New and purpose-built, YellowRattle Studios is the new working home of producer/songwriter Paul Dackombe in the English countryside of Essex. At its heart is a 16-channel Genesys Black G32 mixing console.
With a 35-year career spanning drumming, songwriting and production – principally with with 80s pop band Explained Emma – Dackombe has built and run several studios, focusing on development and small label projects alongside his own label, Wire-Sound with Dave Formula from Magazine/Visage.
Time in and experience of studios – as both musician and producer – has given him a clear vision for YellowRattle: ‘I have used and owned various outboard preamps, EQs and compressors over the years, and have been lucky enough to have worked on many consoles, including the Neve 88RS at Abbey Road,’ he says. ‘For this studio build, I wanted to return to a single hybrid desk layout – although there are some outboard units I will not give up.’
Being familiar with the analogue sound of the 88RS, Dackombe turned to Neve to replace his SSL desk: ‘I looked at a variety of what I would call hybrid desks – a blend of analogue front end with DAW control and functionality – as I prefer to mix in a hybrid manner. The Neve sound made the Genesys Black a leading contender and, coupled with the modular structure and DAW capabilities, it was a winning choice,’ he explains. ‘I don’t think anything else came really close when all those factors were considered. The ability to choose between classic and modern pres and EQs is pretty unique outside of a 500-series set up, although I went for all the classic choices with my Genesys Black.’
Dackombe concedes that Genesys Black has presented him with a learning curve, but that it didn’t take long to climb it: ‘The flexibility is great,’ he reports. ‘There are any number of different workflow options and always a solution for different set-ups. And, of course, the legendary Neve sound – it sounded fantastic from the first moment we hooked it up.’
He is currently working on a writing project for a jazz/pop album, which is set for release at the end of April 2017. However, he’s also putting revisiting older projects. ‘I am now blocking out time slots in the studio to re-mix completed projects, as the finished product on this desk is so much better than my last set-up.’
More: www.ams-neve.com
