Which female producers use an SSL console? When Alicia Keys and Kerry “Krucial” Brothers opened the The Oven Studios, they opted for the SSL AWS900 at the advice of longtime engineer Ann Mincieli. Yes a female engineer, we’re excited. Mincieli first hooked up with Keys and Brothers while recording The Diary of Alicia Keys album at Quad Studios in 2000. We’ll cover more on Mincieli in another post. The bottom line is Ms. Keys uses an SSL console.
Missy Elliot has a Duality SSL console and we know Beyonce records on SSL consoles as well. Dangerously in Love was recorded at the Hit Factory, Studio 3, which has an SSL XL 9000 K Series console. By know some of you are saying DAMN, I can’t afford an SSL. Who can? Do you have to have an SSL to make a good recording? HELL NO! Beyonce Knowles finished recording her second album, B’Day, in Aspen at Great Divide Studios. Great Divide Studios uses a 32-fader Icon D-Control (pictured below).
This is NOT AN SSL console. Its still expensive, but definitely not an SSL. This brings us to our next question. Do we have to have an expensive console to produce a professional sound? HELL NO! The hit song Soldier Boy was created in a home studio with no console (again I’m not a fan). Jay Z has purchased many tracks from producers who use Fruity Loops and no console. AJ Gaines produced/produces tracks for young Jeezy using Fruity Loops and again no console. Jamille ‘the female Timbaland’ Luney created the Nas and Alicia Keys remix tracks in Propellerhead’s Reason without a console. Ryan Leslie did Cassie’s track for the hit song Me and You with the Digi 002 rack, no console. Kanye West does not even use a computer when making his tracks let alone a console. He uses the MPC, keyboards, and other hardware. Once he’s done and its time to mix and record, he dumps the tracks into a computer some where and lets and engineer mix them. The engineer may or may not use a console.
I know right now your mind is blown and your totally confused. You’re probably saying, ‘I know I heard some real instruments in some of those tracks!’ You’re damn right you did. We know from interviews that Jamille records live instruments in Steinberg’s Nuendo, picks the parts she likes and slices them up in Steinberg’s WaveLab, and imports the sound slices into Reason. Other producers use the same method as well. Bottom line, there is no right and wrong. There is only legal, illegal, bad, good, and HOT! Whatever studio equipment you have, make the track HOT!
