AES Pro Audio
Introduction
AES Pro Audio has been in business since 1982. It is an amazing company that is the brainchild of Michael Stockdale. The company restores, refurbishes and re-creates the classical Neve and SSL consoles which were used to record the greatest hits in popular music from 1979-2001 and beyond. Every console that the company sells is custom created for the client and the work is completed from start to finish by some of the greatest engineering minds in the United Kingdom. There are very few companies in the world quite like AES Pro Audio and it is their custom created consoles that you will find in major recording studio facilities across the globe being used each and everyday by artists, engineers, musicians and producers to create the popular music that we have come to love and to cherish.
Which products from AES Pro Audio that were used by the great engineers and recording studio facilities of the past would be a great fit for the educational space?
The answer to this question is actually quite simple. Most of the consoles that I had the opportunity to work with on recording sessions during the 1990s and early 2000s were classical SSL or Neve desks. In fact, with the exception of two studios that I had the opportunity to work in— each of the recording studios either had a classical Neve or an SSL console. At the time in Nashville, each of the following studios that I had the opportunity to work in had relatively new SSL consoles: Starstruck (2/9000J), Soundstage (3/9000J), Emerald (4000G+) and Masterfonics (2/9000J). There were a pair of studios that I had the opportunity to work in that had Neve consoles— the Sound Kitchen (Franklin/Cool Springs) and Seventeen Grand— both of which were VR-Legend consoles.
Most of the great hit songs and albums of the early to mid-1980s were either recorded on classical Neve 80-series consoles (or the later, VR-series consoles) and mixed on SSL 4000E consoles. By 1987, the company introduced the popular 4000G console and in 1993, the 4000G+ became its successor. In 1995, the company introduced the 9000J and later the 9000K console line-up. But, after 2002, the company stopped producing its legendary large-format analog consoles and focused on the development of smaller desks in anticipation of the digital audio workstation revolution that was soon to come. However, over 3,000 recording studio facilities worldwide were still turning out hit songs and albums on these consoles and there became a need for a company that could still restore, refurbish or custom create these highly sought-after desks. It was AES Pro Audio that stepped into that void and it is now one of the best places in the world to find a customized legendary SSL or Neve console to become the centerpiece for a great recording studio facility— and this includes facilities in the educational space, too.
Image: SSL 6000E Full Console
Image courtesy-- AES Pro Audio
Classical SSL Consoles— Full Desks
AES Pro Audio can custom create a full SSL console with 32, 40, 48, 56, 64 or even up to 80 channels in the following models: 4000E/G/G(+), 6000E/G, 8000E/G and in the 9000J/K range, as well. These consoles come fully restored and refurbished to work exactly as the console would have when it was brand new in the 1980s, for example. Since the consoles are tailored to the customer, so is the patchbay for the desk which can be contained within the housing or installed remotely within your control room. These desks feature the amazing and legendary SSL channel strips and the center section with its famed bus compressor, plus, there are now new power supplies which make the console much more energy efficient. Also, there are new software and hardware modifications that can be made which will allow these classical consoles to work well with digital audio workstation software programs, too.
Classical SSL Consoles— Mini Desks
AES Pro Audio can also custom create both sidecars and mini-consoles, as well. Each SSL console model can be constructed into an 8-channel sidecar which would be handy for tracking or using the modules for mixing purposes. Plus, AES Pro Audio can create SSL mini-consoles that can come in 16 or 24 channels. These sidecars and mini-consoles are custom made and built to order, so that they can be used in studios that are seeking to downsize their operations or in educational spaces with a small footprint.
Image: SSL 4000G Mini Console (Custom)
Image courtesy-- AES Pro Audio
Image: Neve VR60 Full Console
Image courtesy-- AES Pro Audio
Classical Neve Consoles— Full Desks
AES Pro Audio also offers the ability to custom create classical or vintage Neve consoles. The company can refurbish, restore and customize classical Neve 80-series, V, VR, VIII and VR Legend consoles for any discerning customer. If the vast majority of the great hit songs of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s were mixed on SSL consoles, many of those great songs and albums were recorded using classical Neve consoles. AES Pro Audio has customized some of the most impressive Neve consoles that are being used in major recording studio facilities around the world today, including at The Church, the famed London-based recording studio facility of producer Paul Epworth where many of Adele’s greatest hit songs of the past decade, for example, have been recorded.
Classical Neve Consoles— Mini Desks
AES Pro Audio can also custom build classical Neve sidecars and mini-consoles, as well. There is a catch, though— most SSL console channel sections came in 8-channel buckets, whereas Neve channel sections were based on 12-channel buckets. So, you can purchase a custom-created 12-channel Neve sidecar or a 24-channel mini Neve console. Keep in mind, as well, that Neve also made smaller footprint consoles, such as the Neve Kelso and the BCM-series and AES Pro Audio can customize and restore these desks, too, which would be perfect for a small footprint studio in an educational space.
Image: Neve Mini Console (BCM Series)
Image courtesy-- AES Pro Audio
Why should an educational institution invest in products from AES Pro Audio?
The first question that someone who has never been around the world of professional music recording might ask, “Why would I want a vintage console, when I can just purchase a small workstation and make music at home?” The answer is actually quite simple. The greatest hits in the history of popular music were made on these consoles because they quite simply sound amazing. Though there are certainly new consoles on the market today, very few of them can match those that were created in the past, in terms of their sonic quality and flexibility. In fact, even Abbey Road has replaced one of their consoles with a classical SSL 4000G+ console just recently and the vast majority of the historic studios still have their vintage consoles— especially their Neve 80-series and SSL 4000 series desks. It is a trend that is happening (though the console footprints are becoming smaller) throughout the professional music recording world. However, if you want a classical console in all its glory— that, might I add, can be made to also work in a digital audio workstation-based studio and restored to live on so that new generations of users can experience its true magic, AES Pro Audio is a company that can create that opportunity for your educational space. What I have not mentioned, yet, is that the company employs some of the most brilliant and respected engineering minds in the world to restore, refurbish, custom create and provide services for these amazing and legendary consoles of the past.
If you would like more information about AES Pro Audio and the amazing products that were discussed in this article, please use the following links which are listed below.
Classical SSL Consoles— Full Desks
Classical SSL Consoles— Mini Desks
Classical Neve Consoles— Full Desks
Classical Neve Consoles— Mini Desks
The following link will take you to the AES Pro Audio website where you can learn more about this legendary corporation and also, find an authorized dealer for their fabulous products in your area.
Special Note: Each of the images in this article appear through the courtesy and generosity of the wonderful people at AES Pro Audio.
Special Thanks— At The Recording Session Vault Educational Website Project, we would like to take a moment to express our thanks and appreciation to Michael Stockdale at AES Pro Audio for his time and assistance with this article.