I got to see the new console from API called The Box up close and in person this week at Vintage King Nashville. The Box is a recording console combined with a summing mixer. After seeing it in person I will say its smaller than I thought it would be, and looks much nicer in person. The slanted up design at first seemed weird but once I sat down in front it, the design lets you see everything straight on, which is nice. The bus compressor sounded amazing. The compressors are two 527's, and hearing the ones in the Box makes me want a pair now. By far my favorite feature is the 0db button on the summing mixer channels. This button removes the fader from the signal path and put the channel at unity gain. Now you don't have to worry about recalling faders levels. I would of liked to see 8 pres onboard but the console is expandable. Lastly, I realized as I felt the top and top back of the Box, the console doesn't get hot at all. If I had a to make a complaint it would be that the summing channels can't be grouped in stereo pairs. In analog summing you mostly work with stereo pairs so it would be nice to solo or mute or control fader level for a pair. However this is no deal breaker, and I left very impressed with that I saw and heard. As Jordan Shirks from API joked during his presentation, "Mixing in the Box now has a whole a new meaning". For more info visit www.APIaudio.com/thebox
