Michael Neal

MacAudioLab

Who:	Michael Neal
What:	MacAudioLab
Where:	Sacramento, CA
API Gear:	512c, 550A, 560, lunchbox®

Briefly:
     MacAudioLab is a producer of instructional videos for MOTU's Digital Performer, and offers specialized consulting services for users of Mac-Based audio applications. In addition to this, owner Michael Neal runs a mobile recording studio in California, and makes sure to always pack his API lunchbox for the trip.

From The Street:
     "The sound of API equipment is pure class and possesses a musicality that makes anything you record with them sound better.
     "I've found the API 512c pres to be the most versatile of all the preamps here at the studio. I've used them with great success on everything from Hip Hop vocals to subtle acoustic guitar tracks. Electric guitar tones are to die for when tracking with API equipment.
     "One of my favorite characteristics of API gear is that you can 'hear' it work if you change a setting; the sound gets bigger and more 'in your face' if you drive the preamps, and any changes made to the EQ settings can be immediately heard. You can just run the signal directly through the EQ modules without doing much to the frequencies, and the API circuit just makes the source material sound better.
     "For our new Digital Performer instructional DVD we are relying on the API 512c preamp and 550A EQ as the vocal chain for the voiceovers, and I must say the tracks have come out exponentially better than the previous high-end preamp/EQ combination we had used before.
     "Whenever I'm on a mobile recording session at a client's house, I love to see their expressions when I A/B the tracks recorded with the API modules and without. The superior sound quality, cost effectiveness, and mobility make it a dream to use in a mobile recording scenario. The clients are usually so impressed they end up buying their own API modules.
     "If you are serious about the quality of your recordings, I would recommend putting API gear at the top of your list."

More Word from the Street...