About Us

Theo & Elliot performing live

“ WE ARE A STUDIO BORN FROM THE GRASS ROOTS OF MUSICIANS”

“ THEREFORE WE SEE ALL ASPECTS OF RECORDING FROM THE ARTISTS PERSPECTIVE FIRST.”.

Highfield Studio started out as a recording / rehearsal space for owner Elliot Richardson who built the space with the help from his father. The hard graft and passion can be felt when you enter the building, based in the beautiful rural countryside of Chelmsford (Essex) this studio offers peaceful and stunning surroundings which help make your experience a memorable one.

Centred around an Audient ASP8024-36 channel console and super accurate ExMachina Pulsar & PMC Monitoring the products produced here are of the highest professional standard.

Our Mission

To make your recording experience enjoyable, professional and productive. Delivering a high standard of work for a reasonable price point.

Our Vision

Is to leave a legacy like many great studios of the past.  Somewhere artists will talk about, a place on the map, the hit factory,  the home of artist development.

Core Values

  • The artist is at the center of the process
  • Strive for greatness by pushing boundaries
  • The process is the whole experience
  • Collaboration activates motivation

The Recording Studio

Highfield is a 621 square foot facility with 1 control room, 1 liveroom, and 1 vocal booth

Room 1 – Control Room

The control room is a state-of-the-art space equipped for music production. Based around a 36 channel Audient ASP8024 Mixing Console, Ex Machina – Pulsar & PMC 226 monitoring, a high spec 27″ iMac.  With the combination of highly considered acoustics and industry standard gear this space yields great results.

Room 2 – Live Room

This specially treated space caters to live tracking and rehearsals. offering a spacious, bright area for musicians to perform. Solid wood flooring, architectural acoustic panels and vaulted ceilings give the room a lively character, lending it perfectly to recording acoustic instruments and excelling on drum kit. All this is enjoyed whilst bathed in daylight from the panoramic window boasting countryside views.

Room 3 – Vocal Booth

Although big enough for drum kit, our vocal booth excels at achieving the necessary dry, upfront vocal sounds of modern productions. It also offers versatility in live tracking situations where amps need to be isolated from the live room.

All rooms are adjoined by large windows and speaker / headphone ties for ease of communication. There is also a bright clean kitchen and toilet facilities for the all important hot drinks during your session.

Our Team

At Highfield our engineers & producers have years of experience and expertise in a wide range of areas covering music production, sound design, recording,  mixing, video production, event organising, touring and performing.

Elliot Richardson

Producer / Owner

Hover Box Element

Founder of Highfield Studio.  Elliot started his career in music in 1995 as a drummer, acquiring skills in music production, engineering, mixing and video production along the way.

Theo Howarth

Engineer / Producer

Hover Box Element

Theo is a producer, sound engineer and multi-instrumentalist from Hertfordshire, U.K. and has been working at Highfield for 6 years. Also a recently signed artist of island records.

.

Need help with your music?

We don't bite, get in touch and we'll do our best to help.

Contact us

Our History

Our studio gained popularity for having the best drum soundand became home to many of the nations top acts

May 2002

The Beginning

Construction of Highfield Studio, began in the early 2000’s and was originally built by Elliot & his father for his band at the time to record in.  The Studio consisted of just two rooms, Control Room & Vocal Booth as seen in the 2003 picture.
January 2003

Empty

Predominantly built for rehearsals, Elliot bought his first computer setup with Logic 6 where he began to learn his craft.
August 2006

Time for a new look

After starting his new band ‘Missing Andy’ Elliot decided to go with a fresh new look.  Incorporating graffiti artwork on the walls to coinside with urban sounds of the new band.  Along with this were some equipment upgrades to the control room.
August 2006

Time for a new look

After creating his new band ‘Missing Andy’ Elliot decided to go with a fresh new look.  Incorporating graffiti artwork on the walls to coinside with urban sounds of the new band.  Along with this were some equipment upgrades to the control room.
August 2013

Acoustics Matter

Control Room Upgrade
After achieving great results with the new acoustically treated Live Room. We decided that the control room needed the same attention to detail. A full refurb of the control room ensured more balanced mix results.
December 2021

The finer detail

ExMachina Pulsar
Striving for perfection with our mixes we reached out to Dale at SXPro asking for a monitor upgrade that would ensure we hear every single detail. Dale did what he does best and introduced us to the ExMachina Pulsar’s. We haven’t looked back since.
December 2021

The finer detail

ExMachina Pulsar
Striving for perfection with our mixes we reached out to Dale at SXPro asking for a monitor upgrade that would ensure we hear every single detail. Dale did what he does best and introduced us to the ExMachina Pulsar’s. We haven’t looked back since.
May 2002

The Beginning

Construction of Highfield Studio, began in the early 2000’s and was originally built by Elliot & his father for his band at the time to record in.  The Studio consisted of just two rooms, Control Room & Vocal Booth as seen in the 2003 picture.
May 2003

Highfield Studio V1

The studio was predominantly built for rehearsals, however after purchasing an Apple Mac with Logic 6, Elliot began his journey into music production.
August 2006

Time for a new look

After starting his new band ‘Missing Andy’ Elliot decided to go with a fresh new look.  Incorporating graffiti artwork on the walls to coinside with urban sounds of the new band.  Along with this were some equipment upgrades to the control room.
May 2009

Size really does matter!

As Elliot’s band career started to really grow so did the quality of studio’s he recorded at, places such as Sarm West, Sphere Studios, Metropolis and Livingstone to name a few. From these experiences Elliot knew he needed a bigger live room.
August 2013

Acoustics Matter

Control Room Upgrade
After achieving great results with the new acoustically treated Live Room. We decided that the control room needed the same attention to detail. A full refurb of the control room ensured more balanced mix results.
August 2016

A game changing year!

Elliot & Theo at Decoy Sound after purchasing Cenzo Townshend’s legendary Audient ASP8024 console. We also upgraded to SSL converters & purchased a pair of PMC 226 monitors. A real game changing year!
December 2021

The finer detail

ExMachina Pulsar
Striving for perfection with our mixes we reached out to Dale at SXPro asking for a monitor upgrade that would ensure we hear every single detail. Dale did what he does best and introduced us to the ExMachina Pulsar’s. We haven’t looked back since.