http://www.middlefarmstudios.com/

Middle Farm Studios, Newton Abbot (2025)

29/06/2023

Pete's on holiday, who fancies a sweet deal on some summer Middle Farm Studio vibes? Don't hesitate to get in touch.

25/03/2023

Glaucus Guitars, here are a few of Patrick’s lovely instruments!

First his beautiful 1981 Ibanez AS-200 Semi-Hollowbody. This might seem to be a 335 alike, but it’s such a unique beast. Both in terms of feel, playability and tone the Ibanez has it’s own distinct character and will dispel any myths that Ibanez only make shredder guitars!

In another life a young Pat was the bass player in Cornwall’s premier Green Day tribute, Green Dayz! In 2004 he traded in his 6 string Warwick for this Mike Dirt signature P bass. 19 years later he still hasn’t changed the strings, that’s some serious vintage tone!

This amazing 1962 Burns Vista Sonic Bass is on extended loan from Middle Farm spiritual advisor Nick Hannan, watch out for the ‘Wild Dog’ setting!

The most recent addition to the stable is this lovely Fender Noventa Jazzmaster. Simplified controls, three P90s and a delicious mint green finish make for a joyous instrument to play.

Pat is going to be spending time working away from Middle Farm over the next few months so we’ll be offering discounted rates in The Glaucus, especially for longer bookings. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with him for more details.

25/03/2023

Swapping the rooms in The Glaucus House was definitely the right decision. The smaller room is perfect for tight dry focused drums, it’s a great space for vocals and it doubles as an extra bedroom if you need more sleeping space.

Patricks beautiful Ludwig Club Date kit is always set up and ready to go along with a lovely selection of vintage keys including our delicous Wurlitzer 200a which features on hundreds of Middle Farm recordings!

Pat is going to be spending time working away from Middle Farm over the next few months so we’ll be offering discounted rates in The Glaucus, especially for longer bookings. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with him for more details.

25/03/2023

Our second studio, The Glaucus House has has a significant upgrade. After a few years in its original configuration, Patrick decided that his workflow would be improved if he had the larger space as his control room and the smaller space as a live room.

He made the big switch and we couldn’t be happier with the new layout. The spacious, bright and airy control room is a wonderful creative space to work in. Patrick made beautiful hard wood studio furniture to house his ever expanding gear collection.

It was also immediately clear that this space was a better mixing environment with clearer stereo imaging and more even frequency response than the smaller room.

Pat is going to be spending time working away from Middle Farm over the next few months so we’ll be offering discounted rates in The Glaucus, especially for longer bookings. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with him for more details.

25/03/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 9 - 1978 Alhambra Spanish Acoustic

Pete’s mum Rosie bought this guitar for her 30th birthday. She taught herself ‘The House Of The Rising Sun’ and then left the guitar in a corner for ten years.

From the age of five Pete wanted to be Ritchie Valens! Rosie decided that Pete had to learn classical Spanish guitar for three years before he was allowed an electric guitar and from the age of seven Pete resentfully took lessons and went through his grades.

He played the Alhambra acoustic in his lessons and practise at home until his 10th birthday when Rosie kept her promise and bought Pete a Peavey Raptor Strat copy. The nylon string was discarded for many years till in his 20’s Pete found a new love for folk music and the guitar started finding its way onto recordings.

It’s now a staple of the Middle Farm sound. The action is high and the intonation is pretty wonky past the 8th fret, but it has a warmth that begs to be played and it records really well.

20/03/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 8 - 1978 Fender Mustang Bass

This little beauty has been a staple of the Middle Farm tone arsenal for many years. Strung with ancient flat wounds its voice is round and warm with a short sustain, perfect for all things reminiscent of the golden era of 60's and 70's pop, soul and funk.

Talking of things golden, it's original owner was Rinus Gerritsen of dutch rockers Golden Earring, though it hadn't been made when they had their 1973 hit 'Radar Love'.

Now technically this bass is on loan, Pete's friend Barry Po***ck has owned this bass since his teens and Pete lusted after it from afar for many years. About ten years ago, Pete stumbled across an amazing Guild B-302 bass (a rare and bizarre mix of a Rickenbacker and a space ship) in a local music store and bought it for a steal.

Shortly afterwards Barry came to the farm for a session bringing his Mustang with him. It never left the case, he saw Pete's Guild and fell in love with it. He played it all week and we all saw the misty look in his eyes when he put it back on the wall at the end of the session. Pete suggested they swapped basses for 'a few months' so Barry could conclude his love affair with the Guild and Pete could finally get his hands on the Mustang.

Ten years later Barry still has the Guild and the Mustang is still at Middle Farm having graced hundreds of tracks. Barry has returned a numbers of times bringing the Guild with him, but he always leaves again. It seems to be working out!

01/02/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 7 - 1995 Simon & Patrick SP6 Acoustic

This old warhorse was Pete’s 13th birthday present! He took a trip to Denmark street with his father John and they spent the day walking up and down the street trying guitar after guitar, looking for ‘the one’. Flights of fancy were indulged, guitars with very significant pedigree and price tags to match were auditioned, but Pete kept coming back to this comparatively humble Canadian Simon & Patrick SP6.

Back in the mid 90’s S&P’s were still made in Quebec to very high standards. The SP6 in a subtle oiled finish was the most humble guitar of the line, but felt and sounded perfect, feeling significantly more alive than many of the much fancier guitars he tried and he went home a very happy young lad!

The guitar has had a rocky past. After featuring on many a teenage demo it suffered a terrible accident in 1999 when a ‘friend’ of Pete’s (not for long) dropped a speaker directly onto the top of the body, caving the whole guitar in. Heartbroken, Pete handed the guitar to his guitar tutor, mentor and luthier Amoon Mosharrafa who painstakingly rebuilt the guitar and it went on to record and tour for another 15 years. Significantly Pete used it for his whole touring career with Martin Grech and it was the main instrument used on Martin’s 3rd album, ‘March of the Lonely’.

By 2017 it was really suffering, the internal bracing was collapsing the the spruce top was starting to resemble a skate ramp with huge bulged and dips. During the recording of Ben Howard’s ‘Noonday Dream’ Pete met Ben’s tech and master luthier Stephen Gray. He had built several amazing guitars for Ben that Pete was very impressed with. Pete showed him the sad S&P and a plan was made to restore it to its original glory.

Stephen took the guitar back to his workshop and dismantled it completely and essentially built a new guitar from the old. It was returned several months later completely restored and features on records made at Middle Farm all the time.

31/01/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 6 - 2012 Gibson Hummingbird Acoustic

This beauty belonged to our old friend Peter Liddle from defunct folk rock legends Dry The River. He favoured more compact parlour guitars live and the Hummingbird traveled the world in its case as a backup that almost never came out live.

When Peter contacted our Peter Miles to negotiate the production of his 2018 solo record ‘Casual Labour’ it was decided that the little loved Hummingbird would change hands as part payment for the making of the record and so it found it’s way into the Middle Farm collection.

It’s a glorious example of a classic instrument and the more it is played, the more it comes to life. It genuinely does feel to us that acoustic guitars take many many years to bed in and develop their tone and now after 5 years in our collection this instrument is really starting to sing. It’s found it way onto so many records, the perfect companion to our (soon to be featured) vintage Simon & Patrick, its naturally bright, full and forward tone matching the darker woodiness of the S&P splendidly.

16/01/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 5 - 1975 Fender Precision Bass

In 2005 Pete found himself filling in on bass for his old friends Howard's Alias. Not having a bass of his own, he borrowed an amazing looking 70's Fender Jazz from a friend. It turned out to be a complete dog, crushingly heavy with a clanky tone and terrible action. Something needed to be done!

Pete called into every music shop, charity shop and pawn shop he could find as the tour rolled on, but nothing caught his eye. Then one day before sound check at Bristol's now defunct 'The Croft' Pete spotted a Cash Convertors up the road and had a quick look inside. Amongst the usual detritus of old TV's, games consoles and Squire Strats there lurked something promising.

From the other side of the cluttered shop it was clear it was a 70's P Bass, the headstock gave it away immediately. It was also clear as soon as Pete picked it up that it was totally fu**ed!

It only had two strings, the frets were horribly worn, the pots and machine heads were seized, there were all kinds of scratches, dents and gauges in the body and neck, the bridge had been replaced with an 80's 'BADASS BRIDGE', the sludge brown finish was pretty gross and no sound at all emitted from the instrument at all when plugged in!

All that aside, it was a genuine 70's P Bass that had a good weight, was well balanced, the neck had a nice feel to it and despite the plethora of cosmetic and not so cosmetic issues, it seemed very likely that after a serious going over, it would be reborn a fine instrument.

Pete offered the man £400, he insisted it was worth not a penny less than £1000.

Pete declined and strolled back up the hill for soundcheck.

After soundcheck he offered £400, the man countered with £800. Pete returned with £400, the man said £650. Pete left.

The next morning he got up early, went to the cash point, pulled out £450 and headed back to Cash Converters, the bass was still there.

Pete offered £400, the man £600. Pete £400, the man £500. Pete pulled out the £450 hard cash and the man caved!

Continued in comments…

14/01/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 4 - Manson Guitarworks Gaga Custom

Believe it or not, this guitar was a one off custom build by Manson Guitarworks for none other than Lady Gaga. It was ordered to match her outfit for the 2017 Superbowl halftime show, but last minute Gaga decided to switch to keytar and the instrument never got airtime!

The guitar found its way back to the Mansons and was placed on the wall of the showroom and gathered a light layer of dust. Now there's no denying this guitar draws the eye! Whenever Pete visited, it drew his attention, on a few occasions he pulled it off the wall and strummed a chord... damn, this guitar feels good... plugged it in, wow, it sounds fantastic. Better put it back...

This cycle repeated for a number of years till some time in 2019 Pete plucked up the courage/audacity to ask to borrow the guitar for a few weeks to see how it performed in the studio.

The answer was, FANTASTICALLY! Whilst it naturally draws itself to heavy playing just from its aesthetic, drop C with 12-56's is a great place to start, it's a really balanced and versatile guitar. It holds its tuning relentlessly, the tone is clear and balanced, the action is flawless and it's very comfortable in the hands. Pete even experimented with 13-70 drop A and it held it's own!

So a 'few weeks' later in 2023 the guitar still resides at Middle Farm. Let me know if you need it back guys...

A footnote, the guitar drew the attention of legendary produced Adam 'Nolly' Getgood during one of his regular visits to Middle Farm and sparked the beginning of a long journey leading to the development and release of Adam's collaboration with Mansons, the amazing ORYX XI & XII!

12/01/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 3 - 1974 Fender FrankenStrat

This guitar was a late night impulse eBay purchase Pete made back in 2014. The listing looked like a horror show, a seemingly original but very tatty 1974 Strat body, hardtail bridge and pickup set Frankensteined with an ‘All Parts’ neck with unofficial Fender Custom Shop decals. Even from the photographs it was clear the guitar was unplayable, but it had something special about it, the yellowing of the lacquer and years of wear that no relic could emulate, the flame on the neck and headstock, it seemed worth a punt.

Pete snagged it for a steal, considerably underneath four figures and held his breath. It arrive in the post a week later and exactly as expected, it was an unplayable nightmare, but a very promising one. Whilst the action was a catastrophe and the nut a right off, it was clear there was a fantastic guitar if the right luthier got their hands on it.

This is where having the legendary Manson Guitarworks less than 10 minutes from the studio really paid off! Pete didn’t even bother plugging the guitar in and took it over to Jeremy 'the king of setups' at Mansons who returned it the next week a total beast! It played amazingly and felt great in the hands. Plugged in it was promising, but it was immediately clear that the original pickups weren’t up to much. They were microphonic, weedy and hollow sounding.

This is where having the legendary Bare Knuckle Pickups down the road in Falmouth really paid off! After a quick phone call with mastermind Tim Mills a set of Mother's Milk single coils was ordered, a clear nod to Pete’s love of both Hendrix and Frusciante. Back to the Guitarworks to get them fitted and the setup tweaks and one of the finest Strats to grace the earth was truly unveiled!

Who’s recorded with this guitar? Let’s hear your story…

10/01/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 2 - 2004 Fender Custom Shop ’63 medium relic Telecaster

Pete spent much of 2008 searching for the 'perfect tele' inspired by a particularly delicous vintage Telecaster Matt Taylor from Dry The River had borrowed for some of their early recordings at Pete's previous studio, Holne Bridge.

Off the shelf modern guitars just felt like plastic toys, every single 70's vintage telecaster was a horrible log with no life to it, there was one amazing late 60's telecaster that Pete played at Manson Guitars that was pretty much the holy grail, but even then it's price was completely unattainable.

One day in late 2008 Pete stopped by Mansons to get some strings and spotted this guitar on the wall. From a distance it looked like the real deal, a genuine early 60's tele, but stepping closer the price tag and a look at the back of the headstock told a different story.

It was a 2nd hand 2004 custom shop '63 reissue medium relic. Pete had always turned his nose up at relic'd guitars, but this one was magical and the price whilst moderately eye watering for a lad in his 20's was actually quite affordable.

Since then this amazing guitar has featured on hundreds of records, most often paired with our beautiful Bad Cat Black Cat head purchased from Mansons around the same time, or our '64 Fender Princeton combo.

Pete added a Les Paul style jack socket, intonated brass vintage saddles and had the tailpiece shaved down to allow for more comfortable palm muting.

Who here has got a story about this guitar?

08/01/2023

Guitars of Middle Farm 1 - 1976 Gibson Les Paul Custom.

Pete bought this guitar in 2001 and it was his main guitar throughout his early career as a session guitarist for Martin Grech and many many a punk show up till 2006 when he stopped touring to focus on production.

This guitar has been on hundreds of records Pete has made, no exaggeration! It really is a perfect example of a Les Paul. Who here has played this guitar? Let's hear your stories!

It was re-fretted somewhere around 2004, the original pickups were re-wound by Bare Knuckle in 2009 and Pete bypassed the tone pots like he does with all his guitars.

05/01/2023

1995 Mesa Dual Rectifier one off modified by Dan Gower, no other amp like it, pure fire breathing high gain magic. None of the mud or fizz typically associated with these amps. Matching oversized 4x12 featuring the ‘golden vintage 30’ that tone-guru Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood selected as ‘the one’!

05/01/2023

1968 Fender Twin combo ruthlessless hacked into head form by Pete many many years ago. This is such a beauty, featuring the amazing ’65 black face circuit, it’s actually way dirtier than many would expect. Clearly you have to crank it to brutal SPL’s to get that breakup, but it’s so glorious, particularly with the valve spring reverb and trem engaged. It sounds fantastic through a celesion loaded 4x12, but we also have a Jensen loaded twin combo shell if you want the traditional open backed tone. The cab is a matching ’68 2x15” dual showman cab, which looks amazing, but sounds like trash. Harsh, hollow and glassy for guitar, muddy and flatulent for bass. If you can get a great tone out of it, good on you. It’ll look great in the lineup!

05/01/2023

1973 Marshall JMP Super Bass 100w & 1968 basketweave 4x12 leaded with G12M’s. Pete has had this rig for over 20 years and there are very few Marshalls that can touch it. The definition of classic rock tone!

05/01/2023

2003 Diesel VH4, this amp needs no introduction, a modern classic, the quintesential high gain Swiss Army knife amp. This amp marked the end of Pete’s VERY extensive late teen-early 20’s tone quest during his time as session guitarist for Martin Grech. It’s a true desert island classic. No other amp does it all like the VH4 and it’s ch3 high gain tones are still some of the finest ever heard!

05/01/2023

1977 Ampeg VT40, originally a 4x10 combo, ‘The Josh Homme Amp…’ this really is a beast. Tone like nothing else. Pete decided to chop it in half and make a head out of it. It’s weird unique fuzzy midrange breakup really excels when cranked and boosted. This is an unbeatable amp for all things stoner fuzz riff related paired with a guitar cab. It’s original speakers were rehoused to a villa cab matching the original combo’s dimensions should you require the stock tone though Pete prefers it through a Marshall 4x12. It’s also a fantastic low/mid volume bass amp giving you that classic Ampeg tone at a manageable volume.

Middle Farm Studios

29/06/2023

25/03/2023

25/03/2023

25/03/2023

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20/03/2023

01/02/2023

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12/01/2023

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