OUT OF THE BOX

Stuart Crichton, might not be a household name in Australia, but his songs have been recorded by some of our most-loved artists. The British ex-pat (now living in Australia) has penned hits for Kylie Minogue, Delta Goodrem, Guy Sebastian, Sugarbabes and Pet Shop Boys. So when API issued a press release stating that Crichton had just bought an API Box for his home studio, we were interested to know his thoughts.

For those who don’t know about the API Box, here’s a little info. The Box is a compact recording and mixing console, that handles all of the functions needed for production, which aren’t provided by most DAWs. These include mic preamps, input signal processing, mix bus, cue sends with talkback, monitor control, and more.

Now, granted these press releases are written by marketing departments, but if Crichton is prepared to put his name on one, than he really must be impressed with his new purchase. He stated, “The API Box has totally changed the quality of my mixes, adding the warmth and width of a large room console.”

Impressive, indeed.

As to the quality of sound, Crichton went on to say, “The mic pres and EQs are that beautiful API sound that many crave. The bus compressor is also now a major part of my mixes. Once I’m done mixing, I put it over the whole mix and BANG! There it is – a real vintage sound for what are usually digital-sounding mixes.”

Crichton relocated from the U.K. to Australia in late 2009, where he plans to make his footprint in the Australian recording scene, as well as work with artists from around the world. He’s finding that his new console is a good tool to achieve a big studio sound in a relatively small space.

Crichton summed up his experience with the Box by saying it, “is an affordable way for a home studio to get that big room sound, which usually costs a lot of money per day.”

If you’re interested in seeing the Box in action, then Studio Connections, in Melbourne are a distributor of API products.
You can contact them by phone: 03 9416 8097 or email: [email protected].

Excerpts from Press Release