API Celebrates 40 Years at AES New York

For forty years, the legendary sound of API Audio's celebrated analog consoles and outboard processors has been woven into the very fabric of modern music, from classic rock to '80s pop to '90s grunge to today's indie rock, and every genre and sub-genre between. API will be celebrating its 40th birthday in high style at this year's AES show in New York City, with a massive party at the Theater District's storied Roseland Ballroom on Saturday, October 10th at 7:30pm. Food, drinks, live entertainment and guest appearances from celebrities (of every vintage and from both sides of the console!) will work together like the components of a time-tested circuit to deliver the party-equivalent of warm analog goodness. A limited number of laminate invitations are available. To secure your laminate, please e-mail Angel Thompson (athompson@faders.com) who will put your name on the API party guest list. Laminates can be picked up during the AES show by visiting API booth #355. This is THE AES PARTY. API was a founder of, what many consider to be, the dawn of modern recording — the late 1960s revolution that coupled technological innovation with an unprecedented wellspring of inspired music, much of which remains an enduring part of contemporary culture in ways that earlier music has not. Whereas earlier recordings can be dated by their sound alone, the thoroughly modern, full-bandwidth sound that matured in the late 1960s stands up against anything that has come after. Indeed, many have suggested that after attaining a peak, recording quality declined as the industry experimented with cheap technological shortcuts, arguably only having fully recovered in recent years with the successful synthesis of analog circuitry and accurate, high-resolution digital converters and algorithms. API weathered a few financial storms in its adolescence, but legions of dedicated API users, combined with the stalwart guidance of mix-engineer-cum-president Larry Droppa saw the company through to its present glory, where the immutable punch and warmth of API processing has become an integral part of the record chain in digital-centered systems. API remains a leader in the design and manufacture of analog gear, including the famed Legacy console, the groundbreaking Vision surround-sound console, the small-frame 1608 console, and racks and racks (and lunchboxes and lunchboxes!) full of outboard processors that use the same discrete topology and famed op-amps that made API the hot new thing way back in 1969! "We have a lot to celebrate," emphasized Droppa. "Forty years is a long time, and we're planning a party worthy of such a significant milestone. Having the party at the Roseland Ballroom is significant in itself. It's been host to the Stones, Paul McCartney, the Grateful Dead, and countless other great bands. The idea is to have an event that commemorates API's fortieth and remembers the many friends we've met along the way. Stop by our booth for your invitation!"