N. Hollywood, California – Leading U.S. pro audio retailer Westlake Pro has installed a Solid State Logic ORIGIN 32-channel analog in-line mixing console in a dedicated demo room where customers can also evaluate monitor speakers and outboard hardware processors prior to purchase. The new console is installed in North Hollywood, California, at the offices of Westlake Pro and Westlake Pro Studio Design Group. The company also has premises in Berry Hill, Tennessee.
“We have a big rack of outboard gear set and, with the really flexible routing of the ORIGIN, you can route from channel strips to buses and vice versa. And, it has multiple insert points,” says Ethan Goodman, Westlake Pro’s Director of Marketing. “Everything that’s in the rack is patched and ready to go. If someone wants to hear a particular piece of gear or A/B test some things, this puts everything right at their fingertips.”Goodman continues, “We do a ton of monitor demos in that room as well. I was happy to see that the monitor section in ORIGIN is pretty comprehensive and allows people to comfortably switch between different sets of monitors. So every other demo has featured ORIGIN as well.”Flexibility at your fingertipsWhile SSL took inspiration from the company’s classic analog consoles of the 1970s and ‘80s when designing ORIGIN, he says, the new desk is also forward-thinking. “What’s often overlooked is the workflow aspect, being able to get everything right on the way into the recorder, have everything sound the way you want it and, when you put up the faders, there’s the mix. ORIGIN fits that hybrid workflow and makes it super easy to bring your mix onto the board. That saves so much time and frustration. Because the hours spent twiddling a mouse and making these tiny tweaks that no one will ever hear is crazy compared with being able to sit in front of the console, listen and adjust things on the fly.”
“SSL approached the design in a way where they wanted something to fit a comfortable price point and a comfortable size, but they didn’t want to skimp on quality or feature set.”
Now that people are generally working in smaller spaces not everyone can accommodate a large-format mixing console, Goodman acknowledges, but SSL obviously kept that in mind when designing the new desk. “ORIGIN fits in a room and gives you room to work, which I think is essential to that workflow. SSL approached the design in a way where they wanted something to fit a comfortable price point and a comfortable size, but they didn’t want to skimp on quality or feature set.”The centerpiece of a hybrid studioHe observes that there are people working in a hybrid workflow, with dozens of plug-ins and racks of tone-shaping equipment, who are unaware of the cohesion that working with multiple channels of identical microphone preamps and EQ sections can bring to a mix. “I feel like people get caught up with putting one EQ on this thing and another EQ on this over here. You can patch in a specific processor if you need it, but ORIGIN’s E-Series EQ sounds great. The PureDrive mic pre’s sound great, too. And the summing path will push all your audio to fit nicely on the same bus. That’s how to instantly bring everything together and get a great mix, and it’s really exciting that ORIGIN is bringing that back,” he says.For those who do enjoy processing choices, says Goodman, “ORIGIN has room for two 500 series racks, so you can pop in whatever other outboard modules you want.” ORIGIN’s center section also provides space for SSL’s optional UF8 advanced DAW controller and can accommodate a large screen display for the workstation. “It’s very flexible that way and fits people’s needs today.”
Westlake Pro encourages customers to bring their own sessions so that they can reference something familiar while evaluating equipment but can also provide multitrack files or access to TIDAL HiFi’s streaming high-res music, he says. “So if they want to get a sense of how something sounds when running through ORIGIN, the console is right there. And if they want to test ORIGIN’s preamps, we’ve got microphones available.”Goodman, who came to appreciate the benefits of a good analog console in a hybrid workflow while studying at Los Angeles Music College, says, “It’s amazing to work with ORIGIN as a console demo because it works so well with a hybrid setup. It looks great, sounds great and feels great. ORIGIN has truly become a centerpiece of the Westlake Pro demo room.” Westlake Audio was established in 1969 when founder and accomplished studio technician Tom Hidley began doing custom electronic work for recording studios. Over the ensuing decades Westlake Pro has evolved from a small sales division located above Westlake Recording Studios into one of the leading studio design and integration and pro audio retailers in the world.