Full-service remote recording specialists Watermark Communications Inc. (Washington D.C.) have purchased 16 channels of the new Rupert Neve Designs Portico(tm) 5012 Duo Mic Pre. The eight dual-channel microphone preamplifier units have been installed in the company’s mobile recording facility.
Company founder and president David Habegger (pictured), an industry veteran with 30 years of recording experience, reports that the lineage of the Portico 5012 Duo Mic Pre design imparts a crucial analog flavor to the hybrid signal path through the Watermark remote unit: “We have established an analog character in our recordings, both in the record path and mix path through the preamps, digital converters and the mixing console,” he explains. “These new 5012 units will take a really vital role in what we’re doing by contributing some of that classic analog quality.”
The Watermark remote recording vehicle is outfitted with a fully automated, 80-input analog Amek console and dual 72-track IZ RADAR hard disk recorder setups, as well as a large Nuendo DAW system, with a substantial quantity of outboard analog mic preamps. “We’re very committed to the quality of the analog character and have obviously made a significant investment toward that,” stresses Habegger. “These 16 channels of Rupert Neve Designs 5012 mic preamps contribute toward that and add an important sonic color to our palette.”
Custom designed transformers, very short signal paths, minimal negative feedback and single-sided transformer-coupled amplifier designs characterize the audio quality of the new Portico Series. Reportedly the first Rupert Neve Designs Portico unit to be launched, the 5012 Duo Mic Pre is a half-rack, dual-channel microphone preamplifier that incorporates a number of unique features, including a Silk switch, which introduces an element of the harmonic distortion and the ability to bus together units in a multimodule setup.
The Watermark mobile recording facility features a spacious control room, acoustically designed isolation room and climate control system and provides solutions for multitrack audio, professional broadcast or Web-cast production needs. Watermark specializes in complete music production on location and audio for video, with a diverse credit list of pop, gospel and contemporary Christian artists that includes NASCAR, John Tesh, Smash Mouth, LeAnn Rimes, Israel Houghton and Michael W. Smith.
For further information, please visit www.rupertneve.com and www.watermarkinc.net.
