Arts University Bournemouth (AUB) Music and Sound Production Degree students at Bournemouth & Poole College have had the Audient ASP8024-HE mixing console to themselves in the HE only studio over the last year, and, according to HE Music Programme Leader Julian Jacobs, they are the better for it.
“The inline element is a game changer as far as student experience, usability and industry alignment is concerned”
“The students love this console once they get their head around the routing (same with any gear), and they take to it very well,” says Julian. “We have students that used the previous desk and have now been taught how to use the ASP8024-HE. They all say how much more sense it makes to them to work this way. It’s a joy for me to see them getting into it, taking control of their sessions and developing their professional confidence.”
Julian attributes a lot of this to the inline structure of this desk. “Previously, students would be monitoring on separate channels, or bussing channels together in ProTools and monitoring on a stereo pair, which is neither particularly efficient nor flexible. Nor does it represent what happens in a lot of pro studios, now the student experience includes recording with inline as well as split console configurations.
“The inline element is a game changer as far as student experience, usability and industry alignment is concerned.” He continues, “I love the mic pres – and the bus compressor. It’s great to use and it just sounds so good!”
HE Music Programme Leader, Bournemouth & Poole College: “It’s great to use and it just sounds so good!”
Julian has a background in music and a seven-year stint as a BBC Engineer and has spent his spare time composing, recording, gigging (keys), building studios for himself and others as well as doing gear repair over the years. So he’s ideally placed to take his students through the Higher Education Levels 4 – 6 of the Music & Sound Production degree.
Studio 1 has been completely rebuilt from the ground up, which is where the Audient ASP8024 Heritage Edition 24 channel large format mixing console is housed. This is paired with a high-end audio interface converter, and a Mac Studio M2 Max with 64 GB of RAM running ProTools and Cubase. The installation also includes various outboard like compressors and reverbs, with the monitoring taken care of by Genelec 8040B, Adam Audio A77H and for mono, an Avantone Mixcube. Studio 1 also boasts a vocal booth within the control room and a 40 sqm live room with separate drum booth.
Julian explains one of the reasons that they decided to choose Audient. “We need to consider reliability and access to support if things go wrong. Funding in FE isn’t good, and HE is under a lot of pressure now due to falling numbers, so ongoing maintenance costs are a big part of the choices we make. There are second hand inline consoles out there for less, but if one weighs up the potential total cost over 10, 15, 20 years, the ASP8024-HE looks like a very sensible selection for this kind of establishment.”
“ASP8024-HE … a very sensible selection for this kind of establishment”
Bournemouth and Poole College Music department occupies a purpose-built facility which includes four other studios in addition to Studio 1, a large performance space, multiple full band sized rehearsal rooms, smaller production suites, lecture theatre, practice rooms, a classroom and a fully stocked tech store. It was the long-sighted view of the most recent Principal Phil Sayles, which prompted investment in the creative industries and diverted some funding to the Music department.
The students themselves are positive about the console, too. Jamie Johnson appreciates the “signal flow understanding” working with the Audient console, whilst Ben Peters, also a degree student graduating this year, says it’s “easy and clear to use” adding that “the patchbay rocks. And the manual reads easily.”
Both students are using the studio to record their own band – an option that all music students have available to them during their time at The College. “It’s all good experience, and contributes to the essential hours required for honing their craft,” says Julian, lamenting the fact he hasn’t managed to find time to use it for any of his own projects yet. “I have an album of material ready to go, and I occasionally engineer and produce for outside clients (if I like the music), so this will probably happen at some time in the near future, and I can’t wait.”
Bournemouth & Poole College student: “the patchbay rocks”
It’s not only the higher education students who benefit from using Audient. 16 to 18-year-olds studying on Level 2 and 3 courses also have access to 4 studios, one of which boasts a legacy Audient Zen console. This and the other three studios are currently benefiting from a refit. Across all studios, students participate in a variety of different projects – recording solo performers, full bands, Foley, soundtrack and voice over work – all of which reflect realistic working practices. The Performing Arts department also runs degree programs, and their students often collaborate in recorded project work: showreels, voice over and musical performances.
Julian is very positive about the future of the Music department. “Bournemouth and Poole college has been running music courses for 45+ years (I studied music here in the 90s). Over this period, it has continued to teach the core principles (that don’t change) and embraced the developing world of music technology throughout. One might assume that there would be a drop in numbers due to the proliferation of the internet for learning, cheap or free software, and the ever-decreasing cost of hardware. This just isn’t the case though, I think it’s because people still want to make music together, they want to learn together, they want to be guided on their journey, and experience the kind of facilities that they wouldn’t have access to unless they came to our college.
“This is reflected in the fact that this year, we have so many excellent quality applicants who have shone at interview and accepted places, that we will be running a double sized Level 3 group. This will undoubtedly result in larger numbers progressing to degree programs for those that want to take their skills and understanding to the next level, and experience awesome facilities with equipment like the ASP8024-HE at its centre.”
Prospective students are invited to visit this webpage for further information or to apply for a course. The Music department is still interviewing suitable candidates now, for Sept 2025 intake.
