Moving his Everest Studio into Brazil’s commercial arena, owner, engineer and musician Thales Tonin has installed a Solid State Logic Origin analogue mixing console with integrated UF8 Advanced DAW Controller.

Tonin purchased the equipment from Carlos Duttweller, whose Pro Studios architecture and acoustics firm has worked on more than 500 audio and video facilities throughout Brazil and around the world, and who designed the facility. Everest Studio is in Alphaville, part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo.

‘Clients come want a different experience here,’ he says. ‘That’s what we’re trying to offer. The main idea was to have 32 channels for live recording. I also have a nice collection of external preamps and other equipment that I can expand to, so I can record and mix 64 channels.’

It was Origin’s 32-channel layout that attracted him to the console, as well as SSL’s reputation. ‘We do a lot of live recordings here, not just overdubs,’ he explains. ‘We have a big, really nicely treated live room so we get the best isolated but live feel. We can put the drummer in a booth and record the grand piano and do a live take of the vocalist. And everybody can see each other – it is the best of both worlds.

‘One thing that we always fight is time,’ he continues. ‘Budgets are getting smaller, so people want to squeeze a lot into a single day. We need to be quick with our decisions. We can’t waste time testing things, so having 32 preamps and EQs is awesome. You can set up a session really, really quickly without having to think about patching. Of course, you can explore a little, maybe for the vocal. But to begin the session you need to get things going quickly.’

Origin also suits his style of mixing: ‘I mix hybrid, so it’s the perfect console for me,’ he confirms. ‘I start the mix process in Pro Tools and then put everything on the console. When you mix, especially on transient-heavy stuff like snare drum, you can really drive it harder than on a DAW mix. And having those subgroup faders in the centre section where I can do parallels, or use them as master faders for whatever I want, is fantastic.’

As for DAW control, he says: ‘All my Pro Tools needs are met with the UF8 – it incorporates really well into the console design. I’m using it especially for automation.’

Tonin had previously used the location as a personal studio, producing his own projects using a collection of outboard microphone preamps, compressors and other equipment. Two years ago, he began a remodel with the aim of launching Everest as a commercial recording studio, enlisting his friend, five-time Latin Grammy Award nominee Thiago Baggio, as his main engineer. ‘He’s known for working with what is called MPB [Música Popular Brasileira or Brazilian Pop Music] and jazz. So he’s bringing a lot of those projects here to the studio.’

Having previously relied on a few channels of SSL’s VHD (Variable Harmonic Drive) outboard mic preamps while operating the facility as his personal studio, the immediate availability of 32 PureDrive mic preamps and E-Series 242 type EQs across the Origin console has been a leap forward.

‘Plus it sounds great,’ he reports. ‘I really enjoy recording rock, all different styles of rock, and for me the SSL console is fantastic for that sound. Selecting Drive gives almost a compression feel to the sound. It’s really nice.’

Tonin notes that he can also introduce alternative analogue character and colour through Origin’s routing capabilities. ‘We make good use of the outboard gear using the inserts on the small faders or the large faders. We can record a live session and use all these tools that makes everything sound even better. All of our tracking and mixing takes the best of those analogue devices to get the best sound possible. No plug-ins can match that.’

Everest’s main tracking room has an unusual layout with two offset but linked rectangular spaces. ‘The drum room is connected to the piano room. It’s an open-space concept. We decided to do that because mostly the centre of a live room stays empty. People like to put their amplifiers and instruments against the walls. So it’s better to have this style of room, with different spaces integrated together.’

Rather than link the control room and the live space with a single panel, he has connections throughout the room. ‘We don’t have a master path – we put buckets of eight connectors in the different spaces, so you don’t have to run long cables. You can just plug in near you. We really thought about the design a lot, it is great especially for video recording, keeps everything really organised.’

As with elsewhere around the world, opportunities to work with clients have been dependent on the ebb and flow of the coronavirus. However, one major project that has come out of the remodelled facility was by Projeto Sola, a Christian rock band.

‘I recorded the whole album and we just released an EP,’ says Tonin.