Api 560

[Jay Messina]

Originally Posted by tekis

Hello Jay and thanks for doing this. I assisted both you and Jim Ball back in the early 90's--you at Sound On Sound and Jim at Water Music Recorders. You both had a Lunchbox of four API 560's and applied them in the same manner--bass drum, snare, bass di and bass amp. Was this a Record Plant technique? Do you still use 560's? Thank-you.

I still have and use my lunch box. It has 2 - 512b mic pre's and 2 560's. There was an API console in one of the rooms at Record Plant, that had mostly all 560's. So, it wasn't really a RP technique, as much as it was what engineers got used to, and liked, from the Studio B console.
For a record date, I usually use the pre, then into the EQ for bass and kick drum.

[ScumBum]

Originally Posted by Jay Messina

For a record date, I usually use the pre, then into the EQ for bass and kick drum.

Is there certain ballpark settings you like to always use with the API 560 EQ on Kick and Bass ?

[Jay Messina]

Originally Posted by ScumBum

Is there certain ballpark settings you like to always use with the API 560 EQ on Kick and Bass ?

Of course, each instrument is different, but the mid range in a kick that I sometimes take out is in the area between 200 and 500cps. I also add some higher freq. at 3k up to 8k depending on the rest of the track and drum set. I like adding some 31 or 63 to the bottom of the bass and some at 250 and 1k.
One of the things I like about the 560 EQ is the ease at which you can try some extreme settings.