Today's Top Stories:

  Part V - The AES Report Rolls On
AES Part Five; we're continuing to work our way through the massive list of new products we scoped out at the recent AES show (held October 7-11 in New York City). No end in sight yet, there were a lot of new products announced at this year's show!

  Steinberg Nuendo 3.2
The latest version of Steinberg Media Technology's high-end Nuendo platform is v3.2, which introduces a variety of new features. Nuendo 3.2 has a full "Control Room" section that provides up to four separate Studio outputs, extra Mix, Headphone, and Control Room busses, as well as configurable Input Returns and user-definable Monitor Setups. Each audio, group, effects return, and VSTi channel now includes a Studio Send, allowing its signal to be routed to any of the four Studio outputs. Integrated talkback functionality allows easy communication from engineers and producers to talent, and automatic dimming and separate talkback levels are provided. In addition, any of six external playback inputs (DAT, tape, CD, etc.) can be routed to any studio, track, headphone, or control room bus.

  JBL LSR4300
We're big fans of JBL's top-of-the-line LSR6300 studio monitors, which feature built-in RMC (Room Mode Correction). Now JBL has announced the more economically priced LSR4300 series, which take RMC to the next level with exclusive built-in technology that automatically analyzes your room and optimizes each monitor (in stereo or surround rigs) for the best response at the mix position. The monitors communicate via propietary network intelligence, and can be connected via USB to a computer for further tweaking or display of setup parameters. None of this would mean anything if these speakers didn't sound great - and they do! JBL was here at Sweetwater a few weeks ago giving us a sneak preview and ears-on demo in our Studio A, and we were very impressed at what we heard. Two models will be available; the LSR4326P powered six-inch 2-way, and the LSR4328P powered eight-inch 2-way. Each model includes analog as well as AES/EBU and S/PDIF inputs at up to 24-bit/96kHz resolution. A remote control provides volume control, mute, and solo functions, as well as input switching - you may not need a monitor control box with the LSR4300 series monitors in your studio!

  Lexicon Lambda
Following hot on the heels of the very successful Lexicon Omega, this year's AES brought the Lambda, a complete USB desktop recording solution featuring Steinberg's Cubase LE for Mac or Windows, as well as Lexicon's own Pantheon reverb plug-in. The bus-powered Lambda sports two XLR mic inputs with TRS inserts and switchable phantom power, with preamps designed by dbx. Other features include MIDI I/O, two TRS inputs, two TRS ouputs, a front-panel headphone jack, and hands-on control from the front panel.

  Blue Snowball
Designed to provide the easiest possible solution for recording into a computer-based system, the Blue Snowball is a USB microphone that is plug-and-play compatible with both Mac and Windows platforms. Ideal for desktop recording, podcasts, and for use with laptops, the Snowball features the spherical design of other Blue "ball" microphones. It offers a dual-capsule design, with one capsule tailored for vocals and the other optimized for instruments. A 3-position switch lets you choose the capsule and response you want.

  Blue OmniMouse
Based on the unique and versatile design of the Blue Mouse microphone, the OmniMouse is a condenser mic featuring a rotating omnidirectional capsule enclosed within a spherical grille - the same B4 capsule used in Blue's top-of-the-line Bottle microphone system. This capsule combines low noise and superb transient response for a crisp, open high-end tonality. The OmniMouse's smooth frequency response and focused high end make it ideal for classical ensemble and orchestral recording, as well as for any sources where a balance of direct sound and room tone are desired. The OmniMouse is recommended for single-mic setups, as a stereo pair, or in a Decca Tree formation.

  MOTU Symphonic Instrument
The MOTU booth was jumping with the introduction of Symphonic Instrument v1.1. The new version is far more than a simple "maintenance" release; it includes several major new features, such as disk streaming, which allows very long samples to be played back from hard drive without using up large amounts of RAM. Also new is support for multiple independent outputs. This allows the 16 individual instruments to each be assigned to one of 16 stereo output pairs for greatly increased flexibility and convenience. Symphonic Instrument's convolution reverb can also be assigned to process any output pair. Best of all, the update will be available free of charge to registered users.

  Rode NT6
The microphone maker from Down Under was showing the new NT6 microphone, a small-diaphragm condenser that's specifically designed for difficult mounting applications and discreet placement. The unique design features a small cardioid capsule, which is connected to the main microphone body by a 3-meter cable. The mic body, which houses the preamplifier electronics and XLR connector, also features 10dB pad and 80Hz high-pass filter switches, so you can make adjustments to settings without disturbing the position of the capsule. The NT6 runs on 48V phantom power, has a frequency range of 40Hz to 20kHz, and a maximum SPL of 135dB.

  Shure UHF-R
Shure's new UHF-R wireless systems offer 2,400 selectable frequencies across a 60MHz bandwidth. Up to 40 systems can operate per band, and up to 108 systems can operate on multiple bands. This makes the UHF-R ideal for large-scale fixed installation and touring sound applications. A full line of Shure capsules are available including SM58, SM86, SM87, Beta 58, Beta 87A, and Beta 87C, as well as any Shure headworn, lavelier, or instrument mic, or WA302 instrument cable. Both single and dual-diversity receivers are available.

  TC Electronic PowerCore Unplugged
Want to add another PowerCore card to your system, but don't want to pay for all those bundled plug-ins that you already own? Or want to buy a PowerCore, but want to choose the plug-ins that you get with it? At AES, TC introduced a product appropriate for either scenario: PowerCore Unplugged. PowerCore Unplugged is the same hardware as the PowerCore PCI II, but without any bundled plug-ins.