WOODSTOCK, NEW YORK – JULY 2014: Musician, audio engineer, and studio owner Scott Petito has roots in the jazz and acoustic genres that go back to the early 1980s. His studio, Scott Petito Productions, has worked with major acts including James Taylor, Keith Richards, Pete Seeger, Bela Fleck, and Brian Setzer. In an effort to return to his roots in analog recording, Scott consulted Alto Music in Middletown, New York, who directed him toward an API 1608.
“It’s the best piece of gear I have ever used from API,” said Scott. “I have mixed on the Vision and Legacy consoles, as well as several vintage consoles. This has that same sound, but in a compact, simple and reasonable affordable design. It’s new, reliable, and has a great warranty.” The console has 24 channel inputs and 32 slots, providing over 48 reruns from Pro Tools. “It quickly became clear that it’s the only choice for uncompromising analog sound, and a familiar character and layout.”
With a degree from Berklee College of Music and countless hours in the studio, the sound generated by the 1608 is held to a high standard by Scott. “I already can feel and hear the added depth and dimensionality. It makes it easier to get what I want, I use fewer plug-ins, and being a smaller footprint the short signal path is always pristine and clear. It also has great headroom.”
Also among his favorite features and functions, Scott appreciates the Channel Strip and lunchbox implementation. “It lets me keep a lot of flavors on hand. The routing is wonderful. We have everything coming up on the patchbay.”
Scott and his crew wasted no time in getting to know the capabilities of the 1608. “The first session even before everything was wired to the patchbay or furniture was installed, we recorded a new album with Tony Levin, the bassist for Peter Gabriel and King Crimson among others. It’s turning out great! We are now mixing it.”
Next, the new 1608 will be used to mix the new album from Mercury Rev, whose fourth studio album Deserters Song was voted as one of the top twenty most influential albums of the last twenty years by Mojo Magazine. Scott will also use the new console to mix a new album of his own.
ABOUT API (AUTOMATED PROCESSES, INC.) Established more than 45 years ago, Automated Processes, Inc. is the leader in analog recording gear with the Vision, Legacy Series, 1608 and THE BOX recording consoles, as well as its classic line of modular signal processing equipment.
