“The SSL adds such a beautiful sound to everything, allowing me to be a more creative engineer”
LONG ISLAND, NY – Salsa superstar, Marc Anthony, relies on his Solid State Logic AWS 948 Hybrid Console/Controller to capture creative inspiration in his private studio, known as The Vault. Anthony and his chief engineer, Jim Annunziato, used the AWS 948 to build the tracks for “Vivir Mi Vida,” the 2013 Latin GRAMMY®’s Record of the Year. Now the winner of two GRAMMYs and four Latin GRAMMYs, Anthony has sold more than 12 million albums worldwide over the past two decades. The AWS 948, with its SuperAnalogue™ sound quality, classic ergonomic console design and integrated DAW controller, heightened the singer’s small, composing-oriented home studio to a top-level collaborative workspace.
“Marc is a very hands-on producer/engineer, and he wanted the capability of tracking and mixing in his home studio, which led to us purchasing the AWS 948,” says Annunziato. “The AWS was the right size for the space and, because it is an SSL, the studio became a center for joint ventures with other major artists and producers. This type of cooperative application is beyond having just a DAW controller. The AWS gives us the sound quality we are used to from working in major commercial studios, and it addresses the way modern producers work through its on-board DAW controller. The AWS was the perfect solution for this space.”
According to Annunziato, the migration into the current studio setup was motivated by Anthony’s desire to have world-class audio quality and production flexibility at his beck and call in order to instantly capture the creative moment.
“Because of the availability of the AWS, “Vivir Mi Vida” tracks could be recorded as inspiration flowed before migrating to Criteria Recording Studios in Miami for the final mix,” continues Annunziato. “We’ve also been working with a company that allows us to record real-time here in The Vault while tracking down in Miami or anywhere. The AWS delivers the quality recording necessary to work this way. When Marc gets an idea for a song, he has instant access to the high-level sound he needs for his productions.”
The AWS 948 is augmented by eight channels of SSL dynamics in an outboard X-Rack. Between the outboard gear, the onboard dynamics and SSL’s legendary Bus Compressor, the console can address any instrument, vocal performance or musical style that Anthony might want to produce.
“When we first installed the AWS, we ran tracks through it, and the difference was night and day,” explains Annunziato. “The SSL adds such a beautiful sound to everything, allowing me to be a more creative engineer. I am reacting to the music, not fixing it. I am able to tweak and hone a track, not spend hours trying to make something work. I have control of the DAW as if I were working in the box, then I can switch back to pure analogue. I love this console.”
Solid State Logic is the world’s leading manufacturer of analogue and digital audio consoles and provider of creative tools for music, broadcast, live and post production professionals. For more information about our award-winning products, please visit: www.solidstatelogic.com.
