Maag Audio: Air Band and Pro Studio Gear

Elite Audio Instrumentation for Excellence in Sound Engineering

Mäag Audio was born from the experience and vision of Cliff Mäag Sr. a sound engineer with more than 35 years of experience in recording and mixing. His passion for high sound quality is the driving force behind every project of the brand. Inventor of the acclaimed NTI EQ3 and the Nightpro PreQ3 and EQ3D modules, Cliff is best known for introducing the revolutionary Air Band® to the world of professional audio in the early 1990s, which has now become a distinctive and irreplaceable element of Mäag Audio equipment.

An Ethic of Sound, from Pro Studio to Local Band

In his production studio, The Record Lab, Cliff Mäag approaches each project with the same respect for the craft, whether it is an internationally renowned artist or a young up-and-coming band. This philosophy is reflected in the company's DNA: each product is designed to give expressive power and precision to those who work with sound.

A family-owned company with a clear mission

The Mäag Audio team pursues excellence, aiming to provide sound engineers with the most advanced technological tools to meet the challenges of the industry. Although hardware is not the most important thing in life, for those who work at Mäag Audio it is almost at the level of air: simply indispensable.

Mäag Air Band®: Where the Sound of Air Begins

The Air Band® is a high-frequency shelving filter that can be set at 2.5, 5, 10, 20 or even 40 kHz. Added to these are additional fixed bands: a 2.5 kHz shelf and three bell filters at 40, 160 and 650 Hz, for even more precise control of the sound curve.

First introduced with the NTI EQ3 equalizer in the early 1990s, Air Band® technology is now found on all Mäag Audio units. Unlike other shelving filters, Air Band pushes the operating point far beyond the threshold of audibility, generating a feeling of openness and three-dimensionality. The design was born out of a real need: to improve the sound of a vintage mixing deck without having access to a high-end deck. The Air Band® is the answer to this challenge.

From Experience to Solution: The Origin of the Air Band®

As Cliff Mäag Sr. recounts, the inspiration for the Air Band® came from an exceptional vocal chain consisting of an original C12 microphone, a Boulder preamp, and an LA-2A compressor. This set-up revealed what it really meant to have "air" in a recording. However, when working with microphones like the U87 or darker ribbons, that feeling was lost. To overcome the limitations of his mixer, Cliff designed a new preamplifier with the intent of returning openness to even the darkest sources. Early attempts led only to increased noise, but it was from those experiments that the first versions of the Air Band® were born, capable of adding presence without introducing hiss. Integrating this concept into the preamps, and later into the six-band EQs, led to the current configuration: an additional filter "on top" of the equalizer to restore brilliance to the mix, with transparency and musicality.

A Return, a Family, a Vision

In 2009, at the invitation of his son Ryan Mäag, Cliff decided to bring Air Band® technology back to life by reading enthusiastic comments from users in online forums. Thus was officially born Mäag Audio, founded with his sons Ryan and Cliff Jr. and Travis Allen. Since then, the company has returned to prominence, establishing itself as the benchmark for high-fidelity equalization and transparent yet musical preamplifiers.

Innovation with Roots in Sound

Today, Mäag Audio continues to innovate while remaining deeply consistent with its original philosophy: to make instruments that elevate the quality of recording while respecting the musicality of the sources. The legendary Air Band® is the clearest symbol of this: a technology born of real needs, perfected with craftsmanship and critical listening, to give sound engineers a tool without compromise.

Blog