Ray Montford's warm and inviting Soundhole Studio offers a relaxed space where artists can feel comfortable recording, mixing or mastering their albums with state-of-the-art gear, at a reasonable cost.  

Flowing with natural light, it is located in downtown Toronto (Queen/DVP) in an old loft building, brimming with character and a great view of the skyline.   Set up in the open concept where engineer and musicians are in the same room, it has a great live-off-the-floor feel with one iso-booth.  Featuring a great choice of microphones, it's a great place to record all kinds of acoustic music.

Ray blends his love of analog with the convenience and editing flexibility of digital, offering an uncompromising approach to his clients' projects. The equipment is carefully chosen with high-end components to ensure your music and performances are captured with depth and musicality.  In 2007, the studio incorporated a Mastering service, featuring a gorgeous analog tube path to breath life into digital recordings.  

• Featuring 18 discrete channels of quality A/D & D/A for tracking or mixdown
• Analog console (British) to give your mixes  width and depth
• Expensive Mic Pres, Compressors & Eqs like the Big Boys use
• Microphones by Neumann, Royer, AKG, Kel, Shure, Audio-Technica, Marshall and Peluso 
• Up to six separate headphone mixes
• Legendary Analog Mastering Tube Path                                

Recording and Producing music with Ray in the studio 

With 25 years of experience since attending Fanshawe's industry-recognized Music Industry Arts program, Ray has perfected and honed his chops with countless hours in the studio, making and producing his own records as well as assisting other artists.  Blending technical expertise with his acknowledged musicality, Ray's sessions take on a relaxed flow and feel, with creativity and intuition, resulting in inspired studio performances from all who work with him.  His aesthetic insists on meticulous attention to detail and he loves recording organic instruments and producing music that is big on vibe.

The Room - Bright, Vibey and Relaxed

The Gear - World-Class

Ray's recordings are recognized by by his peers, fans and audiophiles alike for their musical realism and sonic quality. His most recent studio record, a fragile balance, released on CD and 180g premium vinyl, was partially funded by Totem Acoustic and his third record, Many Roads, was funded by Paradigm speakers, who distributed 3,500 copies to their customers worldwide. Ray's first record, shed your skin, continues to be played at high-end audio shows around the world and in many audiophile stereo shops, in order to demonstrate the merits of their systems.