AP550B

550B

API AUDIO

Taking the legendary API Audio 550 from the '60s and adding an extra band and additional frequencies, the 550b is a 500-series EQ module with four bands of EQ control, 12 dB of boost/cut per band, and seven selectable frequencies per band. Sporting switchable peak/shelving for the high and low bands, this EQ is versatile and highly musical.The 550b offers a very high headroom of +30 dB, helping you to avoid clipping when adding gain to frequency bands. With Proportional Q technology, the filter bandwidth narrows at the extremes and widens at the minimal settings, helping to avoid the phase-shifting effect of some EQs. Along with stepped controls for easy recall, the 550b sports a manual EQ in button. With the famed API 2520 op-amp circuitry built in, this EQ module provides predictable and warm EQ performance.A Recording Industry Legend, New and Improved Based on API s original 550 from the late 60s, the API 550b is a continuation of the EQ that played a major role in the history of music recording, but with an additional filter band and several new frequencies. Incorporating API s exclusive circuitry and proprietary components (such as the legendary API 2520 op-amp), the 550b artfully blends the past with the present.So many hit records still depend on the unique 550 sound that engineers around the world find it to be an invaluable tool. In fact, the 550b design has been taken from the original blueprints and spec control drawings from the API archives.Efficient and Precise Controls Rather than offer a huge assortment of complex features, the API 550b provides exactly the right number of controls. Its four EQ bands are overlapped significantly to aid in dual roles as problem solver and sweetening device, with each band offering seven switchable filter frequencies that span four-to-five octaves. These frequencies, purposely selected to be musical rather than numeric, were selected by a list of the industry's most proficient and experienced engineers.Proportional Q Making use of API's Proportional Q, an innovation designed by Saul Walker in the '60s, the 550b intuitively widens the filter bandwidth at minimal settings and narrows it at higher settings without the need for additional bandwidth controls. This unique feature minimizes the phase-shift sound found in many equalizers. In addition, the reciprocal nature of the 550b enables the user to undo what has been done previously with exact precision.