JESSUP, MARYLAND – JUNE 2010: A direct descendent of Saul Walker’s original 1967 design, the API 512C modular mic preamp embodies the legendary API sound and has been a mainstay of engineers for over three decades. Coming on the heels of API’s 40th anniversary and the delivery of the 100th 1608 console, the company recently celebrated another milestone: delivery of the 10,000th 512C. To mark the event, API president Larry Droppa dropped a note inside the 10,000th box. Toronto-based guitarist and composer Brian Legere received the unit, the note, and – complements of API – API 512C number 10,001!
Legere has been working in the Toronto-area for nearly thirty years – almost as long as the API 512C has been in production. An accomplished guitar player, Legere has worked in the studio with famed producer Daniel Lanois (U2, Peter Gabriel, Bob
Dylan); both men grew up in Hamilton Ontario. Legere’s compositions and guitar work can be heard on the Speed Channel’s “Dream Car Garage” and “Chop Cut Rebuild.”
Legere purchased an API 500-6B Lunchbox(tm) from Canadian retailer Long & McQuade, along with the first two modular units to occupy it: API 512C preamps numbered 10,000 and 10,002 – a nearly matched set. Little did he know that API was holding number 10,001 to give away as part of the celebration. “Now I have three 512Cs with consecutive serial numbers,” Legere laughed.
Asked why he had purchased the pair of 512Cs in the first place, Legere was reflective. “I’ve been working in the studio for a long time, and I’ve come to appreciate the virtues of certain gear. The analog warmth of API’s discrete circuitry is something special. Now that I’m expanding the studio, it was easy to select the best equipment that I had used in the past. Of course, the API mic pres fall in that class. In my view, having great mics and great mic pres up front make all the difference to an otherwise digital recording. You can never lose your money buying a great mic or a great pre,” he added.
Part of the reason Legere went with the very portable API Lunchbox was so that he could bring gear into a local high school, where he is developing a recording class. “In my role as an educator, I feel it is important to expose students to truly professional-grade equipment,” he said. “The Lunchbox makes it easy to share equipment from my home studio and will greatly enhance the course.”
“It was twenty years ago when I first designed the music room.” said Legere. “Given that high-end equipment was gradually becoming more affordable, I knew I would eventually be able to put a full-blown studio together. So I built an excellent sounding room with adjoining isolation booths. Of course, I’ve had something to record with in there this whole time, but now I’m ready to expand and invite other musicians in to record. I have a typical Pro Tools rig and now I’m collecting the mics and outboard gear, such as the API pres, that will elevate its sound.”
ABOUT API (AUTOMATED PROCESSES, INC.) Automated Processes, Inc. remains the leader in analog recording gear, with the Vision, Legacy Series and 1608 Recording Consoles, as well as its classic line of modular signal processing equipment. www.apiaudio.com
