System 6000: Working With an Icon

You may not know the name Adam Ayan but you certainly know projects he’s mastered. A list of his recent projects reads a lot like a copy of the Billboard charts: Faith Hill’s new release “Fireflies”, Rolling Stones’ remasters of “Sucking In The 70’s” and “Made In The Shade”, Brendan Benson’s “Alternative To Love”, Brian Wilson’s forthcoming release “What I Really Want For Christmas” and Tracy Bonham’s “Blink The Brightest”.

And what do all these projects have in common? According to Ayan, “I’ve used the TC Electronic System 6000 for several years now. Many projects - CD and DVD - that have been certified Gold and Platinum, have benefited from TC’s System 6000, including projects for artists such as Keith Urban, Nirvana, Linkin Park, Bob Marley, Rush and Martina McBride.”
So when it came time for Adam Ayan to outfit his own room at Gateway Mastering, he knew it would have a TC Electronic System 6000 with ICON remote.
“Bob Ludwig and I first started using the System 6000 in its beta days. We’ve always had one in Bob’s mastering room here at Gateway. When it came time to build my mastering room ...back in August 2001... I knew it was a something I had to have.”

System 6000 on every 5.1 mastering session
“I’ve found the ICON remote a great way to get around on the 6000. It’s ergonomic and easy to use. I’ve used the PC software as well, but I prefer the ‘hands on’ feel of the ICON, and I especially like the touch screen! I can definitely work faster with the ICON.”
According to Ayan, he uses System 6000 on virtually every 5.1 surround mastering session.
“There are so many things I can do with it in the 5.1 world that I cannot do with anything else. It allows me the flexibility of easy routing and monitoring, bass management, and 6 channels of TC algorithms and the George Massenburg MDW digital EQ,” says Ayan.

Used in many different ways
Ayan sites the 6000’s flexibility and multi-functionality as what he really likes about System 6000. “It can be used in many different ways depending on the particular needs of a project. In the world of 5.1 surround mastering it allows me to use all of my favorite stereo algorithms as 6 channel algorithms. I’ve used the 6000 on several 5.1 projects including Linkin Park’s “Live In Texas”, Rush’s “Rush In Rio”, Stray Cats’ “Rumble In Brixton”, Phish’s “Live In Vegas” and Disturbed’s “Music As A Weapon II”, Ayan reveals.

“96k – that rocks!”
Ayan also uses TC Electronic’s System 6000 on virtually all of his projects because they benefit from being able to run TC algorithms at high sample rates. “In the stereo domain I can use the 6000 as a multi processor, working with several algorithms in series. For 5.1 surround mastering I use it for routing and bass management, as well as using my favorite TC stereo algorithms for 6 channels of processing. For most projects these days I am mastering at high sample rates/bit depths before down-sampling to 44.1/16 for CD. I can run the 6000 up to 96k… that rocks!”

For more information on Adam Ayan, visit his website: www.adamayan.com