Sint-Martens-Latem, Belgium; January 2010 - Audient Zen, high resolution mixing desk was the ideal solution for engineer, songwriter and solo artist Born Meirlaen, who was looking for a versatile console to be at the centre of his studio.
“As an engineer I wanted hands-on control and flexibility,” says Meirlaen, whose Zen easily stepped up to the role. “Audient Zen gives me all the control I need. Hooked up with my ProTools HD2 system, a rack full of outboard gear and a small patchbay, I can now do and control everything from one location, be it providing eight separate mixes for tracking several musicians at once, to mixing down 32 channels coming from PT and inserting outboard and adding FX without compromise.
“What’s even better is that I’ve got 16 more great sounding preamps and a versatile bus compressor added to the already fantastically clean and crisp sounding desk!” adds the Belgium-based engineer.
At its heart Zen is a compact, classic analogue recording and mixing console. Separate inputs provide the mic, line and the DAW return paths, offering a flexible system for connecting to a DAW or stand alone recorder. With individual DAW record outputs, mono and stereo buses, auxes, a sophisticated monitor section and an optional digital output interface, Zen allows simple audio connection to the rest of the production set-up.
“It’s fantastic to be able to push technology to the max to make creative ideas (be it mine or from other artists and musicians) work and get them down on tape,” says Meirlaen, who is also known by his stage name Born Crain. “Although I love performing live and writing songs for a living, I’m still very passionate about recording and mixing. To combine all of this, I decided to put together a small commercial studio facility.”
Demanding his studio to be as versatile as he is himself means asking a lot of his gear. “I’m using it for songwriting, editing, programming, recording, overdubbing and mixing. I want to be able to record a jazz combo one day, make a radio jingle the next and write a song the other.
“I need to be able to grab any opportunity or challenge that comes along!” Meirlaen explains. Audient’s Zen makes it easy. “I’m really happy with my Zen,” he concludes. “I’m sure anybody looking for a flexible versatile desk in these times of diversification will be satisfied with this little devil!”