Daniel Mark Looney (Looney and The Vikings)

“I have used the studio twice now, once with a full band and then once recording solo material with a friend. Experiences both time were really special. Gyp is a great guy, patient, relaxed, supportive and most importantly gives you that creative feedback in what you are doing. I’m far from a confident musician but not for a second did I feel intimidated by the experience. The end results are incredibly high quality and its amazing what you can get of a few hours. Finally i feel it’s very well priced and Gyp turns round the masters really quickly. A truly lovely experience and i will be hopefully coming back for many years …”

Lee James Quaggin (The Ballaghs)

“Superb and VERY highly recommended. Phenomenal patience with all the band, first time ever in a studio and Gyp couldn’t have put us more at ease as well as doing a mighty job of getting the very best from us.”

Ed Morrey (Han-FX & Jor-DMC)

“Calling all drummers……..If you want to record drums with the World’s nicest man, and end up with an awesome drum sound, look no further. A great experience“

Dom Scadden (The Tinkermen)

“Gyp is an absolute legend! Felt welcomed and we were all able to bounce some new ideas which sounded great in the first mix. No pressure or anything to record the track but a nice friendly relaxed atmosphere. We will definately be back. Thank you Gyp”

Tinesha Kinley (The Bobbleheads)

Had an amazing time recording my single this weekend with Gyp! Couldn’t have asked for a better experience – highly recommended.

Ruby Biscoe-Talor (Biskee Brisht)

“I am in the band Biskee Brisht and we recorded our album, ’Stand in the Sea’, at Ballagroove Studio and we most definitely will go back for our future projects too. Our band is full of live instruments – trumpet, trombone, violins, cello, ukulele – so I wanted someone experienced in recording to bring out the best in their sound – and Gyp at Ballagroove is that person. We built up the album bit by bit, starting with guide tracks and spending time making sure the bpm was right. We then needed to find a drummer, which Gyp sorted for us, recommending a number of experienced drummers. We chose Danny Kneale, who listened to the guide tracks and with very little extra guidance, produced a perfect set of drum tracks, captured brilliantly by Gyp. Next we layered up the rest of the instruments over the course of a few months and Gyp found time to squeeze us in around people’s jobs and schedules, whether it was late nights or weekends! He also contributed so many extra arrangement ideas that really brought the tracks to life, as in addition to his technical skill, he is also a musician with wide ranging taste, so came up with some amazing counter melodies that I hadn’t thought of. We recorded at least two correct takes of each instrument so we could choose the best parts when it came to mixing, and we found this so helpful later on as every now and then there were small errors that we hadn’t noticed earlier, and instead of having to go in and re-record, we could lift sections from a different take.

During mixing, there was a lot to listen to as we had so many tracks. The communication from Gyp made this process much more bearable and less time consuming. After we approved the initial rough mixes, I went into the studio with a bandmate to sit with Gyp during mixing to give him some more direction with instrument levels and parts. This process was so illuminating and Gyp was really patient with us, talking it through with us and taking on board our ideas.

We also had the album mastered by Gyp, initially for streaming, then for CD and hopefully we will go back for a vinyl master soon too. He’s full of good advice on the industry, on marketing and is helpful with such a broad range of queries.

I am so proud and happy with our end product and so pleased to have worked with someone as knowledgeable and creative as Gyp and as I said, we will be returning to him for our future projects.”

Neil Bagshaw (Bird and The Beards)

“I recommend Gypo and Ballagroove records to everyone, not only are his skills excellent, he knows how to make a band feel comfortable whilst recording. While advice is offered when needed, he knows how to let a band take the reigns to find their own sound. I cannot recommend highly enough. The correct mix of patience and talent is incredibly rare.”

Brad Meechan (Sunset Jet)

“Recently worked with Gypo on a couple of tracks for my band. Honestly can’t rate the studio and Gyp enough, top man and a professional setup at a decent price. Definitely will be back in the near future. Cheers matey!”

Burette Douglas (The Cush)

“I want to share my review of Ballagroove. My band, The Cush, was able to record there for a couple of days while on tour. We went in cold with nothing written, and ended up tracking 3 songs. Gyp is very patient and knowledgeable.He has almost every instrument you can think of available to use. We ended up mixing remotely via email, which isn’t always the easiest thing to do. But Gyp has great ears and understands the ideas and sounds we were going for. He said he wanted us to be completely happy with the songs, and we are. We plan on releasing them later this year. It was a great experience. Highly recommended.”

Nell Kneale (Bird and The Beards, Fletcher Christian Mutiny)

“Sometimes you work with a guy, and it doesn’t feel like your working. Just getting together and making something. That’s how it is with gypo. Just feels like we’re recording it with a mate, not a dude cracking the whip and telling us how to play our own stuff. Any suggestions he does make come from a place of knowledge, rather than ego. Top man. Will be back”

Keiran Hannifin (Rusty Jam and The Revolution, Han-FX & Jor-DMC)

“We (rusty jam) recorded our album with gypo 2 years ago and was so pleased with the amazing professionalism, I am now recording with him again. Cannot recommend enough! Friendly, helpful, relaxed and an incredible talent!”

Paul Salisbury (Post War Stories)

“Having used this studio and Gypo’s services numerous times I can happily give the place a full 5 Star rating. Great set up, relaxed atmosphere and as always the great support from the zen-like master himself!”

Jordan Preece (Han-FX & Jor-DMC)

“I was recording a year today with Gypo at Ballagroove, it was an experience I have looked back on many many times since to recall some of the wealth of knowledge that Gypo shared with me and Keiran during recording. I learned so much, I just wish I’d been able to take in more.The whole thing was a pleasure start to finish, the studio is awesome! You can bring your own instruments but I can guarantee you won’t bring a better mic.The monitors… oh the monitors… accurate sound production of a quality you can’t imagine…and the bass, ask him to turn on the sub and play something dirty and thank me later. 100% would recommend to anyone thinking of recording with Gypo at Ballagroove, great dude, better sound engineer.”

Grant Fisher (The Trash 5)

“It was important to us that he understood the Lo-Fi Garagey sound we were looking for and that the recording process would be a stress free and fun experience because that was what the whole point of the band in the first place. Naturally with Gyp both these goals were achieved and in what was basically a live recording, we never even scratched the surface of his recording abilities but he knew that’s how we wanted it and he totally went along with us.”

Joshua Rumble (Anteros, Producer)

“I’ve worked on a couple of projects at Ballagroove. It’s a highly functional space, well equipped with everything you need to make a whole range of recordings, including multi tracking a live band. It has a great atmosphere in an easy to get to location, and Gyp is one of the easiest and helpful guys to work with.”

Danny Foulis (The Tides)

“It is a great working environment and Gyp has struck a perfect balance between feeling comfortable and at ease, whilst also maintaining high working standards.

Studio:- Gyps studio is like a treasure trove of music. He has such a variety of instruments there to help take songs in any direction you like. All his equipment is brilliant and great quality and this really comes through in the recordings that are produced there. Last but not least, the studio is equipped with a kettle and Gyp makes a perfect cup of tea. All in all it is a great working environment and Gyp has struck a perfect balance between feeling comfortable and at ease, whilst also maintaining high working standards.

Gyp:- Gyp is a very thorough and thoughtful sound engineer. In my experiences in working with him, I was amazed at the attention to detail. One great aspect of working with Gyp is that no idea is a bad idea. He is always up for trying a different dynamic in a song, or a different instrument and having a general play around with songs. He remains patient throughout, even if a particular idea doesn’t quite work or doesn’t sound quite right. All in all, my experiences with Gyp have been excellent and I would advise anyone who was thinking of recording a single or an album, or even just turning an idea into something more than words on a piece of paper to give Gyp a call and arrange a few sessions.”

Selwyn Callister (13th Pillar)

“It was a pleasure to record at the studio as it has a relaxed but professional atmosphere. We ended up with a recording that were more than happy with which was released as a digital EP. Gypo did a fantastic job on the engineering and creative front which enhanced our sound. I have also heard other recordings outside of our musical genre which sound very professional and expertly recorded.”

Dan Bramall (Safetyword)

“Gypo has that rare combination of musical empathy and technical know-how. He’s an experienced engineer, a master of his craft and a complete joy to work with.”

Ste May (7 Year Black Hole)

“Gypo was incredibly patient with us, as 3 out of 4 of us hadn’t recorded at all. He was professional, efficient and kept us going with copious amounts of tea and biscuits. 

Gypo was able to advise us on things like dynamic range and was even happy to help when it came to the name of the recording and the artwork. 

Finally, and perhaps most surprising, he didn’t throw me out of the studio when I said The Beatles were overrated. Perhaps he didn’t hear me !”

Rusty Jam Revolution

“Absolute pleasure working with Gypo/Ballagroove, considering we requested to get a live album recorded in one day at our own location. As a first timer in the studio environment Gypo made it a comfortable and easy going process. Very professional job done, honest and down to earth music creation with a truly lovely fellow on board, so excited when we received the fully mastered creation, me and the whole band were 100% chuffed with the work done! Thanks again and highly recommended to those considering working alongside Gypo/Ballagroove.”

Ian astill (Final Cut)

“It was back in 2012 that we decided to record our first EP. We’d been playing a bunch of our songs around the usual IOM venues and thought it would be a good project to document what we had done so far. After several enquiries around the local music scene it didn’t take long to see a pattern form in the replies we received: ‘’Speak to Gypo! He’s yer man!”

We had a limited budget and timescale that had to revolve around our 9-5’s but from the outset communication was easy and helpful and we soon came up with a suitable plan.

Gypo’s approach to recording was systematic, logical and he was always happy to explain and make the right suggestions without being patronising or controlling. He immediately understood the band ethos and style and truly mentored us through a challenging process. His expansive knowledge of music, production and recording truly helped bring the best out of us and I personally really loved learning from him, if he got fed up of my constant stream of questions he never showed it! 

Gypo helped us add an extra creative ‘spice’ to our songs that helped them really come to life (I never thought I’d have a serious conversation on how much cough to leave in the mix, or be asked to make noisy feedback in a room with no playback!!)

Overall, me and the lads couldn’t be happier with the finished product and more importantly we had a tremendous amount of fun through the whole process. I know if we were ever to be in the position to record again I wouldn’t hesitate to speak to Gypo!”

Dolyn Clucas Morris (Mad Daddy, Mr Eliminator and The Deadly Vipers)

“I had already known Gypo for a while so when it came to us being in a band, and he a recording engineer, it only seemed logical to do some work together. Once agreed upon, things came together very quickly and before you knew it we were in the studio recording! 

The recording itself was another quick process, which was done in just two days, that’s including setting up the drums, bass and guitar, then recording individually each of these for 7 songs (we are an instrumental band so no vocals were required). The days were long, but it was very enjoyable.

After this came the mixing period. This took a little longer in comparison to the previous areas, but it showed that Gyp was taking great care and time to get the recordings sounding the best they could be. This was also good as it gave us time to reflect on what we had recorded. We would listen to his latest mixes, and then give feedback on to what we thought needed changing which he would listen to, and apply. Also, a little more recording took place to give the songs signatures, like using various percussion to try make the sound of a rattlesnake. (Song: Viboras Mortales). 

We were all very happy with the final product and as such were eager to get it out there for our fans to listen to. The reaction has been fantastic, with frequent compliment to the production (as well as the music of course!). 

To summarise, this has been a very rewarding experience as it has captured the sound we set out to create and all for an incredibly cheap price!”

Nick Collins (Final Cut)

“I am not being a kiss arse, but this man deserves it. I have been in bands since I were a weee nippa! And all bands go on about recording and never know who to record with to get a good Job done. Well I am totally impressed with Gyp, who has recorded Final Cut at such a professional standard, I like the fact that he has even passed suggestions that we never would have thought of which have taken in to the band which we impied to the recordings. Anyway, if you are in a band who wants to record properly and have a good result, then I would recommend this chap! Good egg indeed.”

Matt Creer (Solo artist)

“I recorded my last album here which reached number 17 in the UK iTunes chart. I’m working on my next record at the moment and it’s the same wonderful creative process. Gypo’s experience and expertise are second to none and he’s a pleasure to work with. Can’t recommend the studio highly enough!”

Warwick Landon (Solo Artist)

“I treat myself to an afternoon at brs as a complete beginner in creating music and left with something I never knew could be possible. I highly recommend Gyp and the studio to anyone who has even half an idea to try creating music as this would dissolve any doubts around whether good enough. Go play!!”

Zoe Bennett (Solo artist)

“Gyp is an absolute legend! I went in scared stiff and nervous as hell, I was completely out of my comfort zone playing my own stuff to another person for the first time ever! Gyp totally put me at ease straight away. He explained the process from start to finish, talked me through how things worked and what he was doing at every stage. He was patient and encouraging and managed to get what was in my head onto a record! His enthusiasm for what he does is infectious and it was a fantastic and fun experience and I will definitely be back again. It has boosted my confidence and helped me believe in myself more and inspired me to keep doing it and improve! Thank you so much Gyp, it was an absolute pleasure working with you! xx”

John Gregory (Solo artist)

I thought I would share my experience of Ballagroove! I wanted to record a guitar and vocals only album in the style of some of my heroes (I play acoustic blues/ragtime guitar music). I did this at Ballagroove at two short sessions. Gyp was absolutely brilliant to deal with. He is friendly, approachable and obviously has lots and lots of expert knowledge. He is very easy to record in front of too, making you feel relaxed from the start! The recordings turned out excellent from the production point of view -, exactly what I wanted (actually, even BETTER than what I wanted!). Gyp also helped me out with advice and even let me borrow a CD duplicating machine! I am looking forward to working with him again in the future and am excited about releasing the CD in the next week or two. Thanks Gyp! (John Gregory – musician, music promoter and rock/pop/blues/folk/country/acoustic/electric guitar tutor)

Ruth Keggin Gell (Solo artist)

“A long overdue review of the gem that is Gypo Buggane and Ballagroove Recording Studios. I’ve worked with Gyp on a number of projects now, including a collaboration with some Norwegian musicians; a TV advert (music and voiceover); recording some young music students; and latterly a charity single with 9 year old superstar Lula Brown for @GushGush. Each time, Gyp has made everyone who enters the door of his studio immediately feel welcome and at ease. He is generous with his advice and his infectious enthusiasm, and he is also really patient (which is a must-have personal quality for sound engineers, I think!!). Thank you Gyp, it’s always a pleasure working with you!”

Ian Thompson (Solo artist)

“Working with a producer like Gyp was fantastic, he is patient, positive, conscientious, good fun, and he really knows what he is doing. I’ve been in many recording studios, and this studio has everything you need, and Gyp creates a nice calm relaxing atmosphere, which I believe is essential for creativity and awesomeness to flourish. I Would have no hesitation in recording there again, or recommending it to others.”

Adam Paul Jon Melvin (Solo artist)

“I had a brilliant time recording four original tracks at Ballagroove. I went in with the basic acoustic tracks and Gyp helped me bring them to life and turn them into full-band tracks that are professional release quality. Gyp has a great ear for what will work for each track as well as his brilliant recording, mixing and mastering skills. In addition he was also able to write parts and play additional instruments for me to help expand the songs. Highly recommended for any project big or small.”

Scotty Hale (Solo artist / Singer)

“Had a wonderful experience with Gyp Ballagroove Recording Studio. Couldn’t be friendlier and more welcoming! Gyp made it easy for me and organised everything to get what I wanted from the experience at a price I was VERY pleased about!! Looking forward to my next little project & would recommend him in a heart beat!”

Jacqueline Morrey-Grace (Solo artist / Poet)

“Fantastic experience Gyp thank you so much – 5* plus! – incredible patience and professionalism – Gyp really puts you at ease and enables you to maximise your time. Thoroughly recommend”

Sean Crossley (Solo artist)

Wonderful experience working alongside Gyp to record two songs. his enthusiasm and professionalism is huge. He added such flair and passion to the songs to make them sound awesome. a big thank you. hope to work with you again soon

Donna Colligon (Solo artist)

“Another excellent morning at Ballagroove Recording Studio. Gyp has the patience of a Saint. A very patient Saint. He listens to what you want and is happy to make suggestions when needed too. Professional, positive, a pleasure and did I mention patient already? Strongly recommended for anybody looking to record on the island. Thank you!”

Bruno Barton (Solo Artist)

“Gyp worked with me to record a set of 6 songs. His know-how was total, as were his ideas. He’s a fantastic person, very patient and easy to get along with. He was also very patient with my vocal and verbal inaccuracies. I was very happy with the final versions and when the time comes to record again I won’t go anywhere else.”

Doug Francisco (Solo Artist, The Invisible Circus)

“Was a absolute joy recording in Ballagroove studio under the knowledgeable and supportive guidance of audio wizard Gypo Buggane, was amazing to finally record songs that have been the soundtrack of my life at various times, all the input and back up you could need without losing the personal vibe of what your doing, can’t wait to get back in one of these days x Doug Francisco”

Hamish Faragher (Solo artist)

“I’ve recorded two of my tracks at Ballagroove Studios and would recommend it to anyone. Gypo helped and taught me so much in the time I was there and in all gave me two fantastic recordings. The guy is a genius!”

Gregory Farrugia (Solo artist)

“Just finishing up recording my 5 song EP at Ballagroove! Gypo has taught me lots and lots about music production- recording, mixing, mastering, and has definitely developed me as an artist! Whatever sound you wish to make, it can be created here. 100% would recommend – awesome experience.”

Mike Catlow (Solo Artist)

“I recently recorded a few tracks with Gypo at his brilliant studio in Balthane. I have to say his studio is awesome. I was just recording some simple solo stuff with vocals and a 12 string, but thanks to Gypo’s skill and patience we got some really luscious sounds and real colour to the songs. Not least because he had some great ideas to add to it all. Next project is to write some new stuff and get that recorded. In short, I absolutely recommend Gypo. This is a man who not only knows his way round a studio, but also has an immense feel for sound, and passion for music. For me it’s a winning combination. Can’t wait to do it again.”

Leo Cussons (Solo artist)

“In preparation for the recording we did a number of sessions with Gyp where ideas were thrown against a wall to see what would stick. I had an acoustic demo but we substantially rewrote the song and re-recorded the drums that you hear on the finished version. Gyp took that demo and really reworked it using Logic Pro, not only adding live trumpets (unbeknown to me that he could play himself), but, also really applying years of knowledge and understanding. He was a stickler for the rhythm where I have tendency to let things be very loose he made it tight which is what any dance track needs and took the track to whole new level. While the track is politically motivated it was also the point to make something that was danceable uplifting and seductive. We decided the track needed another vocal, so I asked my partner if she would like to sing it, she had no prior studio experience but was made comfortable enough to give a great performance which worked a treat and really added something to the track.”

Sam Porter (Solo artist)

“I immediately felt right at home at Ballagroove studios. Gyp is super welcoming, laid back and really helps you get into a comfortable, confident mindset for recording. He’s incredibly efficient, has a great ear, bucket-loads of technical knowledge and came up with loads of creative suggestions for the song we worked on together. I’ll definitely be working with him again.” 

Derek Flint / Beckii Cruel (Pretty Liberty)

“We’ve worked at Ballagroove on several occasions, recording vocals for demos, covers and most importantly, for mixing for our London partners.Time has often been of the essence, and Gyp’s expertise in setup and engineering ‘on the fly’ has enabled us to get things done on time, and on budget.

Another important aspect of working at Ballagroove is that it is a relaxed experience. We manage Miss Georgia Maddocks, who in 2015 has recorded in London at Britannia Row and Metropolis. Ballagroove was her first introduction to studio work, and it prepared her well for working in the UK, helping her to impress big name producers from the outset.”