São Paulo's Everest Studio Takes the High Road with Solid State Logic ORIGIN Console and UF8 Controller

Everest Studio is in Santana de Parnaíba, which is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, the largest municipality in Brazil. The studio is only a short drive from the city of São Paulo, he says. “When clients come here, they want a different experience. That’s what we’re trying to offer. The main idea was to have 32 channels on the console for live recording. I also have a nice collection of external preamps and other equipment that I can expand to, so I can record and mix 64 channels.” 

It was ORIGIN’s 32-channel layout that attracted him to the console, Tonin says, as well as SSL’s reputation. “We do a lot of live recordings here — not just overdubs. We have a big, really nicely treated live room so we get the best isolated but live feel. We can put the drummer in a booth and record the grand piano and do a live take of the vocalist. And everybody can see each other.”

As for controlling his DAW, he says, “All my Pro Tools needs are met with the UF8. It’s a fantastic piece of gear and incorporates really well into the console design. I’m using it especially for automation. I love the faders for automation; they feel great.”

Tonin had previously used the location as a personal studio, he says, producing his own projects using a collection of outboard microphone preamps, compressors and other equipment. Then, two years ago, he began a remodel with the aim of launching Everest as a commercial recording studio, also enlisting his friend, five-time Latin Grammy Award nominee Thiago Baggio, as his main engineer. “He’s known for working with what is called MPB [Música Popular Brasileira or Brazilian Pop Music] and jazz. So he’s bringing a lot of those projects here to the studio.”

Everest’s main tracking room is an unusual layout, comprising two offset but linked rectangular spaces. “The drum room is connected to the piano room. It’s an open-space concept. We decided to do that because mostly the center of a live room stays empty. People like to put their amplifiers and instruments against the walls. So it’s better to have this style of room, with different spaces integrated together.”

Rather than linking the control room and the live space using a single connector panel, he says, “We have connections throughout the room. We don’t have a master path; we put buckets of eight connectors in the different spaces, so you don’t have to run long cables. You can just plug in near you. We really thought about the design a lot.”

As with elsewhere around the world, opportunities to work with clients have been dependent on the ebb and flow of the coronavirus, Torin reports. However, one major project that has come out of the remodeled facility was by Projeto Sola, a Christian rock band. “I recorded the whole album and we just released an EP,” says Tonin.