Hull University: Audient Leaps Into Salmon Grove Studios
When setting up the new music production facility at Hull University, Technical Engineer Michael Fletcher was faced with the question of how to build a studio that not only caters for the professional market, but is also equipped to teach music undergraduates. After extensive research into both the commercial studio and education sectors, Fletcher found that Audient met all his requirements for the new Salmon Grove based studios.
“It is imperative that the studio equipment is of a very high quality in order to satisfy commercial clients, whilst also providing the best possible configuration for teaching Music Technology,” he explains. “We decided that these criteria were best met through the combination of a high quality inline analogue console, and a digital audio workstation with a control surface. This is the combination which initially attracted us to the ACS8024. It made perfect sense to us to have access to a Command 8 for our Pro Tools rig in the mix position.
“In addition to the ergonomic sense of the ACS8024, the overall quality and features of the ACS8024 made it the perfect choice,” continues Fletcher. “The configurability of the desk, with all those auxiliaries, inserts and busses, means that we can get the best out of our outboard processing and also make use of all of the hardware inserts and sends provided by our Pro Tools HD2 system. With 3, 96 I/O’s we have 24 channels available throughout, so we can either use Pro Tools to mix or submix, or as a virtual tape machine.”
Audient’s ACS8024 expands on the sonic clarity and full-featured control of the ASP8024 console, bringing integrated workstation control right where it's needed: at the listening position between the speakers. Fitting either a Digidesign Command 8 or Mackie Control Universal control surface into any of the console bays, the ACS allows instant ergonomic control of transport functions, software mixing and plug-ins.
“Overall the ACS8024 has been a great purchase which I enjoy using every time,” says Fletcher who knows he’s onto a good thing. “The quality of the microphone preamps on the console is such that we subsequently bought an Audient ASP008 outboard preamp for our mobile rig.”
Located on the Hull Campus of the University, Salmon Grove Studios form part of the teaching resources for all music degrees, in particular the BA in Jazz and Popular Music. The University’s Centre for Lifelong Learning offers short courses in the studio, and with its highly specified equipment, experienced engineer and talented session musicians it doubles up well as a commercial music production facility. For further information please visit www.hull.ac.uk/sgstudios.
The ACS8024 console was supplied by Stirling Trading UK, visit http://www.stirlingtrading.com/ for details.
