AES
October 2006
Page 3
AES 2006 Gear Page
Here's some of the gear at AES 2006 that caught my eyes and ears
Wacom 21-Inch Touch Screen LCD Monitor
Can someone please buy this for me? It's $2500 (special AES price), $3000
otherwise. You use a light-pen, touching the monitor and performing very quick
adjustments for everything you'd use a mouse for in Pro Tools or PhotoShop or
whatever. Super intuitive, and indispensable for a graphic
designer. No mouse-wrist. You may program the buttons and ribbon
controls on the side for whatever parameters your heart desires. Damn, I want this...
Telefunken RM-5C Cardioid Ribbon Mic
Who doesn't love ribbon mics? Telefunken announced their first ribbon mic which
is inspired by the RCA BK5, but is not a copy. For one thing, it's
cardioid. Should be about $1000 or so. They're not sure which
shock-mount they're gonna use yet. Maybe a cheaper one to keep the cost
down instead of the very nice one that they were showing on the AES floor.
I'll keep my eyes and ears out for this one.
RealTraps
Realtraps now has a fun-shaped Tri-Corner, a triangle- shaped 4"
thick bass trap, that nestles perfectly in those cozy areas where two
walls meet the ceiling or floor, where there's typically lots of bass build-up.
Very low-key lookin'.. Cool. At 32 inches on each side, it has a
surface area large enough to tame even very low bass frequencies, says Ethan
Winer, and he knows his stuff. $249.99.
I own four white MIniTraps, which make a monstrous difference in the bass response and imaging at Blueberry Buddha Studios. Unfortunately, I had a house fire, and my RealTraps are smudged. I asked Doug how I could clean these. He mentioned Murphy's Oil Soap for the fabric, dabbing or sponging it off very gently with a sponge, and mineral spirits for the frame. Remember, if you have a fire, you can return to this web site for tips on cleaning... If for some reason, I can't get the stains off, I can throw some Indian silk or chenille over 'em and they won't affect the sonic properties one bit.
Avenson STO-2 Electret Condenser Pressure
Microphones
I'm gonna grab a pair of these soon. Super natural sounding aluminum
sphincterphones, with impressive sound even on the AES floor. It was the only mic that I
messed around with while wearing headphones that clearly reproduced a musical note when I
jangled my keys in front of it. It sounded very good, very natural, and
very open. The guy's super nice and very enthusiastic about audio. Tap on the mic, and it doesn't resonate at all. And yes, they're omni. And did I
mention that they're $550? For the *pair*?
ADAM A7 Two-way Nearfield Monitors and Sub8
Subwoofer
A7 NF: The ADAM accuracy and imaging and exquisite detail for
about $1000. 6.5" woofer, 50W per driver. I heard these in Phil O'Keefe's
studio and was deeply impressed. They're the best sounding monitors I've
heard for under $1000.
Sub8 Subwoofer: 8" woofer with a large 50mm voice coil and is driven by a 160W ICE power amp and remote-controlled motorized controls for about $700. I'll pick up one of 'em to go with my ADAM P11As.
Focusrite Liquid Mix
So it's about $800 for this desktop controller that connects via firewire and
uses the same dynamic convolution stuff as Liquic Channel. Its dynamic
convolution EQ and compression shows up in your DAW, plug-in style, 'n' you may
manipulate the controls as if it were a plug-in or from the desktop controller.
It's gotten several great reviews - including Craig Anderton, Sound on Sound,
Pro Audio Review, and others - commenting on its ease of use and great sound (it
emulates all sorts of vintage and modern EQs and compression, including the
Manley Massive Passive EQ, Neve, and others. Virtually no load on yer CPU, RTAS, VST, AU,
Up to 32 channels of EQ and compression at 44.1/48kHz, with progressively less as the sampling rate
goes up. One of the cooler aspects of this is that in Hybrid Mode, you can
assemble each of the 7 channels from separate classic EQ sections in every one
of the 32 channels. Soooo...I'm curious. I've got lots of yummy plug-ins
now, but this may be a contender when I upgrade my Pro Tools rig and
need more plug-ins.
Sounded fine on the AES floor without headphones, but really, who can tell at a convention?
One aspect I really like that they didn't even mention is that a unit such as this (or SSL Duende or other such items) avoids plug-in obsolescence when you upgrade or switch DAWs. And no iLok. Have I mentioned that I hate iLok?
Frontier AlphaTrack
100mm, touch-sensitive, motorized fader which provides true 10-bit
resolution for smooth and precise level control. AlphaTrack also has a
touch-sensitive jog and shuttle strip. Slide one finger across its surface and
your project’s timeline scrolls in response. Drop a second finger onto the
strip, and now your fingers control the timeline’s shuttle speed. Zoom through
your project with two fingers, then just lift one finger and slide to quickly
set the precise position you want. You can also just tap on the left or right
ends of the strip to navigate through your project’s markers. It's about
$200. Sorta similar to the Presonus FaderPort. The days of consoles are
evaporating, but it might save you from mouse wrist. Then again, if
someone buys me that Wacom 21-inch Touch Screen Monitor, I won't need an
AlphaTrack. Anyone?
end of Page 3
AES 2006 Gear Page
