We’re often asked about the cryptic number ‘83’ on the front of our rather beautiful brochure. And by the way – drop us a line if you’d like us to send you a copy. It’s the year Harris Grant was busy launching a new breed of acoustic design consultancy. Ever since then we’ve been setting the standard for fabulous sound in recording studios, luxury residences and superyachts.

Let’s wind back to the early eighties, when the world was a very different place indeed. In 1983 car seatbelts had only just become compulsory. Breakfast television was a novelty. And shiny silver Compact Discs went on sale, promising pure, perfect sound forever.

Back then, major labels paid a thousand pounds a day for their latest hopes to spend time in cosseted luxury at state-of-the-art studios. Every possible gadget was on offer, from enormous SSL mixing consoles to the stratospherically-priced Fairlight sampling keyboard that could turn any sound – from a dog barking to a symphony orchestra – into a hit record.

It’s the same time physicist, engineer and acoustician Neil Grant entered the music business with a ground-breaking vision. Armed with the UK’s first computer-controlled Time Delay Spectrometer, Neil turned recording studios into science laboratories. His TDS box exposed the sonic fingerprint of any space – analysing the reflections and echoes that define the unique signature of any room, whether it’s a studio, a church or a concert hall.

The results of this scientific rigour were dramatic. Neil Grant’s forensic approach to acoustics has resulted in some of the world’s most acclaimed creative environments, like Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the west of England.

And more than 30 years on, Neil’s award-winning sensibility continues to shape the sound of private properties, yachts and commercial spaces around the world.

Want to know what we’re up to these days? Do drop us a line – we’ll be delighted to tell you how we’re still raising the bar for sonic excellence and stunning design on every Harris Grant project.