Duality Best Suites Different Recording Missions
NEW YORK – The Cutting Room Studios, a mainstay of the Manhattan recording scene for decades, has installed a 48-channel Solid State Logic Duality SE console in Studio A. With a Who’s Who client list over the years that includes everyone from Aerosmith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jon Bon Jovi and Run DMC to Black Eyed Peas, Justin Bieber and Gavin Degraw, Duality allows the studio to address the needs of high end projects while bringing sterling sound and control to project studio-type productions, the other mainstay of The Cutting Room Studios.
“When you look at the industry today, there is no longer only one source you can depend on to keep the doors open,� says David Crafa, owner of The Cutting Room Studios. “Duality is a console that retains the great SSL SuperAnalogue™ sound quality that is so appealing to high-end clients, while giving us integrated control of DAWs to match how everyone works today. We offer both Pro Tools® and Logic systems, as these platforms are what composers and musicians use to create music. As the recording industry continues to change, Duality allows us to service the big projects, while generating appeal for the smaller budget projects that might have started in a project studio environment. Duality helps us reach a wider market and that is good for the bottom line.�
Crafa is no stranger to SSL as through the years he has installed an SL 4000 G+ and an SL 9000 J console. In addition to Studio A, The Cutting Room Studios has two producer suites, a separate mastering studio and Studio B, an all purpose tracking/mixing room. The great experience with SSL reliability and service was a positive factor for choosing Duality as the main studio console.
“The whole point of our studio complex was to create an environment that offered the physical size and high-level equipment of a larger facility in one great room, while our other rooms lend support,� Crafa continues. “At the same time, we wanted an environment where clients were relaxed in a non-corporate setting. This formula worked for us in the past and Duality is the perfect console to continue this mission into the future. The signature sound of an SSL console has served us well and it is huge that we don’t need a dedicated machine room with massive cooling any longer as Duality is self-contained.�
Crafa is particularly impressed that SSL has managed to retain the sound quality he and his clients were used to from the J series consoles, improved on the console functions, added integrated DAW control and managed to fit all that in a smaller footprint. Duality was almost plug and play for the Cutting Room Studios as they were running a session during commissioning, a process that would have closed the studio down for several weeks in the past. The Cutting Room Studios also produces live radio broadcasts with partner KEXP Radio, one of the world’s largest Internet radio stations. Duality lived up to its name by providing a platform for top stars while perfectly fitting the needs of recording live radio broadcasts.
“I am super excited over this console,� explains Crafa. “I think that you need to investigate new technology every ten years and Duality is simply amazing. The advent of controller consoles where, in essence, you have a complex mouse for your DAW, has proved to be an inadequate solution. At the end of the day, it is all about sound, not just the capability of moving around faders. Duality is exactly what the title claims it to be. It’s an analogue console that sounds fantastic with the added layer of HUI control. On every level, Duality is the technology of the future.�
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.solidstatelogic.com.
