Before we jump into part five of our AES report we have big news for you. Today is a glorious day for we have added our entire stock of Yamaha equipment to our on line store. Since we began selling Yamaha a few years ago their fine instruments have become one of the most popular brands we sell. However, during that time, they’ve had very strict policies about advertising that basically prevented us from sharing all of their great stuff with you. Now, not only are we able to talk about their products on the Web, but we’re actually able to sell them directly from our on line store. So go to the store and take a look around. We think you’ll be pleased with the selection. Also keep in mind our on line store uses the most sophisticated security measures around so your transactions are all completely safe with us. We’re planning many more additions to the store in the coming weeks so stay tuned and check back from time to time.
We now return to our AES report. We’ve been working through the immense amount of new stuff all week, but it is now apparent we’ll never get through everything. This is the biggest, most fact filled report we’ve ever done so it’s going to have to roll over into next week’s inSync. We’ll pick it back up on Monday here on inSync, but for those who can’t wait we expect to have the entire on-line version posted with pictures by the end of the day Friday.
AES Report – Part 5
EVENT
They had a new series of biamped direct field monitors called the Project Studio Series. The three models in the series – the PS5, the PS6, and the PS8 – all deliver 100W of power, and are designed as an affordable surround sound solution for project studio owners. The speakers are available individually, so studio owners can configure their studio to their specific needs. All models feature a magnetically shielded 1″ ferrofluid-cooled natural silk dome tweeter. As a companion product they plan to bring out a lower priced and less mammoth version of the 20/20 sub that will be based on a 12″ woofer. We heard working production models of the Rode Classic II microphone (Retail $1999). The Classic II retains many of the qualities of the original Classic (which will perhaps become known as the Classic Classic) while improving upon its low frequency response and self-noise.
In other Event news they took us “back stage” to discuss the development of their next wave of digital recording technology. They’ve formed a partnership with Hyperactive Audio Systems, a company founded by folks who were recently involved in some cutting edge chip design originally intended for use outside of the music industry, which means a lot more money was spent on it than would be possible within our industry. They claim they will be able to “revolutionize affordable disc based recording, and do it with exclusive technology that simply cannot be matched.” That’s a pretty big claim when all you have is a chip and an idea, but given that the background of one of the guys included early development of the Korg Oasys (another cutting edge product just coming to fruition) we have good reason to believe they will succeed. They are talking about being able to ultimately do digital audio networking of entire facilities (not unlike what Gibson is promising with GMIC, but on a grander scale) as well as extensive processing right in a low cost recording product. It is doubtful we’ll see anything more concrete out of them before Winter NAMM, but the outlook is promising.
ALLEN & HEATH
Their new ML5000 console does double duty as a 16 aux FOH mixer or an 18 mix dedicated monitor console. In the 16 aux FOH mixer configuration you get eight VCA groups and eight audio groups; in the dedicated monitor console you get eight VCA groups with all mixes on faders with inserts, talkback and metering. Among the console’s standout features are an innovative new LCR panning system, enhanced IEM capability, new 4 band EQ with sweepable Q mids, a 12×8 matrix, and a 128 scene memory for mute automation and scene mixing on VCA masters. Sharing booth space with the ML5000 was the Xone: 464, a cool professional club mixer with a host of features guaranteed to please any DJ. Features include synth-style CF analog filters, 4-band EQ on mono and stereo channels plus six aux sends.
FURMAN
Furman’s HDS6 is a rackmount headphone distribution system for use with their HR-6 remote mixing station. Every artist in the studio can have his or her own, customized headphone mix without any adjustments to the board. You can create up to eight custom mixes right in the studio giving you an excellent solution for tracking, overdubbing, and a host of other studio/rehearsal situations.
KIND OF LOUD
These guys are coming out with an eye-opening creative plug-in for Pro Tools called RealVerb5.1. It’s a multichannel reverberation plug-in that gives you the ability to morph between room shapes and textures. You can also map reverberation spacially for surround mixing. Also on display was their Smart Pan Pro, which is the coolest surround sound panner we’ve seen.