Reel Recording Studio recently put its new Allen & Heath GLD Chrome digital mixer to use recording the main stage at the Slam Dunk festival in Leeds. The desk was also used FOH for Download’s ‘secret band’, Young Guns, at Donington.

Footage at Slam Dunk was captured for Kerrang TV via the Chrome GLD-80, which was used to multitrack all bands on the main stage using Dante and Waves Tracks Live. Situated onstage, Allen & Heath’s ultra-compact Qu-Pac mixer was also used to record FOH.

‘The Slam Dunk live recording was actually the first time I had used a GLD in anger and it was an absolute pleasure,’ says Reel Recording Studios house engineer, Dave Boothroyd. ‘The GLD is really intuitive, there’s no messing around - everything is exactly where you want it to be. The pre amps sound absolutely superb, which is imperative for a job like this, and with the added bonus of Dante, which is extremely flexible, it really performs well in the live recording situation. On top of all of this the footprint is tiny for such a powerful package. I’m most definitely looking forward to working on the GLD again.’

The footage was later mixed down on the Studio’s Allen & Heath GS-R24 firewire recording mixer. ‘The set-up was A&H from start to finish,’ says Reel Recording Studio owner, Ben Hammond.

Reel’s GLD Chrome, along with AR2412 and AR84 remote I/O expansion racks, was also employed at the Download festival with Young Guns, the festival’s secret band. The system was also fitted with Dante networking for multitrack recording.

‘I used all the outputs on the AR racks as a split to feed the guys in-ear monitor rack, so we were using absolutely every hole on the desk! I made good use of the mixer’s onboard FX – I’m loving the new 160 compressor which I use on bass, keys and tracks,’ Hammond adds.