Cenzo Townshend chooses new Avid HD I/O interfaces.
Based on trials in his own studio and a double-blind test of three manufacturers' audio interfaces, leading UK mix engineer and long-time Avid Pro Tools user Cenzo Townshend has recently upgraded to the new Avid HD I/O interfaces.
To anyone working in the music industry, Cenzo Townshend is something of a legend. One of the UK's most talented and sought-after mix engineers, he won the Music Producers Guild Mix Engineer of the Year award two years in a row in 2009 and 2010.
During over 20 years in the industry, he's worked with artists including U2, Kaiser Chiefs, Graham Coxon, Babyshambles, New Order, Editors, Snow Patrol and Florence and the Machine; while his enthusiasm for underground artists has led him to share in the early successes of bands such as Late of the Pier, Mystery Jets and The Courteeners.
Cenzo has been using Pro Tools for over a decade, dating back to days when 2" tape was still predominated. "One of Pro Tools' greatest benefits is the enormous amount of control it gives me, whether I'm controlling sibilance on a vocal track or editing an entire arrangement for a radio mix," says Cenzo.
Mixing the old and the new
Cenzo is passionate about vintage recording gear and has an extensive collection of classic valve amps, effects and pedals. In his working life at Metropolis Studios, Cenzo's obsession with sound leads him to combine the old with the new. At the heart of Cenzo's set-up is an Avid Pro Tools|HD3 Accel system, connected to four HD I/O 16x16 interfaces — giving him 64 inputs and outputs, which he mixes on a 72-input SSL G4000 console — along with a variety of analogue outboard compressors, both vintage and modern, and outboard equalisers, many of which are valve based.
The reason for the high number of inputs and outputs is that Cenzo doesn't ‘mix in the box’. As he explains: "I usually bring everything up to the desk individually, although to keep balances that are intrinsic to the session, I often retain pairs where the aux tracks have been used for processing and level rides."
A productive collaboration
When Avid launched its latest series of HD I/O interfaces, Andy Brooks from Avid reseller MediaPros felt certain that Cenzo would be interested, and offered him a loan unit to trial. MediaPros has been Cenzo's preferred supplier of audio equipment for several years, and he has developed a very collaborative working relationship with account manager Andy and technical consultant Yan Gilbert-Miguet.
"I can always count on the truth from Andy, there's never any waffle," says Cenzo. "So when he suggested I try out the new HD I/O interfaces, I knew it would be worth doing. And when I compared them to my existing Digidesign 192 interfaces, I noticed a real evolution."
Putting interfaces to the test
MediaPros also arranged a listening test for Cenzo and three of his fellow music industry 'golden ears', producer Stephen Street, Sting’s recording engineer Donal Hodgson and Abbey Road Studios’ Sam Okell. The test compared Avid's new HD I/O with the older Digidesign 192 interfaces, and with new interfaces from two other manufacturers. It was conducted double blind: no-one in the studio knew which of the four groups on the desk represented which interface unit.
"It was a great opportunity to hear and compare three different manufacturers' offerings," reports Cenzo. "Our observation was that in a 'real-world' environment, the differences were less significant that we had expected. But it's cumulative, so if you use 64 outputs across a mix as I do, the differences become more critical."
Once the patch cables were unscrambled to reveal the results, the Avid HD I/O interface turned out to be one of the group's two favourites. In Cenzo's view, the vocals sounded best on the HD I/O — an important factor in his choice as he considers vocals to be the core of a mix.
An investment for the future
"Having trialled the Avid HD I/O interface in my own studio, and listened to all three manufacturers' interfaces during the blind test, I made the decision to upgrade to the new Avid interfaces," confirms Cenzo.
With his Avid HD I/O 16x16 interfaces now installed in his studio, Cenzo is better placed than ever to continue delivering the great mixes that so many top producers and musicians count on him for.
For further information please visit:
Cenzo Townshend Website
MediaPros present HD High Noon
Sound on Sound Magazine Feature