Oakland, CA (May 20, 2015)—An eclectic selection of artists—Los Tigres Del Norte, Joe Satriani, Sheila E—has been using the 64-channel API Vision console at 25th Street Recording in Oakland, CA.
Studio manager John Schimpf says there’s one thing his diverse clients all have in common: “Everyone who comes through here loves the API Vision. In this business, people don’t hesitate to complain, but I never get complaints about the Vision.” The facility installed the all-discrete, fully-analog mixing console when it opened its doors six years ago.
John Cuniberti, Satriani’s long-time engineer, says he has nostalgia for the API sound. “I grew up on vintage API consoles. The Vision is a zero-compromise, full-blooded embodiment of the classic API sound,” a sound which he believes “strikes the perfect balance between ‘organic personality’ and ‘high-fidelity’.”
Cuniberti says during his time at 25th Street the Vision was a “critical component” of the overdub process. “The Vision was the tool that effectively told us whether we were done with a song or not.”
Los Tigres’ latest recording, Realidades., was recorded there. The band’s Grammy-winning engineer Alfonso Rodenas says, “When we recorded at 25th Street Recording, I used its patchbay to move EQs and preamps all over the place. It integrated beautifully with 25th Street’s outboard gear and allowed me to easily print the effects I wanted to print—and to hear, but not print—the effects that I didn’t want to commit to. It helped to create the beautiful sound of Realidades.”
