THE BYRE BUYS UK'S FIRST AMEK MEDIA 51

AMEK, the British-based manufacturer of professional audio mixing consoles and signal processing devices, has supplied the UK's first 60-input Media 51 console to The Byre Recording Studio, which opens its new facility in September at Kiltarlity in the Scottish Highlands.
Selecting the Media 51 on the basis of its 5.1 surround capabilities and integral automation, The Byre required a high quality analogue console for its diverse spread of projects, ranging from music recording to broadcast production and post-production.
The Byre is part of media company Inchbrakie Ltd, which includes video production and post-production departments, as well as divisions specialising in concert promotion, sound reinforcement and lighting. With a particular focus on surround sound, the company has integrated 5.1 surround with multimedia capabilities across its entire activities - even its 5kW JBL outside-events sound system is configured in full 5.1 surround - hence its desire to install a surround-capable audio console for The Byre.
Prior to finalising the studio's equipment choices, The Byre conducted a survey across 100 potential customers with almost all stating that their key priorities were the speed and convenience of a conventional mixing desk, coupled with the capability for surround sound and 48-track digital recording. Andrew Graeme, owner of the Byre, explained:
"We had originally considered a higher-budget, assignable digital desk, but ruled this out after experiencing some unconvincing product demonstrations.
Somewhat surprisingly, our market research found that the younger the user, the less they were prepared to use one of the new digital desks on offer and we were also concerned about confronting freelance engineers with unconventional desk architectures. Our decision to go down the analogue route was finally taken following comments from a classical music producer, who refuses to use digital consoles due to the latency issue. Our shortlist focused on the few consoles that could provide truly integrated surround capabilities - without the hassles of bolt-on solutions - combined with sufficient input capacity, powerful automation and recall facilities, and exemplary sonic performance. We asked around other studios and, as well as having a suitable product in the shape of the 60-input Media 51, AMEK also came in for repeated praise for both quality and after-sales service."
(GB)