When Middle Tennessee State University student Jeff Braun entered the student recording competition for the AES 2011 convention in New York City, little did he know he'd be walking away a winner with an API A2D. Jeff was formally recognized for his recording, mixing and production work on "Door Open" by Samantha Crowder by John Krivit, education committee chair of AES and Larry Droppa, API president, at the AES awards ceremony, receiving both his new gear and a certificate noting stellar achievement in the traditional studio category. Noting Taylor Bray's assistance on the project, Jeff told us that he used the Vision console in Studio A at MTSU for the track.

"I'm a big fan of analog gear," said Jeff, "especially API. There is something truly irreplaceable about fine analog gear and the role it plays during the recording and mixing process. I was thrilled to have the honor of winning the A2D at AES! It's now my go-to preamp for almost everything. No matter what the source, API always performs. The musicality of API's 550s is outstanding and the punch from the 225s is unrivaled. Simply put, API makes gear that makes my job a heck of a lot easier."

Check out Jeff's winning track, "Door Open."