CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
A ‘classic’ AMS Neve Capricorn installed at Skywalker Sound
them the studio desks of choice particularly during the 1970s and 80s. The ‘of course’ in connection to SSL is a sign of the brand’s ubiquity back then. SSL is not as revered for its sound quality but is noted for its features and ease of use. “SSLs are less desirable sonically but are a joy to work on, so are classics because of workflow,” comments Dennis Weinreich, who also began as a music recording engineer before moving into post with his own Videosonics facility and then Pinewood Studios.
A big selling point for SSL was its fader automation. In 1981 the technology that changed the way many people – mostly in the A&R department – thought about music mixing burst on the scene. Total Recall was a computerised way to re-set the faders and EQ on the analogue SL 4000 E according to previous settings. It made SSL desks almost standard in the recording business because A&R people would call studios asking if they had one. Those that said ‘yes’ went on the list of possibles for sessions.
The thinking seems to have been that computer assisted set-up and mixing made sessions run smoother and more quickly, making for less studio time (which has always been expensive) needing to be booked. Musician and mixer Andy Richards spent a lot
10 November 2013
of time in SSL-equipped control rooms during the 1980s playing keyboards for the likes of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and The Pet Shop Boys. He says the reality was very different: “The consoles were very expensive and you could spend two or three days’ studio time re- setting the mix, even with the computer.” Dennis Weinreich observes that a classic
console must have something unique about it. Total Recall, with the Ultimation moving fader system, wasn’t unique – Neve introduced the first moving fader system, Necam (Neve computer assisted mix down), in 1977 – but it captured the imagination. Another criteria for classic status, according
to Weinreich, is “a unique and desirable sound”. Regardless of the size of the console, he says, Neve, Helios, Harrison and MCI desks “sound amazing and are classics sonically”. Neve desks in particular are noted for their excellent sound. The company came to attention with its 1073 mic preamp, launched in 1970. Three years later it moved into full consoles with the 8048, which featured the 1081 mic preamp and equalizer. Pondering whether any of today’s digital
recording consoles will be regarded in a similar way to the Neves and MCIs of the past, Weinreich says the technology brings more overall compromises sonically. “By virtue of
them being digital that are supposedly transparent,” he says. “But they lack the natural coloration of analogue circuits. I think there are few if any classic digital consoles. But in decades yet to come perhaps today’s transparent beast will become tomorrow’s classic. Somehow I doubt it.” Tim Summerhayes moved from studio work to mobile recording with Fleetwood Mobiles and now broadcast and event work through Red TX. “When we put Fleetwood together we opted for the new Euphonix CS2000s,” he recalls. “These were digitally controlled analogue desks and were pretty much state of the art. And there was just something about them. At Red TX we have the Studer Vista 8 system, which sounds great. Everyone I know now seems to have a favourite digital console and I firmly believe that the favourite one, and the one that sounds ‘the best’ is the board that the operator knows how to use.” Another leading practitioner in live music
for broadcast and DVD/Blu-ray release is Toby Alington of Richmond Studios. In recent years he has worked on The BRIT Awards and other events using the Floating Earth mobile, which houses a SSL C200. Alington takes up the analogy with classic cars, saying that like them, their console equivalents are “lovely to look at and be nostalgic about but are a pain to
The International Guide To Consoles 2013
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