Front-of-house engineer Dave Natale (Rolling Stones, Fleetwood Mac, Tina Turner) mixes Landreth and Weir on an API 1608.
API celebrated its 40th anniversary at the 2009 AES convention with a party at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City’s Theater District. Food, drinks, live entertainment and special guests were on hand, including Sonny Landreth and his band and former Grateful Dead member Bob Weir.
The company’s origins: In the late 1960s, Saul Walker, who had an ongoing interest in radio and studio electronics from his college days, partnered with Lou Lindauer to establish Automated Processes Incorporated (API) on Long Island, N.Y. In 1969, the pair began designing and manufacturing their own components, starting with faders and amplifiers. Walker designed a proprietary op amp, the 2520, which became central to many of his designs, including the 512 mic pre, 550A EQ, 525 comp, 560 graphic EQ, 1604 console and more. He also developed the API 960, the first programmable, continuously variable, parametric EQ.
