109th AES Convention Report, Part 5

This is our fifth report in Sweetwater’s continuing series from the floor of the 109th annual AES 2000 Convention and Show in Los Angeles.

One of the most interesting segments of every AES convention continues to be the miriad of various vendors displaying their studio accessory products. It reminds me of a high-class flea market as you make your way from booth to booth, perusing the selection of odds and ends that most recording studio engineers usually take for granted. Products range from sophisticated test equipment and tools, to the most simple of organizational conveniences, like cable tie wraps and parts organizers. One of the most tedious engineering tasks has been made a lot easier by one of the vendors this year. Andrew Beaudet, of Shoreview Distribution, has written a handy software application for the PC called PatchMe. This program is a complete patchbay configuration tool for audio and video patchbays, as well as a designation strip creator and printer utility. This great little program allows the user to design and create a custom 1/4″ or TT patchbay. It simply asks the user a series of easy questions, one after the other, and then provides a standard part number that can be used to order your custom patchbay by calling Sweetwater. No mistakes, no hassles, just the way you want it. Additionally, you can layout and print those pesky little designation strips on your computer printer to document your new patchbay configuration. It’s available on CD ROM by calling Shoreview at 781-784-1199. Be sure to tell Andrew that Clay from Sweetwater sent you so your handy CD will be ready to provide you with accurate part numbers.

Now, here are some more of the wonderful new products and upgrades I have seen at AES 2000:

EMU

Emu is showing their newest sampler in the Ultra Series, the E4 Platinum Sampling Synthesizer. This new E4 is easily called a “fully loaded” E4 Ultra, with all the bells and whistles available. Beyond the already well known quality and functionality of the E4 Ultra products, the E4 Platinum includes the new RFX-32 Effects Processor (see below), version 4.5 of the EOS system, a 20 gigabyte internal IDE hard drive, 128 Mb of RAM, 128 voices of polyphony, 16 analog outputs, 6 analog inputs, 16 digital outputs on ADAT lightpipe, 8 ADAT digital inputs, 2 SCSI ports and a collection of 20 CDRoms from EMU’s newest soundware library. This looks like a real winner for those requiring one of the most advanced samplers on the market today! Retail price is $4995.

The RFX-32 Effects Processor/Mixer card is an upgrade card for any of the EMU Ultra Series samplers. It offers the user 16 simultaneous 32-bit studio-grade stereo effects and a functional digital mixer and router all in one. The flexible routing offers 2 global sends, and 12 stereo sends. Each bus has 6 effects slots that can be set in any order. Each has it’s own wet/dry mix as well. It allows processing of internal sounds and, with it’s own analog inputs, allows processing of external signals through the RFX-32 effects. It also provides for MIDI control over dozens of parameters for real-time performance control. MSRP is set at $795.

Emu is also showing their newest addition to the Proteus family of sound modules, called the Planet Earth. This nice looking blue 1U rack module is a 64-voice expandable sound source featuring an all-new 32 Mb World/Ethnic sound set. Samples include Asian, South American, Celtic and African sounds. It offers a Super Beats Mode and 16 simultaneous arpeggiators. This module, in the spirit of the new Proteus 2000 family, has 1 open slot for expansion from the other family sound modules, and reads Flash Chips burned on an Ultra family sampler as well. The Planet Earth lists for $995.

Finally, EMU has taken over the former Ensoniq Paris system and has improved and re-released it as the Paris Pro. There is a new operating system 3.0, which features OMF import and export, a dedicated waveform editor, integrated MIDI sequencing; native (host-based) tracks and support for third party automated control surfaces. The base system provides for 256 audio tracks of playback and 16 tracks of simultaneous record. It has 64 bands of hardware-based paramentric EQ per 16-track submix, and a collection of various studio-grade hardware based effects. The system can be expanded to meet user’s needs. Paris Pro also supports VST and DirectX plug-ins, host-based. The supplied C-16 control surface has been improved and the supplied Modular Expansion Chassis supports a full 24-bit signal path with add-on analog and digital I/O as well as syncronization options. Paris Pro retails at $4995.

TANNOY

Tannoy is showing their newest active subwoofer, the PS350B. This LFE compliant subwoofer boasts a frequency response of 29Hz – 300Hz with it’s 15″ woofer and vented cabinet design. It has 5.1 bass management with remote bypass, LCR balanced inputs on XLR, LCR balanced outputs on XLR, a selectable LFE crossover with THX required 120Hz low-pass, and custom EQ filtering. There is an optional bass management remote bypass cable available. The power amp is a Class-AB design offering 350 Watts with a protection limiter. Its high-pass filter is fixed at 80Hz and is defeatable. This is a perfect subwoofer for the recording studio or post-production facility.

GRACE DESIGN

The new Model 101 microphone preamplifier is a single channel version of the acclaimed Model 801 and Model 201 preamps. It has the exact same amplifier architecture as its other family members and therefore sounds the same. It is housed in an attractive 1/2 rack enclosure with a Hi-Z instrument input on the front panel, making it perfect for double duty as a great DI box. Phantom power, a high-pass filter and rugged reliability make this a choice for any size studio. The Model 101 has been priced attractively to allow Grace Design quality to be affordable to everyone.

ORAM

John Oram has announced his new Grand Master Al Schmitt Pro-Channel. It is a high precision analog channel strip with stepped attenuators and precision metering. The GMS Pro-Channel offers an input pre-amp with transformer bypass, an optical compressor and a 6 band British EQ from the famous HiDef EQ. The GMS Pro-Channel also offers a 3-position input selector for comparison of mic or line input sources. It has a fine look to it and with the machined aluminum knobs and the sculptured, inset control surfaces.

ART

ART has announced a new companion to the successful Tube MP. It is called the Tube MP Studio and it offers ART’s OPL Output Protection Limiter, an analog VU meter, and a hand-selected 12AX7 tube. It provides over 70db of gain with variable input and output controls. The Tube MP Studio has 48v phantom power, XLR and 1/4″ inputs and outputs, and a price suitable for any budget.

ART has also announced the release of the new DI/O. It is a 2-channel, 24-bit/96kHz AD/DA converter. It offers switchable sample rates from 44.1kHz to 96kHz and automatically syncs to outboard equipment at sample rates from 22kHz to 100kHz. It has 24-bit s/pdif digital I/O and 1/4″ analog inputs and outputs. The DI/O has a dual triode tube before the A/D converter that has variable “tube character” and gain to provide just the right amount of analog warmth prior to digitizing.

Two new graphic EQ’s have been added to the ART line as well. The 342 EQ is a dual channel, 15-band, 2/3 octave graphic EQ, and the 352 EQ is a single channel, 31 band, 1/3 octave graphic EQ. Both units are 2U rack design with balanced XLR, active balanced 1/4″ and unbalanced RCA inputs and outputs. They both use constant-Q filtering and offer variable high-pass and low-pass filters. They have 70mm center detented sliders, selectable +/- 6db or +/- 12db adjustments, and independent level and bypass controls. They also both offer analog VU output level metering, per channel, signal level clip indicators, ground-lift switch and internal power supply.

Another edition of the AES 2000 report has come to a close. Please join me again tomorrow for another report from the show floor. Until then, this is Clay Stahlka saying “Good-day.”