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New 88RS 96-Fader Console Provides One of Cinema's Leading Music Recording and Mixing Facilities with New Levels of Flexibility
20th Century Fox, one of the world's leading audio post production and mixing facilities, has recently installed a custom AMS Neve 88RS Analogue Music Console for its Newman Scoring Stage. The 96-input console, installed in February, 2007, is the new centerpiece of the Los Angeles, California facility, where it replaced a top-of-the-line console from another manufacturer. The 88RS console will be used to record scoring sessions for major motion pictures and broadcast programs. The console was specifically customized for Fox with a 96-I/O configuration as well as a scoring matrix, distinguishing it as the largest AMS Neve analogue console ever developed.
The decision to acquire the 88RS was made with considerable input from many of Hollywood's leading recording and mix engineers, who were polled about their preferences by Fox's post production management team. They include Shawn Murphy, Armin Steiner, Dennis Sands, Bobby Fernandez, Bruce Botnick, Danny Wallin and Alan Meyerson. The features and capabilities that they outlined were only achievable via one console in the world: the AMS Neve 88RS. "There was no competition whatsoever out there," says Denis Saint-Amand, Scoring Project Engineer at Fox, who supervised the installation of the console.
In the words of scoring mixer Armin Steiner, who was among the first to mix on the console, "The realness of what you hear in the control room versus on stage is incredible. The clarity of this console brings out an apparent loudness in level, and I haven't heard bottom end like this since I started scoring here 30 years ago. The imaging integrity of the mix bus is perhaps this console's greatest attribute, along with its operational flexibility."
The Newman Scoring Stage has one of the longest legacies in the history of film sound. It was originally constructed as one of Hollywood's first-ever sound stages at the advent of motion picture audio, in 1928. It was converted to a music scoring stage in 1933, underwent significant updates in the 1970s and in 1996, and is one of the original four sound stages at the landmark 20th Century Fox Studio that make up the Post Production Complex. The 88RS provides this legendary facility with the inimitable AMS Neve sound, as well as the most advanced audio routing and management capability in the world.
"The 5.1 scoring matrix, the I/O configuration, the automation — everything was exactly what we needed and wanted," offered Saint-Amand. "It's essentially two consoles for the price of one, since we can assign the first 48 tracks to the main recording system and still have 36 scoring stem busses. And we now have the ability to mix in a highly automated environment, further adding to the flexibility of the stage."
Saint-Amand says the studio's experience with its existing AMS Neve consoles paved the way for the decision, and that AMS Neve's tradition of working with customers was clearly present during the ordering process. "Robin Porter at AMS Neve not only understands this console but also deeply understands the nature of film scoring," says Saint-Amand. "He took every nuance of that art into account in this console. We see this as the best of both worlds — the great AMS Neve analogue sound and the advanced AMS Neve digital technology."
The AMS Neve 88RS was sold to 20th Century Fox by John Hart of Audio Agent LLC, and joins several AMS Neve DFC film scoring consoles already in use at the facility. Commented Hart, "We're proud to have provided a solution that surpassed any other console on the market today, and we look forward to years of partnership with the great team at FOX."
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Situated at Burnley, England, AMS Neve could be called the center of high-performance audio technology pioneering in the 21st Century. With a storied history spanning 45-plus years, AMS Neve innovations include some of the world's most popular and influential audio recording products, as well as the most prestigious recording and film scoring consoles. With studio installations including Abbey Road, Sony Pictures, Fox Studios, Warner Bros, Yash Raj, Skywalker Ranch, and more—and album credits that include some of the most popular recorded music of the past half-century—AMS Neve truly represents "The Art of Sound." Visit www.ams-neve.com to learn more.
