There was a lot of new gear announced at the recent AES show, but one of the most spot-on in terms of the needs of a modern studio was API’s “The Box.” The new API unit is the answer for anyone who has a mid-tier home studio that only records a few instruments at a time and really wants to improve the sound of both the recording and mixing chain.

The Box unit comes with 4 inputs of API 212 preamps and high-pass filters. Two of the input channels have integral 550A EQs and the other two have standard 500 slots that you can load as desired. There are also two 527 compressors that can be assigned to either the mix buss or the input channels.

The unit has a 16 channel mix buss, complete with faders (which most summing boxes don’t have), with a stereo and two mono aux sends (also on the inputs). Then there’s the full master section, complete with talkback, solo buss, headphone buss, 4 stereo aux inputs, and main and alt speaker outputs.

The Box retails for around $18,000, which is a bargain, considering that it would cost way more if you tried to put something similar together from pieces from various manufacturers. It’s the perfect center for any serious small studio. You can find a lot more details, including an excellent users manual, on the API website.