Quite possibly the first Audient console to be entombed in an old bank vault, the compact ASP4816 is now at the heart of brand new Vault Recording Studio in central Dublin. The world class recording facility was launched last month by Dublin Studio Hub in partnership with CCT College Dublin and now serves as the audio production company’s new headquarters.
Producer/engineer and founder of Dublin Studio Hub (DSH), Larry Hogan specified the desk. He was impressed from the outset. “I’ve done some sessions on the desk and it is fantastic – what a sound!” he said, after his inaugural sessions with the console. “The ASP4816 is the heart of the studio. Everything runs through it and gets that incredible Audient sound. Its great preamps, the great sounding bus compressor and EQ section are invaluable in forming the Vault Recording Studio sound.”
On ASP4816: “Everything runs through it and gets that incredible Audient sound”
Adding an ASP880 8-channel mic pre to provide additional inputs to the control room, he couldn’t be happier with the Audient sound. “Our studio consists of a large live control room which suits the workflow of our DSH producers. We like to work with people in the room whenever possible and do a lot of live and streaming setups there also,” he says.
Larry describes Dublin Studio Hub as “Ireland’s foremost audio production company representing a pool of Ireland’s most proficient and experienced production, vocal and session player talent.” Specialising in online music production and outsourcing work to music professionals, DSH also provides a sample reply service and regularly supplies recreated masters to labels in the dance industry.
Vault Recording Studio is the new base where it all comes together. “We have a drum room with a permanent Premier Signia Maple kit and a large vocal booth which holds up to five singers or a brass/string section. We also have an external green room under construction which will double as a space for bigger live setups, choirs, orchestras etc which will run on a Dante system back to the studio.”
Designed and constructed by Smart Studios, the studio has already garnered positive comments from its visitors who have praised its ‘great vibe’.
“Our sonic footprint definitely improved after we started using the desk”
With strong ties to a huge network of local, national and international recording facilities including the iconic Windmill Lane Studios, Larry is no stranger to many different studio ‘vibes’. He’s also accustomed to working with all sorts of gear. “The last big consoles I worked on were an SSL G Series and a Neve VR Legend. Both amazing, iconic desks that have their own distinctive flavours,” he says. “The Audient does too, and in terms of signal and sound quality it is right up there.”
High praise indeed. When asked about what he particularly appreciates about the desk, Larry continued, “We love the bus compressor which generally features in all our mixes. The preamps are really great; so clean and they have a great amount of head room. Our sonic footprint definitely improved after we started using the desk. Also the EQ section is very powerful and easy to use – and it looks cool.”
“the EQ section is very powerful and easy to use”
Now he’s acclimatised to the new space, Larry is already looking to secure its future. “The next planned upgrade is to install our Dolby Atmos System. We wired the studio for it while it was being built,” he explains. “We’ll be doing a lot of Atmos mixing in there, as well as running courses in association with CCT Education.”
There’s certainly a lot in the pipeline for Larry, quite apart from the development of educational content. “We’re always working on songs for DSH clients, we have a theatre show for a French company and several new albums for emerging Irish Artists coming up.” In addition to that there are constant collaborations through their Sample Replay service for Big Dance Labels Like Armada, Sony, Purple Disco Machine etc.
Vault Recording Studio will be at the heart of everything, of course. “We are launching a new Irish record label soon and will be using the studio to develop newly signed artists.”
Wow! Audient wishes you every success with all of it, Larry. Keep in touch.
