As an owner of an API 1608 console [Tape Op#81] loaded with a bunch of API 550As, 550bs, and 560s [#26], Iām pretty familiar with APIās EQs in general, and I think they sound great. My one slight gripe has been that I often want to cut or boost a frequency between the stepped frequencies on the 550A and 550b. I really like sweepable EQs, especially on drums, toms, and acoustic guitars. So, when API offered to send a pair of their new four-band sweepableSV14 Select500 Series EQs, I jumped at the chance to try them out.
Before installing, I opened up the well-built and sturdy shielded metal enclosure to check out the guts of theSV14and found a solid interior design, with socketed TLO72 op amps and a beefy output transformer on a clean PCB. I was in the middle of tracking acoustic guitars on a project, so I followed up my API 312 [Tape Op#141] mic pres with theSV14, and got excellent results. Cutting both some low mids while boosting a little upper mids was easy, fast, and sounded really good, and I was hitting record within minutes. Thatās what I like ā not keeping the artist waiting. A week or so later, I was mixing the same project and used theSV14son the kick and snare, then printed those into my mix and then put them on my stereo overheads. In both cases, I quickly got good results that sounded very musical to my ears (to use an overused term). I donāt know how the bandwidth curves work on these EQs and I donāt care, because they sound good to me. Even when boosting upper mids or high end, theSV14sstill sounded excellent. Adding a bit of a boost at 16 kHz (the top band extends all the way to 20 kHz) provided a nice crispness to the ride cymbal on a track, with the pleasant sound of the stick hitting the cymbal accenting in a nice way. Lastly, as I was wrapping up mixing the track, something in the midrange of the lead vocal was starting to annoy me, so I made a stem of the drums and moved the vocal over to theSV14. I was already running the vocal through my Retro Instruments Powerstrip [Tape Op#82], my go to for vocal compression with a touch of Pultec-style passive EQ. However, something in the mids was not working. Using the three lower bands of theSV14, I was quickly able to dial down the midrange and add a slight bump on the bottom end of the vocal, and then it sounded much better. Bottom line: These EQs sound great and are pretty affordable. If youāre looking for a quality sweepable EQ, this will be one of the better choices on the market. I will definitely be buying these, and would look to pick up a few more for our 1608 console.
($565 street;apiaudio.com) Buy From Sweetwater! -JB