Merus

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Merus means pure. We specialise in recording sacred music and designing audio for cathedrals, churches and other acoustically challenging buildings.

23/09/2026

Not a dry eye at St Andrew’s today as many farewelled John Beaverstock. Beautiful service, lovely music by his choirs in a packed church. A fitting tribute to a wonderful musician - RIP.

13/09/2026

I'm heading to the RAI in Amsterdam to attend International Broadcast Convention, not just to keep up-to-date with technical developments and the latest in broadcast trends, but I’m particularly interested in how AI is impacting that market.

AI is rapidly finding its way into almost everything in AV, but is it impacting broadcast and recording to the same extent? How far could it pe*****te the recording journey?

I’m not talking about a clean studio sound - think of a Cathedral with its unique acoustic signature and multiple mics placed around the building.

Imagine giving an AI a complete multitrack recording with several takes of the same piece.

Could it listen through everything and decide:
• which take has the best performance?
• where the strongest phrases are?
• which sections should be edited together?
• and ultimately mix and master it into a finished CD?

Technically, AI is already capable of analysing pitch, timing, dynamics, noise and many other aspects of a recording, but that's not really my question. Spending hours listening to takes before starting an edit, I'm not simply looking for the most accurate performance - rarely is the technically perfect take the one I want.

There may be something about another take - a phrase, a dynamic change, a moment of expression, or something I can't put my finger on that makes it feel right. Music has feel, it speaks to you and you just know when it's right.

That judgement comes from experience, knowing the music and, perhaps most importantly, having an idea of what the performance is trying to say.

Can AI do that?

Can it genuinely distinguish between the technically correct and musically compelling? Can musically compelling be clearly defined?

I think there is something about the human ear, the human musical experience that AI can't yet replicate, and whilst the future may not see AI replace the recording engineer, I think it will become (probably already is) an extraordinarily useful assistant.

I've yet to experiment with this, but one simple task would be to have it listen to all the takes and tell me the places where there is a meaningful choice.

But I can't bring myself to give it blind trust, and I would find myself listening to the takes anyway. Maybe I'm not alone?

I'm curious to hear from musicians, producers and engineers. Would you trust AI to create a performance from multiple takes?

What decisions would you happily hand over to it — and which ones would you never give up?

Meanwhile, a picture from earlier today - a Byrd treat by the girl choristers and lay clerks at St Paul’s this morning.

18/08/2026

Today’s view at the office.

02/08/2026

Well, this is most unexpected in the bulletin this week but lovely to see, and explaining the value. Thank you Fr Stephen.

23/07/2026

Delighted to be confirmed by St James’ Sydney to lead integration of the streaming, music and voice technology systems in the Church. Thank you to Fr Christopher, the clergy, vergers, musicians and members of the parish council for handing me the responsibility for this task. I’m looking forward to getting stuck in next month.

10/07/2026

Very pleased to welcome Simon back to the West Coast for some rarely played pieces in possibly the best acoustic organ setting in Perth.

16/05/2026

Absolutely packed inside tonight for the Fatima procession - piping the music and prayers outside meant more could take part.

06/04/2026

And here it is …

05/04/2026

Homeward bound now after a busy 10 days at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney. Since last Friday, we've been supporting the intensity of Holy Week — from the Palm Sunday procession through Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, to the Easter Vigil and Easter Mass on Sunday morning.

This year we ran 21 cameras and multiple microphones, inside and out, producing coverage for the congregation in the Cathedral and for those at home. Not an insignificant task, and there’s very little downtime.

About twelve months on from the sound system renewal, the gremlins have been flushed out and the fundamentals are right. When services carry this much meaning, the technology needs to disappear so the focus stays where it belongs. There’s a quiet satisfaction in that.

Earlier this year the camera upgrade to HD was completed and the CD-quality audio is now settled. Of course, high-definition vision and sound also expose the small details — the ones that determine whether the outcome feels natural and believable, or whether it doesn’t. The job is simple to describe and hard to deliver: people at home should be able to watch and listen as if they were there; those in the Cathedral want clear, intelligible sound. Glitch-free. Clear pictures. Quality sound.

I’ve watched plenty of streamed services over the last couple of years. Some are excellent, some barely watchable, and the difference is rarely one thing. It isn’t just microphone choice, the placement, camera positions, processing or the mix — it’s the whole chain, and the judgement applied at every step.

There’s no manual for that. No textbook will teach you what “right” sounds like in a complex space. You have to listen through the layers until you can hear what each microphone is contributing — and care enough to keep listening and adjusting until it’s honest.

But of course things are never perfect. Whether it's YouTube that doesn't cope with the dynamic range or the unpredictable nature of live production where things change (often at the last minute) - always expect the unexpected.

But the heart of this is without quality at the source, there is no output. The drive of St Mary's Cathedral Choir, Sydney to keep building their repertoire, and the unwavering commitment of Daniel Justin and Simon Niemiński in pursuit of excellence, is a privilege to work alongside.

Quiet work, long hours, high stakes — and when it’s done properly, nobody notices.

Which is exactly the point.

20/02/2026

Made me chuckle ...

Address

Sydney, NSW
2000

Website

http://www.merussound.com/

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Global Dance Tours
814 Old Princes Highway Sutherland

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