Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, has made a Rupert Neve Designs 5088 mixing console the centrepiece of its largest recording studio.
Evergreen operates four music technology media labs fitted with a wide range of equipment new and old. ‘We still teach students analogue recording practices with tape, which really complements the digital production structure,’ says the college’s Head of Electronic Media, Peter Randlette.
The school also has a number of large, acoustically complex production spaces, a band room with an iso booth, a recital hall with raked seating, and a THX video theatre space. The 32-channel 5088 is equipped with six Shelford 5052 mic preamp/EQs, eight Shelford 5051 EQ/compressors, eight Portico 5033 EQs, four Portico 5032 mic preamp/EQs, six Portico 5015 mic preamp/compressors, and Rupert Neve Designs’ proprietary SwiftMix moving fader automation.
‘The biggest consideration was ergonomics,’ Randlette says. ‘You can’t sit at the front of some consoles and reach the EQs. And I love the clarity of the [5088’s] signal flow, in terms of teaching students fundamental principles of recording and production. It’s really straightforward – that doesn’t mean it isn’t potentially complex, but it “feels” really good – and the sound has been wonderful.
‘The quality of the physical fader control is outstanding – and the Portico modules all sound really good,’ he continues. ‘Coming from a synthesiser background, I love an EQ where over a certain level you start to “hear” the filter. These sound really good; not ringy or nasal. They don’t stick out.’
As well as mixing, the 5088 is also used to educate the students on the sonic differences that analogue summing can make: ‘My students have been experimenting with bouncing from “the box” with Digital Performer, Logic and Pro Tools vs. the 5088 as summing… and oh my God! It’s hard to explain something so clear, but I think the high-frequency transients are not as coloured, so the stereo imaging is just clearer – it’s something I don’t think I’ve experienced with other consoles.’
