"I was looking for an analog console, with real preamps and EQs, easy routing capability, modern features and no digital stuff in my audio path at all. I was already an API fan, so it wasn't that hard to choose the 1608. We opted for the P-Mix automation. We're living in such a dynamic era in the recording industry, but I think it's much better to have hands-on control during the automation process than drawing them in your DAW. And you can feel the music while you write the automation—it sounds more natural for me."
ALV mostly records and mixes rock/pop bands and solo artists, but Venturin says they work with many music styles and different projects. "After all, we're in Brazil!" Venturin first heard of API in the early 2000's "when I saw an ad in a magazine comparing 512c to some lamb chops. It was hilarious! I was around my 20s, and we didn't have access to API gear in Brazil back then, so I had to wait a few years to put my hands on my first API. I must tell you, it was love at first sight!"
Venturin says the studio is focusing on live sessions right now, especially ones that will be filmed and released in video format. "We have a wonderful room designed by George Augspurger, and it not only sounds great but it LOOKS great." He says API is part of the studio's goal to "bring back that sound of live recordings, that feeling, that thing that happens when everyone is in the same room." The studio has five ISO booths, which Venturin says benefits them in many ways—not the least of which being that "we can keep the mood with no sound leakage from one instrument into another's mic." ALV is currently producing local artists, which is garnering "great feedback from the public". Future plans for the studio include a big "live in-studio" project for 2015, which will be tracked and mixed entirely on the 1608.
More: alvstudio.com
Contact: +55 19 7809.0981; luisventurin@gmail.com