Mike Nehra may be a businessman, but above all else, he’s a musician. Based on the principal of treating all clients the way he’d want to be treated, and selling only the best audio equipment that he’d use in his own studio, Nehra founded Vintage King Audio with his brother Andrew in 1988.

Mike’s foray into the world of pro audio began long before that however, dating back to childhood when the Nehra brothers built a recording studio in the family’s basement, starting with a simple 4-track reel and modest collection of outboard gear. Years later, after graduating from recording school in his hometown of Detroit, Mike, Andrew and longtime friend / engineer Al Sutton opened The White Room Studio in downtown Detroit. There, the trio engineered and produced a decade’s worth of material ranging from projects with Kid Rock to the Nehras’ own notable band, Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise.

With an ever-growing collection of vintage and boutique gear, the Nehras’ recognized a need in pro audio for a knowledgeable, client-oriented recording equipment dealer. As the Nehras’ experience increased and their studio expanded, so did their interest in esoteric gear.

In the mid 80’s, armed with an arsenal of trade magazines, classifieds and a favorable exchange rate, Mike traveled to London to purchase a smattering of Neve gear. Naturally, he wanted to keep it all for The White Room, but with a plan in motion, the Nehras’ decided to sell select units. Mike and Andrew were not only the buyers and sellers for their fledgling business, they were also the shipping and receiving; repair and customer service departments.

What started as a vehicle to feed the Nehras’ gear habit officially evolved into Vintage King Audio. Today, Mike oversees a staff of 45 employees (all engineers and musicians themselves) who have one thing in common: passion for the industry and a love of the gear.

Mike lives in his hometown of Detroit, where Vintage King is headquartered, with his wife Lindsay.

What is your favorite piece of gear?
Decca solid state compressor limiter pair (from early 70's Decca mastering use) Simply stated, it has unusually wicked attack and release times that make it likely the most unique compressor I have ever heard.

What piece of gear do you think changed history?
Multitrack tape machines and DAW's without a doubt.

What is your most memorable Vintage King sale?
The Neve 8078 console sold to Electric Lady Studio's /NYC in 2011. Their studio manager Lee Foster and its current owner are so committed to the 'new' Electric Lady, that they purchased the Neve 8078 from VK, formerly belonging to Clinton Recording Studio/NYC. VK had the pleasure of restoring the console to our 'Vintage King Premium Servicing' Standards. We spent over 550 hours bringing the console beyond its original glory to the beautiful state it is now in. It is likely our best restoration of a console to date. We get receive a constant flow of compliments on the desk and receive great referrals for restoring other consoles due to the work our tech shop performed on it.

CASE STUDY:
Phil Garrod’s love of Neve products provided and serviced by Vintage King has been a long and illustrious affair. “It started with a 1073 DPA that I bought from Vintage King right around when they came out. It wasn’t long before that turned into a 1084 with an 8 space rack… Then a second 1084, then 4 vintage 1073s…” It comes as no surprise, then, that when a Neve BCM10 that Vintage King had Premium serviced for the Goo Goo Dolls came up for sale on eBay, Garrod, of OSI Music, snatched it up.

“A big incentive for buying it was knowing that it had been completely overhauled by Vintage King,” he says. “It showed up in the original crate that Vintage King had made and it was in pristine condition. I was instantly blown away.”

Garrod and his team set up the BCM10 as a sidecar for the SSL 4000. “We ran some tracks through the SSL, a sound very familiar to us, and then the same tracks through the BCM 10... That was the “oh boy” moment. The Neve sounded big, present, forward and clear.”

Impressed with the BCM10’s stellar performance, Garrod decided to get another one, but this time, went straight to the source.

“Phil was already a previous client, but I think he was pretty impressed with the desk we restored for the Goo Goo Dolls,” says Mike Nehra, co-owner of Vintage King who helped Garrod with this particular piece of gear. “When he was thinking of buying another BCM10, I felt that it was important for the desk to be serviced properly. We even went to the length of removing the patch bay from the circuit, to keep the signal path as pure as possible.”

With both BCM10s acting as sidecars for the moment (they will become the main mixing source for OSI Music eventually), Garrod couldn‘t be happier with his new acquisition. “Purchasing the second BCM10 from Vintage King was a pleasure,” he says. “Mike was great at putting together a service hit list that was exactly what I wanted. He and Jeff [Leibovich] put forth extra effort to make sure every detail, including the color of the faders, matched the BCM I already owned. I was thrilled to see and hear how great the console was!”

LINKS: Neve BCM10

CASE STUDY:
Originally built in 1970 by Jimi Hendrix and designed by architect and acoustician John Storyk, Electric Lady Studios in New York City hardly needs an introduction. Vintage King Audio Co-Owner Mike Nehra recently worked with the legendary recording space on the commission and Premium VK Service of a Neve 8078 recording console.

Electric Lady Studios has worked with Vintage King on a variety of recording equipment for the past four years; Studio Manager Lee Foster and Vintage King Co-Owner / Director of Sales Mike Nehra developed a relationship during Electric Lady’s search for a vintage Neve recording console, which was kicked into full gear October 2010 when Nehra found the exact console to meet Electric Lady’s requests.

Electric Lady Studios’ current mission is to perform at a world-class level using the standards of 1980 – to truly go back to the practices and expectations of audio recording at its peak. After exhaustive research, Foster and the entire team at Electric Lady weren’t just searching for a vintage Neve, they were searching for this Vintage Neve. Previously belonging to Clinton Recording Studios, Vintage King Audio acquired the console after Clinton closed its doors in July 2010. Shortly thereafter, the wheels were in motion to install this piece of musical history into Electric Lady’s illustrious Studio A.

Studio A is a classic live room and naturally asks for ‘classic Neve’ on its own,” says Foster. “We wanted to make it whole and give our clients what they would expect inside Electric Lady’s flagship tracking room.”

Replacing an SSL J900 (Electric Lady still has two other J900’s in operation), Electric Lady was understandably concerned with how quickly the Neve 8078 could be completely refurbished and installed in order to eliminate downtime. Nehra had Vintage King’s renowned tech department on the case immediately, who began an ambitious VK Premium Service straight away.

The Vintage King Tech Department completed rigorous tests on the Neve in order to determine what sonic, technical and aesthetic changes had to be made in order to restore the console back to its original luster and 1970’s factory specifications. After tests and re-tests, all faults were corrected to ensure that the console would operate perfectly. Vintage King replaced the capacitors, cleaned the desk by hand inside and out, re-painted and re-screened worn panels. To ensure the Neve 8078 looked as good as it would sound, Vintage King Audio commissioned a custom wood-worker to completely re-create the custom-built mahogany producer’s desk.

In this day and age, most studios are moving forward to mix in the box and rely primarily on computers with their artists,” says Mike Nehra. “In Electric Lady’s case, they’re reviving history and breathing life into the premium, classic and sonic perfection of the Neve 8078. They challenged the industry standard and purchased the best that money can buy with this vintage desk. We can’t wait to hear the musical histoy the continue to make in Studio A.”

LINKS: Neve 8078 Restored for Electric Lady Studios

CASE STUDY:
Juno Award Winning Composer and Producer Ian Nieman is no stranger to API gear, or Vintage King Audio for that matter. Having owned the API 8200, 7800, 205’s, 550a’s and 560’s, the API 1608 instantly grabbed Nieman’s attention during his search for a new console. When the time came to outfit the new room at his production company Nieman Music, Ian contacted Vintage King’s Mike Nehra to inquire about the 1608.

As a client of Vintage King’s for nine years, Ian knew he could trust Vintage King Audio while outfitting the new space, designed by Martin Pilchner.

“I still remember the first call I made to Vintage King,” Nieman says. “I was in the market for a microphone and compressor and heard from various sources that Vintage King was the place to go for quality vintage gear.” He continues, “the person that answered the phone was named Mike. He answered my million questions and together we agreed on a Neumann U-67 and old Neve 33609. It wasn’t until months later that I learned Mike actually owned the company. That has always stuck with me. It illustrates Mike’s approachable personality, love for gear and desire to help the client. He always has time to answer questions and his recommendations to what best fit my needs are still scoring big today.”

To that effect, while working with Mike on the 1608 purchase, Nieman also decided to pick up the Shadow Hills Mastering compressor based on Mike’s recommendation. Ian first used the Mastering Compressor across the 2 buss and hasn’t moved it since, thanks to the layer of polish it gives to the overall final mix.

After working with Vintage King’s Jeff Leibovich on the details of the API purchase, including furniture from Sterling Modular, Ian’s first mix on the new setup was for the single “Move With It” by Linnea, which recently hit #10 on the Billboard Club chart. Additionally, Nieman has remixed material for artists like Mariah Carey, LeAnn Rimes, Deborah Cox, Nelly Furtado, Ludacris and Snoop Dogg.

For more information on Nieman Music,visit www.niemanmusic.com