Ref. 30061-17LOCAL bands can get a foothold on the ladder to stardom by recording in a new £100,000 studio at Swindon's New College.

The state-of-the-art studio has been used by music technology students since the new £13m Walcot East campus opened last year.

But now the studio is being made available to wannabe-stars hoping to emulate the success of those great Swindon bands such as XTC and Supertramp.

Jam Studios has the latest hardware and software packages. It is also sound-proofed.

Merv Carswell, who runs the studio, said: "It is acoustically designed, so we get a good sound.

"The control room has a 40 channel mixing desk, which is fully computerised and that uses the latest Apple Mac software which is ideal for these purposes."

The studio is currently used by 80 students as part of the college's A-level course in music technology.

It costs £250 to hire for a 10-hour day. Inquiries should be sent to Merv Carswell, New College, New College Drive, Swindon, SN3 1AH.

To inquire about hiring the studio, call Mr Carswell on 0800 980 4911.