To say that the team at Antelope Audio have been prolific with their range of new interfaces in the last couple of years could be somewhat of an understatement. Since the original Orion Studio launched in 2015 we have seen and tested the 2017 special edition update and now the new 2019 Orion Studio Synergy Core with its FPGA and ARM chip effects processing. In this series, we first look at recording a band using the Orion Studio Synergy Core with its 12 onboard mic preamps and digital I/O.
The Orion Studio Synergy Core
Much like the previous versions of the Antelope Orion Studio, the new Orion Studio Synergy Core features 12 XLR mic inputs. Plenty for recording even the fullest of drum kits but in this case, we need to add some extra mic pres and these came from the Audient ASP 880 connected and clocked via ADAT optical.
In total, we had 20 mic inputs to play with and these were set up as seen below.
Channel 1 Kick Drum In Beyerdynamic M88
Channel 2 Kick Drum Out NS-10 Speaker for sub
Channel 3 Snare Top Shure SM57
Channel 4 Snare Side AKG 414
Channel 5 Snare Bottom Antelope Verge
Channel 6 Hi-Hat Antelope Verge
Channel 7 Tom 1 (Rack) Antelope Verge
Channel 8 Tom 2 (Floor) Antelope Verge
Channel 9 Overhead Hat (L) Antelope Verge
Channel 10 Overhead FT (R) Antelope Verge
Channel 11 Bass Mic B15 U-47 FET
Channel 12 Bass DI REDDI Tube DI Box
Channel 13 Guitar Dynamic Shure SM57
Channel 14 Guitar Ribbon Royer R121
Channel 15 Room L Microtech Gefell M300
Channel 16 Room R Microtech Gefell M300
Channel 17 Vox (Front) Antelope Edge Duo
Channel 18 Vox (Back) Antelope Edge Duo
Modelling Microphones
Antelope Audio make a range of 5 modelling microphones. Meaning that one mic can sound like many different models or styles from dynamic to ribbon to condenser. In this case, we were using the Edge Duo mic for the lead vocal and monitoring through the Antelope mic modelling plug-in. We chose a U67 style mic as this seamed to suite Abi’s voice. However, we were not committing this “to tape”. The Antelope routing system can allow this and if we had wanted to, we could have recorded both the with mic model and without mic modelled version but, using the Synergy Core technology we ran the mic model software from the internal FPGA processing of the Orion Studio and not from the native processing of the Mac Book Pro which we were recording the session on. Offloading non-vital processing to the DSP of the interface is smart. Let the computer run the DAW and let the interface handle the important, but not session threatening stuff.
We also had Antelope Verge single small-diaphragm condenser mics on the Hat, under the snare, on toms and for the main drum overheads. These record to a single channel so no need to monitor with the plug-in for these if you don’t wish too. We will let you know in the mix video which models we used on each of the modelled mics in the next video when we cover mixing the track.
Studio Setup
When you go to a new studio one of the best things you can do is start talking to the engineers about how they would set up the session. All bands like to work differently and set up in their own way but if the guys and girls who work at the studio all the time know where the drums sound best in the room then why would you try to reinvent the wheel and put the drums in another location? We put the drums in the rear corner of the studio with Dan the bass player about 6 feet in front of me with the Ampet B15 amp and cap in a goboed off iso booth. Paul on guitar was at the other end of the studio near the control room window with his Vox AC-30 also into an iso booth. The guitar was recorded using a Shure SM57 and a Royer R-121 set up in a Royer AxeMount mounding clip to hold both mics in perfect phase from a single stand.
Room Mics
In a massive room like a church or concert hall you might normally point a pair of room mics at the performers. Dean Street has a big live room, in fact it’s the last live tracking space in central London and to take advantage of this Rob the engineer set up a pair of Microtech Gefell M300 small diaphragm pencil condensers pointing at the wall in an X/Y configuration. The thery behind this is to capture the reflective sound in the room rather than the direct sound of the instruments in the room. In the next article we will look at and listen to just how effective this was.
The Video
The track you are about to hear called “Bring Me Down” was recorded “live” by the Studio Rats with Abi F Jones at Dean Street Studios.
The Mix
In the next instalment of this series, we show you how we mixed the track using nothing but Antelope Audio FPGA and Synergy Core effects.
Acknowledgement
Thanks to Jaz, Rob and the entire team at Dean Street Studios in London for making us feel so welcome and for making sure no request was too ridiculous. We look forward to plenty more opportunities to work with you very soon.
Other Features
Check out our reviews of the other interfaces in the Antelope Audio Orion Studio range.