Console Bridges the World of Post Production and Music Tracking and Mixing
NEW YORK — When Great City Productions, an expanding high-end facility in Manhattan’s Chelsea district, needed to bridge the gap between a computer-based post production business and a tracking and mixing business, the answer was the Solid State Logic Duality console. Duality, the console that combines the sonic edge of analogue audio with ‘at a glance’ visual feedback and total DAW control right from the heart of the console, affords Great City Productions a graceful transition between both worlds.
“I started the studio in 2003, focused on music production work, but over the past four years developed a thriving post production business for television and film,” says Britt Myers, owner of Great City Productions. “When I decided to expand my existing facility, I faced the happy dilemma of determining which console to install in the new control room. Upon examination of available consoles, the SSL Duality was the only choice and is the centerpiece of the new studio.”
As Great City Productions grew in scope, working strictly inside the box through a Pro Tools system with a digital controller became more difficult because of the inherent processing limitations offered by the all computer model. Myers recently completed the score mix for the new Spike Lee film Passing Strange on the Duality and is currently tracking and mixing new songs for the band Chairlift. Myers produced Chairlift’s album “Does You Inspire You,” and the song “Bruises” was featured on the recent iPod Nano TV ad from Apple. They are now signed with Columbia Records.
“For post production on projects such as a show on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, mixing in the box worked,” Myers explains. “We could always get the sound that we wanted, but, at the same time, we had to really work at it and carefully weigh our computer resources with plug-ins. The power of the Duality was really necessary for the Spike Lee film we completed. Now that we are expanding both post and music tracking/mixing, the Duality offers the best of both worlds. While a digital console, like the SSL C300, would have probably suited the post work a bit better, the analogue console really suits the music work. Because of Duality’s split design, we can work in the box with post production projects, while offering top of the line analogue circuitry for tracking music and mixing music for both film and CD release. So, it’s really the perfect blend of both worlds for us because we do so many different things.”
Duality was designed to be the analogue console for the digital age by combining SSL’s SuperAnalogue mic preamplifiers and signal path with full integration of Pro Tools control on the console surface with the visual feedback advantages of the TFT displays from SSL’s C Series digital consoles. This allows the engineer to focus creative attention on the process of recording and mixing, rather than retreating from the console to use a mouse interface directly on the computer.
“I’ve always dreamed of having an SSL console because its analogue circuitry and EQ are excellent,” states Myers. “I have a couple of their outboard channel strips because I love the SSL sound. I’ve always been a fan of the work produced on an SSL. With Duality, not only do I have a great sounding console, I have a real creative tool for the many ways I need to work.”
For more info on Great City Productions, visit www.greatcityprod.com.
Solid State Logic is the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast and post production professionals. For more information about our award-winning products, please visit: www.solid-state-logic.com.
