Who:Carson Slovak

What:Producer, Co-owner

Where:Lancaster, PA

API Gear:[2] 3124+

"Through the process of learning about audio engineering and production, it was impossible not to hear about API and the quality the brand is synonymous with. To me, API has always been one of the top shelf brands. After spending a number of years cutting my teeth on small projects with very limited equipment, the API pres were at the top of my gear wish list."

"The 3124s are our go-to pres for almost any application. Grant and I are very particular about our drums and the APIs make capturing the sound we want incredibly easy. We use them on overheads, close cymbal mics, and drum shells. They're also particularly well suited for heavy distorted guitar."

"My co-owner Grant McFarland and I have produced some records at different studios and we got to use the 550b and 560 EQs on the drums for the Everclear album we did last year. Both are awesome sounding EQs with a ton of character that really opened up the tom and snare tracks on the album."

"API is kind of our workhorse. The pres are fast and aggressive and they really shine on transient-heavy sources. Having eight channels enables us to use them on a lot of things and they're always solid. If I want to drive the gain and get some nice color and saturation from a source, I turn to the APIs."

"The biggest thing I like about our API gear is that it sounds phenomenal. I'm a fan of simplistic design and useful features, such as the LED output level meter. Having the instrument inputs on the front is also very helpful. I love the output transformers in the 3124 and the very low noise floor as well. The units are reliable, but the thing I like most is that is sounds great on pretty much any source."

Carson Slovak has been in the music business for over ten years now, but he was not always an engineer. "Before Grant and I were engineers, we were both in touring bands. The experience of being in another studio as an artist and recording an album was always very educational for us both." Slovak says the two 3124s that Atrium uses regularly allowed him to make "better recordings".

The studio has already worked with a long list of rock and metal bands, including August Burns Red, From Ashes to New, Texas in July and Black Crown Initiate, and Everclear. Their most recent project was a metal album for the band Rivers of Nihil. "It's an incredibly dynamic, melodic and crushing album with some of the best guitar tones we've ever achieved". Atrium also produced the newest album for August Burns Red after the band was invited to headline Warped Tour 2015. The album made it to the top ten on the BillBoard 200 during its first week on the charts (#9 with 29k units sold).

More: atriumaudio.com; Facebook; Instagram
Contact: carsonslovak@me.com; Twitter