The latest addition to Full Sail University’s flagship studio is a Rupert Neve Designs 48-channel Shelford Edition 5088 console, loaded with 48 Shelford 5052 micpreamp/EQ modules and 9x Portico 5043 dual compressor/limiter modules. The studio serves a wide variety of purposes ranging from student projects to professional releases with notable artists.
‘We have had Rupert Neve Designs products in our studios from the time they came out on the market,’ says Full Sail University Director of Advanced Recording, Darren Schneider, a multi-award-winning recording engineer and mixer. After years of using the rack line of RND products, it was a natural progression for us to move into the 5088.’
Founded as a recording workshop in 1979, Full Sail has grown into a hugely successful university with a worldwide reputation for its recording degree programmes. ‘Currently, all of our major studios have Rupert Neve Designs mic preamps and compressors in them,’ Schneider says. ‘I also use the 5032V [vertical] as the front end of a mobile recording rig.’
Schneider’s decades of experience working in the analogue realm includes a significant amount of time working on Rupert Neve’s vintage consoles. ‘This console totally delivers that punch and sonic personality that I’ve come to love, without having a 40- or 50-year old console with potentially high maintenance cost,’ he says.
As an educator, Schneider feels the 5088 helps students in several ways: ‘First of all, the console signal flow is intuitive and can make the recording process less stressful for a newer student. Being able to use the console in different configurations – such as split or in-line – makes it more versatile in use and when teaching.’
‘It’s important to expose students to the sonic picture that RND gear offers to the process of making music,’ Schneider says. ‘After everyone comments on how great the console looks, they’re amazed at the sound that comes out of it. The comment we get from the students is how rich and controlled the sound is – I would attribute that to the superior harmonic content they are able to capture with the 5088.’
Aside from the console, Full Sail’s studios also feature four Portico II Channels, four Portico 5033 EQs, seven Portico 5043 dual compressors and 11 Portico 5032 micpreamp/EQ modules
More: http://rupertneve.com
