Aiming to ‘upgrade the studio facility to a more professional and commercial level’, the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has installed a 24-channel Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition analogue mixing console with patchbay and Dual Layer Control (DLC).
‘Our Studio A runs 32 channels of mastering grade conversion which have been phenomenal, so we felt that the replacement console needed to be up to that same standard and quality,’ explain the Music Tech department’s team, Rab McQueen, Robert Goldie and Colin Grassie. ‘The Heritage’s feature of the mix bus compressor and Retro Iron go without saying, but what really stands out to us is the versatility of the console.
‘Being able to track to the DAW and mix the tape returns simultaneously saves a tremendous amount of time during the recording and mixing process allowing our student engineers to provide initial control room mixes almost as quickly as they are performed. Additionally, the ability to throw the mixed individual channels, subgroups and final bus mix back to into the DAW again with the Copy LF feature in one pass, also means that archiving a full analogue mix is painless.
‘The layout of the desk itself is very straightforward and logical which lends itself well to a teaching environment. Our students have also commented on how the desk layout and the naming convention make it much easier and quicker to learn than other desks.’
‘There has been a new enthusiasm within my year group to use the studio for all areas of coursework and for our own projects,’ reports Music Technology undergraduate Lucy Irvine of the new console. ‘It has been the talk of the department and there is a reason why: it is truly a notable addition to the course.’
Although it is primarily used on the Music Technology course for larger music recording and production projects, the console doesn’t power down too often, as students from Games Design and Creative Animation have started requesting dialogue and Foley recordings on a regular basis.
The arrival of the ASP8024 has also opened the door to commercial projects: ‘We are seeing more paid work for the students coming through our doors. We’re currently looking to expand more of this kind of work during the teaching down time, enabling album projects coming through,’ adds the Music Technology team, admitting that it’s not just the students that are enthused. ‘A few staff members have been bringing in work as well...’
The Audient’s arrival is a part of a larger investment programme within UWS Music Technology that has shone a light on the studio’s commercial potential: ‘We foresee an increase in industry recognition of our facilities, in particular the industry skills and calibre of our students and the quality of their portfolios,’ continue McQueen, Goldie and Grassie. ’We aim to attract up and coming artists to work with our students and staff supporting new music talent, primarily in West and Central Scotland. The Campus is 10 minutes commute from Glasgow which has a wealth of musical talent, a vibrant music scene and industry representation.
‘As the programme continually develops to include new technologies and industry practices, the new console will be a large part of this, highlighting the importance of analogue and digital integration for music production.’
More: www.audient.com
