API has released the 512v 500-Series microphone preamp.

Incorporating all the features found on the 512c, including API’s proprietary transformers and 2520 op-amp, the 512v also includes a variable output level control designed to suit use with DAWs and other input level-sensitive devices.

The 512v offers 65dB of gain as a mic preamp, 45dB of gain as a line/instrument preamp, and a 20dB pad switch that can be applied to the incoming signal (mic, line or instrument). It also features a 3:1 output transformer tap switch that produces a lower output level, allowing the option of driving the transformer harder to achieve higher levels of saturation. Also included are front and rear panel mic input access, front panel combo-style XLR/quarter-inch line/instrument input, an LED vu meter for gain level indication, 48V phantom power switch, all built around the traditional API circuit design.

The 512v effectively eliminates the need for third-party attenuators, and produces the analogue signal widely associated withAPI. Like all API products, the 512v carries a five-year warranty.

The 512v has an MSRP of US$995.

More: www.APIaudio.com

A-Designs Audio has announced the Mix Factory, claiming ‘a totally new concept and approach to out-of-the-box summing for musicians and engineers looking to get more from their current sound and workflow’.

‘Our new Mix Factory isn’t just any old summing unit,’ asserts A-Designs Audio’s Peter Montessi. ‘It delivers analogue warmth with the depth and imaging needed to make your mixes truly stand out from the crowd.’

Based on a concept developed by producer/engineer/mixer Tony Shepperd and brought to life by celebrated designer Paul Wolff, A-Designs’ Mix Factory accommodates up to 16 audio channels, which come into the device on two D-sub inputs and sum to stereo XLR outputs. All 16 channels have a continuous FDR (gain) knob, pan pot with center detent, and cut (mute) switch that acts as a signal indicator with an audio sensitive LED, which glows when signal is passing into the channel and intensifies when the signal is stronger. That same cut button illuminates red when used as a mute, and green when signal is passing through the channel.

There are two eight-channel groups on the Mix Factory: 1-8 and 9-16. Each group has an insert for a compressor or EQ, and there is also a master insert for all 16 channels, along with three mute buttons for each Insert. The Mix Factory has a pushbutton option to go from clean – the standard setup bypassing the transformers – to tonal using the custom output transformers manufactured by Cinemag. The difference between using the transformers and not is night and day, giving users an option for analog tone and/or colour. In situations where more than 16 channels are necessary, the Mix Factory is linkable, providing 64 or more channels.

‘Like many other present day engineers, I used to think that everything could be done in the box,’ Shepperd says. ‘However, I finally came to realise that analogue and digital could, in fact, co-exist very well together, and the hybrid of the two was the special combination that took my mixes to a whole new level. It’s what ultimately prompted many other recording engineers to call me for tips and practically demand to know how I made my recordings sound so great. After several years of R&D on this product, I can say that nothing will make a mix pop quite like A-Designs’ new Mix Factory.’

An external, switchable power supply allows the unit to be used in both 120V domestic (US) studio environments as well as 230V markets.

Immediately available, the Mix Factory carries a street price of US$2,750.

More: www.adesignsaudio.com

Designed in collaboration with Audio & Design (ADR) the ADR/Q2 Audio F-765 500 Series Compressor Module is a faithful 500-Series adaptation of the F-760-N studio recording module.

Designed to offer the precise sonic qualities of the highly-popular vintage module, it features the original analogue circuit design with feedback FET technique and the same components. At its core, the F765 is a compressor with a separate peak limiter. Time constant controls include fast attack (250µs, 2.5ms, 25ms) and auto dual-platform release function. The Peak Limiter uses a 100:1 ratio and a switchable 50µs pre-emphasis setting.

The sound of the F-760-N can be heard on classic recordings made between the late 1960s up to the 1980s, and was in common use in studios such as Olympic Studios. Highly versatile, the F-760-N was used to create thundering drums, upfront vocals, powerful guitars and controlled bass.

The Q2/ADR F765 is available to order in the UK Exclusively from KMR Audio and retails at £790.83 ex VAT (£949 inc VAT).

With a music career spanning more than 20 years, Florida-based musician and songwriter Jory Lyle plays as many as 300 live shows each year and records original music in a project studio equipped with an Allen & Heath Qu-16 mixer that doubles as a DAW control surface.

Lyle helped set up the studio recording rig for owner Dennis Hayes, who had chosen the Qu-16: ‘The Qu-16’s sonic properties alone made me a fan,’ Lyle says. ‘We had been using the built-in preamps on our Pro Tools rig, but the Qu-16’s mic preamps sound much better and the compressors and effects are so good we haven’t needed to rely so much on outboard gear. They’ve really nailed that. Plus, the EQ is smooth and incredibly easy to use.’

The studio’s current work has its focus on Lyle’s songs, capturing his voice and guitar. But Lyle says, ‘It’s a good-sized room and we’re expanding to set up a live rig with a drum kit so we can have full bands in a recording.’ He then plans to include an Allen & Heath ME-1 Personal Mixer setup for the musicians in that system.

Lyle is also to add an Allen & Heath rack-mounted Qu-Pac for his live performances: ‘I’m running sound from the stage quite often,’ he says. ‘And I play a lot of the same places. So, with the Qu-Pac, I could recall the settings from the last time I was in a venue. That way, I can concentrate on my performance and not worry about the sound.’ He says the Qu-PAC’s sound quality and digital features also provide an easy option for creating high-quality live recordings.

In February, Lyle released the EP, ‘Still Drunk from Breakfast’, recorded with the Qu-16 and now released through iTunes, Amazon and Spotify: ‘The stuff we are recording with the Qu-16 is really spectacular and I’m impressed with the ability to capture the magic in the music,’ he says. ‘I plan at least one more EP this year recorded with the Qu-16. The user interface is easy, the sound is great and there’s so much capability that I haven’t even tapped into yet.’

More: www.allen-heath.com

Amadeus has announced the completion of a new install and acoustical design project for the Philharmonie de Paris concert hall studios, including the use of a Lawo digital mixing console and Amadeus Labs Philharmonia reference loudspeakers.

The project required Amadeus Labs to re-design of both of the prestigious Philharmonie de Paris concert hall’s studio control rooms and main monitoring. Amadeus Labs collaborated with the studio’s sound engineers, while continuing to work alongside Jean Nouvel, the Philharmonie de Paris’ own architect and designer.

Antelope Audio has added six new compressors to its library of FPGA vintage hardware-based effects. The VCA160, Tube176, X903, Gyraf Gyratec X, Stay-Levin and ALT-436C are for use with the company’s Thunderbolt and HDX audio interfaces.

‘Our real-time FPGA modelling capability is unique in the market and represents an exponential value add for our customers,’ says Antelope Audio CEO, Igor Levin. ‘With this launch, we are giving customers access to authentic digital emulations of vintage hardware that would otherwise be inaccessible. This puts an entirely new sonic palette at the user’s fingertips, with all the analogue richness and real-time response of the original hardware.’

VCA160is a dynamics processor equally suited to ‘brick wall’ and subtle peak taming. It can be used to control vocals, bass guitar or individual drums. When working with transient-heavy material, such as kick drums or bass, its rapid response time can create a classic sound that is instantly recognisable from its punchy pedigree.

Tube176 is modelled on one of the most desirable compressors ever produced. The original hardware unit owes its sound to a long-since-out-of-production variable-mu dual-triode tube, but its characteristics have been brought back to life in the FPGA realm. Thanks to its straightforward input and output gain control-led interface, Tube176 can smooth sounds or completely flatten them.

X903 is based on a cult compressor famed for its unique compression characteristics. Complete with smart RMS detection and straightforward controls, conventional compression that is intuitive and musical is easily achieved easy with X903 in its conventional mode, while negative ratio settings allow for dynamic inversions.

Antelope Audio is the first company to model Danish developer Gyraf Audio’s hand-built hardware with Gyraf Gyratec X.

Speed is a determining factor in the original unit’s appeal, as is its highly-musical Vari-Mu compression technology, itself inspired by early limiter designs. Gyraf Gyratec X performs well on mixes across a wide range of genres – moderate compression settings are subtle enough to process jazz and acoustic guitars, while dialling up the compression conjures up the Gyratec X’s signature with analogue thickness and character. Compression that preserves low-end integrity is also possible, thanks to smooth high- pass filtering.

Stay-Levin captures the spirit of the historic hardware namesake that shaped the sound of a slew of Sixties Stateside classics. Character and colouration abound as Stay-Levin lends a analogue edge to contemporary productions. Controls include large level (input and output) knobs, a three-way Recovery Time knob, and two self-explanatory switches. It can produce compression styles suited to vocals, acoustic guitars and synth leads, while drums and bass benefit from treatment to sound both bigger and more aggressive.

ALT-436C is a single-channel, variable-mu tube compressor with fixed attack attributes. Modelled after the third revision of an iconic compressor series, ALT-436C includes the Release Time and Threshold controls that endeared it to producers in the Beatles era (extremely useful when working with bass guitars, vocals, and string instruments) as an initially inexpensive unit that played its part in making music sound not so cold and sterile back in the day.

Antelope Audio’s has also extended its EQ with the VEQ-55b. Based on hardware famed for production popularity throughout the Sixties and Seventies, VEQ-55b features four disparate bands with bell curve or shelving switching and up to 12dB of cut or boost with proportional Q ranging between gently sloping at more subtle levels and a more aggressive shape at higher levels.

Antelope Audio’s audio interfaces can now support up to 32 instances of vintage compressors and 40 EQs. The VCA160, Tube176, X903 and Gyraf Gyratec X are available for Antelope Audio’s Orion Studio, Orion Studio Rev. 2017, Zen Tour, Orion32 HD, Goliath HD and Orion Studio HD audio interfaces (with Goliath, Orion32+, and Zen Studio+ to follow); Stay- Levin, and ALT-436C are available for Orion Studio, Orion Studio Rev. 2017, Zen Tour, Goliath HD and Orion Studio HD (with Goliath, Orion32+, Orion32 HD, and Zen Studio+ to follow).

More: http://antelopeaudio.com

The Australian National University (ANU) School of Music has opened a recording studio as the cornerstone of its ambition to become ‘the world’s leading 21^st century music school’. Its recording facilities are based around a 48-channel Neve Genesys G96 mixing console – the largest of its kind in Australia.

The Canberra facility offers flexible analogue, digital and hybrid recordings using Pro Tools HDX DAWs, Ampex and MCI analogue tape recorders, a Dynaudio surround-sound monitoring system and an extensive collection of outboard centred on the Genesys.

In conjunction with the release of the new 3124V, API has announced the 3124MV Microphone Preamp.

The 3124MV is essentially the same unit as the 3124mb+, but it provides two important additional features. First, the 3124MV offers front panel Variable Output Level Control, an extremely valuable addition given today’s professional workflow. ‘This is a feature long requested by the pro audio community, and we’re happy to provide it in the 3124MV,’ says API President, Larry Droppa.

Second, the 3124MV adds a switchable 3:1 output transformer selection, also on the front panel. ‘The 3:1 Output Transformer selection switch allows the user to alter how much gain comes from the different stages,’ explains API Director of Engineering, Todd Humora. ‘Do you want more transformer gain, or do you want more 2520 gain, or both? You can choose exactly what you prefer, and then use the Variable Output to make sure the level is where you want it.’

Like the 3124mb+, the 3124MV provides an additional audio mixer with a transformer-balanced output, keeping the unit size and price reasonable. Additionally, the 3124MV adds a stereo panner with a level control, and a post fader aux send. The stereo panners and the aux sends are bussed to master output controls and then to the rear panel jacks. A stereo AUX return is provided to return effects or cascade additional mixers for more inputs. The stereo aux return control acts to balance the left/right signal, yet staying stereo. It can also be used as a mono return.

More: ww.APIaudio.com

API has appointed Seoul-based Music Metro as its distributor for South Korea.

Music Metro has been active in the Korean pro audio market since 2005. Specialiing in hardware and software or professional live sound, recording applications, the company will now supply API products, including The Box console, which Music Metro has just purchased for demonstration. API joins Avid, SPL, Avalin Design, Unity Audio, PMC and Sonnox, among the marques in the Music Metro portfolio.

Supporting the appointment, API Managing Director Gordon Smart and Director of Sales Dan Zimbelman will attend the Koba show (16-19 May), marking API.s first attendance.

‘API is a legend in the world of professional recording, and we are extremely pleased to be an exclusive distributor and supply its products to the Korean market,’ says Music Metro. CEO, Seung Gyu Choi. ‘With a team made up of audio professionals and more than ten years experience in the music industry, Music Metro strives to offer the highest quality audio gear and the best solutions to our local customers.’

API has added to its line-up of large-format recording and mixing consoles with debut of the Legacy AXS.

The Legacy AXS continues API’s commitment to an all-analogue signal path with an extensive and powerful feature set. The console frames range from 32 to 80 channels, with each channel offering dual input capability and access to two API 200 Series module slots.

One of the new aspects of the design is a return to the traditional 1.5-inch module width standard, which allows the use of API 500 Series Equalizers on a per-channel basis. The console also features a complete centre section that includes six automated stereo echo returns with motorised faders, 5.1 surround monitoring and a built-in 2500C Stereo Bus Compressor, along with onboard or remote patch bay facilities to complete the system. A DAW/Producer’s Desk is one of many customisable options available.

The first AXS console has been ordered by Strange Weather Studio’s Marc Alan Goodman and Daniel Schlett as part of an extensive upgrade at their Brooklyn, NY facility. ‘We made a list of everything we could ever want in a console, and the API AXS checked off every box,’ Goodman reports.

More: www.APIaudio.com

Having opened its doors this month, Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME) is a new music venture headed by Stax Record songwriter David Porter. It provides both studio recording facilities, and operates as a music label, production company and publishing group. Porter aims to revitalize the Memphis music scene by incorporating the principles that drove the city’s golden era of music in the 1960s and 70s. The business is off to a strong start, with state of the art studios built around an API Legacy AXS mixing console in Studio A.

‘When searching for a large-format console for our Studio A room, we looked at many vintage and modern offerings and the new API Legacy AXS hit the sweet spot for all of our needs,’ says MIME Chief Engineer, Kerry Kernan ‘With the updated features, proven reliability and the classic API sound, the Legacy AXS represents a solid value in a new large format console.’

More: www.APIaudio.com

API has recently added Jakarta-based Audio Station to its international dealer roster.

Established in 2012 with a mission ‘to provide reliable services and innovative products to customers’, the team at Audio Station is now able to offer API to Indonesia’s audio professionals. The US mixing console manufacturer joins Focusrite, Allen & Heath, Genelec Shure, Sennheiser and AKG, among other internationally recognised marques on the Audio Station books.

‘Audio Station makes an excellent addition to the growing API family,’ says API President, Larry Droppa. ‘We share the same philosophy regarding the customer – to provide the highest level of quality and service that we can to enhance the creative talent in today’s recording artists.’

Following a first placement at Strange Weather Studio in Brooklyn, a second API Legacy AXS mixing console has been sold by AVN Systems to an undisclosed client.

The sales was confirmed almost immediately after the console’s debut at the recent AES Convention in Los Angeles. AVN Systems, a technology company specialising in designing, specifying and integrating professional audio and video systems, has disclosed that the sale has been made to a private client, with more information to be announced when the facility is completed in early 2017.

‘This is definitely an exciting moment for AVN,’ says company owner, PK Pandey. ‘The client is very excited to receive the AXS Console and start experimenting with the new workflow and automation features that it offers. The new possibilities in routing, parallel mixing, and scalability made it an easy decision for us to specify this console for this studio. It’s an amazing console, and we are very pleased that API developed this. It brings more possibilities for our clients.’

API announced a partnership with Chinese distributor Beijing Pacific Budee Technology Development Co.

Established in 2002 as an audio and video solutions company, Budee now focuses on providing equipment for music performance, A/V integration, audio production, radio, television, fixed installation and consumer electronics, as well as musical instruments and equipment. Budee’s comprehensive manufacturer portfolio already includes Sennheiser, Martin Audio, Chandler Limited, Lectrosonics, PreSonus and DK Technologies among others – and now the world-renowned analogue sound of API.

‘API has a fantastic reputation for building high end consoles and other audio products,’ says Budee Director of Strategic Alliance, Mills Xu. ‘Budee, always focused on solution needs and providing the best possible service to its customers, and is a well-known entity in the Greater China marketplace. API will fit perfectly with Budee’s service-orientated approach to bringing the best of the best foreign brands to China.’

API has updated its The Box Console with a new feature set.

The newest version of the console provides greater options and flexibility for modern studio workflow. Offering a total of eight input channels and eight 500 Series slots, the updated Box console also features LED metering for each of its 24 summing channels. The new console prvides the same comprehensive rear panel connections, full centre section and monitoring as its predecessor, as well as the 0dB bypass switch on each summing channel – a feature so popular it was included in the design of API’s new 1608-II and 2448 consoles.

The Box is API's small-format solution for any studio where space or budget is limited. Using the same circuitry and components as all other API consoles (including the Vision and Legacy AXS), The Box provides the signature analogue sound and performance from API. Designed and optimised for the digital audio era, The Box handles all the functions needed for production not provided by most DAWs, including mic preamps, input signal processing, high-quality mix bus, cue sends with talkback, monitor control and more.

Released more than five years ago, The Box combines large console performance with compact footprint and has found favour worldwide in settings from commercial production facilities to home studios.

Units are available for shipping immediately.

More: www.apiaudio.com

API has completed the commissioning of a 16-channel 1608-II console at Red Barn Studio in Springdale, Arkansas.

Established in 2014, Red Barn Studio is a full-service recording studio, specialising in audio and video production. ‘From the beginning, I have always had API mic preamps in my studio – having 16 of them available now is like a dream,’ says Red Barn owner and music producer, Jason Miller. ‘Over the years, I always found myself coming back to the sound of my APIs.

‘The whole buying process has been a breeze – from talking with the API team at the Namm show to receiving the 1608 console, API has been top notch,’ he continues. ‘I get excited to work on projects every time I sit in front of such a beautiful piece of equipment. This console is already elevating my studio to new heights, and I’m beyond pleased with my decision to go with API.’

The sale of the console was completed through API dealer Vintage King.

More: www.APIaudio.com

ARX products feature heavily in making of a coming Coke StudioTV series in Papua New Guinea.

Supplied by long-time ARX users, Port Moresby-based Six8eleven Video Productions, the ARX audio equipment list includes MSX 48 16-channel splitters that share feeds between the monitor mix, multitrack recording set-up and back-up audio recording. ARX DIs are used on across the band’s instruments and a Blue DI Bluetooth Direct Box is used for background music replay during breaks.

Coke Studio PNG is a new Papua New Guinean television series that features live studio music performances by various local artists. The show covers various musical stryles, from diverse local culture to contemporary hip-hop, rock and pop music. Inspired by the Indian/Pakistan Show of the same name, initial viewer response indicates it’s destined to be one of the most popular music programmes in Papua New Guinea for many years.

Season 1 of Coke Studio PNG was recorded in the Stanley Hotel ballrooms in Port Moresby and premieres on TV Wan, Papua New Guinea’s largest TV network. Artists featured include Melanfunk, Betty Tamanabae, Richard Mogu, Pius Wasi, Chris Kasaimus, George Telek, Moab String Band, Garamut, Martin Rawali, Emma Richards and Sprigah Mek.

More: www.arx.com.au

South Africa’s Academy of Sound Engineering (ASE) has established a second campus, headed by musician, engineer and producer Keith Farquharson. Overseeing the project from the early stages of its specification, through to welcoming the first intake of students in February 2016, Farquharson has drawn on his considerable experience in both the live and studio business to realise this goal.

‘Significant time and investment have been spent on creating recording spaces that not only sound good, but give students the feel of being in a genuine recording studio environment rather than a classroom,’ he explains. ‘To that end, having the consistency of Audient hardware in each room, has made a tremendous contribution to that.’

A long-time Audient user, he has specified British studio gear throughout Cape Town ASE: ‘Apart from the 36-channel ASP8024 console with patchbay in the main room, there is an iD14 at each workstation in the Computer Lab and even a Zen in the smaller mixing and mastering room.’

For the past nine years, Farquharson has been sound engineer for Afro-fusion band Freshlyground: ‘I’ve had an Audient console in every studio I’ve owned since I bought my first ASP8024 in 2001,’ he says, underlining Audient’s suitability for Academy of Sound Engineering. ‘It was the ideal choice for the school in terms of value-for-money, reliability, and most of all, the intuitive way the console is laid out makes it perfect for teaching.’

The Academy of Sound Engineering was founded in 1997 and regards itself as South Africa’s largest tertiary education provider in the field of Music Production and Sound Engineering Technology, offering a three-year Diploma in Audio Technology and the country’s only Bachelor of Science Degree in Sound Engineering Technology. Its sister campus in Johannesburg operates out of the premises of the SABC, the country’s national broadcaster, and in February this year expanded to a bespoke studio complex right across the road.

Fully committed to his role as MD at the Academy of Sound Engineering in Cape Town, Farquharson is already thinking of future expansion: ‘The next purchase will definitely be the ASP8024 Heritage Edition,’ he says.

More: www.audient.com

Ashly Audio has released digiMix24, a versatile, compact 24-channel digital mixing console with integrated signal processing and effects and iPad remote control for worship and educational facilities, auditoria, gymnasia, performance spaces and project studios

The digiMix24 features 24 inputs (including 16 class-A mic/line inputs); up to 14 mix buses; eight aux outputs, eight channel inserts; 33 channels of dynamics and EQ; and two stereo effects processors with reverb, delay and chorus.

The control surface incorporates a seven-inch colour LCD touchscreen, intelligent metering, and motorised faders, while system management software saves, loads and  copies mixer set-ups. Optional, field-installable cards provide Dante connectivity or a USB interface for easy multitrack recording or playback.

‘The digiMix24 combines the feel of a traditional analogue mixer, the intuitive control of digital systems that we’ve pioneered in the work with our Ashly Protea DSP units, and the conveniences and flexibility of a recallable digital mixer, with build quality, sound quality, and a price point that make it the obvious choice,’ says Ashly Director of Sales, John Sexton. ‘It offers two modes – a normal technical mode with all of the depth and flexibility that an audio professional would expect and an EZ-Mode for non-technical users in schools or churches. The digiMix24 pairs with a companion iPad App that allows remotel setting of stage monitor levels and mixing from around the venue.’

More: www.ashly.com

Aston Microphones has launched the Aston Custom Rycote Shock Mount.

The Aston Rycote Custom is an InVision product, which makes use of Rycote’s proprietary vibration-resistant Lyre mount. The W-shaped Lyres are placed around a central mounting ring with a single fixing point specifically design for the Aston Spirit and Origin mics, allowing for incredibly quick and easy mounting. Finished in Aston Microphone’s signature colour, this innovative shockmount provides a quick and easy shock mounting solution for all Aston Microphones.

The Aston Rycote Custom updates the concept of the microphone suspension, omitting elasticated parts and using modern materials to create a virtually indestructible shockmount with a performance that far outstrips ‘cat’s cradle’ suspensions. In controlled tests at the Rycote factory, the Custom provided up to twice the isolation of traditional microphone suspension systems.

‘We are very proud to have Rycote as our partner,’ says Aston Microphones MD, James Young. ‘Rycote’s technology offers the best performing shockmounts on the market, making it an ideal match for our high-performance mics.’