10: Aphex | Aural Exciter Type III & Aural Exciter Type C Aural Exciter: When it was first released in the mid 70’s, the only way to get your hands on this unit was to rent it and, weirdly, you were charged per minute of finished recording time. It was so popular that Aphex have released many versions of the unit in the decades since. We have one each of the Type III and Type C units. Use them sparingly to add synthesised harmonics for top-end clarity without bringing up the noise floor like you would when boosting an EQ band. Don’t go crazy though, overuse can make your mixes sound brittle.
9: BYOC | 1176 Optical Compressor: First released in 1968, the Universal Audio 1176 Compressor is a premium limiting amplifier with an incredibly fast attack time (as low as 0.00002 of a second). Awesome on vocals, great for slamming drums. We have two clones of this classic unit, hand-built from kitsets by head-engineer Phill.
8: Amek | System 9098 Compressor/Limiter: This mid-90’s compressor/limiter was designed for Amek by the big man himself, Rupert Neve. Part of his high-end System 9098 line, the sound and the build quality are both awesome. We use this thing on guitars, bass, drum rooms, and it was Phill’s master bus compressor for a long time.
7: Pearl | Masters 6-Piece Session Kit with Cymbals: Not really a single piece of gear, but an epic collection of drums, cymbals, hardware, and percussion. The kit includes: 22×18” kick, 10×7” & 12×8” rack toms, 14×14” & 16×16” floor toms, Pearl Session Custom 14×5.5” maple snare, Pearl “The Black Piccolo” 13×3.5” steel piccolo snare, Yamaha RBS1480 14×8.5” birch snare, cymbals from Paiste & Zildjian, and a large collection of percussion essentials including Meinl Marathon Series congas, bongos, chime tree, cowbells, shakers, etc, etc…
6: AKG | C414 B-ULS Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone: Our go-to microphone for voice-over recording. Great on overheads, toms, acoustic instruments, guitar cabs, and as a room mic for drums. We have three of the classic B-ULS model, first released in 1986, and one of the modern XLS model.
5: Buzz Audio | SOC-1.1 2 Channel Optical Compressor: The Buzz Audio SOC-1.1 is a 2-channel optical compressor, used regularly by our engineers on voice over, vocals, bass, and even as a mastering compressor. Optical compressors are known for their softness and transparency, and the team at Buzz Audio have done an exceptional job with these hand-crafted units.
4: Neumann | U 87 Large-Diaphragm Condenser Microphone: One of the most famous recording microphones of all time. Incredibly versatile and a favourite of engineers to use on vocals, electric guitar cabinets, and acoustic instruments; it was used with vocalists such as Amy Winehouse, Stevie Wonder, and Beyoncé. Matrix Digital is proud to own both a vintage edition from the late ‘60s, and a brand-new model – the U 87 Ai.
3: Focusrite | ISA 430 MkII Preamp/Channel Strip: The Focusrite ISA 430 MkII is a single channel preamp and comprehensive channel strip, closely based on the original ISA 110 mic pre and subsequent ISA 130 dynamics sections originally designed by Rupert Neve for George Martin’s Neve console. Sounds amazing. A Neumann U 87, into the Focusrite ISA 430, with the Buzz Audio SOC-1.1 in the insert is our ultimate vocal recording chain.
2: Tannoy | 215 DMT II Reference Monitors:An exceptional pair of speakers that always excite lovers of low-end. These Tannoys effortlessly produce rich, high-quality audio, and have been our faithful far-field monitors for the last 25 years!
1: Euphonix | System 5 MC Digital Mixing Console:This beast really puts the “Digital” in Matrix Digital; the System 5 is an incredibly powerful piece of equipment and is the centerpiece of our main studio. Completely integrated for full Pro Tools control as well as control of the Avid PRE preamps and the Avid XMON Monitoring Controller, you can run an entire session without ever touching another piece of gear if you so please. You’ll find them in studios all over the world, particularly in film-focused post-production facilities.
