Pye Studios

Recording and mastering studios in London and affiliated with . Originally located at 10a Chandos Street, the studios moved in 1960 into the ATV House, Great Cumberland Place (with the studio entrance in Bryanston Street), just off Marble Arch. Note: The names Pye Studios Marble Arch or Marble Arch Studios can also be found on releases but are one and the same studios and all such entries since 1960 also belong here. The studio consisted of two recording studios with control rooms, a vocal booth for voice-over work, two remix rooms, three lacquer cutting rooms, two tape copying rooms, three echo chambers, and at some point in the 1970s, an 8-track mastering room. Vinyl cuts can be identified by the specific run-out patterns, which were generally stamped (up to 1976) and hand-etched afterwards (although etched ones can be found earlier, too). The pattern consists of the matrix number (generally the same as the catalogue number), with a suffixed side identifier 'A' or a 'B', followed by a hyphen and a single number (usually '1'), followed by a symbol for the cutting room/ lathe, and an engineer's initial or scribe. The following symbols were used to identify the cutting room/ lathe: △ (triangle) - until 1968 identifying a Westrex/Scully lathe, then a Neumann VMS66 lathe, ♢ (diamond) - until 1970 identifying a Westrex/Scully lathe, then a Neumann VMS70 lathe, ✳ (star) - until 1974 identifying a Westrex Scully lathe. The following initials were used by the cutting engineers: BJ with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes = with ANV BJ F with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes = with ANV = F G with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes = with ANV = G H with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes = with ANV = H J with the △ prefix = (nickname Jeff) with ANV = J M with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes, until 1966 = with ANV = M M with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes, since 1967 = with ANV = M MB with the △ and ♢ prefixes = with ANV = MB N with the △ prefix - so far unknown R with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes - so far unknown S with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes = Derek Sticklen with ANV = S T with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes = with ANV = T W with the △ and ♢ prefixes = Derek Sticklen (Derek W Sticklen) with ANV = W X with the △, ♢ and ✳ prefixes = with Alias X (16) noel or NS = with ANVs = Noel or NS tone, from 1978 onwards = with ANV = Tone and Melvyn Hiser (without further information). The π (Pi symbol) stands for Lacquer Cut At - Pye Studios. Another, early, identifier for Pye Studios is "WSC" found in the runouts (likely standing for a Westrex/Scully lathe). Note: Pye's own pressing plant later added one or two letters (e.g. A) at nine o'clock, and a number at three o'clock (e.g. 1 - appearing as I), standing for the mother and stamper numbers. When the rights to the name Pye expired, the label changed its name to PRT () in September 1980, and subsequently, the studio changed its name to . Recording engineers known to have worked here: - Bob Auger - Alan McKenzie - Alan O'Duffy - Ray Prickett - Eddie Kramer - Barry Ainsworth - Alan Florence - Brian Humphries - David Hunt (3) - Mike Brown (3) - Vic Maile - Howard Barrow - Terry Evennett - Geoff Calver - Kenny Denton - Larry Bartlett - Kim Maxwell - Alan Perkins - Mike Wilson (5) - Ray Hendriksen Tape operator known to have worked here: - Richard Goldblatt Maintenance engineers known to have worked here: - John Timms - Phil Newell - Ian Sylvester - Ken Atwood - Noel Jesuadian - Peter Duncan