Formerly Warner Music Group’s Aquarium Studios and now in the hands of Balazs Robert, Budapest’s Pannonia Studio has refitted its Studio A with an SSL Duality SE console.
‘I bought Aquarium Studios four years ago to continue to offer a high-level recording space to musicians and performers from all walks of music in Eastern Europe,’ he says. ‘We are also attracting international stars, so when it came time to replace the aging SSL 4000 series console, Duality was the only real option as it addresses how musicians and producers work in this multi-media world. Duality is an investment in our future.’
The studio complex offers two control rooms – Studio A with the new Duality desk and Studio B with an AWS 900+ SE. The control rooms share a common orchestral-size recording room, and each has an associated isolation booth. Duality is primarily used for mixing and recording larger tracking sessions.
‘Pannonia has an engineer for metal and rock work, a specialist in classical recording, and I cover jazz, pop and hip-hop,’ chief engineer and owner, Robert. ‘Duality excels at tracking any style of music, but mixing is the primary use for the console because it is so easy to go from one project to another with Total Recall, and it offers dynamics and VHD mic pres on every channel.
‘As an example, I recorded a big band here during the day, needing Duality’s channel count for the session. In the evening, one of our engineers easily loaded a previously recorded session, mixed it down, and the following morning I came in to continue recording the big band, resetting the console quickly and easily. Duality is always a pleasure to work with.’
The installation reflects the continuing growth of music and music-based video projects in Eastern Europe. Addressing this, Robert purchased the AWS for another studio project and brought the console along to Pannonia.
‘At the time I purchased Aquarium, I was already very familiar with SSL’s hybrid workflow through the AWS 900,’ he explains. ‘Working with the 4000 [previously installed in Studio A] and the AWS made the transition to Duality a breeze for all our engineers. We feel that Pannonia will become a production focal point for the region because of the studio’s professional acoustics and Duality.’
More: www.pannoniastudio.com
More: www.solidstatelogic.com
