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The event of the season is now here! The AES Convention (Audio Engineering Society) is being held in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center this September 26th through 29th. As the first nationwide music retailer to exhibit at AES Convention, Sweetwater Sound has prepared a non-stop extravaganza of new recording and mixing equipment. While we can't quite give away all of the details (come back and read our daily updates direct from AES - both here and in our daily inSync column,) below is just a sampling of the manufacturers that we will be showcasing.

Discuss the newest innovations with several of the industry's leaders including John Oram (the Father Of British EQ), and Dr. Peter D'Antonio (President/CEO RPG). Our own inSync Editor, Mitch Gallagher, as well as our top compliment of Sales Engineers will also be onhand demonstrating all of the new products. But we didn't stop there... Sweetwater's entire 1800 web pages of online information will be available to browse along with a special Sweetwater Computer Kiosk full of information.

This will be quite the opportunity for those of you interesting in the best of audio and recording equipment. For those of you visiting in person - be sure to sign up for our great Octasonic Giveaway each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. But that's only the tip of Sweetwater's First Exhibit at AES... More is on the way... Be sure to return for all of the late breaking news live from the AES!

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During the Show...

(Updated Daily) October 1st, 1997
Day 4 of AES '97 - Last chance to make your way to Jacob Javits Convention Center and get in on the action! The list of new gear just keeps going on and on and on and on and on... Digitech unveiled their S100 processor at this year's show. Coming in under $200, the S100 offers true stereo processing, S-Disc algorithms, and tons more in a single rack case.

Event was giving demos on Darla, Layla, and Gina at the show, in addition to displaying all their speakers and Rode mics. We also had a Gina demo going in our Sweetwater booth.

Hafler was showing a new line of nearfield monitors in their booth, along with a full selection of their cool-guy amplifiers.

Sonic Foundry unveiled the Direct-X version of their popular Noise plug-in. Compatible with most PC audio sequencers and editors, Noise can effectively reduce hiss, hum, as well as clicks and pops in audio files.

Mackie's HUI (Human User Interface) for Pro Tools was present in many booths this year, but their HR824 monitors definitely were competing for 'Most Visible Product' award... we can't tell you how many pairs of these fine sounding speakers we saw on the show floor.

Kurzweil was presenting its KDFX effects expander board for the company's K2500 keyboards and racks. The KDFX adds many new, high-quality effects algorithms, as well as live processing for external signals.

Denon had their DN-M1050R rackmount MiniDisc recorder/player at the show. The new machine is designed for pro recording and broadcast applications.

Studio Technologies has the Model 58 and 59 monitor control system, designed to accommodate the use of multi-speaker surround sound systems.

Crown is offering their amazingly efficient K2 amplifier in a wide variety of stock colors. Or, for a small fee, you can order the amp in any color you choose - now you can finally make your power amps match your curtains!

Garwood announced their new Plus 2 low cost UHF wireless system. The half-rack unit can accept line or mic level signals.

Sabine's family of live sound processors is growing with two new room delay processors, and the Power Q, which incorporates seven functions: Feedback exterminator, 12-band stereo parametric EQ, 31-band graphic EQ, real-time analyzer, compressor/limiter, digital delay and noise gating, all of which can operate concurrently in the digital domain.

That's it for today, tomorrow we'll resume from the comfort, darkness and total isolation of the inSync cave...er, office. After the lights of Manhattan, the absence of neon will be a welcome respite!

September 30th, 1997
Day Three of AES '97 - only one more day left, and we're still going strong! Check out these items: Plug-ins are big news at this year's show, particularly for Digidesign's Pro Tools and AudioSuite formats.

Line 6 has a very impressive amp simulator plug-in for TDM called 'Amp Farm' that incorporates many of the features from the company's modeling amplifiers. Just plug your guitar into Pro Tools and you're happening!

Aphex has their Aural Exciter TDM plug-in out and happening. Offering the same features and parameters as the hardware version of the processor, the plug-in pretty much nails the Aural Exciter sound.

In addition to Vocode (mentioned Friday on inSync) Opcode also presented 'Vinylizer'. Designed to add 'turntable sonics' to audio files, Vinylizer can create the effects of dirt, dust, static, scratches, warped record, rumble and more at 33 1/3, 45 and 78 rpm. Retro is the word...

Drawmer had their Dynamics Plug-in on display. Incorporating the sound and features of the company's powerful hardware boxes, this will be a 'must-add' for serious engineers.

Lexicon's Lexi-verb generated a lot of interest. To our ears, Lexiverb definitely had that much sought after 'Lexicon Sound'.

Liquid Audio was showing their Liquifier Plug-in, the first professional mastering/delivery system for Internet audio from Pro Tools.

Mark Of The Unicorn was showing their Pure DSP plug-in which allows for formant corrected pitch shift and time compression/expansion.

Focusrite had their latest plug-in at the show. D3 is a software recreation of the company's renowned compressor/limiters.

APB Tools was showing a variety of new offerings, including a phase meter and surround matrix. Another interesting plug-in from APB is the 'Eternal Machine', a sound design plug-in allowing dynamic compression/expansion, filtering, morphing, pitch shift and much more in cool graphically-oriented package.

I-Media Audio had their MPEG-2 encoder for Pro Tools at the show. In addition to allowing encoding of Pro Tools audio, the plug-in also allows Pro Tools to directly import MPEG audio files.

In other Pro Tools related gear, Apogee was showing their AD8000 8 channel converter, Mackie had their HUI (Human User Interface) up and running, Magma and Bit 3 had PCI expansion chassis on display, Glyph, Rorke Data and Nikon had storage systems, DoReMi had their V1 video system, and Gefen had their Mac cable extender systems at the show.

Needless to say, Pro Tools was EVERYWHERE at this year's show... we'll be back tomorrow with still more on the show!

September 29th, 1997
Day Two of AES '97! The show rolls on, and there is a ton of gear to check out! Let's get to it... Neumann has a new microphone out aimed specifically at the project studio market, the TLM103. Priced at $995, the 103 combines the capsule from the company's legendary U87 microphone with transformerless electronics to create a very affordable, but completely pro microphone. This one will be hot!

Speaking of mics, Beyerdynamic wasn't displaying their new digital mic (yes, the mic actually has a digital output!), but we did hear that it is finished and ready to ship, pending patent approvals. Look for it in 30 days or so...

More on mics? You bet! AKG had their new Tube microphone at the show. The new model is aimed at the project studio, and is VERY reasonably priced. We did some comparison listening at AKG's booth, and we were impressed with how fat and smooth the mic sounded - and if it sounded good in headphones amidst the chaos of a tradeshow floor, you can safely assume it will sound awesome in your studio!

Ramsa has introduced the DA7 digital mixer. 24-bit, 32 inputs, 8 busses, compatibility with all digital formats, moving faders, and under $5000!

Before we forget, let's announce the winners: Sweetwater gave away a total of three Oram Octasonic 8 channel microphone preamps during the course of the show; Jonny Quest, Kenneth Feldman, and August Casscus each went home with a big smile on their faces - our congratulations to them, and thanks to all who entered the drawings!

In other giveaway news, Chuck Surack, Sweetwater Sound's Founder and Chairman will be returning home the proud owner of a brand new, gold-plated C414 microphone, courtesy of a drawing held at AKG's booth. Some people have all the luck...

Digidesign was showing their ProControl control surface for their Pro Tools system. No price has been formally set, but Digi is saying the unit will come in under $10,000. It should be ready to ship first quarter of next year.

Alesis had an enclosed section on their booth this year, and they were giving impressive demonstrations of the difference between 16-bit and 20-bit recordings using their upcoming M20 type II ADAT. Look for these to begin shipping soon.

Ensoniq was giving demos of fully functional Paris systems on both PC and Mac platforms. (We also had a Paris demo set up in our Sweetwater booth). The system looks good, it is very fast, and Ensoniq says that it should ship very soon...

This year's TEC (Technical Excellence and Creativity) Awards banquet was a gala affair. Special moment's included Tom Dowd inducting Al Schmitt into the Hall of Fame, and Les Paul presenting his namesake award to Stevie Wonder. Congratulations to Tascam, Mackie, TC Electronics, Focusrite, Apogee, Crown, Cakewalk, Neumann, JBL, Genelec, Roland, Soundcraft, and all the TEC award winners!

That's it for today.

September 26th, 1997
Welcome to Day One of the 103rd Audio Engineering Society show! The show is off to a great start, the crowds are happily absorbing tons of new info and a barrage of new product offerings. Here a just a few new items that caught our eye today: Digidesign made some big waves by announcing that there is a new product in their Pro Tools family, Pro Tools 24. The new system supports 24-bit audio, up to 32 tracks per card (with free software upgrade) system, and up to 72 tracks total. The new PT24 core will be listing for $7995, and its companion 24-bit 888 interface will run $3495. Pro Tools III will remain available, but Digidesign will be dropping its price: The core will now run $5995, and the 888 interface will be $2295. Pro Tools Project will also be dropping in price to $1995.

Mark Of The Unicorn had a variety of interesting news: Digital Performer 2.11 is already compatible with the latest Digidesign 24-bit system (see item above) - talk about fast turnaround! By the way, v2.11 was released today. It offers Korg 1212IO support as well as Apple Sound Manager, and Digidesign's Audiomedia II and III.

Also from Mark Of The Unicorn is E-Verb, a new FREE MAS (MOTU Audio System) plug-in, (MAS now supports above the above list of cards as well as Sound). E-Verb takes a new, unprecedented approach to reverb algorithms, if you're at the show, definitely check it out - it sounds great!

In related MOTU news, DUY is releasing their four plug-ins with support for MAS format. DUY was displaying at the Digidesign Developers booth.

John Oram was creating an incredible stir with the unveiling of his new Series 48 digitally controlled analog console. The Series 48 offers a completely analog path, with absolutely every setting recallable from automation. For reliability, each channel has its own microprocessor brain. The revolutionary automation system records automation data constantly - the internal hard drive can instantly recall settings from any point in the previous three years! The feature list for this console is about a mile long, and the sound quality is obviously Oram all the way. This will be the console to own.

Dr. Peter D'Antonio from RPG was giving demonstrations of his new Room Optimizer software at Sweetwater's booth. The new software is simply too cool: Just enter the dimensions of your room, the type of monitors you use, type of system (stereo, surround, THX) etc, and the program will tell you exactly where to place the monitors and the listener in the room, along with suggestions for placing acoustic treatment materials for the best results.

Opcode introduced an exciting new line of cross-platform plug-ins today: The Fusion:Effects series. The first to be released is the Vocode plug-in, which is compatible with Direct X, Premiere, Audio Suite formats. Priced at $149.95, Vocode allows you to 'fuse' the personality of one sound onto another. Taking a big step beyond normal analog talkbox effects, Vocode allows control over a variety of new, powerful sound parameters. A TDM version will be released in the very near future.

Finally, Tascam had their usual assortment of exciting new releases on display in their distinctive new booth. Two new rackmountable MiniDisk decks are out, the MD301 ($899) and the MD501 ($1299). The former is unbalanced, while the latter offers both balanced and unbalanced connections, digital connections, and more!

Tascam says their TM-D8000 Digital Mixer is very near to release. Its price has been set at $9999 (under $10,000 as promised!).

Probably most interesting from Tascam was the unveiling of their new collaboration with TimeLine Vista, Inc. The two companies are working together to create the MMR-8, a modular multitrack hard disk recorder. The MMR-8 is aimed at the post-production market, and takes a very unique approach: It will read hard drive data recorded on other hard disk based systems like Waveframe, Pro Tools, and OMF compliant workstations. Just pull the drive off your computer based system, and plug it straight into the MMR-8! It will even read multiple formats simultaneously off of up to 7 hard drives. The MMR-8 is designed to unify the many workstation formats, allow easy track expansion, solve the problem of loading sessions on and off of hard drives, and much more. We think you'll be hearing a great deal about this machine. Price on this will be $12,999, and it should ship in just a month or two.

That's it for today, be sure to check out our online AES page for more on the show, including some great pictures. We'll be back on Monday with a full report on what we've seen over the next two days!

Before the Show...

September 25th, 1997
So, it's Thursday, and the Sweetwater Advance Tradeshow Team (SATT) has arrived in Manhatten and has been hard at work assembling our booth, getting the products set up, and in general preparing for the AES show's opening tomorrow at noon. Our booth #780 is packed with all kinds of equipment, ready for you to peruse! Be sure to stop by Sweetwater's AES Trade Show page, starting tomorrow we'll be featuring pictures from the show - the next best thing to being here!

Speaking of the show (nice segue!) John Oram and his team arrived yesterday, along with Series 4, Series 8, and Series 24 consoles, as well as a brand new console design! John will be giving continuous demos of all the consoles as well as his company's rackmount equipment (including MWS, He-Def EQ, Octasonic, and more).

Sweetwater and Oram will be giving away a FREE Oram Octasonic 8-channel mic preamp each day of the show. Just stop by our booth to register!

Our friends from TC Electronic stopped by to tell us that they'll be featuring a new studio processor at their booth. Stop by and give it a listen!

Mark Of The Unicorn was hard at work assembling their very impressive booth. They'll be presenting demos of Digital Performer and a variety of their other software packages.

The friendly guys from Event also paid us a visit. Their booth will be featuring a full selection of monitors, as well as the company's new hard disk recording boards.

We also ran into folks from Rane, E-mu, Drawmer and tons more - suffice it to say, this show is the place to be in the music industry! We'll be looking for you this weekend!

September 24th, 1997
Wednesday in New York City, just prior to the AES show at Jacob Javits Convention Center. You'd think we'd be out enjoying the big city, taking in some culture, seeing the sights, partaking of fine dining, etc. Rather, we're suffering that most dire of debasements, manual labor. We thought it was going to be cool (sorry Bernie) to bring so much great gear to the show until we realized that someone had to unload it, set it up, and make it work. No one told us there was going to be actual WORK involved in this trip! Stop by our booth, #780 to see the results of all our labors, and don't forget to register for a FREE Oram Octasonic 8-channel microphone preamp while your here. We'll be giving one away each day of the show (an $1,850.00 value). More than 350 exhibitors are at the 103rd AES show this year, and over 100 technical papers, seminars and workshops are being presented! Grammy-award winning producer/engineer George Massenburg will be delivering the keynote address, entitled "Returning To Reality: 50 Years Of Professional Audio".

September 23rd, 1997
Tuesday afternoon, and we're well on our way to New York City for this year's AES show. We'll be looking to see you at our booth later this week! AES runs 9/26 - 9/29 at Jacob Javits Convention Center. Sweetwater's booth (the only one that really matters) is #780. For complete show information, check out our site. September 22nd, 1997
Waves tells us that they will have a variety of new products on display at the AES show later this week, including the new MaxxBass bass enhancement plug-in, Galim processing gear, a DSP bundle for users of Digital Audio Labs' V8 system, and the v2.3 releases of their Mac and Windows plug-ins.

Speaking of AES, the Sweetwater truck pulls out of the lot for NYC tomorrow morning bright and early (or very late tonight depending on which end you are approaching it from...) The remainder of this week's inSync columns, and most of next will be delivered from "on the road". Be sure to stop in to the AES update page on our website, we'll be sending in tons of information and a variety of pictures of show highlights.

AES goes gold! This year's AES marks the 50th anniversary of the show, and they've put together a bumper crop of cool (sorry Bernie, it was required here) seminars, tech papers, and workshops. Topics include Multichannel sound, DVD, Acoustic design, Forensics Audio, the Internet, Multimedia, Firewire, and many more.

September 19th, 1997
Oram Pro Audio is going to be a significant presence in Sweetwater's booth at the AES show next week (Sept. 26-29, Jacob Javits Convention Center, NYC, Booth 780 - see our site for complete information). We'll be featuring appearances by John Oram himself, a free Octasonic preamp giveaway each day, and will have a number of consoles on display. We're also happy to announce that Oram's Series 4 console has been nominated for a TEC award. You can bet the whole Sweetwater crew will be at the TEC awards dinner cheering on John and Co.

September 18th, 1997
Have AES fever? Want to attend the show? Maybe we can help out! Sweetwater Sound has a very limited number of show passes available, and we'd love to give you one! If you'd like to attend, and would like a free pass, give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call. They'll do their best to hook you up... while you're at the show, stop by our booth (#780) and say hello! (Complete show information is available here on our site) AES Rumors: We hear that Neumann will have a very cool new microphone at the show this year. The grapevine says that it provides all the sound of Neumann's top end large diaphragm mics, but with an amazingly low price tag!

September 17th, 1997
Have we mentioned that Sweetwater will have a booth at this year's AES (Sept. 26-29, Jacob Javitz Convention Center, in New York City)? We're the first retailer to ever exhibit at an AES show. Our booth will be packed with cool people (John Oram, Dr. Peter D'Antonio from RPG, inSync's editor Mitch Gallagher and many others) as well as a TON of cutting edge equipment from Oram, Kurzweil, E-mu, Alesis, Roland, Focusrite, TC Electronics, Drawmer, Event, Digidesign, Mackie, Korg, the list is almost endless! Stop by our booth (#780), say hello, hang out for awhile, and be sure to register for the cool gear we're giving away each day. Check out our site for complete information on attending the show. AES rumors are pouring in here at inSync; we hear through the grapevine that AKG will have a very exciting new microphone on display at the show. Word is, the new mic will be aimed at the project studio, and its design is largely based on requests from project studio owners and engineers.

September 16th, 1997
When you are at the AES show next week, be sure to regularly stop by Sweetwater's booth (#780). In addition to cool gear giveaways, we'll have a variety of special guests on hand. Where else will you have a chance to discuss console design with John Oram (Oram Pro Audio, the Father Of British EQ), or get the inside scoop on studio acoustics from Dr. Peter D'Antonio (President/CEO RPG) who'll be giving sound advice using his new acoustic design software package.

September 15th, 1997
We're starting to hear some rumors about new products to be shown at AES next week; the word is that BeyerDynamic will have their new digital microphone on display, and that John Oram will be debuting a new console design! Speaking of AES: In yet another first, inSync will be providing live daily reports on the show, from the show floor! You'll be able to read the latest news, updates on new items, show gossip, hot dog prices, and more each day, on-line, all from the comfort of your own computer screen...

September 12th, 1997
If you're planning to attend the annual Audio Engineering Society (AES) Show in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center this September 26th through 29th, be sure to stop by and say hello. That's right, Sweetwater will be an AES exhibitor for the first time this year. We'll be in Booth 780 on the main floor of the exhibit hall showing the full line of Oram products, as well as all the hottest new breakthrough technology, and we're really looking forward to this event. It will be very interesting to view the show from the other side of the table. We'll have a full report next issue. Hope to see you there!

Specific Sweetwater Information

Dates September 26th through the 29th
Where New York City
Jacob K. Javits Convention Center
Located on 11th Avenue between 34th and 39th Streets. The exhibition of professional audio equipment and the complete technical program will be held in the center.
Booth Number 780
Downloadable Information

Floorplan Floorplan (print 300dpi 513 kb)
Calendar of Events Download (120 kb)


What's Going On There?

Welcome to New York for the 103rd Convention, "AES Goes Gold," celebrating 50 years as the global forum for professional audio. We have a lot to celebrate. Our forums have helped to change the world in many significant ways. Starting with the LP record in 1948, the forums have fostered the development of electronic music, compact disc, and digital motion picture sound. This convention is a continuation of the process with a wide range of technical papers, workshops, and exhibits which will foster the evolution toward the next millennium. This convention features many special events which are free to all registered attendees. Friday is Founders' day with an awards reception that will highlight many of the individuals who have shaped the course of audio during the last 50 years. Saturday and Sunday are devoted to education with many special events for students including the Education Forum, Education Fair, NARAS Grammy Recording Forum, and participation by SPARS. Monday features Women in Audio and Broadcast: Computerized Audio Delivery.

How Do I Get There and Where Can I Stay?

In cooperation with American Airlines, the AES has arranged exclusive Meeting Saver Fares to the 103rd Convention. To take advantage of these special fares, call 1 800 433 1790 and ask for Star File S-9697AC. A large number of hotel rooms in New York City have been reserved for convention attendees at special rates. For more information on the locations available, see the separate form and map enclosed with this program. Please use this form to book your hotel. It is highly recommended that this be done as early as possible. In any case, please note the deadline.

A complimentary round-trip shuttle bus service will be provided between most of the official AES 103rd Convention hotels listed and the Javits Center.

While you are in New York, we hope you will take some time to enjoy the City and its many attractions. AES has arranged a service to help with planning your free-time activities. Simply call New York Convention Concierge at 1 800 697 4697 (toll free) or +1 212 239 2570, Monday through Friday, 10:00 am - 6:00 pm, for theater tickets, restaurant reservations, car and limousine service, tours, and other special services. Please identify yourself as an AES convention participant.

Check out the New York Convention & Visitors Bureau or City Net for a comprehensive New York City guide.