24/07/2026
How We Recorded the Sonny Flint's Beano Bluesbreakers EP at Swift Studio on a budget
One of the aims when recording the Beano Bluesbreakers EP at Swift Studio was to capture the feel and excitement of a genuine mid 1960s British beat combo, rather than producing a modern, heavily edited recording. We wanted it to sound like a band playing together.
The Drums 🥁
The foundation of the sound was a vintage 1963 Premier 54 Outfit drum kit, very similar to the type of kit that would have been used during the original Bluesbreakers era. The drums were tuned slightly above a medium tuning to give them a lively, open tone.
No damping was used on the toms or snare. The only damping was on the bass drum, which had traditional felt strips across both the front and rear heads. This requires the drums to be tuned well.
The microphones were: 🎙️
• Shure Beta 52A on the bass drum
• Audix i5 on the top and bottom of the snare drum
• Audix D2 microphones on both the 12” and 16” toms to capture the body and warmth of the drums
• A pair of Rode NT5 condensers as overheads
The open tuning gives the drums plenty of natural sustain. Rather than fighting it, we embraced it as part of the overall character of the recording.
Recording the Band 🎸 🎸
To achieve the energy of a live performance, we recorded the drums, bass and guitar together in the studio.
The bass and guitar were initially recorded as guide tracks while Sonny’s drum performance was captured. Pete Billing played bass through a SansAmp pedal, recording directly into the desk, and we actually kept his original bass performance.
Neil Roberts also recorded a guide guitar part direct from the XLR output on the back of his Vox AC50. A guide vocal was performed in the room at the same time. Everyone monitored on headphones, allowing the musicians to play together while keeping the tracks clean enough for later overdubs.
Once we had the right drum take, we checked the bass for any wrong notes or timing issues before replacing the guide guitar with the final performance.
The final guitar was recorded through an all valve Orange AD15 amplifier, close-miked with a single Audix i5. Sometimes less really is more.
Keyboards 🎹
Rick Pentecost recorded using a Crumar DK61 controller.
For the Hammond organ we used the excellent VB3-II software, while the piano parts were played as MIDI using EZKeys’ Vintage Upright instrument.
Recording the keyboard performances as MIDI meant that sounds and performances could easily be refined afterwards without needing to replay the parts.
Brass 🎷 🎺
Greg Heath not only recorded the horn section in his own studio, but also wrote and arranged all of the brass parts.
Recording tenor, baritone and alto saxophones, along with trumpet where required, Greg built the arrangements one instrument at a time to create the full section sound. Once completed, the multitrack files were sent to Swift Studio via WeTransfer and incorporated into the final mixes.
Vocals 🎤
Lead vocalist Laine Hines recorded his vocals at home and sent the finished audio files to the studio.
This approach allowed him to concentrate solely on the vocal performances while giving plenty of flexibility during the mixing stage.
Mixing 🎛️💻
The mixes were deliberately kept natural rather than over-processed.
EQ and compression were used carefully to enhance the recordings without losing their character. On the drum bus I used Waves Abbey Road compression to produce a warm, full-bodied drum sound.
No gates were used anywhere on the drums. Open, ringing drums are very much part of the sound from that era. The only thing to be careful of is not to push the toms too hard in the mix, as compression can make their sustain last almost indefinitely. Used sparingly, however, that natural ring adds a lovely sense of ambience and excitement.
Mastering 🎚️💿
For mastering I used the Waves Abbey Road Mastering Chain.
I like to drive the mix as hard as possible while staying just below the point where distortion or digital clipping becomes noticeable. It helps create the impression of a loud, energetic band playing in the room, rather than a heavily polished modern production.
Ultimately, that was the whole philosophy behind this project. Use vintage instruments where possible, capture real musicians playing together, avoid excessive editing, and let the performances speak for themselves.
