Having hosted recent projects by Plan B, The Script and New Order, Edge Studios is the latest UK studio to install a Solid State Logic AWS 924 Hybrid Console/Controller.

‘When we first began to put the studio together, we were using a live/recording console that served us well, but, as we completed construction on other parts of the studio over a 12-month period, we knew the original console was the weak point, prompting the search for what ended up as the AWS 924,’ says owner/engineer John Delf.

In addition to extensive TV and radio credits, Delf has built a successful career in live sound, working the Glastonbury Festival, Coachella, T in the Park, V Festival and Oxegen, alongside artists that include Paul McCartney, U2 and Lily Allen. It was during a break in the live action, that his thought turned to his own recording studio – and latterly to the AWS 924.

‘From the minute we first opened the doors with our original equipment and some construction yet to do, we were immediately busy,’ he says. ‘With the advent of the AWS 924, our bookings have elevated from busy to massively busy. We literally do not have the time available to fit all the groups that want to come here to record. The AWS pays for itself and more, not only in terms of the wow factor for the client base, but how rewarding it is when mixing or recording on it. The AWS just does all the things you want it to do. When clients come into the studio and they see the SSL name, they immediately hold you in pristine respect.’

Edge Studios has been built on the premise of providing the highest levels of acoustic environments from the large studio room to the dedicated drum room, plus a large live room containing two grand pianos and two small vocal booths, supported by a monitoring system that includes PMC, Dynaudio, Nuemann and Yamaha loudspeakers. Joining Pro Tools, Logic, Reason and Cubase recording systems, the AWS was the final piece of the audio puzzle…

‘Once we listened to previous tracks and started recording through the AWS, we quickly realised how much better it was from the older setup,’ explains Delf. ‘It was like we were looking through a dirty window all this time and suddenly cleaning it. Everything became a lot clearer, more defined. The AWS elevated this recording space with world-class polish.’