Blackbird Studio got its start back in 2002, born of the dream and collaboration of sound engineer John McBride and his wife, country superstar Martina McBride. The studio is renowned for its spectacular facilities and for its valuable collection of recording equipment, both vintage and modern.
One of the latest additions to this coveted collection was one of the first Solid State Logic ORIGIN in-line analog mixing consoles, fresh from the company's production facility in Begbroke, England.
Over the years, Blackbird has grown nonstop, going from a single studio to a complex of nine more studios plus the Blackbird Academy. The Blackbird Academy is an audio engineering college founded in 2013, occupying a total of three buildings in Nashville's Berry Hill neighborhood. The new SSL ORIGIN console has been installed in the complex's Studio F and arrived especially for the use and enjoyment of engineer, mixer and hit producer Justin Niebank (whose long list of credits includes projects with Keith Urban, Rascal Flatts, Vince Gill, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi, Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney, among others).
Studio F is a mixing room of about 70 square meters, conceived and designed by specialist Mike Cronin. It opened in 2006 and has a main monitoring system made up of ATC SCM300ASLs and custom 3" and 15" subwoofers, also from ATC.
Originally, the room had a large-format SSL console as well as a dedicated workstation for housing outboard gear. Now, with ORIGIN, that is no longer necessary
Shortly after installing the new ORIGIN, Blackbird Studio was forced to close temporarily with the arrival of the pandemic. In this regard, McBride is looking forward to having more time to explore all of the console's control capabilities. “Anyway, my gut tells me this console is in keeping with SSL's line of quality and sonic excellence”.
ORIGIN's analog signal path is fully compatible with the studio's hybrid workflows, and this is ideal for recording directly from the console, which comes equipped with an E-Series EQ and SSL's classic bus compressor. “ORIGIN has all the essence of other SSL consoles and also has the advantage of making it easy to bring in 500 Series gear on audio tracks, eliminating the need to automate and recall the workflow (something common in a DAW production environment)”, says McBride.
Niebank, who has worked regularly in Studio F since it opened, is clear about the advantages of a hybrid working environment. And with ORIGIN he appreciates being able to focus on mixing at the console instead of being on the mouse all the time. And whatever the case, whether he's focusing on the console or the computer, SSL performance remains intact.
According to McBride, Studio F's new hybrid setup has made installing outboard gear in the room less necessary. “If someone comes to our studio, they know full well that all of our analog audio processors are at their complete disposal. Studio F's value proposition is precisely that: its acoustic adaptability, enhanced and perfectly matched to an ATC monitoring system. It's comfortable to use and, above all, it sounds wonderful”.
Its compact format and rich technical specifications make ORIGIN a great option for enjoying the full potential of SSL without having to change the structure and layout of the room.
“The console's small size makes our work much easier. It's a much more manageable console format, and it also leaves the room's acoustics unchanged. Other features that really catch our attention are its thermal efficiency, its standby mode and, in general, all its energy qualities”
Mark Rubel, co-director of the Blackbird Academy and a teacher at the school, has full confidence in what the new ORIGIN can offer his students. “It's great to have SSL consoles at our academy so our students can become familiar with them, because in the future they'll probably be working with their interfaces wherever they go. I asked some members of the SSL team what they thought was most important for our students to learn about these consoles. Their answer was clear: the signal flow and the layout. By focusing on those aspects, they can start learning everything they need”.
Niebank also points out that Studio F can be configured as a mixing room. But now that it has a console as complete as ORIGIN, the room actually has everything it needs to work as any recording control room. “We mainly use Studio F for mixing; but if someone is thinking of getting ORIGIN for recording, I'd absolutely recommend it too”.
