SAMSON: They had a very cool series of wireless mics called the Airline Wireless Series. Samson got rid of the ugly shame of wireless systems: the potentially cumbersome and always uncool body-pack. Even better, this series is also powered by inexpensive AAA batteries. There are four types of Airline Wireless "packs." The first is a super-light weight headset and lavalier mic for applications like broadcast and presentations; the light and easy fit of the headset makes it a natural for aerobics instruction ($629.99). The second is a wind instrument mic for mobile horn performance ($699.99). The third is for guitars and comes in two types, the AF1 for Fender-shaped instruments, and the AG1 for Gibson-shaped guitars ($499.99). Finally, there’s a cool handheld mic system ($499.99). Another exciting new entry from Samson was the Expedition Series loud speakers, a 2-way, portable loudspeaker system available in three different versions: passive, powered and powered with built-in mixer. There’s the EX10 Speaker ($329.99) with 2 1/4" connectors, the EX20 Powered Monitor ($549.99), and the EX30 Powered Monitor with mixer. They are housed in injection-molded Polypropylene, and when we say they’re portable, we’re not kidding. They feature a telescoping handle and locking wheels. There’s also a fourth unit in the series, the EX500 ($599.99), a 500-watt Powered subwoofer with a 15" driver. SONORUS: We were excited about the latest development with Sonorus’s award winning STUDI/O sound card. It now supports Cakewalk’s powerful and popular AudioX protocol. With the AudioX STUDI/O, Cakewalk users can control STUDI/O’s mixer and wordclock setting from within the Cakewalk environment. This lets Cakewalk users automate and save all STUDI/O settings within their Cakewalk project, making it a snap to recall any settings at a later time. SONY: Exciting news from Sony! Their DMX-R100 Digital Audio Mixing Console ($20,000) is not only Sony’s first entry into the compact professional mixer market, but it also represents a significant move forward for the entire category of gear. This really is a remarkable unit. It’s a fully professional, 48-channel mixer with 25 motorized faders, a sophisticated control panel with touch-screen control, a fully-integrated package of automation, a digital routing matrix and machine control. The DMX-R100 can handle the full range of production applications – recording, post-production, mastering, etc. – and was specifically designed for surround sound projects. Among its full feature set is the touch screen control panel, which allows you to place your "sound source" by touch. For all its complexity, the DMX-R100 still manages to be a very intuitive machine. Their CDP-D11 ($700) was another breakthrough – a slim, SINGLE SPACE professional CD player. STEINBERG: Another manufacturer with so many new products that it’s tough to know where to begin. Some of the highlights? Three new Virtual Studio Instruments plug-ins. The Pro-Five VST Plug-in Synthesizer ($199) is based on the legendary Prophet Five synth used by many bands in the 80s. The quality of the plug-in is fully equal to the original hardware version. More importantly, there is no fixed limit to the number of voices, there are more preset memories, and you also get velocity sensitivity, MIDI automation of all available parameters, and the ability to run several Pro-Five’s in parallel. The second plug-in is the ModeloE VST Plug-in Analog Virtual Synthesizer ($199), with 16 multitimbral parts, up to 64 voices and 8 outputs per instrument. The sound is pure, fat analog. It’s also the first software synth optimized for the Apple Mac G4 Velocity Engine. Finally, there’s the LMo4 VST Plug-in Drum Machine ($99), an amazing assortment of drum machine sounds. LMo4 comes with 20 high quality sound sets, each containing at least 18 drum sounds. You can also build your own kits. They also showed the current version of Nuendo ($1299), an entire Media Production System with hardware and software components. Basically, it’s a 128-track audio recording facility and 128-channel audio mixer. Nuendo has a computer card that handles all the I/O functions so as not to put a big strain on the host computer, which leaves it to take care of processing and other tasks more efficiently. It can run on anything from a high-end notebook to a multi-processor based system. Hardware components include the 96/52 Digital Core Connectivity Card ($799), and the 8 I/O ($1999), offering 24-bit AD/DA. There’s also Timelock Pro Word Clock ($999), an interface which reads VITC and LTC time code and generates MTC MIDI time code together with a phrase-locked, low jitter wordclock reference. The surround sound features are implemented in an ingenious way that we think will soon be copied by many other programs. More on the Nuendo system and Steinberg’s other new releases as we get it. TANNOY: Their Proto-J Nearfield Monitor is a high-quality, compact playback monitor with features such as extended low frequency response and controlled dispersion. It’s ideal for all types of project studios. TASCAM: Lots of cool new stuff at the Tascam booth. We were really excited about the US-428 Digital Audio Workstation Controller ($599), a handy, compact 24-bit interface that lets you operate computer-based recording and mixing programs. The US-428 hooks up to your computer via a single USB connection — there’s no card required. Your computer gets an excellent MIDI interface with mixing and transfer controls. It looks pretty, too, with aerodynamic lines and a cool, icy blue color. One of Tascam’s strong points is their professional CD recorders/players. They consistently deliver great value and excellent performance. The CD-D4000mkII ($1299) is a simple, basic yet fully professional CD duplicator. What it comes down to is that this machine reads, writes, and duplicates CDs VERY quickly. And the final results are excellent. Also up was the CD-RW7000 CD-RW recorder ($699), which records rewriteable CDs. If you burn CDs on your computer, you need to check out the CD-R Pro ($749) and the CD-R Deluxe ($629), Tascam’s latest recording software/hardware bundle. Each package contains a SCSI card, various software, and cables, and is designed to be an all-in-one solution for your CD burning needs. Each package includes both Mac and Windows software. YAMAHA: Yamaha introduced their CDR1000 professional CD recorder ($1799), a very impressive machine that seems destined to become the "must-have" recorder for any professional recording facility. Features include CD-R and CD-RW recording capabilities, sample rate converter and word clock input. Perhaps best of all, the CDR 1000 includes an Apogee Electronics UV22 Super CD Encoder, which allows 16-bit encoding of sources originally recorded at higher bit rates, even 24-bit, without additional equipment. The word clock input allows the CDR1000 to be professionally connected into the digital studio. The sound quality is superb. They were also showing off their very fine AW4416 Audio Workstation, a top-of-the-line recording workstation that combines elements of Yamaha’s popular 02R, 01V and DSP Factory. Features on this fine machine include 16-track recording at 16/24-bit, 44 inputs during mixdown, editing, and an excellent 8 sample trigger pad that lets you sample up to 90 seconds of sound. There are two versions of the AW4416, one with a CD burner ($3799) and one without ($3399). There are tons of other great features, but the bottom line is that this is one of the most convenient, flexible, and most powerful recording workstations that we’ve seen in its class. It wouldn’t be Yamaha without keyboards, and the new edition to their distinctive PSR keyboards takes this innovative series to a whole new level. The PSR-9000 ($3495) seems like a perfect live performance keyboard for the solo musician. The speaker system is incredible, and the PSR-9000 also boasts some of the best voices and voice effects Yamaha as ever had in a keyboard of this class. There is a huge range of sounds on this keyboard, from country to swing and more, and all deserve the highest praise. The stereo drums are especially good. Another beautiful keyboard was the S30 Musical Synth ($1295), a 61-note version of their award-winning S80. It’s identical in every way, except it includes only one expansion slot and fewer jacks. But the great sound and easy playability were all there. Guitarists we’re also included! The DG digital amps – the DG60 ($599) the DG80 ($999) and the DG130 ($1499) boast first-rate sound modeling and guitar effects, with an extremely easy, smooth operation. The amps are noise free, and contain no noise gate, so the audio is crisp and clear. Even cooler, the amps switch sounds instantly. The transition from one tone or sound to another is seamless. And the entries from Yamaha continue! The A5000 ($2295) and A4000 ($1595) samplers looked very exciting. The A5000 features 126-note voice, 6 effects processors, and a 9 disk CD library. The A4000 is just like the A5000 "cut-in-half." Both units include graphic editing with realtime control, loop divide functions, and a cool feature called loop remix, which lets you shuffle the sample and manipulate it by throwing in reverses, changing pitch, and much more. You can burn CDs directly from the samplers to an external CD burner. Both samplers are compatible with all the major manufacturers. By the way, all the Yamaha gear was being played through their MSP5 speakers — hardly a new product, we know, but the sound was excellent. Home • Page 1 • Page 2 • Page 3	Click image to view larger "Look ma', no body pack." Samson's very cool new wireless for guitar. Sax mount version of Samson's new wireless system. Sony DMXR100, digital mixer. Some are calling it a mini Oxford. Sony's single space CD player. Wall of Tannoy featuring the Proto-J monitor. TASCAM DA-98HR Tascam's US428 control surface. Yamaha CDR1000. Yamaha MSP10M powered monitor. Yamaha's PSR9000. This is a seriously serious workstation. Yamaha S30, the little brother to the venerable S80. AW4416 recording system from Yamaha.