This Console Modified How Data Sound Perpetually
Strolling as much as a Harrison console all the time feels a bit totally different. There’s a quiet weight to it, formed by the albums you realize have been made on desks like this. Earlier than you contact a fader or attain for an EQ, you’re already conscious of the lineage, the data, and the engineers who trusted these consoles to seize performances that also resonate a long time later.
That sense of historical past isn’t summary. It lives in the way in which the EQ responds, the way in which the filters form tone, and the way in which the console encourages you to pay attention relatively than calculate. Harrison designs have been by no means about precision for its personal sake. They have been about musical choices made shortly, instinctively, typically with artists within the room and tape rolling. That philosophy is precisely what has stored these desks related, even because the business round them has modified.
My very own first correct expertise with a Harrison was on a 16 channel model whereas in Berlin, tucked away in an excellent studio throughout a masterclass journey. What struck me instantly was how acquainted all the things felt. Not as a result of it copied different consoles, nonetheless as a result of it tapped right into a shared studio reminiscence. Harrison EQs, particularly, have quietly change into staples. Loads of engineers I do know preserve no less than a pair round, no matter whether or not they combine on SSL, Neve, or anything.
A variety of that repute traces again to Bruce Swedien and his method to recording. He was by no means heavy handed with compression. As an alternative, he leaned into EQ, particularly the filters. That considering is embedded deeply into Harrison designs. The EQ is surgical but musical, and the filters are legendary for a purpose. They invite assured strikes with out punishing you for them.
Anti SSL, within the Finest Approach
Calling Harrison EQs “anti SSL” isn’t a criticism. It merely describes a special mindset. SSL EQs are exact and predictable. After years on a 4000 collection desk, you typically know roughly the place you’re heading earlier than you contact a knob.
Harrison takes one other route. No detented pots. No recall. Proportional Q with no devoted Q management. The extra you enhance, the tighter it turns into. The achieve vary is deliberately restricted, roughly plus or minus 10 dB, which inspires you to push issues additional and pay attention more durable. Bands work together musically, and as a substitute of steering towards a pre deliberate vacation spot, you uncover the sound as you go. It invitations play.
That philosophy carries by way of all the console, proper right down to the faders.
Faders That Encourage Motion
The faders are genuinely particular. 100mm premium Penny & Giles models with an extremely clean, balanced really feel. There is no such thing as a automation motor beneath combating you. What you are feeling is precisely what you’re doing.
A superbly thought-about element is the absence of fader lock. You may trip ranges instinctively, react to performances, and preserve your arms engaged with the combo. Mixed with LED indicators on each swap and enormous analogue VU meters on the outputs, the console continually feeds again data with out pulling your consideration away from the music.
Vast Channels, Basic Confidence
Ergonomically, the Harrison has a daring, vast channel strip structure. Every thing is modular, simple to service, and logically laid out. It remembers the spirit of basic Neve A Vary consoles. Not sonically equivalent, nonetheless philosophically related. It looks like a correct early 70s monitoring desk.
The mic preamps are on the coronary heart of the sound. Transformer balanced all through, utilizing Jensen JT MB CPCA enter transformers, they ship weight, authority, and character on the way in which in. If you need a thick, assured snare drum that already feels like a document earlier than you attain for anything, this console will get you there quick.
The 32Classic, An Icon Reimagined
The trendy expression of this lineage is the Harrison 32Classic. Designed and engineered by Harrison Audio, it represents a long time of studying, refinement, and actual world use. This isn’t a nostalgic recreation. It’s a absolutely modular analogue console designed for contemporary studios, with out compromising the sound that constructed the model.
At its core are 32 mono mic line channels as customary, every that includes a excessive efficiency Harrison mic preamp, the basic 32C 4 band parametric EQ, and variable excessive cross and low cross filters. Customized configurations can be found, scaling all the way in which as much as 48 and even 96 channels for bigger monitoring and mixing environments.
Underneath the hood, the design is unapologetically critical. Double sided PCBs with guide structure, fastidiously positioned traces, strong floor planes, gold plated switches, conductive plastic potentiometers, and summing buses carried through PCBs relatively than ribbon cables. These are engineering decisions made for efficiency, reliability, and longevity.
A Console Constructed for the DAW Period
One of many smartest points of the 32Classic is how intentionally it integrates with trendy workflows. The body itself is DAW acutely aware, with a deep set armrest designed to comfortably accommodate keyboards, mouse or trackball, laptops, tablets, and telephones. A beneficiant rear shelf gives house for screens or nearfields, protecting the sightline clear and ergonomic.
Routing is versatile and highly effective. Every channel can feed any of eight multitrack buses, configurable in mono or stereo, 4 mono auxiliary sends, one stereo cue ship, or instantly into the transformer balanced primary combine bus. The console helps in line or cut up recording and monitoring modes, permitting the enter sign to feed the DAW whereas sustaining a separate playback path for monitoring, cue mixes, and foldback.
All exterior routing is dealt with through the built-in Dante AD DA system. With 64 premium AD converters and 64 premium DA converters in-built, recording, patching, and studio routing change into dramatically easier. One networked system replaces what would historically require racks of interfaces and sophisticated patch bays.
Immersive Prepared, With out Compromise
The 32Classic can also be absolutely geared up for immersive work. A 12 vast Atmos monitoring part helps codecs as much as 7.1.4, making it viable for contemporary music manufacturing, movie, and immersive releases. This isn’t an afterthought. Atmos monitoring, Dante AoIP, and built-in conversion are core to the console’s design.
Regardless of all of this contemporary functionality, the sign path stays unmistakably analogue. Transformer balanced mic preamps, transformer balanced primary combine outputs, basic VU metering, and that unmistakable Harrison EQ make sure the sound stays rooted within the golden period, even when the workflow is leading edge.
One System, Many Scales
The 32Classic household scales to swimsuit the room and the work.
The 32Classic 48 expands the channel depend for bigger monitoring areas. The 32Classic 96 is constructed for main rooms, orchestral periods, and sophisticated mixes. The 32Classic Producer Desk introduces a cut up structure with a centrally mounted show, optimised for contemporary artistic workflows. Totally customized configurations permit studios to tailor body dimension, channel depend, and structure to their actual wants.
Throughout all variations, the philosophy stays constant. Musical tone first. Ergonomics that help creativity. Expertise that serves the session relatively than dictating it.
A Legacy That Nonetheless Works
Over the previous 50 years, Harrison instruments have helped artists create a few of the most recognisable music in historical past. The 32Classic doesn’t commerce on that legacy flippantly. It extends it.
This isn’t about changing SSL, Neve, or anything. It’s about including one other color to the palette. One with deep roots, a powerful id, and a means of working that reminds you why so a lot of these data nonetheless sound timeless.
As soon as your arms are on these faders, that historical past doesn’t really feel distant in any respect. It feels current. Alive. And able to make one other nice document.
