Splendid Sound Clients and Client Testimonials

Christina Tarango, Children’s Zoo Program Coordinator, The Oakland Zoo, April 2006

".....before I spoke with Stephen at Splendid Productions, I was very nervous about a big concert we were undertaking here at the zoo. I didn’t know if we could afford a professional sound person, or if our current sound system could be adapted to ensure a quality sound for the performer. Luckily, Stephen was able to offer his professional assistance at a reasonable rate and he was also able to offer his advice and experience, which put me at ease. The day of the big show, Stephen had taken care of everything and the sound was terrific! Stephen also respected the performer and our particular sound restrictions here at the zoo. He really felt like a partner in this event and I appreciated his willingness to collaborate with us given our limited experience in producing outdoor musical events. Stephen always seems happy to share his expertise and I never felt like any questions I asked were “dumb questions.” We worked with Stephen again a few months later on another concert and we will continue to seek Stephen’s assistance for future events. Stephen is a pleasure to work with and we appreciate his commitment to helping us produce quality sound for our shows, and other community-based organizations in the Bay Area"

"I can highly recommend Splendid Productions to your consideration.We found the recording sessions to be helpful as well as professional, and the final product to be of the highest quality. Mr. Duffy is able to bring out the best in your group!"

".....Hello! I wanted to thank you for the wonderful job you did on recording my son's school, KIPP Summit Academy, in their winter concert. I was at the live concert, and thoroughly enjoyed that, and your recording did an fantastic job at capturing that. Frankly, I thought that any recording would not be very good, having had that experience with the performances of my three older children. I am looking forward to having you record the concerts at KIPP (and will mention that to Mr. Singer, the principal) as my three younger ones perform! Thank you for making this music permanent...."

Rachel Turner Houk, Cellist and manager of SYNCHRONICITY String Quartet, January 2006

".........Stephen Duffy recorded SYNCHRONICITY String Quartet in November 2005. I would highly recommend his services for any recording project. He is a pleasure to work with. I am more than happy with the high quality of the CD that he recorded and edited for Synchronicity. Everyone who hears the CD comments on it’s high professional quality.

Synchronicity is a group of four professional, experienced, classical musicians who perform throughout California. I am the cellist in the group. In November 2005 we were in need of a demo CD to send to potential clients so I contacted Stephen about the project.

Stephen came to our rehearsal space in a local school. Prior to the recording session I was concerned about the acoustic qualities of the room and how they would affect the quality of the recording. Stephen immediately put my mind at rest. He positioned the four of us according to the best position for the microphones; he set up all his equipment quickly; he checked the sound levels and we were ready to record in a very timely manner.

During the recording Stephen was excellent. His calm, relaxed and pleasant manner helped all of us feel at ease. This helped us perform at our best in a potentially stressful situation. He let us listen to the recording at regular intervals; he gave us well-informed suggestions and comments; and he was open to our feedback and ideas.

After the recording session I went to Stephen’s studio to edit the recording and make the finished Demo CD. I was amazed at Stephen’s editing talents. He cut, pasted, faded, changed the sound quality and balance of the recording with incredible ease and speed. Stephen captured the individual qualities of the two violins, viola and cello while also creating a unified and balanced blend between the four musicians. I am very pleased with the finished product...."

"Stephen Duffy of Splendid Productions did an absolutely phenomenal job recording all of the speakers at our national 'Spam and the Law' conference. The sound quality was superb, the turnaround fantastic, and Stephen was wonderful to work with every step of the way. We will definitely be using Splendid's services again, and would highly recommend them to anyone who needs quality recording of their event."

Ruth Huber, Co-Music Director, Rainbow Women's Chorus, San Jose, September 2004

".... before we recorded our CD we were concerned about finding the right company to record with. We worried that the sound quality and balance might not sound professional, that we would not be able to negotiate re-takes or that the engineering might not be studio-quality.

Splendid Productions put our fears to rest.

It was great working with Stephen because he is a musician and he really cared about our product. His equipment is up-to-the minute and the sound was great. Plus, he worked with us to do re-takes, had patience when we took time to make decisions, and in general went the extra mile to make sure we had a great product. I’m very pleased with the result, would do it again and certainly would recommend Stephen’s work to others."

Paul McWilliams, Carondelet and De La Salle High Schools, Concord, CA, September 2004

"... Splendid Sound did a splendid job!

Before meeting Stephen and Splendid Productions my main concern really was the time frame in which this all had to be in place prior to the end of the semester but even though we had very little time to turn this around. Splendid Sound did an outstanding job.

The stress level for me was lifted and their competancy shone through. The children were well treated and were extremely enthusiastic, as were the Splendid Sound staff. They were very unobtrusive during the live performance, and enhanced the sound, way beyond my expectations.The sound quality of the live performance was outstanding. We'll be doing this again. Most definitely. Thank you Steve!"

St. Isidore School, Danville -- Feb 2004

"I have worked with many sound engineers over the years. Stephen was by far the easiest to work with. I have never had a smoother and more enjoyable recording session, and the CD sounds great!

Every step of the way Stephen sought to make the process as easy for me as possible, knowing that I had a very busy teaching schedule. He made suggestions I never would have thought of, and in general went above and beyond what I expected in the way of service."

I am the music director at a very small school. We were trying to expand our music department as well as increase school enrollment. Splendid Sound productions helped us to develop a very professional sounding CD that has great entertainment value and public relations appeal. Although our school is small, the customer service and personal touch that we recieved from Mr. Duffy was outstanding. We found him to be quite personable and the students really liked him. He never hesistated to retun my calls in a timely manner and was very gracious in accepting any alterations we requested. I recommend Splendid Sound for everyone who wants to preserve his/her music. You'll get a quality product with a personal touch.

Stephen Duffy at Splendid Sound Productions recorded a CD for our girls' chorus last school year. We were going to tour England and Wales and wanted to take our CDs along to sell, as well as provide our families and friends with copies. At all times Stephen was most professional in his approach, returning to the school a couple of times to do a take that he was not satisfied with. It was an easy, uncomplicated operation because Stephen, with his expertise and patience, made it so. The girls both enjoyed the recording sessions and respected the job that Stephen was doing. The results were very good, even though the choir was not as prepared as it might have been. Stephen was able to minimized high soprano notes which were too loud and even successfully merged together acceptable parts of three songs which could not have stood on their own. I was delighted with our CD, and I highly recommend Stephen and his Splendid Sound Productions to you. You will not be disappointed.

"Easy, easy, easy! That's what it is like working with Stephen Duffy and Splendid Sound Productions. Stephen and his staff did an excellent live recording of our Concert of Classics featuring over 200 students in five performing groups. I used this recording as an audition CD for a choral festival at Carnegie Hall. We got in!

Dear Stephen, great job on the CD! I loved it! I sold many copies out on the East Coast at Cape Cod this summer. People loved it! I loved the results -- the mix -- superbly done! I am particularly happy with the blend of women and men’s voices. All the soloists' duets were magnificent.

Thank you for bringing out the best in us! I also loved the graphic design. Bravo!

We worked well together, you allowed me a great deal of say which Ii appreciate -- the back and forth of each trial disc was great. we would like to hire you again this year.....

Stephen Duffy is a magician on two levels. His technical expertise and impeccable ear contribute to the highest quality first rate recordings. Moreover, he has a unique ability to put musicians immediately at ease, exuding confidence and eliciting the best from the performers. With my band members he was able to accomplish the unthinkable -- that active adolescent boys could sit for two and a half hours in complete focus and concentration to produce a CD that was truly the culmination of years of hard work and study. At the end of it all they stood up and said, ”this was the most fun we’ve ever had in music class.” And as their teacher I could honestly say.” That’s the best you’ve ever played.”

Parents, teachers, and students alike were amazed by the high quality of the CD that our band produced with Stephen Duffy. He achieved such excellence by establishing instant rapport with these middle school musicians and immediately gained their respect. The atmosphere that he created was especially important since the music they were recording was jazz, and therefore required extensive improvisation. He definitely was able to bring out the best in the performers, both in the session and in the studio.

"... the production quality was excellent. The CD is a wonderful memory for our children as they grow older. Best of all, by the time we sold 100 CD's, we calculated it hadn't cost the school a penny. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Splendid Productions to any school wishing to make a recording of their children..."

Please send this letter as a recommendation to anyone who wants to create and preserve memories in a most special way -- because that is truly what you did when you recorded St. Isidore School's "Lighting The Way To Bethlehem" performance! I wish you could hear the glowing comments about the quality of sound and beautiful art work on the finished CD's!

Parents, grandparents and the children themselves are thrilled with your work and even prouder of the way it captured so many children singing from their hearts. How did you maintain such clarity with 636 voices in the mix? Fantastic job!

As a veteran Performing Arts teacher, I would also like to add an extra thank you to you, Stephen. You treated the children with such kindness, and they got the message "loud and clear" that you cared about what they were doing and how the recording would sound. I will recommend you and Splendid Productions with five stars (one for heart) to my fellow performing arts and music teachers--except I don't want you to get so busy that you can't fit us into your schedule again next year!

It was a joy working with you. Again, I thank you for a job done beyond anyone's expectations, done on time, and done with sincere involvement in the outcome.

It’s a Take by Barbara Martin for “THE ORRFIAN" NCAOSA newsletter May 2000

Have you always wanted to make a recording of your students? Were you overwhelmed by the thought? Let me share my compact disc recording experience with you. It was fun. It was easy. The children enjoyed the experience. The CD is wonderful.

For the past several years, I have wanted to make a recording on CD of our schoolwide Christmas program. I have always hesitated, not over the prospect of selling copies, but over the logistics of producing it. I assumed that it would be a project of tremendous proportions -- one I would be loathe to take on. This year, however, we did and it was a delightful and rewarding experience for the children and me. Let me describe it for you.

I received a brochure from Stephen Duffy advertising his service called Splendid productions and for some reason, I stopped, focused (a little) and read the enclosed information. I was instantly intrigued. The process seemed so simple. Stephen came to our school with all of his sound equipment (which greatly enhanced our own) and recorded each class performance during rehearsal. Then he came and recorded the entire evening performance. He sent me a copy of all the recordings so I could, at my convenience, listen and make notes as to which recording was the better, i.e. rehearsal versus performance. I then went to his studio in Oakland and spent a couple of hours with him working out some details.

For example, we decided to create a medley of all the audience sing-a-long portions. He easily mixed these pieces into a nice beginning for the CD. The experience was entirely painless and actually quite fun. Stephen then spent some more time (without me) adding “sweeteners” to fix up some rough spots before sending the final copy to a company that laser printed the recording to the discs.

The CD’s came with cases. We made an art contest out of the cover, put together a little collage of pictures of the students for the inside cover; and I typed up the song titles, etc., for the back. It took the eight grade class ten minutes to assemble all the pieces. We ordered 200 CD’s, and they cost us $11 each to make. We have been selling them for $16. Not only are they a wonderful documentation of our music program and a keepsake for our students and their families, but they are a great fundraiser as well.

I could not believe the excellent quality of our recording. The sound is warm, balanced and beautiful. I highly recommend Stephen's service. He is wonderful with the children, very mild mannered and gentle... Go for it! Make a CD! Call Stephen Duffy, Splendid productions, Inc. (510) 329 7020.

-- At the time of writing Barabara Martin was the Music teacher at St. Agnes School K-8 grade in Concord. She now teaches music at Quarry Lane School in Pleasanton.

Splendid Productions is aptly named as they covered every aspect of our CD production splendidly! Steven Duffy is professional and supportive in the recording process and very knowledgeable about set up and editing. This makes the recording day much less fraught than with other companies. It also means that you can get the very best from your performers.

Voices of Musica Sacra is pleased to promote the work of Splendid Productions. Recent recordings made with this chamber choir have yielded really high quality masters and salable CDs. Steven Duffy is really helpful and never adds to the pressure of a recording session. This is an A+ service, use them!

We are very happy with the wonderful CD you recorded for us. The children and parents were so excited to hear themselves singing both in French and English. We will definitely do this again. Great job and thank you!

“. . . I loved working with Stephen and we were all thrilled to get the finished product. We’ll be doing this every year from now on . . . “

“... thank you for all the hard work you put into the creation of our first school CD. The way you have mixed this, you put me right back to the actual concerts. This is quite a feat, and I applaud you for it. That you are able to recreate this experience, to my mind shows superior skill. The quality of the CD is outstanding, especially considering how difficult it was to mix recordings made in acoustically unfriendly environments. Even the youngest children, the K-2 students, come across clearly and robustly. thank you again. All of us at St. Paul’s appreciate what you have done, we raised enough money to ensure that we do it again next year, and I personally look forward to reliving the concert experiences again and again......”

“..... Stephen’s ability to collaborate in any situation makes him very easy to work with, and he always delivers a highly professional product...’