There’s a classic ASP4816 console in les fauteuils rouges, a cosy recording studio in the south of France where owner Julien Lebart loves to record acoustic, jazz and pop music. Running a hybrid studio, he was keen to maintain a good workflow with Pro Tools, so spent a long time researching the right mixing desk for his setup. From the moment he bought his Audient, Julien knew he’d made the right decision.
ASP4816 “the preamps are awesome”
Julien commissioned bespoke studio furniture for his control room, roping in his friend, sound engineer Tom Chiesa to help build in the console, a DAW controller and a few additional mic preamps in the main worksurface. This way he has quick and easy access to Pro Tools (play, stop, rewind…etc) and the option to adjust levels of various tracks in the digital domain via the controller, whilst the ASP4816 is also in reach, doing all the heavy lifting of mixing audio in the analogue domain.
“It’s perfect for tracking a music band,” says Julien of the Audient desk. “The preamps are awesome – super clean but have ‘character’ if we push them up. The EQs are also incredible and certainly good enough to use before Pro Tools when recording. This saves so much time!
“the stereo bus compressor has something really special”
“I love to use the console for mixing too,” he continues, often noting that clients’ favourite mix is the first version – the one that he did with the console. “I use buses to compress the entire drum, for example. The stereo bus compressor has something really special.”
It’s not just the sound that lifts his heart, though – it looks the part too. “It really is a pleasure to see it when I come into the control room in the morning!” he says. In addition to the control room, les fauteuils rouges comprises three recording rooms with a much-loved Schimmel baby grand piano enjoyed by jazz and classical musicians alike.
Originally, les fauteuils rouges – directly translated as ‘the red armchairs’ – was owned privately by French singer, Cali, whose debut album l’amour parfait sold half a million copies back in 2003. Julien (who was also his pianist) has continued to work with Cali, producing, mixing and songwriting with him over the years.
For the last ten years, it has been a commercial studio under Julien’s command and a number of notable artists have passed through its doors – sitting metaphorically on the red armchairs! “We have the pleasure to record, mix and master famous French artists, including Eric Cantona, actor Tcheky Karyo, and of course a lot of others well known in France.”
ASP4816 ~ “It’s perfect”
To say that Julien is satisfied with his console is an understatement. “It’s perfect, I am a really happy customer!” he says. To find out more about les fauteuils rouges, visit the website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram.
