The arrival of a 24 channel ASP8024 Heritage Edition console complete with Dual
Layer Control and patchbay has been a welcome – and considerably large – upgrade to
Studio One at Vision West Nottinghamshire College earlier this year.
“The students, in particular, were very taken aback by the sheer size of the console,’
said learning advisor and studio coordinator, Rob Mann. “Having worked on much
smaller format consoles in the college previously, it is quite a step up for them, but
they seem to be diving in head first and getting very excited about the desk and its
capabilities.’
It was these capabilities that were behind the decision to choose Audient. “We strive
to give our students an experience in education that is as close to what they might
find in the professional world as possible and the ASP8024 HE offers a wide range of
great features that allow our students a great, hands-on learning experience,’
continues Mann.
“It is so easy to work around, and the channel flow is perfect for teaching on. It
makes the tutors lives so easy when explaining signal paths and gain staging, and the
dual faders make input monitoring and mixing so simple,’ he says. “The sonic
character it provides is beautiful and adds that extra depth to the students’
recordings.’
The new Audient Heritage desk is also very much a part of Create Records, which is
the College’s showcase website for the students’ best work. “With such a diverse
range of students studying a variety of units and pathways, there’s always something
worthy of the spotlight – sometimes a great original song, sometimes a new music
video, sometimes a studio EP or album. The studios here provide the necessary
recording space for these things to happen.’
Despite this, to date, the studios are not set up for commercial use, although the idea
has been a talking point for a while within the department. “Now that we have the
Audient, it seems only natural that we look at putting the studio out for commercial
use,’ adds Mann.
