Romesh Dodangoda, producer and engineer for artists such as Motorhead, Bring Me The Horizon and Funeral For A Friend, recently installed a new Audient ASP8024-HE mixing console at his Cardiff, UK-based Long Wave Recording Studio.
For the past 15 years, the console at the center of this studio has been a classic Audient ASP8024, which he notes has served him well: “I have not had even one day of downtime due to the console; it has been so reliable and never let me down. They really are rock solid. This mixer has such sentimental value to me. I first saw it on the cover of Sound On Sound magazine in March 2000 and I dreamt of owning it one day. I finally got it in 2007 and the first record I did on it was ‘Smart Casual’ by Kids In Glass Houses for Roadrunner Records.
“Since then, pretty much everything I have done has gone through this console at some point or another,” he continues. “I love the sonics and reliability of it, so upgrading to the new one was a no-brainer for me.”
On arrival day, Dodangoda made sure his more than 13,000 followers didn’t miss any part of the desk exchange by documenting both the decommissioning of the original console and the install of the new one on Instagram. “It was a sad day to say ‘bye to my console, however I could not be happier with the new one, it is stunning. I’m so, so happy. It looks fantastic in the studio, a real centre-piece,” he explains. “The hardest part was getting it in the building, but after that it was effortless to connect up. Everything sounds brilliant.
“The new Heritage Edition is simply amazing. There are lots of feature upgrades which although small, are actually incredibly useful to me, making the desk have even more functionality for my sessions. It sounds fantastic and the new transformers on the mixbus are pretty hard to turn off once you hear what they do.”
Meanwhile, the old desk was snapped up by a member of Dodangoda’s Control Room Audio Community and has stayed in Wales. “I’m thrilled that the old console will remain nearby and continue to produce new music,” he concludes.
