CUSTOM API 1608 WAVE OF THE FUTURE FOR WES LACHOTS OVERDUB LANE RECORDING STUDIO
DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA - APRIL 2008: Wes Lachot has upgraded his Overdub
Lane Recording studio facility with the installation of a 32-input API 1608
discrete analog recording console that was factory-customized with a central
chassis extension to house DAW control.
The one-of-a-kind console is
configured with an additional 16-channel-wide section, designed to
accommodate a monitor screen, keyboard and mouse, fitted between the 1608
mainframe and a 16-channel expander.
The console upgrade, replacing an aging analog desk formerly owned by
locally-based producer and musician Mitch Easter, also gave Lachot an
opportunity to perform a complete makeover on his control room, which has
been in operation since 1983. The venerable analog tape machine has been
moved to another room, he reports, and to accommodate the Pro Tools system,
he ordered a custom chassis layout for his 1608. "Our chief engineer, John
Plymale, who has been working at the studio for 15 years, really insisted on
it. He said, 'These days you're looking at the Pro Tools computer
constantly.' He's tired of straining his neck, looking off to one side and
listening with one ear. There's just no place to put the mouse or the
keyboard on consoles, so we came up with this idea and worked with our API
rep, Brian Charles of Sonic Circus, to get the job done."
As standard, the API 1608 and the expander each incorporate twelve 550A
three-band equalizers and four 560 ten-band graphic EQ modules, but the
custom chassis offers a further benefit, notes Lachot: "It's really
brilliant, because it has given us sixteen additional 500 Series module
slots. We have a total of fifty-six 500 slots in the console. I have
thirty-two API preamps, twenty-eight API EQs, and four API compressors, and
I want to add more API modules, but it would also be cool to have a handful
of other stuff as well. There is this 500 series renaissance going on right
now, which API supports with their VPR Alliance." Like the centrally located
DAW, he points out, the 500 Series modules are in front of the engineer and
within arm's reach. "You don't have to twist around or go to the back of the
room to check out a different preamp on a vocalist. I think it's great. You
can fit so much stuff right there in the console."
It was the sonic quality of the classic API mic preamps that attracted
Lachot to the new 1608, which incorporates the company's discrete
electronics topology and is built to the same exacting standards as the
flagship Vision and Legacy Series consoles. "I always loved the sound of
those preamps," he shares. Further, he adds, "It's amazing what facilities
this console has. It's a lot like an old 2488, but with a much better system
of aux sends and monitoring."
Plus, he says, "I could have looked at a used console, but having owned a
used analog console for a number of years I was ready for something new. And
it's a company that's here in America. I drove up to Maryland twice to visit
the factory while they were building the console - I like that. The company
is under really good management. I feel like they're going to stay around,
which is saying something about a quality analog console manufacturer."
The room makeover also included a total rewire and new racks for the
outboard gear Lachot has collected over the years, as well as new in-wall
main monitors. The noise floor in the studio is noticeably lower since
installing the API console, he says. "We hooked it all up and there's
absolutely no 60 cycle hum anywhere, because everything on the console is
balanced. It's remarkable."
Lachot also runs a studio design and acoustic consulting firm, Wes Lachot
Design, that reworked the acoustics at Electric Lady Studios in New York
City, and has designed studio facilities for such high-profile clients as
Saddle Creek Records' ARC Studios in Omaha, Nebraska and Mitch Easter's
Fidelitorium in Kernersville, North Carolina. But it wasn't until the recent
upgrade that he had the opportunity to improve his own room's cosmetics."It's a typical working studio and stays fully booked, year round, doing
mostly rock bands, although we also have a good jazz scene around here. I've
never invested a lot of money in the cosmetics, although it has been a good
sounding room since I design studios for a living," he comments.
He's very pleased with the custom 1608 chassis, he says. "There's a really
nice desk space in the center of the console for all our computer stuff. You
could even drop in a Pro Tools controller. I think it's the wave of the
future for analog consoles to have a digital center section."
You can see Overdub Lane's new API 1608 console at overdublane
Automated Processes, Inc. remains the leader in analog recording gear, with
the Vision surround production and Legacy Series recording consoles, the DSM
Series rack-mounted mixers, and the classic line of modular signal
processing equipment.
api audio
|
|