When producer/engineer/songwriter Jay Joyce looked to upgrade his Tragedy/Tragedy private recording facility with a new board, his search ended with a 48-channel Solid State Logic Duality console. The Duality, combines the sound of the SSL 9000 K Series mic pre and SuperAnalogue signal path with the AWS 900+ inspired DAW control protocol to yield a creative tool for the contemporary recording studio. 

“I looked at a full range of consoles and then I saw Duality at a studio here in Nashville,” says Joyce. “Duality became the clear choice because of its familiar work surface and capability to control a Pro Tools HD system, so it works well with the way I like to create. This console allows me to do what I want to do faster and it sounds better. Duality is also very quick and responsive sonically, so it doesn’t take much work for me to get the performances to sound great.” 

Recent projects that Joyce has worked on through the Duality console are The Duhks on Sugar Hill Records, Eric Church on Capitol, Ashley Rae on Capitol and Jimmy Barrett. Joyce has also worked with such artists as Grammy Award winning artist Audio Adrenaline, Crowded House and Patty Griffin. According to Joyce, the experience with Duality has been gratifying as he is able to do full records in three to four weeks at Tragedy/Tragedy, including writing, recording, tracking, overdubbing and mixing. 

“I like the quickness of the automation – easy and fast,” comments Joyce. “I also like the digital side of it for blending background vocals and room mics. I find that I’m able to make accurate fader rides on the desk, and the EQs and the compression on each channel are simply awesome for mixing.  Basically, I wanted an SSL and the Duality is the best of the best.” 

Duality is an analogue large format music console. It is a console that carries the DNA of the SSL E, G & K Series consoles that through the decades have defined and redefined what a music console should be, a pedigree used by top engineers, producers and artists to yield countless hit recordings. Duality takes this evolution into its next great leap forward by splicing the Digital Audio Workstation control and integration concepts of the AWS 900+ and all of the visual feedback advantages of the TFT displays from the C Series digital consoles into the analogue console. 

“I was looking to get out of the pure digital sound that I was working in,” says Joyce. “One thing that I realized about Duality compared to my previous set up is that Duality’s sound is wider and I can literally hear the exact placement when I am panning. If I have something panned at 3 o’clock, I can hear that, whereas digitally, it was kind of over there somewhere. The depth and width of Duality’s sound is amazing.”