MONTRÉAL, CANADA – MARCH 2013: Studio 270 has proven that the purest sound cannot be digitized with their 48-channel API Legacy Plus with API Vision automation. Nearly two years ago, François Hamel and Robert Langois decided to reconnect with recording’s analog roots by purchasing the Legacy Plus for their Montréal-based studio. They were the first to acquire an API Legacy Plus with API Vision automation, an investment that Hamel claims was the best they have ever made.
When Studio 270 set up shop in 1987, the digital tsunami had yet to make landfall. Now, twenty-six years later, it is thriving in a world where most of its clients regard inexpensive and omnipresent digital technology as an extension of their organic being. It is for precisely that reason that the studio decided to distinguish itself by committing to time-tested, analog technology. That decision has paid off in dividends as area musicians discover that the API sound far exceeds the limited capabilities of their digital gadgetry.
“We predicted that ‘mid-level’ recording studios would have a hard time surviving as more and more inexpensive digital technology became available, and we were right.” Hamel said of Studio 270. “But in addition, young musicians have no basis for understanding the difference between a $125 interface and a $125,000 digital console. To them, digital is digital, and if they can buy a digital product that promises them the moon for $600, then in their eyes, why should they book a digital studio for $600 a day?”
Hamel likened his younger clientele’s experience to that of fine dining. “The API Legacy Plus is like a five-star restaurant,” he said. “An inexpensive digital rig is like a microwave. You have a microwave at home, and you eat at home most of the time. But on special occasions, it’s good to get out and go to a five-star restaurant, where maybe you don’t exactly understand how the cook pulls it off, but the difference is obvious.”
“They’ve never seen moving faders before,” he said of the younger clientele. “It’s a revelation to them that they can – and should – mix with their eyes closed. They’re used to staring at screens. Apart from its immense functionality and stability (the software never crashes), API automation is worth it strictly from a marketing perspective.”
When his clients hear the API Legacy Plus, they’re often taken aback. Since Studio 270 installed it, many bands have booked a few days without making future plans to return. They have a remarkable experience, and then they’re back a few months later. “They want to relive the experience!” said Hamel. “It’s API’s headroom and separation. When you mix on an iPad or whatever, everything is smashed in. Once they hear the openness and liveliness of the Legacy Plus, they’re hooked. They’ll work jobs on the weekends to get back in here.”
ABOUT API (AUTOMATED PROCESSES, INC.)
Established more than 40 years ago, Automated Processes, Inc. is 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.
