Audient preamps bring handpan album to life

8 Hands of Sound have released their debut album, Hope, recorded at Melbourne’s Grooveboy Studios using Audient ASP880 mic preamps. Comprising four multi-instrumentalists, the band came about as a result of a shared passion for the handpan, an acoustic instrument invented in 2000.

“The ASP880 handled everything we threw at it: handpans, drums, analogue synths, woodwinds, flutes, percussion, guitars, vocals and a myriad of other instruments,” explained band member Jeremy Arndt. “8 Hands of Sound set out to expand the boundaries of handpan music and bring it to new frontiers. It draws upon a diverse palette of musical influence as well as the vast genres of world music, electronica, jazz and classical.”

Band member and studio owner Jeremy Diffey oversaw the recording session. “The recording setup consisted mainly of ribbon microphones and small diaphragm condensers,” he said. “We recorded into my ASP880 through an RME UFX interface. I’ve always found the preamps in the ASP880 to be extremely high quality and they sound great. When EQing the instruments, often only small adjustments are required.”

In addition to the acoustic instruments recorded through the ASP880 preamps, the band also used Moog and Dave Smith Instruments synthesisers, Arturia V Collection software synthesisers, and a Sequentix Cirklon for some of the sequencing. All of the hardware synthesiser tracks were run through the DIs on the front panel of the ASP880.

“I love the clarity,” continued Jeremy A. “To me, they do their job by letting the instruments shine. I find they always capture the source precisely without colouring the sound in any way.” He has now bought his own ASP880 for his own studio in Michigan, USA.