a given, but you also need to be in a location that both sparks and conceives ideas – and we think our family farm does just that. Couple this with an exceptional studio and the latest kit, we believe that great things can be created here! Building it was a labour of love and passion – and a lot of pain! I did a massive amount of research into the best leads on the market and was subsequently introduced to VDC by a well-known pro-audio engineer. Once I had spoken to the team, I trusted them and it was obvious that I had to have Van Damme cables in my studio. I am thrilled with the sound– it has a sonic quality to it and I know the cabling will last well into the future.”
Birchin Inhams Farm is also home to Dog Trouble – a dog behaviour, training, boarding and wellness centre – Dog Trouble Foundation Rescue, the Horsebox café and 17 dogs, 5 pygmy goats, 19 chickens a horse and a donkey.
