I managed to get along to the Pro Audio Expo event in Clapham today, for all of a couple of hours and had a cool time talking to some of the guys on the stands over there, even though getting any information out of some of them made blood from a stone a synch before breakfast.

SSL has got a great looking piece of gear with its Duende box. I think the guy playing around with it all day typified many of the people there, who were probably musicians with no social skills, and quite possibly geniuses on their choses weapons of mass disruption.

Share your toys a bit more though guys!

Still, it wasn’t all bad, and I managed to get at least one guy to talk to me like I wasn’t trying to steal from him. More on that little diamond next week.

Thanks to everyone who organised the event – great idea.

Did anyone know what was  going on?

Still, it got me out of the house.

This is the time to put your money where your mouth is. Well, not money, but ego really.

Focusrite has got a cool challenge up on its website to see if you can identify the difference betweeen classic analogue gear, and the Liquid emulation thereof. The Liquid Challenge

Unfortunately, the competition deadline for actually winning anything from this has passed, but it’s still an interesting challenge and certainly makes you question your judgment.

Audiotechnews just did the test online, and got a score of 80%, and apparently preferred a truly on-the-fence 50% of the liquid emulations.

Now I’m wondering – there was one, and only one sample that I almost listened to again, and wasn’t sure of the answer.

I wonder if I’d have taken more time, would I have got 90%? NAH!

Take 2 bottles into the shower?

Andy Hunter, producer and musician would probably reckon on getting 100%. Andy either has amazing ears, has spent more time with the gear involved, or got a load of cool free stuff from Focusrite for saying so.

Lets say it’s the ears!

Andy Hunter quit his A-levels to work as a sound and lighting engineer that would prove to be the decisive turning point. During this time he began DJing, which in turn led him into the world of music production where the fledgling producer indulged his passion for writing electronic music. The year 2000 saw Andy signed to EMI where he’d rack up a string of critically acclaimed releases.

As well as establishing himself as an artist in his own right, Andy’s music has also been picked up for a stack of high-profile outings, including soundtrack work (Matrix Reloaded, The Italian Job), as well as TV shows (Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy), and video games (Need For Speed Underground, Burnout, SSX 3).

Yes, Andy Hunter is indeed a versatile man to have in the studio.

But it was co-producing his last album – Colours, out this Spring on Nettwerk Records – with production legend Robbie Bronnimann that introduced him to the Liquid world.

“All of the vocals and guitars were recorded with the Liquid Channel. I was impressed with the sound we were getting at the recording stage. Sure, I have preamps in my studio, but the fact that Focusrite’s Liquid Channel could emulate those and another 60 preamps… well, that just blew me away. It was exactly the same with the Liquid Mix as well.”

“Both products sound absolutely amazing – they come packed with a load of different emulations, so you have a lot of different treatments right there at your fingertips. The Liquid Channel I use for recording vocals and guitars, while the Liquid Mix is usually pressed into service on my vocals and strings – or in fact anything that I need to give warmth too.”

“With Focusrite’s Liquid technology everything is at hand, so I don’t have to keep patching in to different preamps and outboard to get the sound I’m looking for – you can simply change the setting. And I love that you can control the whole set-up from your computer, it really saves you a lot of time!”

“Before I heard them in action I was a bit skeptical about Focusrite’s Liquid technology, whether it could hold its own against some superb vintage EQs, compressors and preamps, but after spending some time with them in the studio I was impressed. Just take the vocals on my latest album – they sound really warm and have a lot of clarity.”

“For me it’s about getting a sound and a tone that I really love. If I don’t absolutely love it then it’s simply not good enough for my music. I ask myself that question on every little thing that goes into a track, whether it’s something as fleeting as a snare drum, or as pivotal as a whole vocal performance.”

So there you have it – a man in the know has found an all in one solution to taking loads of gear into the studio with him.

Whilst Audiotechnews has never tried it for himself, he can only assume it’ll never be 100% right 100% of the time. Probably around…. ooh 80%?

Might be an idea to try it, don’t you think?

If high quality preamps are on your wishlist this month, then the Sontronics CHIMERA certainly boasts to be just that. But it’s a user friendly piece of kit with two distinct forms. Like Optimus Prime, then.

The Sontronics CHIMERA is a single-channel preamp/DI box that offers two discrete circuits: at the flick of a switch, you can choose between the character of the solid-state amplifier or the smooth, silky tones served up by the valve preamp. Each vintage circuit design is totally unique to Sontronics, employing custom-made transformers.

…like Optimus Prime!

“Sontronics is all about offering musicians the tools they need to perfect the front end of their recording chain,” says brand founder Trevor Coley, “and ever since I launched Sontronics, I’ve wanted to create a preamp that did exactly that.”

Additional features include a variable high-pass filter, three-stage attenuation and phase controls, and electronically balanced inputs and outputs .

“We have some amazingly talented engineers working for us in the Far East, but this project has grown out of my meeting with some great musicians and technicians on my visits to Portugal,” says Coley. “They have turned my concepts for a preamp into a stunning reality, and it’s all been done without a single trip outside our own continent. In this age of carbon emission awareness, this is something we’re very proud of and we already have blueprints for several complementary products due to join our line-up in the near future.”

GBR £680
EUR €999
USD $1399 all exluding VAT/Tax

USEFUL INFORMATION
• Frequency response: 20Hz to 20kHz max. +/-0.5dB (solid-state), max. +/-0.7dB (valve)
• Controls: Line/mic/48V input selector, input gain 0-60dB, high-pass filter (linear to 200Hz, stepped),
attenuation (0dB, -10dB, -20dB), phase reverse, mode select, master output level
• Inputs (all analogue): Balanced XLR/jacks front and rear
• Outputs (all analogue): Balanced XLR/jack rear, insert point
• Metering: Input/output VU meter, signal and clip LEDs
• Valve: Electro-Harmonix ECC82/12AU7 (branded)
• Power: mains powered via IEC 100V-240V switchable
• Format: Desktop unit with rack kit option (two units can sit side-by-side in rack)
• Available: March 2008

An audio engineering college in Manchester has taken delivery of ‘The Virtual Stadium Mixing rig’ – one of only two in the world.

Built by Digidesign, the rig is designed to give students the chance to recreate working the front of house position for some pretty big gigs!

The rig is part of the new digidesign studio at SSR, a technical training school for the music, audio and visual industries. SSR sound engineer Jay Beard said:

“I’ve travelled the world mixing live bands like Snow Patrol, Doves, Elbow and Cherry Ghost and this Virtual Stadium Mixing rig is amazing.”

“The rig gives you up to 64 channels of recorded show sound and vision from some of the world’s biggest bands and you can follow the show on the video plasma screen whilst mixing.”

Bill Devon, operational director at SSR, said:

“Most people are surprised to learn that the live sound industry is actually bigger than the construction industry, and with over 35 different jobs types available for technicians and engineers it is well worth exploring.”

SSR is holding an open evening to demonstrate the new rig to the public next Wednesday from 7pm.

There are mixed feelings about Marshall Electonics‘ latest release, the MXL USB.008-24.

A 24 Bit/96Khz, HDTV Broadcast quality USB microphone; Marshall have come up with something which is pretty much ‘The Works’ on paper. Podcasters and home recordists alike now have an all-in-one solution for all their needs.

Of course, the pro’s are all over it, wondering whether Marshall Electronics has sacraficed quality for features. Only time will tell. If it delivers what ME says it will, though, then you’re looking at the first of a new wave of plug ‘n’ play solutions.

The MXL USB .008 24 features  32 mm pressure gradient condenser capsule with a gold sputtered diaphragm,  24-bit A/D and D/A converters, 96 kHz recording capability and a dynamic range of 114 dB.  A low nose analog front end, with front panel gain control, keeps signal at the correct levels before the A/D section. With a 1/8th-inch stereo headphone jack and adjustable level control the mic provides a convenient means to monitor a recording—with zero latency, while bypassing the computer entirely. The MXL USB.008-24 also has a mix control for adjusting the balance between playback and the direct source signal—providing a fully self-contained monitoring solution for multitrack recording. A attractive blue LED behind the grill illuminates the large capsule while providing visual confirmation that the microphone is powered and active.

Audiotechnews spent the majority of last weekend up north, where the weather was grim, the tech specs that we sent ahead had obviously been ignored completely and the competence of all staff at one of the venues quite clearly left at the door.

Seriously – when your equipment spec looks something like this:

36 CHANNEL DESK WITH 6 AUX SEND. 36-8-2 (MIDAS/SOUNDCRAFT/YAMAHA)

SUITABLE MULTICORE FOR SYSTEM

1 X DIGITAL REVERB UNIT

3 X SPX 900/90

2 X STEREO COMPRESSOR/LIMITER

8 X NOISE GATES

1 X MINI DISC PLAYER/DAT/CASSETTE PLAYER

1 X CD PLAYER

1 X INTERCOM SYSTEM BETWEEN FOH-MONITOR DESKS

2 X 30 BAND GRAPHIC EQUALIZERS

And what you get looks more like this:

24 CHANNEL DESK WITH 4 AUX SEND, but only 3 work.

(Fisher Price/Tonka desk)

UNSUITABLE MULTICORE FOR SYSTEM – 16 inputs on stage

1 X DIGITAL REVERB UNIT

0 Compressors

0 NOISE GATES

1 X Useless employee

Leave the graphic up to fate.

It doesn’t make for a fulfilling weekend of gigs.  We would have been well within our rights to cancel altogether, but quite frankly, the show must always go on.

So the highlight of the weekend for me was that we were able to arrive at the venues stress free and early due to the Satellite Navigation skills of the Blaupunkt Lucca 3.5 Edition.

The Lucca comes complete with a music player, and photo viewer (which we didn’t actually use on the trip, but have tried out since. Audiotechnews can report that sound quality is better than a mobile phone, as is the image quality).

On The Road

Programming the Lucca is fairly easy, although there is no obvious way to program in postcodes. Instead, it’s necessary to type the name of your destination, and then the name of the street you want to go to, which is all a bit time consuming. Just as well I’d already programmed the information into the device before we left, using the eraser on the end of a pencil, or the rocky movement from the van would have made sure that the delicate touchscreen misunderstood my every intention!

Having said all that, this all in one unit has a brilliant database of maps (worldwide!!), is quick and smooth in its scrolling, has clear graphic display, with zoomable view, plenty of volume – more than you’d ever need, and sits in its own holder, which you can vacuum suck onto your windscreen or dashboard.

The directions were impeccable, and it even offers alternative routes, which really helped us out when the weather turned from awful to severe!

This unit is definitely up there with the best of them, and ATN only has the one criticism, about the lack of an obvious postcode feature.

More like this please, Blaupunkt!

The bluetooth handsfree kit by Supertooth, simply called the Supertooth Voice is a brilliant piece of kit, which includes a Text-To-Speech system.

‘The Voice’ announces instructions for the users like an authority figure would to a hyperactive child. In 6 different languages!! It indicates the status of the Bluetooth device and it announces the name ( or phone number if contact not loaded to kit) of the incoming caller!

Its special features include Full DSP Noise Cancellation/Echo Cancellation . Thus, it provides an advanced audio quality. It is designed for easy handsfree operation and superior performance.

To give you an idea of the effiency of the Supertooth Voice, lets first analyse the PR team behind this cool little product.

I received an email yesterday, asking whther I’d like to review it, and at about 3.30pm today, I got a knock at the door.

After a moments hesitation, based on the fact that I’m still too hungover from last night to want to go outside, I decided to answer the door, as I did have recollections of giving out my address, so it wasn’t unlikely it would be the postman. I’m also an Ebay freak, and I have no friends, so the postman is the only person who knocks on my door except for my girlfriend when she forgets her keys.

The point is the PR firm – efficient or what?

So it’s not quite half an hour since this event took place, and I’ve already opened the package, thrown the instructions on the floor, as is the Ilett way, and got the device sync’d up to my phone. If I can do it in this state, without instructions, it must be easy.

Receiving calls? No problem. Just say ‘OK’ and the speaker blasts out the caller on the other end up to volumes even your Grandad cant deny when he pretends to be deaf to annoy you.

At this juncture, I should point out that if you’ve already got voice commanded dialing set up on your phone, it becomes a truly handsfree kit, as the Supertooth Voice can handle this too.

The only negative I can find with this is that because it IS so easy to set up, and it does everything it claims to SO well… it almost seems too simple, when it’s actually a bit beyond other handsfree devices. You should never leave this in your car, though, which kind of goes without saying, but it just looks so good, it would be gone within seconds.

Even the magnetic device that hooks it onto your sun visor is really cool.

Features at a glance:

- Full Duplex
- Built in rechargeable battery
- Support handsfree and headset profile
- Compatible to any Bluetooth handset
- Charging time: 3 hours
- ON-OFF Switch

Voice Identification / Voice Control
• Supertooth Voice tells you the name of the caller, and simply say “ok” to answer the call.

Magnetic Mounting
• Metal mounting clip that can be installed on the drivers’ side sun visor, up or down.
• Install and detach the SuperTooth Light with ease using the magnetic mounting clip.

Strong speaker
• Speaker provides crystal clear conversation.

Easy access volume control
• Allowing users to adjust the speaker volume to the desired level.

Accept Button
• Easy access during answering a call.

Internal Digital Signal Processor (DSP) Technology
• DSP filters both mic input and speaker output, giving communication clarity.

Not only that, but they sent me a Supertooth jumper which is a bit like a rugby shirt. I’ve put it on, and it’s cured my hangover.

Seriously. Here I am in my kitchen. Who wants to touch me?

KRK Systems has developed a digital room analysis/correction system, with a lot of help from the acoustic experts at Lyngdorf Audio.

The latest line in this questionable trend is called ERGO

KRK Systems says

Compatible with all recording and monitoring systems, ERGO (Enhanced Room Geometry Optimization) aims to improve any studio mixing space by correcting for ‘real world’ acoustic problems.

The technology analyzes and compensates for undesirable room acoustics which can negatively impact audio mixdowns. The unit connects to a computer via Firewire when it is performing its room analysis, but since all correction processing resides in ERGO, no overhead is needed from the computer audio system. This means that ERGO can function in pure analog systems since it can work as a stand-alone room correction/speaker control unit after room analysis is complete.

The unit looks pretty clever, Audiotechnews has to admit, and KRK Systems has made sure it includes a few other tricks, which might help the product become one of those ‘all in one’ solutions to those on a budget.

The additional features are:

ERGO acts as a speaker switcher and master volume control

Creates a seamless full range monitors-plus-sub system with subwoofer integration.

• 4-in, 6-out Firewire audio interface

• 120dB SNR digital-to-analog converters and phase-accurate signal processing.

• An analog volume control and headphone output are also provided in the system.

ERGO will be available on April 2008 at a retail price of $799.

I thankyou

In more NAMM 08 news, US guitar giants Gibson have merged with the Danes, TC Group. TC Group produces amplifiers, speakers, digital processors, guitar pedals and other pro audio and MI products.

“This merger will revolutionize the music industry for many years to come,” said Henry Juszkiewicz, Chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar. “The synergy between the two companies will allow us an enormous advantage in the development of new audio technologies and brings together two of the world’s most powerful brands.”

“The opportunities ahead are very exciting for us,” said Anders Fauerskov, Chief Executive Officer of TC Group. “This merger will create exciting new opportunities for all employees within TC Group and Gibson, and in particular, fantasticnew tools for our markets and customers . This partnership will allow us to expand our leadership position in the marketplace.”

Nice one TC, it’s another string to your bow.

I think it was Thursday or Friday I got an email from Stiff over at ProToolerBlog, telling me it was ok to borrow his news from the NAMM Winter 08 Show, as long as I credited him with it, which seemed more than fair enough. In fact, it was really good of the fella.

Since then, I don’t think I’ve seen him NOT be online more than a couple of times, he’s been working almost 24/7 to bring his readers the latest news.

So I think it’s only fair that I just link over to some of his headlines and let the NAMM Vet himself tell you about the latest industry news.

Cheers Stiff!

____

Universal Audio partners with SPL, Empirical Labs and Valley People

UA reveals LA-610 Signature Edition – prestige tube recording channel

EastWest introduces Forbidden Planet

M-Audio introduces ProFire 2626

New Studiophile monitors from M-Audio

Spectrasonics previews flagship V.I. “Omnisphere” at NAMM 08

Complete Pro Tools “studios”

Digidesign D-Show 2.7 software upgrade

URS Classic Console Strip Pro v1.1 for Mac OSX PPC/ Intel

Overloud debuts TH1 Guitar Amp