Migrating from a hybrid production set-up that included an SSL Nucleus DAW controller/worksurface and an SSL Sigma δelta remote-controlled analogue summing mixer, Vasco Teodoro has upgraded his Plateia D’Ilusões studio in Portugal to include a 32-channel Origin analogue mixing console, UF8 advanced DAW controller and Fusion analogue master processor. 

‘I liked my Nucleus, but was looking for a desk for my studio,’ says Teodoro, a producer, engineer and mixer whose facility is located in Almada, across the river from the centre of Lisbon. ‘When I saw the Origin come up, I thought, this is it.’

Since installing the Origin, he has found himself using plug-ins and outboard gear far less: ‘I’ll be finishing a mix now, and when I look at my Pro Tools window, lots of channels don’t have any plug-ins on them. So the Origin really puts me in the sweet spot of working,’ he says.

‘Some of my clients were here asking if I could hear the difference between the desk and the plug-ins,’ he continues. ‘I said, “Let me open up some channels and crank 15dB at 16kHz”. In the plug-in, it sounds harsh. I’m not saying that you can’t have great results with plug-ins, but you can overdrive a console and that’s priceless.’

With his old set-up, Teodoro often used the microphone preamps in a sidecar desk when tracking. ‘Since I got the Origin, I haven’t used it,’ he reports. ‘These PureDrive mic preamps have surprised me a lot, especially the Drive button that adds harmonics.’

There are various mic preamp options in the racks at Plateia D’Ilusões, including some vintage units, ‘but I’ve recorded some stuff where I didn’t use them – the Origin sounds good, why mess it up?’

Beyond the desk’s operation and performance, Teodoro also regards it as a commercial asset: ‘It helps to have the Origin desk, he says, ‘people notice my work because of it. It’s a great tool for a commercial studio like mine, because everybody knows the SSL name. I’ve had some musicians and engineers here who have worked with SSL desks before and they love it.’

While Teodoro’s clients work in a variety of music genres, many of them prefer to track together as an ensemble: ‘I’m fortunate to work with some of the best musicians in Portugal, and they like the set-up that I have here,’ he says. ‘They track live, which is great, because I have 32 channels on the Origin. The desk allows me to get sounds more easily and way faster, because I can saturate the channel preamps or use some EQ to put more bite on the snare, for example. And if the piano player also plays guitar, I can have both set up and don’t need to keep switching things.’

The three tracking spaces at Plateia D’Ilusões not only allow Teodoro to separate the musicians while they are recording, but have also enabled him to continue working during the coronavirus pandemic with everyone safely isolated. ‘This spot is great because it’s near my home and I have natural light, so I can look outside’.

While Teodoro finds himself increasingly relying on the Origin’s features and functionality for recording and mixing, there is still something of a hybrid workflow at the studio. His SSL UF8 controller provides tactile control of his DAW automation. ‘Some things I automate in Pro Tools, the main things I automate on the UF8; at most I automate two channels at a time,’ he says. ‘And on the Origin, I can put everything on the faders and ride them. I love having all these faders.’

The Fusion processor, which he typically inserts on the master bus, offers possibilities for projects where a client has a very limited budget, he says. For those projects, ‘I know I can’t always be mixing on the Origin so, sometimes, if it’s for a little character on something and it’s a really tight budget and tight timing, I can just use the desk for summing with the Fusion.’

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