Great Audient Feedback From Cowshed in Glastonbury
Audient's ASP8024 mixing desk scored a resounding thumbs up from engineers, producers and artists at the first temporary recording studio at Glastonbury, this year. Consisting of a wooden structure and straw bales rendered in mud, Cowshed studio hosted artists including the Noisettes, Jah Wobble, Seth Lakeman and Show of Hands as well as many unsigned hopefuls taking the stage.
Audient supplied the 24-channel high resolution console to the project, the brainchild of music producer Joe Leach of Cowshed Studio in London, who wanted to create a highly specified, fully soundproof recording studio in the middle of a field at the festival.
UK sales manager Gareth Williams was on hand to hear the comments from the various users throughout the five-day event.
"We're not using any external mic pres at all, we are using all the console pres and they sound clean as a whistle. We're all really happy,” enthused Lin Gardiner, producer, songwriter and engineer at Super G Music. "Everything is clean and intuitive to use; no complaints whatsoever!"
Producer and mixing professional Teo Miller says, "It's a really fast console, with traditional inline principals, so moving from an SSL or NEVE is really easy. The sub-grouping is really clever, too. We've been using it on lots of sessions and it's been seamless.”
Alongside the Audient recording desk, in what Leach proudly described as “..the most incredible control room in the world,” were Cowshed Studio's world-class classic keyboard collection, grand piano, vintage mics and pre-amps, all shipped from London to Somerset for the event.
Leach was very positive about the Audient console. “It's looking great and performing brilliantly,” he said at the festival. “The ASP8024 is a very well thought out desk, with great mic pres and great EQ. It's incredibly flexible, and highly recommended!”
As well as catching media attention with his somewhat unconventional idea, another motive for the enterprise was to eliminate any of the conventional pressure that might be felt when hiring a recording studio. “All of the studio build, labour and equipment has been volunteered, so artists can just walk in and make a recording,” he said, very pleased with the overall outcome. 
“The result is that we're getting lots of really joyful performances and absolutely fantastic quality recordings from just about every artist, and a lot of very happy people! It's been wonderful.”
The sessions recorded by major artists will be released as a 12” limited edition box set, The Cowshed Cut, while there will also be five 300-run 7” vinyl releases containing music from unsigned artists recorded during the weekend.
Watch Teo Miller's full rundown of the ASP8024 here.
Lin Gardiner talks through her Glastonbury experience with Audient here.
Joe Leach waxes lyrical about the first time he has used the ASP8024 desk here.
