Accustomed to working out of his production hub, 7 West Studios in Glasgow’s city centre, music producer and recording engineer Chris Marshall put his first home workstation for mixing together in a determined response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘I just needed something simple and effective to continue mixing while I can’t access the studio,’ he explains having chosen Audient’s iD14 audio interface. ‘At 7 West Studios I have a classic Audient ASP8024 48-channel mixing console – that beast is the workhorse of the studio – so I thought it right that I should have a couple of great preamps and some quality conversion at home too.
‘I’ve basically created a clone of my studio computer in terms of software and plug-ins. It is centred around a refurbished 2017 iMac running Pro Tools 2020. including all my go-to Waves, Soundtoys, Slate, FabFilter and Drumforge – favourites that I love to use in my mixes.’
‘The iD14 sounds amazing, is so well built and the added ScrollControl is a nice feature that’s been helping me navigate my sessions even more quickly,’ he says. ‘The Burr-Brown conversion really does sound great, too.’
Aiming to mirror 7 West Studios as closely as possible, he also has of Focal loudspeaker monitors. ‘Shape 40s are very small and compact, but with the clarity and punch that is expected from Focal even at low volumes – a must when living in an old Glasgow tenement flat. I use their Twin6 Be model as my main monitors in the studio.’
Until now, Marshall has managed to keep his work and home life separate, concerned that having studio space at home may lead to him never taking a day off. Having only recently moved into his flat, he’s now juggling DIY with mixing – a far cry from his ‘previous life’ at 7 West Studios.
The two-room facility, which shares its space with Lofi Studios, Scotland’s largest recording and rehearsal complex, is where Marshall has honed his craft and built up a steady client base over the past eight years, producing many Scottish bands. Riding the wave of the boom in Scottish music, they include The Dunts, Baby Strange and Spyres as well as Gerry Cinnamon whose latest release, The Bonny reached number one in the album charts this week.
‘That record is filled with some of the best songwriting I’ve had the chance to work on in my career,’ he reports.
Looking to the future, Marshall is pleased to have a set-up at home now: ‘It will be nice to have access to the equipment to work from home on mixes if I choose to,’ he admits. ‘I enjoy mixing, but I love the time spent creating and capturing in the studio when people are bouncing off one another creatively. That’s the part that makes this the best job in the world.’
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