Throughout the1970s, the American professional music recording industry was in its heyday. Popular artists like The Who, The Beatles, The Eagles, The Doobie Brothers, The Jackson 5, The Rolling Stones, and Steely Dan were all at the top of the charts and on every record player and eight track tape deck. Underground bands such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were not on the radio but had ardent followers. The diversity and quantity of new music was astounding. The seventies was also a time of great change in pro audio. The introduction of “solid state” electronics led to an explosion in development and a very different sound than tube gear of yesteryear. The Recording Console in a high end 1970s studio was likely a Neve®, an API®, or a Quad Eight. These were the companies that were setting the standards for audio quality–with a unique sound firmly imprinted on the popular recordings of the era. While much has been made in our era with Neve and API reissues, interpretations and clones, the Quad Eight curiously faded from view. The irony is that many engineers firmly believe the Quad Eight Ventura, Pacifica and Coronado consoles to sonically be the very best of their day! Peter of A Designs Audio in West Hills California and pro audio designer Jon Erickson teamed up to recover and restore this lost “sound” to the recording community. Significant effort over the past 2 years has gone into research and speaking with Quad Eight owners while chasing down the origins of what was “The Quad Eight Sound”. Closely examining the design and composition of these were both a nightmare and a joy. The original QE staff was hard to locate, design/parts and documentation was impossible to come by and key parts were obsolete and not readily replaceable. After thousands of hours, endless listening sessions and time at the bench with test circuits, a target emerged. QE mic pres, such as those used in the Quad Eight Ventura, Coronado and Pacifica consoles emerged as one of the best examples of the unique Quad Eight tonal character. Thanks to critical efforts by Tom Reichenbach of Cinemag (whose father designed the original Quad Eight transformers), Jon and Peter developed a prototype dubbed the “Pacifica” as a clear indicator of its Quad Eight inspiration. The prototype was sent to a handful of devoted Quad Eight Console owners and mic pre fans along with some of today’s talented recording engineers. The results were gratifying: nearly all agreed the new A Designs prototype was very close to the original Quad Eight sound but with a tad more top end (exactly the target sound). A Designs Audio is very proud to introduce the “PACIFICA”, a single rack space, dual (mono/mono) channel microphone pre amplifier that comes amazingly close to the original in looks and sound. There are few but valuable improvements, such as a front panel active hi-z ¼ inch input that places the input transformer directly in the signal path for a huge direct sound. The PACIFICA possesses a uniquely “Made in California” feel with a significant heft from the huge transformers contained within. The original cream colored panel and red knob scheme has been retained. We think the A Designs PACIFICA will achieve an instant classic status, becoming an important part of your “must haves” for years to come. Review from DigitalProSound.com What are the engineers saying about the A Designs Pacifica? “The Pacifica has the depth of the Neve, the top end of a GML and the punch of the API-all rolled into one great mic pre.” Tony Shepperd-Producer/Engineer/Mix/ Studio Owner: Back Street Boys, Lionel Richie, Kenny Loggins, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, Indie “In a room filled with a very wide selection of pres such as 550's, 1073's and many more, the Pacifica instantly became the most frequently used preamp.” Yoni Gileadi-films and music: IMAX Mysteries of Egypt, IMAX Texas: The Big Picture, IMAX Mystic India; Recordings/Remix: Kaskade, Backside, David Bowie mash-up remix, Love Digit, Sunfall, Sofina. "Finally a mic pre and D.I. for those of us tired of squinting with our ears. Its the past-but the way I WANT to remember it." Dylan Dresdow-Engineer/Grammy Award Nominee/ Tec Award Nominee/ Studio Owner: Black Eyed Peas, Ricky Martin, Tweet, Christina Aguilera, Indie “If I had to start over, the Pacifica would be the first preamp I would buy. I've never heard a preamp with a 70's character that has such an open top end. It’s the most versatile preamp in our collection of 11 types of preamps.” Jason Buntz-Engineer/ Studio Owner/ Indie "My overall impression is that it sits in there like a nice cross between Neve-ish and API-ish tones but with better transient response and more high end detail...overall very musical. I swear it went another octave above the API and Great River.” "I can see it being an extremely versatile preamp that would get a lot of use on everything. Perfect for a small studio like mine that can't afford to have 20 different specialty preamps." Brad McGowan-Little Red Wagon Studios/ Engineer/ Indie “Definitely a color that I could ‘paint’ the whole album with. I thought I was done buying preamps until this one arrived… it was like the last piece in the jigsaw puzzle that made the picture complete. [Now, what am I going to tell my wife?]” Barrett Nichols-Engineer/ Producer: Alpha Jerk Recordings, Indie “With thousands of dollars in vintage microphones at hand, only the Pacifica makes them sound the way I expect every time, now that I have heard it, no other mic pre will do.” Jeff Sheridan-Engineer/ Producer/ Studio Owner: Disney Voice Over, Disney’s 50th Anniversary Edition, Soundworks Studio, Indie “If you are thinking something along the lines of an API pre, you really owe it to yourself to play around with the new A Designs Pacifica preamp. It has a similar feel/sound in the lows and mids (huge low end with slightly forward, but not obnoxious mids) but a top end that is extended and beautiful. On orchestral recording, it makes you sit up and take notice of the orchestra on the loud stuff, but yet has the subtlety needed for chamber music.” Benjamin Mass-Engineer/Mix/Studio Owner: Fifth Circle Audio, Mancini Institute, Billy Childs, Bill Cunliffe, Randy Brecker, Bill Watrous, John Clayton, Christian McBride, Elmer Bernstein, Dave Grusin, Jerry Goldsmith, Eddie Daniels, Richard Stoltzman, Ernie Watts and Mark O'Connor, Indie “A Designs Audio’s Pacifica is a perfect “10” with Brains and Beauty!” Ted Perlman-Producer/Engineer/Composer/Musician/Studio Owner: Burt Bacharach, Bob Dylan, Neil Sedaka, Elton John, Carole King, Dolly Parton, Indie “Now, my dilemma is that I want to keep the Pacifica even though I already own enough damn preamps. Should I sell one of the other ones? Damn.” Larry Crane, Engineer/Producer/Studio Owner/Tape Op Magazine: Indie Buy your Pacifica today from one of these reputable dealers |
Las Vegas Pro Audio 7320 Smoke Ranch Road Suite G Las Vegas, NV 89128 Phone: 702.307.2700 fax: 702.314.2764 sales@lasvegasproaudio.com    |