Mike Smith is a Cuban-American recording artist, producer and songwriter recently overhauled his studio and replaced the console with an AMS Neve 8424.
Best known as executive producer (along with his wife Erika Smith) and main judge on BET’s “One Shot,” the hip-hop lyrical TV competition series, Smith said he chose the Neve console because it was better suited for his current hybrid workflow. He also recently acquired a Neve 1073OPX, which he is using in conjunction with the desk.
Smith’s studio in Charlotte, N. C. is a commercial facility that he uses primarily for his own projects. It houses his collection of over 60 classic guitars, a grand piano, numerous keyboards, drum sets and microphones and high-end outboard equipment, including two vintage Neve 1073 preamps and a eight 2254R and 2264ALB compressor/limiters.
“I never used the preamps on my old desk and as time went on, I realized I was barely using the console at all because I was working more and more in the box, with a few outboard pieces for tracking and mixing,” explained Smith.
“The 8424 has given me the ability to come back to the analog world in a huge way by really streamlining the process between in the box and outside the box. The desk also makes the worlds of ITB and OTB work together seamlessly, which is great for someone like me who has a hybrid workflow,” he said.
Since installing the console, Smith said he is doing a lot more outside the box because the 8424 makes it so simple.
Smith has been working on a variety of projects including six new albums that were originally slated for release in 2020, but were held up by the COVID-19 pandemic. They are now due to be released this year.