Artists
As any competent instrumentalist knows, good equipment is only a starting point.
The ability to produce a fine sound, to give a musical performance goes beyond the instrument
on which it is played. Experience, a good ear and knowing in the first place what it is you're
listening for - these things play a vitally important part - and so it is with recording.
With knowledge and experience the element of chance is removed.
Octave Recording was formed in 1979 by Dave Smith, whose career as an audio engineer has run concurrently with that of professional trombonist and composer for over thirty years. A career spanning a wide variety of styles, with numerous orchestras and ensembles in recording studios, theatres (both provincial and in London's West End) and concert halls throughout the U.K., Europe and the Middle-East. Numbered amongst these are:
- The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
- The Million-Airs Concert Orchestra
- The Mantovani Orchestra
- Manchester Sinfonia/Camerata
- Atarah ben Tovim
- The All Stars Big Band
- The Tony Hatch Orchestra
- English Philharmonic Orchestra
And with artists of stage and concert platform too numerous to list entirely but including: Sacha Distel, The Drifters, The Three Degrees, Faith Brown, Paul Daniels, Roy Castle, Michael 'Peanuts' Hucko, Don Lusher, Des O'Connor, Tony Hatch, Bruce Forsyth, Connie Francis, Jackie Trent, Freddie Starr, Eve Boswell, Russ Abbot, June Allyson, Kenny Baker, Pattie Boulaye, Anne Shelton etc., etc.
What this translates into for the Octave client is a Producer and Engineer with an understanding of the needs of the recording artist, and the technical requirements of the recording process, both of which have a direct bearing on the quality of the finished product.