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When acclaimed Dallas-based producer/musician John Pedigo (Joshua Ray Walker, Old 97’s, Vandoliers) set up his studio, he knew he wanted a console that would give him the warmth and character of classic analog gear along with the speed and convenience of a modern digital workflow. He found the perfect match in the 24-channel Neve 8424 console, which offers the best of large-format functionality in an ergonomic and compact form factor.
John sat down with us recently to talk about why he chose the Neve 8424, how it has impacted his workflow, and how the more he works with the console, the more he discovers new and exciting features to love.
Tell us a bit about your studio and the work you do.
The catalyst for building this studio was that I needed my own space. I like to be in my own world, get into making music, and then re-emerge a few hours later into the world and have something to show for it.
My studio is called Barnito because we’re in a two-storey barn. Downstairs, I have a main tracking room where I mix, and then I have another area upstairs where we've got sleeping quarters, and I can have isolated cabinets there too, so we can kind of spread people out.
My partner and I bought this house that had a gutted barn in the back that somebody had used for a gym or something. My buddy is a classic studio designer called Bob Suffolk. He’s English Bob, who hangs around all of us, and he helped design this place. We put nice wood floors in, had several walls built in, there's treatment all down the ceiling, and it's a great space!
We also have, I wouldn't go as far as to say a Zen garden, but we have a nice koi pond with a deck, and it's all very serene. I wanted to create an environment that people are super comfortable in right away. They can just get in here and start creating without worrying about… anything.
I tend to work with a lot of Americana-type artists because I like natural sounds and real instrumentation. I guess I'm more drawn to the classic approach to record-making, and I like using analog gear to do what it's supposed to do.
We all rely on plug-ins and technology, and we'll get into it more when we talk about the console, but I try my best to let the natural elements evolve because, at the end of the day, I think most people like it, and it's easier to recreate live.
What drew you to the Neve 8424 console, and what are some of your favorite features?
I love mixing analog, but recall is obviously a challenge. You’re taking photos of everything, and it never really recalls exactly, for better or worse, so I knew I needed a hybrid console that had flying faders or something like that to save settings. I was looking at the Neve, and I also looked at the SSL XL-Desk, but the Neve to me had more features; it was more like a large format, just kind of scaled down.
At first, I was worried that there were only two preamps, but I paired it with 16 more with the 1073OPXs, and that integrates with the board really nicely because you can use the console to change the trim and the gain structure on the 1073s. You can't change phase on it, but I can do enough that I don't have to reach over to the preamps a lot. And those 1073s sound fantastic! It's hard to describe, but they’re creamier than an API, and they really blew my mind.
Essentially, what drew me to this console was that it had a lot of flexibility. There are two basic auxes that I can always send; I always have outboard reverb and outboard delays, so when we’re recording, I can always have effects going for whoever is performing, and it feels like you're in the world of whatever we're trying to create. Plus, with the inserts on each channel, I can easily patch in a compressor and an EQ with the push of a button, which is pretty insane.
There are quite a bit of features, so I'm sure if you ask me that same question a year from now, I would tell you I have a different [favorite] thing. It's like a spaceship! [Laughs] I’m looking at it and constantly trying to find what else this thing can do, and figure out new ways to do things because it is a piece of magic.
Tell us about some of your current favorite features.
They have what they call Inline Mode, and another thing called 48 Mix Mode, and essentially, I can have my returns come in from Pro Tools or Luna, which I use these days, and also be recording on the same channel, which is pretty cool because that's large format stuff. You can't really do that with any small desk, at least that I'm aware of.
I can set up cues much more easily. I'm always trying to find better ways to set up monitoring for the artist. 90% of the time, when you're recording, people come in, and they're not used to headphones; that's just not a natural way to play. The natural way to play is foot on a monitor, and you're playing rock and roll! Trying to make it the best possible experience for the artist is paramount to me, and I thought this board offers that flexibility.
Sometimes I use the Stereo Cues to send that directly to the artist, and that way I can use the talkback on the board. Sometimes I will just route the stereo mix to the artist and bypass the talkback, only because I might be standing two feet from the artist singing, and I don't really need to do that.
Again, like I said, the integration of the 1073s is great, and the recall system is pretty outstanding.
There are four buses, and you can argue you would need more, but once you get used to working with four, it’s great. I like limitations, it forces me to make decisions faster. When I first got the console, I had my instruments on two channels and the vocals on the other two channels in the groups, and that way, I could print instrumental mixes at the same time through the group outs. I don't always do that anymore. Now I tend to route more tracking things through them, so I'll put the drums in one, and the vocals or guitars in another, and I tend to parse them out that way. It's just so flexible.
The console offers so much and, like I said, there's always a new thing to learn. I learned something the other day, and I was like, “My God, how did I not know it?!” It always seems so intuitive and obvious, and once I figure it out, I'm like, “Oh, that's why they did that!” [Laughs] They're geniuses, so it makes sense that they did it right. It’s just a magical piece of gear.
How has the console impacted your workflow?
The first thing was trusting that the sound I'm getting out of the console is exactly what I'm going for, because it was a new sound for me. I was like, “Okay, these 1073s aren't the ones that Modern Electric Sound Recorders has, and they're not VR-style Neves or the 1272s that they have at Audio Dallas. So what do they sound like?”
I let go, so to speak, and let them dictate the sound more. Like, for example, paying attention to what a mic on a snare sounds like through it, as opposed to feeling the need to EQ it. Once I allowed the console to do its own thing, it sped everything up exponentially.
It’s essentially made things so much faster because I know the Neve sound, I understand it, and I trust it, which is really, really helpful.
Also, I rely on plug-ins far less. Let's say you have a smash mic that you put over the snare and the kick to get a crunchy kind of sound. I might just insert that into a compressor, like the Omnipressor, which I got from Vintage King, by the way, and which is unbelievable. I loved the plug-in so much, I just got the hardware. I can't say enough about it; it’s just magical.
Anyway, so let's say I want to smash that a little bit. If I were at another studio, I might throw it through an 1176 the same way, but something about the ease of this console made it so much faster. Maybe it’s because it is kind of contained, and I'm not reaching across 48 channels; it’s all right in front of you, and it's very simple to use.
It’s amazingly quick and relatively intuitive. But, like anything, you have to study the manual quite a bit, which is the nerdy, not-fun part, but it's exciting once you understand what it's trying to tell you.
I just don't get in my own way as much as I used to; I can allow it to do the job, and be like, “Okay, well that's easy! Now let's go get some lunch.” [Laughs]
What is it like working with James Good and Vintage King to purchase the console?
James, who I first met through Jeff at Modern, knows so much about every little thing that I literally couldn't have done this without his help. That is a fact. He was very helpful and very responsive, and this entire operation would not have been possible without him and Vintage King; none of this would have happened the same way.
I'm sure I asked him all the most annoying questions, and he had a great answer for everything. You know how sometimes you're thinking of something and, no question is dumb, really, until you ask it, but he was really sweet about answering my questions and not just saying, “Yes, of course it records” or whatever. [Laughs]
What made you select the Universal Audio Apollo x16 interface?
It’s really helpful using all the inserts within their own Console app. I mean, what studio do you know has 48 Fairchilds? You can go ahead and use a zillion of those!
I also find that UA has a really good grasp on what kind of gear they're emulating. I already had an Apollo QUAD, which is an older model, but the routing on that one was really handy for what I was about to do, which was get a hearback system through Vintage King. I could use the QUAD to run the hearback as its own thing, and then I could get the x16s to do my regular I/O.
It all integrates well, and I can't imagine changing that anytime soon. There would have to be some kind of monumental breakthrough in technology where I would be like, ‘Of course it's time to switch over!” But I don't foresee that; I think the x16s are really good.
How are you liking the outboard gear you recently bought?
Initially, I got some SSL EQs and a G-Comp, and I love them. The EQs are very precise. You have to have little fingers and be careful with them, but they're really amazing.
The G-Comp is exactly what you think it's going to be: a perfect glue. It's never too much, and if it seems like it is, it's very simple to turn the threshold back. It’s really changed the way I do things. If you like the plug-in version of it, you're going to love the hardware version of it because it sounds more natural, and doesn't have the same kind of digital artifacts that I find in the digital version. I do still use the digital one as well, though, depending on what I'm working on.
I’ve bought another one of the G-Comps because when I was printing, I was doing the instrumental mix and the full mix, so if I had two of the compressors, I could do that all at once. Again, it’s all about saving time.
What is a typical day like for you in the studio?
I typically like to start sessions at 10 in the morning and go to around 6, but it doesn't always work that way because everybody's different, and I want to adhere to the artist’s system more than they work with mine. I just find it's better that way.
In general, I like to work from about 10 to 6, and that way I can have dinner and sit on the couch and watch way too much TV. [Laughs]
Are you working on any new, exciting projects that you're able to talk about?
We're about to start tracking some new stuff with Jessica Maros, who had a band called Escondido, and we're excited about it because the songs are fantastic and her voice is just unreal.
Josh Walker and I are always scheming something up. We just finished a film called Thank You For Listening that we got to score and do the sound design for. It premiered at the Dallas International Film Festival, and it was super surreal because I love film – I went to film school way back in the day – but I don't usually do film score, so it was pretty fun to make this surreal background landscape for it. Josh’s new record that we just made also comes out around the end of May, and hopefully will lead to bigger and better things for him.
I'm about to cut some guitars with Old 97’s, which I'm very excited about because I love that band.
I’m also working with a great artist out of Nashville called JOYLAND. He’ll be coming in soon, and we’re going to work on his record, so I'm pretty excited.
I'm always thankful that people call me, because it's really easy to record yourself these days, even though it’s not always easy to make decisions for yourself when you do it that way. I always appreciate when people call because I love doing this work; it's the best.
I do feel lucky every time I get to walk in here, especially surrounded by this kind of gear. I generally don't take it for granted unless I’ve had way too many margaritas the night before. [Laughs] That’s the challenge, right?
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