IGA To Mix Top Artists With New Studio Console

Interscope Geffen A&M (IGA), home to a multitude of prestigious recording artists, will install a Solid State Logic C200 Digital Production Console in its new studio facility, which will open in 2007.
Part of the Universal Music Group, the music industry's leader in global sales, IGA will use the 48-fader, 216-input C200 to record and mix top artists on a roster that includes Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls and Mary J. Blige.
"We chose the SSL C200 console because of its powerful recall functions, and our ability to switch effortlessly between massive production set-ups in seconds," said Geffen Records chairman Ron Fair. "We found the sound to be absolutely comparable with analog SSL consoles, and we expect to make many hits with a seamless transition."
Tal Herzberg, co-producer and engineer for many of Fair's productions, said that the C200 was the logical choice for the label group's enormous and diverse schedule. "We debated for some time what would be the best solution for the way we work.
"Working for the largest recording corporation in the world, we will address 10 different songs from six different artists in an average workday. Previously, there was a huge amount of time spent, every day, just on recalling the console."
Fulfilling the production requirements of so many top-selling artists necessitated maximum efficiency in the recording and mixing process, Fair and Herzberg concluded. The team considered mixing entirely within the digital audio workstation environment, but quickly abandoned the idea. "All of us are accustomed to-and want to work with-a control surface and something that sounds great," said Herzberg. "The C200 gives us that, as well as the familiar SSL sound and the undeniable comfort provided by the Instant Reset of a digital board.
"The C200 not only restores levels within 10 seconds of loading a project but brings back all EQs, compression settings, headphone blends, and any kind of stemming and sub-grouping. You're back to where you were a week, a month, a year ago, in 10 seconds! It's unbelievable. We realized that even if we save an average of one hour a day on recalls, that's six to seven hours per week. We can squeeze in another workday per week just by saving recall times."
SSL President Phil Wagner commented: "We are obviously thrilled that UMG/IGA is installing the C200 for Ron Fair and Tal Herzberg. This order represents the most significant commitment to SSL's C200 Digital Production Console to date."
(DS)