A newly opened studio in rural British Columbia has become home to Audient’s 500th ASP8024 console, where owner, engineer/producer Rob Dewar is already reaping the benefits of his 36-channel desk.
Now up and running, the studio is centred on the new console, which provides
centralised inputs and return bus matrix: ‘It has made my mostly single-handed recording and production work here much easier in terms of flow,’ Dewar explains. ‘I have set up my most-used inputs – drum kit mics, four miked guitar amps in booths, an M/S mic pair for acoustic guitars, a direct-patched bass – on a semi-permanent basis, and I have built a rolling mobile remote control rig for the DAW, and a set of satellite headphone pods, so most of the time, I can move into position, arm some tracks and let rip, when inspiration strikes, without any serious set-up time.’
As a fan of British analogue audio circuitry since going through audio school in the early 1880s, Dewar looked to Audient for the ‘right’ console for his studio: ‘The ASP8024 provides incredible value for a very reasonable cost, with world-class functionality and sonics, reassuring build quality and great structural integrity, at a surprisingly low investment,’ he says. ‘By all measures, it has met very well with that assessment.’
He reckons that the console’s preamps and buses a give a ‘warm, natural and alive’ sonic image. ‘I have a bunch of very nice boutique mic pres that seldom hear a signal anymore, because in most cases, the Audient inputs are equivalent or even superior,’ he says. ‘I use the console short faders for most of my inputs. You hear a lot of Audient in my work now, and I and my listeners love it.’
Since this landmark sale, Audient’s sales have continued to grow. ‘Although the design has evolved over the years, the fact that sales of ASP8024 and its variants continue to show year on year growth stands testament to just how right David Dearden and the Audient team got the original design,’ says company co-founder, Gareth Davies. ‘‘We’d like to thank all of the users worldwide who have contributed to establishing ASP8024 as such an iconic product.’
Of the studios equipped with Audient desks, Dewar’s is possibly the most remote, situated ‘between real towns’ (the nearest is the tiny hamlet of Faulder), giving him both physical and metaphorical space to create at his leisure. And since the arrival of the console, he has done just that.
‘I’ve done a bunch of remixes of old mixes of mine, created a few new pieces, produced and tracked a number of cuts for half a dozen different clients, mastered one EP and done some audio engineering tutoring for a student of mine,’ he says. ‘I have also begun building some smooth jazz-type stuff with another guitarist who definitely has some mojo. My most proud output from this room isn’t finished yet…’
More: www.audient.com
