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IPFW's 1608 Blows Students Away

Indiana University — Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) has just added a 1608 to their Music Technology program, and students are already digging into every feature the console has to offer.

"We finally have our 1608 installed, wired up, tested, and it is now being hammered by our very excited students... and honestly, it is doing exactly what I needed it to do — blow away what the kids do at home on their USB-powered 2x2 interfaces, allow me to teach and demonstrate analog signal flow, and allow us to demonstrate how to get that extra 10-15% that 'pro' recordings have that most folks in 'project land' are not able to achieve," says head of the Music Technology program John Fishell.

Music Technology students are tracking and mixing their own music recording projects on the 1608, as well as music concerts in IPFW's recital hall. In Fishell's mixing class, students first mix a project completely "in the box" and then mix the same project across the 1608 architecture using "real" EQs and compressors.

"The 1608 wins every time," says Fishell.

The outlook of IPFW's Music Technology program is to make sure that their students experience the very best in terms of audio quality and functionality, and the 1608 is making that happen.

"Everything we need is in there, from the mic preamps, to the 550b EQs, to the 527 Compressors, the mix bus architecture, and so on," says Fishell. "The functionality is superb — balanced inserts on every channel, comprehensive peak and average metering, excellent 'control room' section. I love being able to demonstrate the distinct audio difference that happens when we push the preamps and other components into the wonderful and mysterious API distortion, versus operating the console at 'standard' levels."

"The 1608 simply sounds great," Fishell adds. "And if everything happens properly before audio gets to the console, the 1608 really shines and puts that extra bit of mojo and mustard on everything that runs through it."