Recording the guitars
19 March 2008 
We all caught the 9.30 am train together from Edinburgh to Glasgow this morning.
Max has booked 3 days at Cava studio, Belle and Sebastian recorded quite a lot of their records at Cava.
Ca Va Studio has a tape machine and some great gear, Neve desk, Solaris and Coles mics for guitars and a wooden recording room, which really works with acoustic instruments.
It’s quite a ramshackle place with a disco ball in the control room and also a piano which we all think is a great idea.
There is also a fine B3 Hammond Organ and a leslie cab in the basement. pretty much everything we need for a great record is here!
Max has worked with Geoff Alan, the engineer at Cava on a lot of projects. Geoff is a sweet, pleasant man with a laid back way and a lover of vintage gear like Max.
We started with the song Heaven’s Door, we’re laying down all of the guitars for the songs, to tape and to hear the sound produced in that wooden room (which Geoff designed), from Marc’s lovely guitar was pure pleasure.
Marc Pilley at Ca Va Studio Photo by Metso
Heaven’ s Door took some working out and although we experimented with a heavier more horn and orchestral based version of the song, I decided to keep the acoustic guitar at the heart of the song and loose the heavy strings and beats which Max had come up with as a possibility. I am so glad about that decision , as hearing the guitar for Heaven’s Door today, I felt that it was perfect for the song and Marc got it down in just a few takes. Superb!
To begin with, Max had 3 mics, the Cole and the Solaris and the Neumann 87 on the guitar, he ditched the Neumann and just used the other two.
Going to tape gives the guitar a warm beautiful sound and I understand why Max likes to do this. I am excited to be working in this way and already, just hearing the guitars, I anticipate that this will be a record of real quality and character.
The B3 Organ, the strings, the Rhodes and the pianos on Rocking Horse will all be real, not synthesized, therefore, they each have their own character, their own natural heart and sound.
Marc played the guitars for songs, The Kiss and Flowers and Dancing Bears. It went very smoothly and I couldn’t have hoped for a better guitar session for the record.
Me and Marc Pilley at Ca Va Studio photo by Metso
As soon as we began recording Marc playing the guitar on Heaven’s Door, it was a great feeling in the studio. We were all excited.I was so glad that Metso was there for the first day of recording guitars, he’s as excited as I am about this record and quite rightly so, he has been by my side every step of the way on this journey.
