File:Amanada with Coldplay piano in Studio 1 (53720843405).jpg

A tour of Rockfield Studios near Monmouth, Wales.

So many great records have been recorded at Rockfield that it is difficult to know where to start - beginning with Dave Edmunds "Can you hear me knocking?" and "How Long" by Ace (featuring Paul Carrack on vocals, through Silver Machine by Hawkwind, two Rush albums (A Farewell to Kings and Hemispheres) right up to today with Royal Blood and Paulo Nutini.

But perhaps the most famous artists and certainly the most iconic instruments in the studios are the pianos used by Chris Martin (Coldplay) to write "Yellow", Freddie Mercury to practice "Bohemian Rhapsody" (he did not like the action of the keyboard and hired in a Beckstein instead) and Oasis to record Wonderwall.

Guided by Lisa & Amanda, two members of the KIngsley-Ward family who grew up in and around this converted farm and first ever residential studio in Britain ("Lemmy babysat us whilst we watched Trumpton!") we were shown every facet of the operation.

Rockfield boasts three Echo Chambers - the only ones anywhere outside the Capitol Records building in New York-and two studios with 48-track desks which are set up to use predominantly analogue equipment - including 2" tape machines. Digital is also available, but there is plenty of vintage analogue equipment either on display or in use still.

Advertised as a "90 minute tour" we were there for nearly three hours! It is a must see for musos everywhere. The tours only run on two weeks during the year when the studios are not in use and must be prebooked a long way in advance - preferably 6 months at least. Only 18 people are in each group and expect your musical knowledge to be tested during group singalongs in the control room to mix tapes playing back direct from the edited 2" masters - totally awesome!