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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 2008: John Keane has been composing and recording the music for the hit CBS series "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" in his personal studio since it first aired in 2000, and has earned six BMI and ASCAP awards and an Emmy nomination for his efforts.
A talented
multi-instrumentalist who first appeared in the national spotlight in 1977
at the tender age of eleven, when he and his older brother Tom served as the
musical stars and hosts of CBS's "The Keane Brother's Show," Keane has had a
prolific and varied career in the music and television industries. He has
released numerous albums with his brother and by himself, composed the music
for dozens of television shows, and served as an in-demand session drummer
for Chicago, Michael Bolton, Cher, and many others.
Because he's so busy and is required to produce such a high volume of
output, Keane leaves all of his instruments up and mic'd in his personal
studio. Although he had an analog console to bring his inputs into Pro
Tools, he was less than satisfied with its sound. Moreover, he was reluctant
to replace the console with a collection of outboard gear. "I've always been
a console guy," he said. "I want something that's centrally located. I want
my hands on faders. I'm much more productive with a console."
When Keane heard about the new API 1608 small-frame console, he knew that it
would deliver the perfect combination of sound and functionality he wanted.
After consulting with his long-time friend and engineer, Wyn Davis, Keane
called API to place his order. The 1608 incorporates API's discrete
electronics topology and is built to the same exacting standards as the
flagship Vision and Legacy Series consoles. The standard 1608, with sixteen
input channels, eight buses, eight aux sends, eight reverb returns and full
center section facilities, includes a dozen 550A three-band equalizers and
four 560 ten-band graphic EQ modules with space available for eight
additional 500 Series modules.
"I love the flexibility of being able to move modules around and being able
to add 500 Series modules from other manufacturers," said Keane. "No other
console that I know of allows for such different flavors while keeping
everything tidy inside the console. Moreover, it seems that a lot of other
manufacturers are moving to the 500 Series platform." To complement its "API
sound," Keane has added 500 Series modules from Purple Audio and Shadow
Hills to the 1608.
With the 1608 as the centerpiece of his newly-renovated studio, Keane began
to slot modules for drums to craft a truly awesome input that would be "up"
at all times. Then he mic'd and tweaked his Yamaha C7. "The technical aspect
of things is totally taken care of now," he said. "I don't have to worry
about mics or compression or anything. I just make music. It's satisfying
and inspiring to go out and play something and have it sound so great in the
headphones and during playback. That alone boosts the quality and volume of
the music I'm creating."
With another season of CSI coming up and a raft of backlogged personal
projects, John Keane's API 1608 will be very busy indeed!
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.
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