Testimonials
"We first found out about Magnetic Fidelity by sheer luck. There was this card we found at a record store that read "Jesus I. Agnew – 100% Analog Recording & Studio Engineering". We had absolutely no idea what that was, but it sure sounded interestig. We gave Jesus a call and got into a two-hour conversation about what’s analog, how he likes to record music, different ways to capture a live performance and so on. Needless to say that we were sold at once! We decided to record a demo there. This demo, actually, became our debut album. Recorded in three days (two days of setting up everything and one day of recording all the songs with two or three takes at most!), completely live on cassette. The result was so vintage, warm and organic at its nature that we fell in love with it and this method of recording. We tried different vatiations in our next recordings there (two more LP’s and two EP’s), used the direct-to-master technique, used reel-to-reel tape, used pretty much all of Jesus’ all-tube amps, pedals, his custom made modular synthesizer (his name is Bob) and theremin. Jesus also cut all of our records’ lacquer for the vinyl production in a completely analog chain, using top-notch equipment to satisfy even the most demanding audiophile! Well, to summarize, Magnetic Fidelity is really a one-of-a-kind studio, unlike anything else we’ve seen, Jesus and Bine are awesome guys, the atmosphere is super friendly, the nature near the village is beautiful and the mastering room has pretty much the best speakers and acoustics out there. Don’t hesitate, people. Go analog now!" Naxatras, September 29, 2018
"I came across Magnetic Fidelity when they were first based in Sheffield, U.K. My very specific task was to find a studio that had an uncompromised analog chain and hopefully also, the engineers to respectfully understand what they were doing. The whole analog thing has become a fad and a byword for quality to such an extent, that what appears to be what it proclaims to be is not always what you get. The music that I had been making has its roots in a bygone DIY scene that by the very nature of the media accessible to it was analog by default and I wanted my music to inference all the flaws of this technology in as authentic a way as possible, to the atmosphere of these old recordings and whilst not seeking a carbon copy, in all humility, a respectful rebirth. Jesus I. Agnew and his partner Sabine Steldinger of Magnetic Fidelity have made it an uncomplicated and always enjoyable journey towards the fulfilment of this goal. I was confidently advised which pressing plants to work with, and having made a decision to work with Pallas-Group in Germany, Magnetic Fidelity liaised with them throughout the process and thereby making what might otherwise have been a drawn out and frustrating task, one instead that ran about as smooth as one could possibly imagine it should be. I have had two LP’s mastered by Jesus as of this date. The first had previously been mastered by another engineer that he then mastered as faithfully as possible for the final lacquer cut. Magnetic Fidelities in house lathe is a machine of magnificence and one idiosyncratically re-tooled to get the best possible cut before going to press. Jesus has, for example, added a Russian military precision tooling microscope to make certain that he’s carving just the right kind of grooves. The sight of the cuts that manifest the means to reproduce the first track on my album Broken Machine, will be an image that should never leave me; staring down upon, such as it appeared, a prismatic and urban, alien landscape. The second LP was mastered and then cut directly from my own 1/4 inch reels that I had recorded and edited on my own faithful Revox B-77. The results of which I am more than happy with and especially considering my requesting that Jesus went someway beyond the call of mastering duty by diligently adding spring reverb to parts of the album that I felt strongly required it in post-production. It should be noted that the spring reverb was made by Jesus himself. He did an amazing job.
Sabine is very much a part of the workshop process and a visual artist in her own right. Her communication on behalf of Magnetic Fidelity is second to none and she helped with everything that I needed to achieve upon my arrival recently for my third working foray. Sabine arranged the hotel for me and all payments. My stay at the hotel which was as rustic and as characterful as one might imagine for such an out of the way venue, was staffed with a crew of very friendly people. I was the only guest during my short stay which added a certain luxury of autonomy and one that I had never experienced before. It should be noted that the wildlife about the hotel and in fact all about the whole area was abundant in a way that I hadn’t expected. The lake just in front of the hotel made more noise at night I think than during the day; a cacophony of crickets, frogs, owls and wildfowl of species excess; a majesty of wondrous richness. The reason for my stay in the north of Greece, in the area of Thessaloniki, and where Magnetic Fidelity have situated themselves in the small village of Gallicos was to record a third album for release sometime later this year. Jesus miked up all kinds of instruments for me and I even requested once that he mike up the fan outside of the recording room. The fact that I had arrived without any material, writing words over breakfast and then finding through the various instruments there, a suitable musicality for them, didn’t faze the Fidelity crew at all. That they were so open to all ideas and always there to be helpful and great company, I am sincerely grateful to both of them. Additionally, Sabine provided two square meals each day, a snack at the end of play and it must be said that without fail each and every mouthful was a delight. By way of closing, it would be disrespectful not to mention the cats and rabbits that gave so much pleasure outside and amongst the raw nature of their garden surround. We were even visited one evening by an owl, and that joyful visit would have been enough in itself. I can highly recommend these good people if the analog root is one that you require, if you wish to enjoy a studio that has a unique character all of its own and if you wish to be enveloped in a landscape that has not been ruined by commercialism and whose tundra will bring light into your heart." Taren McCallan-Moore, July 6, 2018
