“I always trust that the recording will come out clear through the ASP880,” says audio engineer & producer, Max Smith when describing what he loves about the 8-channel mic preamp he uses in his Numen Studios. “I love how clean and transparent the preamps are and how easily I can switch between a mic or the synths,” he adds. Having worked on live mixes for Kylie, Jessie Ware and Sigrid over the years – and most recently mixing Dua Lipa’s BRIT Awards performance – Numen Studios are happy to have a setup they can rely on.
“I always trust that the recording will come out clear through the ASP880”
Describing themselves as a vibrant collection of talented musicians, writers, producers and industry professionals, Numen Studios in Surrey is home to Jordan Timms and Max Smith. Both of them graduated from ACM having learnt their craft on an Audient ASP8024-HE.
“When Numen started, it was mainly a recording studio built to track bands. Once COVID hit, things changed, and we found ourselves doing more writing and producing on various projects, including a lot of remote work,” explains Max. “Nowadays, our day-to-day involves mostly writing and producing for artists, though we’re lucky to have an incredible space for recording. We also do a lot of mixing, mastering and vocal production alongside everything else! We like to think of ourselves as a one-stop shop for music, supporting artists and clients through every step of the process.”
“The conversion to our interfaces via ADAT is super clear”
The setup at Numen has a selection of mic preamps to choose from including Audient & Neve, as well as various outboard compressors and EQs. Neumann KH310s and a KH750 sub look after the monitoring along with Yamaha NS10s and an Avantone MixCube. Max is particularly pleased with the way Audient ASP880 interacts with their existing interfaces. “The conversion to our interfaces via ADAT is super clear.”
He continues, “We’ve got the ASP880 racked up within arm’s reach, giving us another eight preamps we can use in sessions. It’s at the top of our desk, so it’s always accessible. We run the ASP880 over ADAT into the Apollo, which integrates it into the Apollo system. All our synths are hooked up to the ADC inputs via DB25 so they’re always ready to go.
“everything we make is a labour of love, striving for the best for the artist”
“The 8 channels get used for different things – we always leave the piano mics plugged into channels 7/8 because it’s easier to reach the buttons there (shout out to our old friend John Gallen for that trick back in our uni days!). Recently, we’ve had an SM7B plugged in as well as the OP-1, and we use the remaining channels for whatever toys are floating around the studio. In short, we use the digital line-ins for the synths, mic-ins for the piano and whatever else we need at the time.”
Looking ahead, Max and Jordan are excited to be working with independent, up-and-coming artists as well as the big names. “Since we’re involved in their projects from writing all the way through to mastering, we get to see the whole story of the song from start to finish. It’s a privilege to work with friends every day, and everything we make is a labour of love, striving for the best for the artist.”
Find out more about Numen Studios by visiting their website – or connect with them directly on Instagram.
