Students take part in Antelope Audio Microphone Contest

What is an audio interface?

An audio interface is a key component in any studio set up. They convert analogue signals to digital signals, provide clocking, and ensure the safe passage of high-quality signals to their final source. It can be viewed as the bridge between the musical source and the DAW. 

We were excited to welcome Antelope Audio CEO Igor Levin and Nikolay Georgiev to Abbey Road Institute to explain interfaces and show us the new modelling microphones Antelope have been working on. The all-day workshop culminated in a contest where our students used Antelope modelling microphones and an Orion Interface to create an original track. The winner took home Antelope’s new Edge Quadro, their most advanced modelling microphone that features two large dual-membrane capsules and a rotating head.

First Place Winner

Liam Narrie came in first place with a song he recorded written by fellow student Hayley Roscoe called ‘This City’. They began the session by reversing the panels in the studio to wooden surfaces for a more reverberant drum sound. They used the Antelope Edge Quattro in XY as a drum overhead. Student Boris performed drums with an Edge Duo mic on the kick drum because of its ability to fine-tune the polar pattern. Finally, the Verge mic was placed on the snare.  The Antelope Duo in cardioid providing the lead vocals from Hayley. The real experimenting came when it was time to use the Antelope app to go through the modelling emulation. The software can let you sort through some of the classic microphones and let you decide which works best for the song. The Orion HD+ in our Studio ensures that all audio signals are fed to the DAW as richly as possible.

Runner UP

Sinead Storey and Ed Shaw creatively used the microphones in their sessions for fantastic sounding tracks. The day spent with Antelope gave the students huge insights into why interfaces are such a key part of the studio setup. The modelling microphones were also a great educational tool to audition so many styles of microphones so seamlessly.

Time for them to take their new microphones home and start recording!

Check out our blog with winner Liam Narrie and his new project Flame Tree HERE