The renowned Downtown Studios in Johannesburg, has recently undergone an extensive revamp, blending the Solid State Logic Duality and AWS consoles.

It is known as a legendary world class studio, as it has in its history of 36 years, hosted major local and international bands, ranging from U2, Simon Lebon from Duran Duran, Manfred Mann, Mick Hucknell and Ladysmith Black Mambazo amongst many others. The arrival of the new SSL consoles has allowed the studio to enhance its recording and mixing services to both South African and international artists.

The studio dates back to 1978, when it was then known as RPM Studios, presently the studio is the essential part of the Downtown music core, a body established by the Department of Arts and Culture. It is run by South African musician and chairperson Don Laka, and its CEO Chola Makgamathe.

The Downtown Music Hub also provides rehearsal spaces and access to a music museum which showcases the history of South African music. Downtown are longtime SSL users, when time came for Downtown to select two new consoles, SSL, once again, came out on top.

The decision to upgrade Studios 1 and 3 was fueled by the board’s desire to stand out as the number one state-of-the-art recording facility in Africa. Due to the SSL’s international legacy and reputation, this led the studio to Duality and AWS. The SSL has allowed Downtown studio to fulfill their musical mandate in a tremendous way
The Duality’s 72 channels of dual SuperAnalogue and VHD microphone preamps in Studio 1 provide the flexibility to record groups of any size or genre. While the more intimate Studio 3, largely used for electronic music production, takes advantage of AWS as a hybrid console / controller, catering to clients with a variety of styles of workflow.

The Duality studio appeals to international recording artists; and the sonic consistency between the two consoles enables the studio to achieve the same results for electronic music on the AWS. The sonic quality of both consoles is superb, crisp and warm. Downtown’s clients have been blown away by the remarkable clarity and depth provided by the SSLs.