Exceptional Audio Quality

When doing reissue work, I come across every format under the sun, especially from the earlier days of digital when it seems like there was some new format invented every week that was supposed to be "the one". I've yet to come across a format Paul can't transfer. I've yet to come across a tape, drive or disk that Paul can't coax all of the information out of. I've personally attended as many transfer sessions as possible because Paul is such a joy to spend time with - and just an absolute fountain of knowledge. In addition to seemingly knowing all there is to know about every format ever invented, including how to repair the machinery and whatever vessel the sound is stored on, Paul is a mean cook and will make you a healthy and delicious meal if you attend a session. I honestly can't recommend anyone higher than I would Paul and I feel frustrated because my vocabulary isn't large enough to truly encapsulate just how great he is at what he does.
Kliph Scurlock, Archivist
Super Furry Animals
Drummer
Tremendous work, maticulous, taking great care given the fragile nature of the projects we've undertaken togther. With a plethora of equipment and a great ear so many re-issues for SFA have began here. I've worked with Paul for over 10 years which says it all, indeed having to recall old work in that time also. Baking tapes, glitch free DATs and qulaity transfers need look no further. Thanks Paul .
Cian Ciaran
Super Furry Animals

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Paul is a magician in the retrieval of sound from the history of time. I discovered him when trying to unearth an album made in 1998 and stored on an old data tape. There was almost no-one left in the world who could get this data off the original tape so we could remaster the album. His care and dedication to the process was extraordinary and his knowledge of restoration of old media is second to none. I can not recommend his services more highly. Mike . Pitch Black and Misled Convoy
Paul it’s not difficult to review absolute quality talent and I feel so privileged to have been a part of your journey. Now beside your unique music talents I was so impressed with your ability to simply speak about feelings. I was totally moved to hear those words which often are kept silent hidden deeply. Its been over 40 years ago when we met in Gisborne carrying sand upstairs in a Recording Studio you were designing and building. As a choreographer finding music that complemented my vision was always a challenge….but we clicked. From a Rugby Dance for ABC Australia Documentary “KIWI’S which featured SIX KIWI’S and I was one! Paul magic fingers composed and recorded then mastered the music in one evening. Paul is certainly “exuberant” (like I am) had me listen his composition he called “SEARCH” so I choreographed the dance “SEARCH”. Now 40 plus years later I listened to Paul on podcast where I felt so privileged to remember SEARCH the dance...WOW. So my friend you deserve a thumbs up in so many ways…
Bruce Wilson
NZ and Japan

David Fanshawe Pacific Recordings


"It gives me great pleasure to provide a reference for the consultant sound engineer Paul Turney of Siren Sound. His skills have been paramount in the success of digitising our major and unique Audio Archive here in UK. To summarise, we have over 3000 analogue tapes in my late husband’s World Music Archive and in 2020 were looking for a specialist and considerate sound engineer in UK to support the digitising of 1500 of the Pacific Archive tapes. Paul was firmly recommended to us 18 months ago by Marie O‘Connell, Head of the Cultural Collections Archive at the University of Auckland Library. (Marie is also on the technical committee of IASA and ARSC. Paul lives 60 miles away and in November 2020, set up an initial consultation at his studio and soon ascertained that his equipment was in full serviced order. We requested an initial test digital transfer of 10 tapes for inspection and Michael McCarthy (ex BBC Sound Engineer of considerable experience and accolade) checked the quality of his transfers to a digital medium. Michael is also one of the Archive Trustees and was indeed fully satisfied. From that moment on, we set up a Project agreement whereby Paul would take delivery of a bespoke quantity of tapes at regular intervals, digitise them and hand them back simultaneously with a new batch arriving. The Analogue tapes were delivered by hand, confirmed and signed in and out of our Archive Library. Over the 18 months, we have worked closely with Paul, and have managed to bring 20 batches of tapes, so far he has copied around 1100 tapes. The pace of his work has been very manageable according to budget. We have always been confident in his trustworthy handling of the master tapes, security and storage. It has been wonderful to work with just one individual and has made this difficult and challenging Project so much easier to complete. Paul has the equipment to copy from Analogue masters, also DAT masters. Some of the Analogue masters have been ‘sticky’ and with controlled cleaning and warming he has been most successful in transferring the recording. By special request, he has also added a spoken Fanshawe introduction at the front of each recording. Alongside the digital transfer he has meticulously photographed / scanned the box information. This will greatly enhance our ongoing metadata catalogue system incorporating documentation and photographs. All the digital files have been handed to us on USB sticks in meticulous order with backup files. Paul is an outstanding professional, we trust him implicitly, his honesty and integrity as a Sound Engineer. Our major project with his Studio is very important to us, and although the successful digitising is coming to an end, I am confident we will continue our association with Paul, working on other analogue tapes in our Archive. It gives us great pleasure to know the digitising is nearly complete and by the end of 2022, I will be very pleased to hand over digital copy Sets of the Pacific Collection to The British Library in London, The National Film and Sound Archive in Canberra, Auckland University Sound Library and the University of the South Pacific in Fiji. We would totally recommend Paul to manage the digitisation of other large and significant Audio Collections.
Please feel welcome to contact me for any verbal recommendation.
Jane Fanshawe
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Leonard Cheshire

Sound Archives

The Leonard Cheshire Archive’s sound collection is of international significance, showing the development of service provision for disabled people, the impact of war via the founder Group Captain Lord Leonard Cheshire VC and his wife Lady Sue Ryder, and oral history interviews documenting the experiences of disabled people. The majority of the collection is on obsolete media (cassette tape and reel to reel tape) and a significant proportion are at least 50 years old. Many of the tapes had not been listened to for at least 20 years and the catalogue we had was minimal. Because of the age, format and haphazard nature of the collection we needed somebody with significant expertise and Sirensound were recommended to us by the British Library. Paul made sure we were aware of the details of each stage of the digitisation process. This involved arranging the collection as it was digitised to make intellectual sense, the restoration of broken slices in the tapes to make the open reels play back and editing the sound files for optimum playback in the digital files. The catalogue he provided as part of this service will be very useful for the re- cataloguing of the whole collection and has given us new insight into the collection’s historical significance. This service was vital to the success of our project and I would recommend Paul and Sirensound to any other heritage collection looking to do similar work on their sound collections. Yours Sincerely, Stephanie Nield, Archivist.

IRISH NATIONAL SOUND ARCHIVES

Following an open tender process in December –January 2012-13 The Cardinal Tomás Ó Fiaich Memorial Library & Archive decided to award a contract to Sirensound for the translation of 112 analogue recordings to a digital format. The original recordings were in a fragile condition and had remained largely untouched for three decades. This historically significant collection was shown great sympathy and care by Sirensound who arrange transit to and from the library and offered important advice on packing the robust transit case for the journey. Sirensound kept in regular contact with the library during the process updating us on the progress of the job and finish almost a full month ahead of schedule. The library also took advice on the longer term storage and access arrangements for the collection and Sirensound sourced and supplied the hardware all within the budget set. Several months after delivery we still have contact from the company to ensure that everything is in order and we are in a happy position to thoroughly recommend Paul Turney and Sirensound to anyone seeking a reliable and dependable company to carry out work of this nature. Faithfully,Roddy Hegarty, Director
15 Moy Road, Armagh BT61 7LY 15 Bóthar na Má, Ard Mhacha BT61 7LY Tel: 028 3752 2981

IRONBRIDGE GORGE MUSEUM TRUST

Expert sound recording services in South Cotswolds:
 THE KEN JONES ORAL HISTORY
Please accept the thanks of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust and the Friends of the Ironbridge Gorge Museum for the splendid work you have done digitising the Ken Jones Oral History Afchive. We have all been most impressed with your professionalism and efficiency, and the labelling, indexing, etc. is of the highest order. Ken himself has been taking the discs home a few at a time to listen to, and has expressed his delight at the quality of them. Please find enclosed two copies of the February "Ironbridge Quarterly" in which the digitisation project is mentioned (p. t0). I can e-mail you a copy of the accompanying picture, if you would like one. Also enclosed is a complimentary ticket to the Museum, valid for one year, which will enable you and your family to visit Ironbridge when the weather gets warmer, and look in more detail at some of the locations which feature on the tapes. Feel free to mention us as a 100% satisfied customer in any future work you are tendering forThe late John Powell
Note: We did take John up on his offer and spent a splendid week in Shropshire with the family visiting all the different museums on site. It was wonderfully educational for our daughters at the time