Mastering engineer Ron Skinner invests in Sadie 6

Canadian mastering engineer Ron Skinner has become one of the country’s first recording professionals to invest in the new Sadie 6 software platform.

Since opening his Toronto-based mastering suite Heading North Mastering in 1999, Skinner has been using Sadie equipment. He started with a Sadie 24/96 with 8 channels of I/O and continued to upgrade, taking delivery of the first PCM-8 system in North America before finally installing a PCM-H16 with Sadie 6. He has also upgraded his laptop to Sadie 6, using this alongside a BB2-J and sometimes with native hardware.

“I need to keep up to date with the software in order to compete and to stay relevant for my clients,” he says. “This is why I reacted so quickly to the launch of Sadie 6. I literally upgraded the very first day it became available in North America.”

As a long-term user of Sadie equipment, Skinner believes that Sadie 6 offers some significant improvements over earlier versions of the system. “It has a more modern, attractive look, which may be a small thing but is something that my regular clients noticed right away,” he commented. “However, the most important change is the ability to switch from Sadie hardware to Native hardware and back again whenever I need to. This is especially helpful when clients bring in their own I/O. Sadie 6 also gives me the ability to record on any CD burner – not being tied to my Plextor has been great and gives me more options.”

With enough similarities between Sadie 6 and his existing system, Skinner insists that transition to the new software platform was very straightforward. He also enjoys having access to Sadie 6 via his laptop.

“The trim editor is the single most important tool in Sadie. It is very unique and allows for very fast and precise editing that I just haven’t found on any other system,” he said. “Now that Sadie runs with native drivers I don’t need I/O or DSP cards to run the software – I can simply use the Windows driver that came with my laptop. This allows me to listen on the computer speakers or headphones without any hardware. While I don’t make critical judgements working this way it does allow me to do prep work when I am on the move or away from the studio. I will often set up projects and do prep work when I am sitting on my front porch then move to the studio when I need to make critical decisions.”