Sync 24 - Devon Analogue Studios

When London-based producer/engineer/DJ and Cultivated Electronics head Phli Bolland, aka Sync 24, was looking for a studio in which to make a start on his next album and live show, Devon Analogue was an easy choice. Tristan and Elley Grace‘s stunning facility is not only home to one of the finest collections of analogue instruments and mastering-grade outboard processors in the UK, but also – in its secluded setting among Exmoor’s green and rolling hills – the perfect creative space.

“It’s really opened up my production techniques, coming here,” says Phil. “What I really like about Devon Analogue is that I can use all the equipment and basically just sketch out ideas. There’s a wealth of gear for processing, a lot of rare analogue machines – stuff that I can’t get my hands on in my home studio in London. It’s also completely out in the middle of the countryside here, so you can really just come down, lock away and jam.”

Equally, there was never any doubt as to what audio interface Phil would deploy to integrate Devon Analogue’s incredible arsenal of vintage synths and high-end mixing gear with his Ableton Live sets: the Focusrite Clarett 8Pre USB. The Clarett 8Pre’s eight pristine line outputs and eight ultra-linear low-noise inputs ensure that what Phil hears in the studio is absolutely what he gets. “Focusrite has always been a staple in my signal path,” he affirms. “I’ve always used the Red series stuff and the soundcards prior to that, so when I saw that the Clarett was out, I just thought, ‘Yeah, this is a really good option’. I know that I can trust the preamps, that it’s got a really good sound quality, so it was a bit of a no-brainer for me.”

For his hybrid stage/studio rig at Devon Analogue, Phil feeds the eight outputs of the Clarett 8Pre into an Allen & Heath XONE 96 DJ mixer, alongside his Roland TR-8 and Korg Electribe ES-1, outputting the stereo mix to the monitoring system. The Clarett 8Pre’s copious ins and outs give him the flexibility he needs for live, on-the-fly mixing of hardware and software sources, while the stellar quality of the Focusrite circuitry behind them guarantees the clarity and sonic precision his recordings demand. “I’m getting the best of both worlds,” he concludes, “trying to find my feet with the live setup, but also integrating all of this beautiful studio and sound into my work.”

Now see and hear Sync 24 in action at Devon Analogue in our exclusive video.