With its own acts other bands, commercials and voiceovers to accommodate, the in-house studio at Balloon Records places a premium on the term ‘flexibility’. Key to meeting its wide range of needs is a new Solid State Logic Matrix digital mixing system.
The label has had its own bespoke studio for many years but its increasing size brought routing problems that required a capable digital system. ‘We have a long history with synths and virtual instruments,’ says MD Thomas Jelinek. ‘Our old set-up grew so much that the signal flow ended up being messy and difficult to understand for new engineers. SSL’s Matrix is the first console we’ve found that’s suitable as the centrepiece of the studio and that could handle all of the line level sources.’
Additional interfacing is provided by two SSL MadiXtreme 128s and four Xlogic Alpha-Links, giving the studio an impressive 192 inputs and outputs. ‘These are mixed down to 40 channels using the controller side of the Matrix,’ Jelinek says. ‘This gives us a level of comfort and automation possibilities that we never thought possible. Matrix is so small, yet so powerful. Our old set-up was so large that it was hard to find the sweet spot when mixing. With Matrix, we can now use the controller to scroll through a 190 channel project without moving our heads more than 20cm.’
The label’s rosta includes artists Darren Baille (of the Guru Josh Project, who scored a worldwide hit with Infinity in 2008), Rene Rodrigezz, Merlin Milles and Alex De Vito. ‘The new workflow makes everything much quicker,’ Jelinek adds. ‘The ideas flow then like never before and the sonic quality brings the punch, which is so important in club music. It all sounds so clear… it’s amazing. Now I can focus on the detail and finish much quicker.’
More: www.solidstatelogic.com
