London, UK (January 13, 2016)—UK pro audio supplier HHB Communications provided engineer Anthony Long, owner of The Darkroom with a variety of equipment as part of a studio overhaul for the noted facility, which has existed under a variety of names since 1974.
The Darkroom was originally built as Morgan Studio 4 in 1974. The studio saw many legends pass through its doors, such as Lou Reed and Cat Stevens, followed by music producer Steve Lipson, who catered to the likes of Annie Lennox and Pet Shop Boys and renovated the studio with acoustic consultancy Munro Acoustics in 2001. The Dynaudio M4 monitoring environment remains to this day, alongside a fully digital Neve 88 D console.
The Darkroom provides a “unique turn up and mix service”—clients can just bring a laptop and plug in. The recently installed Merging Technologies Horus networked audio interface enables clients to choose use of Audio-over-IP using RAVENNA on a single Cat 5 or MADI from USB.
In addition to the 48 channels of Horus conversion, HHB outfitted Long’s studio with a Rosendahl nanoclocks GL master clock generator, reference monitoring using Avantone MixCubes, a Tube Tech MEC 1A recording channel, a Maag Audio EQ4 – 500 Series EQ and more. HHB also supplied a UAD-2 QUAD plug-in package from Universal Audio.
Long explains: “With a fully digital environment, every time I go into the analog domain, it’s got to be worth doing. The Horus is one of the best converter systems I’ve heard, and gets amazing results out of my gear, leaving me free to mix without thinking of the effects of A-D and D-A conversion. If I stay in the digital domain, then I want to emulate the best hardware, so I want the best quality software—and I think Universal Audio do the best quality hardware emulations bar none.”
