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“The Glee Project” New Reality Show Shines Spotlight On API Lunchbox

The six-slot rack was filled with API 512c mic pres, 550A equalizers and 527 compressors

API’s lunchbox has earned a prime role on Oxygen’s new reality series titled The Glee Project scheduled to debut in June. The Glee Project follows hopeful contestants as they try to win a recurring role on the musical TV series Glee.

“When I was looking for gear for the new show I tried a couple other systems and some of the music got a little fuzzy and cloudy,” said Kris Pooley, a musical director for live tours and the music producer for The Glee Project. “The API gear gave me all the punch I needed and worked especially well on vocals.”

Pooley’s six-slot rack was filled with API 512c mic pres, 550A equalizers and 527 compressors.

According to Pooley, when Glee creators and executive producers Ryan Murphy and Dante Di Loreto started the search for a new face (and voice) for Glee, they realized that the casting process would provide a great opportunity for a reality program.

Out of more than 40,000 online submissions submitted last year, twelve were picked as finalists to officially compete for the prized role and appear on the reality series. In the process, contestants recorded multiple songs with the help of the API lunchbox.

“The studio that I had on set was basic – almost like a project studio,” said Pooley, “but it was amazingly lit for television. It was just me, the lunchbox, a computer, and some other gear for arranging and building keyboard tracks.”

According to Pooley, he used the lunchbox “pretty much every day for sixty days” to record each of the cast members’ vocals and found it was exactly what he needed to achieve the Glee sound.

“The lunchbox was the most useful tool for what we needed on this show,” said Pooley. “The Glee sound is very bright and punchy. It’s a very vocally driven sound that’s layered and larger than life. That’s what I found with API.”

Pooley added that he enjoyed using the lunchbox so much that he is using it again while on the “Glee Live Tour” to record the cast for the upcoming feature film “Glee Live! 3D!” slated for release in theaters in August 2011.

The Glee Project premieres on Oxygen June 12th at 9:00 p.m/EST.

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TELEFUNKEN Elektroakustik’s mission is to design and build iconic microphones and modern professional audio equipment that provides classic sound for recording, broadcast, studio, and stage . Our vision is to be a global leader in emitting good vibes through manufacturing and design, all while capturing the spark of the TELEFUNKEN legacy and transmitting it with uncompromising quality.