Porto’s Stage Studio is the brainchild of Sergio Silva, who recently graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston and now heads the four-strong team at the studio.
Dedicated to the production of young bands looking for a record contract who can’t afford their first demo, the six-month-old facility offers a complete service of pre-production, rehearsal, recording and postproduction for all projects. In-line with this aim, Stage Studio turned to Reflexion Arts and chose an Audient Zen console and a Black Rack for the job.
The decision to go for Audient’s Zen was made by studio owner Sergio Silva. ‘While studying, I heard a lot of good feedback about Audient products – in particular the crystal clear sound of the consoles, the good headroom and great mic preamps,’ Siva says.
Comprising five each of the compressor and equaliser modules, the Black Rack offers the Black Comp, a transformer balanced optical compressor/limiter and Black EQ. Both units feature discrete class-A circuitry and provide a tool for creating and controlling classic sound character and complexity in the signal path. Packed neatly into the ten-module Black Rack and used in tandem with the compact Zen, this package is well suited to Stage Studios’ modern environment.
Reflexion Arts, Audient’s distributor in Spain and Portugal, supplied the Zen and Black Rack having previously been instrumental in getting the first Zen into Portugal. It was installed in the private studio of top pop band GNR, who have been making music for almost 30 years. Sergio Castro, Director of Reflexion Arts says, ‘Their latest album was entirely recorded through Zen preamps and mixed through its summing facilities, with really great results.’
