In the few weeks since London City University installed an Audient ASP8024 mixing desk in its Centre for Music Studies studio, the console’s facilities have been put through their paces. The studio’s use is split three ways – teaching, for students to complete individual projects and for commercial hire at weekends and during vacation periods, as has been the case more recently.

‘We have to be ready for anything,’ explains Technical Director of Performance Space & Sound Studios, Will Goring, who specified the desk and has enjoyed commissioning the Audient over the summer, before the students’ arrival. ‘We recently had the BBC here making a programme with Moira Stewart and Huw Edwards, and then the day after we were recording a large ensemble. We have great patching and infrastructure here though, so turning around sessions like these is a piece of cake.

‘We need to train students in an environment as close to a professional one as possible, and ASP8024 provides a world-class focus without being ridiculously expensive. So, the bonus is: more money for other equipment,’ he adds.

Teaching modules such as Sound Recording and Production Techniques, Music Sound and Technology and Composing For Moving Images are taught using the studio, and therefore the Audient console. ‘I firmly believe that if you teach people to use an analogue inline mixer, then DAW mixing becomes second nature – something much more difficult to achieve the other way around,’ Goring continues. ‘People coming from DAWs often don’t have that visual grasp of what goes where. For instance, things like gain structure, EQ and foldback are much easier to teach on an analogue desk.

‘The layout of the ASP8024 makes it ideal, because the various channels and sections are well laid out, making it easy for students to gather round and take a look. We can fit up to 16 students into the studio for a lesson, so details like this are very important to us.’

Favourite features? ‘Where do I start? The ASP8024 has a clear, ergonomic layout, a crystal clear sound and EQ, lovely preamps, multiple monitor outs, the compressor over the stereo bus, right down to the small details like solo in front.

‘We have a lot of students, both Undergraduate and Postgraduate who use the studio for a whole range of personal projects,’ adds Goring. The desk has already been used for straightforward tracking, sound for electronic music concerts (with up to 24 speaker surround systems), recording film scores, electronic composition and 5.1 and stereo mixing.

The Audient desk was provided by Academia, supplier of software licensing, hardware and training to UK academic institutions and staff amongst other customers. ‘The ASP8024 continues to be one of the most popular desks specified for educational facilities,’ says Academia’s Neil Boia. ‘For an analogue desk with all of these features and performance, it comes in at a very impressive price point.’

Boia’s colleague, Technical Sales Consultant Yan Gilbert-Miguet continues: ‘The sound quality needed to be exceptional in order to do justice to the Performance Space, which is a fantastic live area. Monitoring, routing and flexibility of the desk was also crucial to the workflow, in order to accommodate a dance mix in Logic (say) one day, and a full-on recording session in Pro Tools the next

‘Audient ASP8024 was a pretty obvious choice. With its in-line architecture, 24 track buses, 14 auxes, Dual Layer Control for ProTools/Logic, ease of use and outstanding value for money, the Audient stood alone and we were able to deliver the solution on time and on budget.’

‘The acquisition of the ASP8024 is part of an extensive ongoing upgrade of the Music Tech facilities here at City University London,’ Goring concludes. ‘We have been investing a lot of time and money into getting everything exactly right over the last few months.’

Located in the heart of London City University is ranked among the top five per cent of universities in the world according to the Times Higher Education World Rankings 2010/11 and has a 100 year history in the capital of the United Kingdom.

More: www.academia.co.uk
More: www.audient.com