Cenzo Townshend: Decoy Studios & The Maccabees

This month we head to the picturesque Suffolk countryside to meet mix engineer CenzoTownshend in his new facility, Decoy Studios. Cenzo’s undeniably British sound has graced the airwaves countless times, with credits ranging from Kaiser Chiefs to Tom Jones, via Florence + The Machine and U2.
Over the course of this month’s video feature, Cenzo and his team give us a brief tour of the complex, taking in the two mix rooms, the striking live room and an unusually welcoming vocal booth.
Cenzo also talks technique, discussing the process of re-amping guitars and bass, judicious use of EQ when separating guitars, and the importance of phase when it comes to mixing drums and bass.
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Jump to sections:
Using samples to support live drum sounds
• Cenzo Townshend: Decoy...
Re-amping
• Cenzo Townshend: Decoy...
Looking at The Maccabees 'Marks To Prove It'
• Cenzo Townshend: Decoy...
Varying bass tone and effects
• Cenzo Townshend: Decoy...
Phase
• Cenzo Townshend: Decoy...

[@eduardojvivas]

I have no words, truly amazing

[@donkeyfacekilla1]

What an absolute don. This guy is doing it proper!

[@chenguefer156]

Very interesting video, amazing content. Many thanks for sharing!

[@LuxElliott]

Very well done video. Bravo!

[@NorthernSkiesMusic]

Absolutely phenomenal interview! Cenzo, Really knows what it takes. So much stellar information in this 30min vid. killer. cheers!

[@Wolfie99]

Fantastic insight. Many thanks.

[@LittleZdy]

It's the exact opposite of many post facilities. Basements with stuffy and stale atmosphere in the middle of an industrial estate. To this: heaven on earth.

[@GemExperience]

Great interview. I understood everything :)

[@taylerphelps7089]

Amazing!

[@revol40]

Cenzo is ACE!

[@d_s_ctube]

Great stuff.

[@the-matrix-has-you]

Best drums phase information really helpful

[@artyfuffull]

Great interview

[@koukouvania]

good stuff!

[@JC3D]

17:35 the mix and band sound so great!

[@dmrsk1899]

I honestly didn't understand most of the stuff being talked about, but this video is enough to make me regret not learning music engineering

[@tjrox]

Don't feel bad, 99% of the people who study music engineering can't find a job except in some bedroom studio.

[@benasaro1043]

Very inspiring interview! I am curious how they keep noise under control with all of those vintage units ganged together ...

[@tekarts]

Cenzo drivin' his Benzo! O-K!

[@eds4754]

The man is a god.

[@JacobPadlock]

That patch bay on the SSL is going to give me nightmares.

[@Filix125]

Shawn seems like a lovely lovely dude

[@tekis0]

Both of the staff engineers seem like they'd be really nice to work with.

[@AlexSolano]

His explanation of phase is significant. Can anyone expand on this or direct me to a forum where this is discussed more clearly? Is Cenzo referring to 1.) flipping the polarity on a console, 2.) Moving the waveform to match the phase of the other tracks? or, 3.) using time-alignment plugins to adjust for phase?

[@foxytv4896]

Have you figured it out yet? If yes fine, if not I can give you some clues. Cheers

[@ricksalt6860]

Just wondering , are there artist / music grants from the Govt. or is the a number of philanthropical organizations in Great Briton ? Seeing some really impressive studios from there .

[@sunilcunningham3080]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/oqfHd2uCgdCSoMU

[@tarragon9030]

Anyone know the purpose of them using Pure Evoke 2 speakers? They had one in second mixing room and also in the library. Do they just enjoy listening to the radio between mixing sessions?

[@jackflamusic]

David Hasselhoff 31:09

[@guywithoutthought]

A lot of time is spent mixing on that radio to get the balance right.

[@Hydrate_music]

Why did you place your Focal Sm9 speakers the wrong way? They should be switched, so it matches left and right speaker.

[@ZephyrCrypto]

It's not wrong. If you have a small room width wise then the focals can sound better with the bass drivers on the inside

[@Hydrate_music]

Didn´t knew that.. Maybe I should try to switch mine and se what works the best. Thanks.

[@WillyJunior]

Looks and talks like a conservative politician, mixes like an absolute beast.

[@GolerGkA]

I don't get it. Why use SSL strip emulation when you have SSL console in the same room?

[@tyrone05]

bc you can sometimes get the same or even better sound quicker or easier. Plugins have gotten exceptionally better these days

[@ZiadSidawi]

Because they need to work faster. The mixer isn’t even turned on.

Why is Ed Sheeran interviewing this folks AGAIN!?

[@user-yk4gd1fl4z]

Who the hell are the Maccabees? Never heard of em.

[@WillyJunior]

GOOGLE IT FOOL

[@chrischoir3594]

Why wouldn't there be a DI available? this makes no sense

[@andrewwhitehouse1878]

I (think) he means that sometimes when a client provides him the files to mix from, (ie not recorded at his place) that they may not have provided a separate DI track. Perhaps never recorded or already summed with an amp mic track before hand?

[@alexmuli]

Ed sheeran!hahah

[@spn7594]

Cool studios, would never reached by amateur bedroom producer 😏

[@lumpyfishgravy]

Seems like an architectural wonder disguised as a sound studio.