
Artist Spotlight: Steve Vai
-Steve Vai
Renowned guitarist and recording legend Steve Vai has picked British Audio Engineering (BAE) mic-pre's and EQ for his demanding stage and studio needs. After extensive testing and auditioning ten of the top products available today, Vai remarked, "BAE is the clear winner, simply stunning -- kind of magical."
In 1999, BAE carved out a premium niche in the vintage Neve/API market as the first company to remanufacture the 1073 mic-pre/equalizer since its discontinuation by Neve in the 70s. After years of repurposing and racking up mic-pre's and EQ from classic Neve and API consoles, BAE now faithfully recreates new versions using original sources, including Jensen transformers, Carnhill transformers, and Elma gold-plated switches from Switzerland.
To decide on BAE's new 1073, Steve Vai did a comparison with the original, a modern day circuit board replica, and BAE's new unit. "BAE has the smoothest and most responsive EQ I have ever heard," he commented. "It just adds a beautiful air and is clearly superior..."
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"Currently I have 8 channels of BAE in my rack[s], which are invariably called upon, no matter what it might be that I'm working on.
Most recently I added (a pair of) the 10DC to my set-up. Immediately what struck me was the versatility of this compressor/limiter.
One can go from a very gentle 'Is this thing on?' type of setting, to full-bore envelope destruction - each opposite sonic pole sounding equally stellar. The real fun will be exploring the areas in between."
Samuel Fogarino
Musician/Recording Artist
