Sound On Sound UK December 2019

Having just returned home from SynthFest UK 2019, I thought it might be appropriate to focus this column on the somewhat alien world of modular analogue synths and related accessories. While doing anything other than ‘experimental’ live gigs with a modular system will always be a challenge (a 45-minute break between tunes for repatching and resetting the controls?), there’s no arguing that it is possible to coax sounds from a personally selected combination of modules that a workstation synth would have little chance of replicating. In the studio, where there’s time to work on a sound, a modular system can be immensely powerful, and even though most modular functions are monophonic unless you splash out on a lot of extra kit, that really doesn’t matter. After all, most orchestral work…

SSL return to their roots with Origin SSL were the first manufacturers out of the gate at the 147th AES convention in New York on the show’s opening day, announcing their new all-analogue Origin console during an event held on their stand just before the exhibition officially opened. As SSL’s Ross Gilbert explained as the desk was unveiled, the Origin harks back to the company’s console-building roots with its all-analogue design and thoroughly SSL sound, but was created with a keen awareness of how 21st-century DAW-based artists and engineers like to record and work. As far as looking back is concerned, like countless SSL consoles of the past, the Origin is an analogue in-line desk featuring EQ from the SSL E-Series consoles and the company’s widely respected bus compressor. It’s a 32-fader…

Most people involved in live music at almost any level can now access the means of capturing multitrack recordings of their performances easily and affordably. Even if the venue’s FOH desk can’t record multitracks directly via USB (as several now can), a simple rig comprising a laptop and a multi-input interface can do the job perfectly well. Alternatively, stand-alone 16- and 24-track recorders are not the expensive luxuries or cumbersome, bulky devices they once were. But the challenge doesn’t end with the equipment. In a studio, you can position the players to reduce bleed or spill, whereas on stage they’ll be wherever the venue and the performance dictates they should be — often much closer together than ideal for recording — and some of them (not least the lead singer) might…

On the day we weren’t recording the sound of the audience — it wasn’t a typical gig environment, and there were booths at the show testing speakers and other sound gear nearby. But if you’re tasked with mixing a real live show, particularly one for video, you might want to consider whether and how to capture and mix the sound of the audience. Jamie suggests that there is no particular challenge to the process: “Just approach it like any other sound, really. Figure out how you want it to sound and then work towards that in whatever way you think will work. Pencil mics can be great on either side of the stage, facing the audience. Again, distortion used subtly can really bring out a crowd’s excitement. If I’m doing…

Arturia first made their name as designers of software synthesizers, including some impressive recreations of classic instruments such as the CS80 and Jupiter 8. They then diversified into hardware, producing everything from affordable controller keyboards to the mighty MatrixBrute analogue mega-synth, before turning their attention to the world of USB audio interfaces. Released in 2017, their debut in this department was a boldly unconventional and incredibly well-featured desktop interface. The AudioFuse offered not only mic and line inputs but also digital I/O, monitor control, turntable connections and probably an attachment for getting stones out of horses’ hooves. It sounded very good and offered some unique features, including a rather quirky approach to direct monitoring and cue mixing. After poking their toe in the audio interface waters, Arturia held back on immersing the…

PROS • Unusually good preamps that offer much more clean gain than is available on rival products. • Excellent audio specifications and subjective sound quality. • Line inputs bypass the preamps. • Very simple to use. • Great value for money. • Can operate both as a USB interface and as an ADAT expander. CONS • Only one headphone output. • Monitor control and internal mixing features may be too basic for some. • If you record very loud sources you might prefer a less hot alignment than is available here. • PSU cable is too short and could be more robust. SUMMARY Arturia have drawn on their DiscretePro preamp technology to develop an eight-channel USB interface and ADAT expander that offers class-leading audio performance. If your current interface never quite seems to have enough input gain on offer, the 8Pre is the…