Everything you need to make your best record

Every recording day is carefully prepared—from engineering and Steinway tuning to meals, accommodation and a peaceful countryside setting—so you can concentrate entirely on making music.

Your recording day begins before you arrive

Every recording day at Curtis Schwartz Studio is carefully prepared before you walk through the door.

Microphones are set up, Pro Tools sessions are organised, instruments are ready and, whenever you're recording on the Steinway, it has already been professionally tuned by Steinway themselves. The aim is simple: when the musicians arrive, everything is ready to begin.

During the day, engineering, meals and the practical details are all taken care of, so you can stay focused on the music instead of the logistics.

Steve Howe, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood of YES enjoying lunch together during recording sessions at Curtis Schwartz Studio.

Lunch with Steve Howe, Jon Davison and Billy Sherwood during the making of YES – Aurora. Some of the most important conversations happen away from the control room.

Gwilym Simcock and Emma Rawicz playing table tennis in the garden during a break from recording at Curtis Schwartz Studio.

Gwilym Simcock and Emma Rawicz taking a break between sessions. Sometimes the best ideas arrive away from the control room.

Steve Howe playing Curtis Schwartz’s Martin D-28 acoustic guitar on the living-room sofa at Curtis Schwartz Studio.
Two of YolanDa Brown’s musicians playing chess in the living room during a recording session at Curtis Schwartz Studio.

Every creative day has its own rhythm.

Stacey Kent, Roberto Menescal, Jim Tomlinson, Jeremy Brown and Curtis Schwartz at Curtis Schwartz Studio after a recording session.

Some sessions last a few days. The friendships can last decades. Stacey Kent, Roberto Menescal, Jim Tomlinson, Jeremy Brown and Curtis Schwartz at the studio.

Everything you need, all in one place

The studio combines professional recording facilities with the practical comforts that help a session run smoothly from morning to evening.

  • Large live room, control room and private recording spaces

  • 9ft Hamburg Steinway Model D Spirio | r

  • Recording, writing, overdubs and production

  • Dolby Atmos 7.1.4 mixing

  • Stereo mixing and mastering

  • Comfortable on-site accommodation

  • Meals and refreshments throughout the day

  • Gardens, tennis court, table tennis and countryside walks

  • Complimentary collection from Haywards Heath station

  • Free on-site parking

Getting here from London

Direct trains from London Victoria and London Bridge reach Haywards Heath in around 45 minutes. I can meet you at the station, and from there it’s a 10-minute drive to the studio.

Free on-site parking is also available.

Instruments ready to play

Alongside the Steinway, the studio has a carefully chosen collection of keyboards, guitars, basses, amplifiers and acoustic instruments available during sessions.

The collection includes a Hammond organ with Leslie speakers, Sequential Prophet-6, Roland Jupiter, Nord Grand, Fender and Gibson electric guitars, Fender 5-string bass, steel-string and nylon-string classical guitars, mandolin, banjo, ukulele and a selection of guitar amplifiers.

These instruments are here so that, when inspiration strikes, the right instrument is already here waiting.

More than a recording studio

Berry House is a historic English country house with origins dating back to around 1300. Its old oak doors, leaded windows, period fittings and gardens give the studio a character that visiting artists often notice the moment they arrive.

For artists travelling from London, Europe, the USA or further afield, staying here means the recording becomes more than a series of booked studio hours. You can live with the music for a few days, write, record, eat and relax in the same place, without travelling back to a hotel each night.

For international artists in particular, Berry House offers something increasingly rare: the chance to make a record in a historic English country house, surrounded by countryside, while having a fully equipped professional studio, Steinway concert grand and accommodation all under one roof.

Curtis Schwartz Studio in the Sussex countryside, a private residential recording studio near London and Gatwick.

Berry House, West Sussex. A historic country house where artists can stay, write, record and live with the music for a while.

Guest bedroom accommodation at Curtis Schwartz Studio, a residential recording studio in West Sussex.
Guest bedroom at Curtis Schwartz Studio, offering residential recording studio accommodation in West Sussex.

These are not hotel rooms. They are part of a historic English country house, with handcrafted oak, leaded windows and the kind of quiet that lets musicians properly unwind between sessions.

Residential recording without interruption

Residential sessions give artists time to settle properly into the music. Between recording, writing and listening back, there is space to eat, talk, walk, play tennis or simply step away from the control room.

The real luxury is continuity. When everyone stays on site, the project keeps its focus and ideas have time to develop naturally.

Tell me about your project