MUBA and the 5088
An interview with Mr. Siim Hiob, Recording Studio Manager (Tallinn College of Music and Ballet [MUBA]):
Thanks for joining us! Can you please tell us a bit about the school and the studio?
MUBA is a music and ballet school located in Tallinn, Estonia that was opened in the autumn of 2022. We teach all school levels from primary school to high school with a possibility to acquire a vocational degree. The studio is used to educate and train Sound Engineering students and is open for all of the students in the school to record their own music.
Who was involved in the studio’s design & build, and its configuration & equipment installation?
The basic outlines were set by me and two of my colleagues with the principal idea being that we want to have a really professional studio where we can teach students in a real life environment.
When we had set the general outline I went on to specify the technical side of the studio, which converters we should use, what outboard etc.
The equipment was installed and configured by the great people at msonic Baltic, they were very helpful and cooperative and helped to iron out some details that we had missed.
How did you first hear about Rupert Neve Designs, and the 5088?
It’s very difficult to work in sound engineering and not be familiar with Rupert Neve Designs but somehow the 5088 had completely and unjustly missed my radar. I had trouble finding a console that would fit our needs so I decided to contact msonic Baltic who are known for being a very reputable high end analog and digital pro audio gear provider in Estonia and Baltic countries, and they led me to the 5088. After taking a look at the brochure it was clear that I had found the perfect console for MUBA.
Why is investing in high-end analog sound quality important to MUBA?
Contemporary DAWs bring almost unlimited track and plugin counts which makes it really easy for beginners to become confused and caught in a spiral of overthinking and over processing. But using high end analog gear in the teaching process gives students a good foundation in theory and in practice.
Recording and mixing in a computer using a keyboard and a mouse creates a distance between the engineer and music. When you use a high end analog console to mix and record you are much more connected to the sound and music and the process becomes much more natural and intuitive.
What makes the 5088 the right choice for the school?
School is a constantly developing environment where you need flexibility to give students all the possibilities to experiment and practice, but at the same time you can’t compromise on sound quality. For us it was absolutely necessary that the console had a 48 channel frame, was modular and offered us the best sound quality and the 5088 ticked all the boxes for us.
Also the reliability and ease of maintenance was a really important factor because we needed to be sure that the console survives being used by 15 students year in, year out, and nothing is more durable and easy to maintain than a modular fully analog console.
How does the console / its modules sound? What are your favorite things about it?
The console sounds great! It has all the warmth and silkiness you expect from a pure analog console without becoming muddy and smeared. My favourite part of the console is definitely the Portico II compressor in the 5051 modules. It sounds very smooth and transparent even when compressing heavily and I haven’t yet found a source that it doesn’t sound good on.
From Mr. Jürgen Urbanik, Marketing & Business Development (msonic Baltic OÜ):
“We are confident that the Rupert Neve 5088 class-A analog 48-channel console will prove to be a sustainable and highest possible quality tool for teaching the foundation of audio to future generations of audio engineering students at Tallinn College of Music and Ballet for decades to come. The 5088 is the culmination of Mr. Rupert Neve’s epic console designs and a true gift for future analog lovers that will stay in the history books. It is an investment for the future with great return of value.”
“A highly well-designed analog console such as the 5088 will be maintainable and serviceable for decades to come, unlike digital consoles that can quickly become outdated and lose their value. We were thrilled to hear from MUBA's Recording Studio Manager Siim Hiob that the studio has been fully booked by students with independent work and school projects, and that top-level audio engineering teachers have been attracted to fill positions.”
“We are also excited to hear that music students of all disciplines, particularly rhythm musicians, have been using the 5088 extensively for their recordings. We hope that this continues and leaves a footprint from the legendary Rupert Neve, not only in school projects but also in upcoming recordings, providing a good reference of how music can sound when recorded with the finest tools.”
All photos on this page © 2022 Rasmus Pitkänen
