The six A2D mic pre amps are put to work all day long, and are used in both the Newsroom Set and Studio W or Studio West. Audio engineer Stan Ouse explains, "The backdrop of the Newsroom Set is a functioning news room. In Studio W we support all of the NBC networks and we do shows and live shots all throughout the day. For example, last week we did Hardball with the host plus the guests. That studio can do a single live shot or a whole show, whatever we need."
Ouse says he's known about the API brand "since the '90s - I had a recording studio of my own here in Burbank." NBC's selection of API gear, according to Ouse, was a natural progression after NBC's recent relocation from the studios in Burbank to Universal Studios. "The previous NBC studio had the API 200 series [processing] and the mic pres. In designing the new racks, I looked again to API for something with an AES signal flow. The APIs had that and an analog out so I could DA the microphones, and they would be available to other control rooms in the building. That basically sealed the deal for me."
Considering the studio belongs to a major news organization, it is always busy and the work unpredictable. "We never know what we're going to have to do, it all relies on the news," Ouse says. That unpredictability makes it "necessary for any of our mics to be available at any time in any of the control rooms for maximum flexibility. We're starting to implement a Dante system in the studios and we will continue to use our API A2Ds in the process." Ouse also appreciates his new upgrades even though he had gotten comfortable with the API 200 series, "I like the controls on the A2Ds better."
(Jim Evans)
