welcome to DW Studios

Welcome to DW Studios

home of professional musician
Dean Whale

RGT Registered guitar, drums and bass tutor since 2005 - all ages welcome

Guitar setups, repairs and modifications

Professional recording and mastering studio newly opened in 2022

Musician, duos, band and DJ hire for any event covering the whole of the UK

Please call, email or text to enquire

RGT Registered guitar, drums and bass tutor since 2005 | Guitar setups, repairs and modifications | professional recording studio including track mastering | musician, band and DJ hire for any event covering the whole of the UK

Dean started learning guitar at the age of 7 and was influenced by music from The Shadows. At the age of 12, he won a Fender Stratocaster in a playing competition awarded by Bruce Welch of The Shadows. This lead to touring the UK and Europe with Bruce Welch and other 'Shadows' members.

By the age of 14, Dean had achieved grade 8 electric guitar with RGT, which he is now registered with as an experienced tutor.

At 15, he joined a semi professional rock and roll band called The Heartbeats and started working with other session musicians in theatre productions.

Dean started his business at the age of 17, teaching the guitar at Sharon Music in Gillingham and running his recording studio at home. He also built his first guitar and this was the first step in learning the trade of becoming a luthier. At the age of 21, he built his present recording studio in Rainham, where he now teaches guitar.

In 2007, he started up Jam Nights in the local area, so that his students could benefit from playing with experienced musicians in front of a live audience.

Dean has played in several bands since he joined The Heartbeats, and has had the privilege to work alongside some of the best musicians in the UK. He played with "The Lovedays" for 2 years and released their album 'House of Cards' in 2009. They played all over the country including the world famous Cavern Club in Liverpool, and Kenny's Castaways in New York City. He also played drums for Billy Wears Dresses, who signed to Formant Records in 2010 and released their first two singles into the shops in 2008.

Dean now devotes most of his time to teaching, recording & engineering in the studio and playing with MasterClass - a successful professional 3 piece events covers band that has played all over the UK and Europe, Acoustica - an acoustic guitar duo with Barry Kitchin, newly formed Royal Monster - UK tribute to Royal Blood, and to the new guitar workshop.

Dean is very dedicated and passionate about his work and would like to thank everyone around him including students and customers for their continued support and dedication.

tuition

I have been an RGT Registered tutor (affiliated with London College of Music) since 2005 and offer professional one-on-one guitar, bass and ukulele tuition for any level; beginner to a advanced, and tailor each lesson to the individual. The studio is sound proof and fully equipped making it a perfect environment for learning.

I specialize in all electric / acoustic guitar techniques and styles to an advanced level, including:

Rock: Power chords, palm muting, finger tapping, sweep picking, legato, alternate and economy picking etc..

Funk
Jazz: bebop, bossa nova, fusion, traditional, standards etc..
Pop
Folk
Indie
Improvisation
Classical
Slap bass

Of course, if you just want to learn for fun, that's fine too! For young learners I like to make my lessons as fun as possible while keeping to an effective learning strategy.

Drum lessons are available for beginners to advanced students. The opportunity to learn how to jam along with live bass or guitar is also a possibility and an essential part of general musicianship.

The studio is sound proof and equipped with both an electric and acoustic drum kit.

Lessons are £19 per half hour or £36 hour and take place at my home studio in Rainham, Kent, from Monday to Saturday. Online lessons are also available.

Any lesson cancelled without 72 hours notice will incur the full payment of the lesson fee. If more than 2 lessons are cancelled out of 5, your space may be given away to someone else on the waiting list.

All ages are welcome, however I would recommend students start from the age of 7 upwards. Parents are always welcome to sit in on lessons. I am DBS checked and certificated.

Other learning opportunities include:

Music Theory | Reading | Listening skills | Grade | Band Coaching | Setting up and using effects | Performing live & ensemble skills | Fast track Courses | Guitar maintenance & tuning

Students who wish to obtain grades only have to ask and I can take you through all the grades up to and including diploma level. There are various options to suit your requirements. Please feel free to ask for more details. All grades offer UCAS points towards university applications.

the studio

The studio is £35 per hour for recording, mixing and mastering. If you would like production input and playing from myself it's £45 per hour. Other services include drum replacement, vocal & instrument correction, audio restoration and audio quantisation. Mastering for individual tracks / EPs / albums is also available.

Services offered

Singers, bands, duos, voice overs, soloists... are all welcome.

Main equipment

Yamaha drums with sabian cymbals, blackstar / orange / vox amplifiers, yamaha digital piano, tc electronic / yamaha effects, cubase recording software / plugins, Presonus interfaces / headphone amps, beyer headphones, mackie / soundcraft mixers, KRK monitors, AKG / RODE / Sennheiser / Shure mics

Audio mastering available for single tracks / EPs / albums.

Mastering is the final process of the production process that brings the track to life and prepares it for CD / download. Starting at £10 per track, discounts available for multiple tracks.

the workshop

The purpose built workshop allows access to a wide range of repairs and servicing.

re-strings | full setups and servicing | re-frets | fret leveling | electrical modifications and rewiring | tremolo conversions | body work repair | external drum kit tuning and setup service

Second hand restored guitars are also for sale. If you have a guitar in mind, I can source one and bring it up to standard, or even customise it to your own requirements.

Brand new guitars, especially budget / beginner ranges, are sometimes extremely poorly assembled and finished due to poor quality control from the factory. But with some hand finishing these can be transformed into a perfectly playable instruments. Please contact me if you require more information.

"Can definitely recommend this service. That's my guitar in the picture and it plays like a dream since Dean gave it the necessary TLC"

"I'm chuffed to bits now my beautiful guitar has been fixed by Dean at DWS in Rainham Kent. Three new frets and re-profiled, she plays and sounds wonderful."

"Thanks Dean Whale :)"

"A thumping good job matey :)"

"Thank you Dean for a great setup on my beloved USA tele. It has never played better, Quality workmanship great service"

"Great job on pre amp upgrade for my APX, very neat. Cheers Dean"

Re-string Rates

Full re-string / fret board conditioned - £35 + strings
Full re-string / fret board conditioned / full setup (truss rod adjustment, intonation correction, action adjustment) - £45 + strings

add £5 for Floyd Rose style and classical guitars

If you know what string gauge you specifically require, just ask. If not a suitable gauge will be selected. You are welcome to supply your own strings.

For other services, please enquire for a quotation.

sessions: musician / duo / band & DJ hire

Dean Whale is an experienced and versatile session player on guitar, drums and vocals

Available for live and studio work
Professional attitude and good reader
Quick learner and good listener
Experienced in various styles and genres
Online sessions welcome

Contact here

MasterClass are an exciting, dynamic and fun trio covering range from 50s and 60s rock n roll right up to the present day, including pop, jazz, funk, rock, blues, motown and much more
Perfect for weddings, corporate events, functions clubs & pubs.

Click to visit web page

DJs & Bands offer quality acts worthy of any bar or venue night that you may be looking to arrange. We are able to provide entertainment for theme nights, our bands have an extensive repertoire as well as being able to cater to the requests of your customers.
We offer something for everyone and all the rug cutting, shape shifting and whistle blowing in between. You can rely on DJs & Bands to make your event memorable for all the right reasons.

Click to visit web page

An acoustic guitar duo with of a mix of instrumental and vocals and are available for restaurants, weddings... Suitable for easy listening and background entertainment
We cover many genres including jazz, classical and popular classics