armandoavila
Throughout our new series, Producer's Corner, we will be chronicling the men and women in the producer's chair and talking about how they achieve the sounds that made them famous. With in-depth talk about the gear they use, these blogs will detail both highly sought after new equipment and classic staples of the recording industry.

In our first installment, Vintage King sets our sights on Grammy Award Winning producer Armando Avila. The famed producer, and Vintage King client of many years, has worked with the likes of RBD, Aleks Syntek, La Quinta Estacion, Belinda, Allison, Moderatto, Gloria Trevi, Natalia Lafourcade, Alejandra Guzman, OV7 and many others.

Check out Armando's Top Ten pieces of studio equipment that he just can't live without:

1. 1970s Black Face 1176LN
Like everyone, I love it on bass, vocals, mono drum mic, etc.

2. Retro Instruments Sta-Level
For me, it shines on bass, drum aux and, of course, on vocals. It's my favorite right now with its fast release mod.

3. AMS RMX 16
I love it on drums (especially on snare), and sometimes the ambiance patch works great on vocals and acoustic guitars.

4. Gefell UM900
Sounds great on everything.5.

5. LA3A 
I always have a pair patched on my acoustic guitar tracks.

6. Vintage Neve 1073
What can I say?

7. A Pair of Roland SDE3000
Hard panned L & R, they sound great on vocals.

8. Pultec EQP1a
Mine is always attached to my main vocal track, sometimes even without EQ at all.

9. Inward Connections Vac Rac TSL 3 Stereo Limiter
I got my TSL 3 after reading about it in some Audio forums, then I asked Mike Nehra about it and he sent me the first one. After listening to my vocal tracks, acoustic and electric guitars through it, I immediately ordered a second TSL 3, because the first one is now busy with my main vocal tracks, so I desperately need another one for my electric guitars, and now that I think about it,

I need a third one because nothing sounds like a Vac Rac on acoustic guitars too!! I have some of the finest compressors and limiters and this is by far one of my favorites, I can't replicate what it does with any other device.

10. Barefoot Sound MicroMain27
I installed the MM27s, and the first thing I noticed was their weight, They weigh a lot! So... Their construction is amazing, built like a tank. Yet, at the same time, the design is so beautiful. So I finished my mix and after some listening in my car and my boombox I send it to the label without surprises, the mix was exactly as I mixed it at my place. This was my first time with those speakers and I was able to deliver a mix that translated really well to other systems!