Crabbe Road Productions and the 5088
Born in the Soviet Union (St. Petersburg), Sergey Varlamov studied classical performance (violin) and jazz guitar, and started playing live at age 14. After interning at various studios, he moved to Israel, where he continued to perform and record at his “very basic” home studio, which began growing as he took on other musicians’ projects.
Upon moving to Canada, he founded his own production company, ‘Crabbe Road Productions’, and still does both live sound and studio work.
In 2021, his home studio underwent a large upgrade with “the final and most important purchase” – a 16-input Rupert Neve Designs 5088 console, purchased from Long & McQuade and outfitted with 4x 5051, 4x 5052, and SwiftMix moving fader control over 8 channels and the master.
How did you first hear about the 5088?
I've known Rupert Neve's name since the late 1980s I’d guess. I started working as an intern in a recording studio and his name came up in the conversations many times. I think there is no one person who is involved in the music production business that doesn’t know who Rupert Neve is.
The first time I heard about Rupert Neve Designs and the 5088 console was when I started researching for my own studio. It was back in 2018, and to be honest I made my choice very quickly. I always dreamt of having a console of this caliber and this time I didn’t want to compromise.
Throughout my career I used countless pieces of equipment that were designed by or based on Rupert Neve designs. And it was very easy to make this choice because I consider his products to be the ultimate tools.
What is different about this console, compared to your previous setup?
In my own studio, it’s the first console. I switched from the digital setup and absolutely everything is different about it. In a good way. 😊
The sound is extremely clean for a fully analog device. It’s transparent and truthful and it allows me to skip the whole process of trying to make acoustic sources sound realistic. My favorite things about it are the high headroom, the transparency, and the phenomenal stereo image.
Do you own any other RND equipment?
The only other RND device I use is an RNHP Precision Headphone Amp. The best headphone amp I ever owned.
Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
I must admit that this console works not just as a studio equipment – it’s also a magical marketing and sales tool. Rupert Neve’s reputation adds significant value to whatever the studio has to offer. So far it’s probably the best investment I’ve ever made.
