Mayday Studio, the private recording facility for the popular Taiwanese Mandopop group Mayday, recently installed a Solid State Logic AWS 900+ SE Console/Controller as part of a studio upgrade.
The group Mayday enjoys world-wide popularity through its pioneering efforts to bring rock fusion stylings to the Mandopop genre.
The AWS fulfilled the group’s desire to work in analogue while maintaining DAW control from the console.
“We recently installed the AWS at our studio and everyone from Mayday’s five group members to other artists, producers and engineers have been amazed by the sound of the console,” says Jay Huang, record and mix engineer for Mayday Studio.
“We used to work in-the-box through a dedicated controller for our Pro Tools system and we would always spend a lot of time trying to fine tune the tone and sonic imaging of each track.”
“When we first ran audio through the AWS , the sound quality was excellent right from the start. The console gave us the ability to craft sound rather than fix sound as with the controller.”
Mayday enjoys popularity in both traditional Mandopop countries that include China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan, as well as in Western Europe, the United States, Canada and Australia.
Mayday has won Best Band three times at the Golden Melody Awards in Taiwan. As their performance schedule gets busier, Mayday Studio acts as both a creative record/mix haven for the group and rehearsal studio for their concert tours.
According to Huang, the SSL SuperAnalogue signal path presented a depth of sound they never heard in the past. “It is in this space the band creates its musical magic that sets both East and West on fire,” Huang continues.
“With the advent of the AWS, creative time is more focused on the music and not on the technology, so the console, in essence, has become a creative tool. We now find sessions are easier to run because the Total Recall automation allows us to get back to the settings of a mix quickly and easily.”
“The console also lets us incorporate our outboard gear efficiently. It seems that the console is extremely well-conceived on all levels, matching the pure sound quality.”
As the AWS is very user-friendly, incorporating SSL’s time-honored ergonomics used by so many top studios and recording acts, the transition from a controller to the SSL console was straightforward for Huang.
“While it seems like using a dedicated controller would be a good way to work, our experience with the AWS has changed our opinion,” Huang explains. “We choose to buy AWS because it was a powerful analogue desk but with good DAW control.”
“Also, because of the fine sound the console delivers, we found that we can very easily decide if a recording is right or not. In the past, we would need to be well into the process to experience the results. As an expansion for the future, if the need arises, we would surely look at a Duality.”
