Consoles: Product Features
Aug 1, 2008,
By John Murray Hill
Because many pro studios use computer-based DAWs, operators are quickly seeing the benefits of total system control from their analog I/O devices. For...
Oct 1, 2007,
By Sarah Jones
These days in live sound, making the jump to a 48-channel digital mixing system has been well outside the financial reach of many regional sound companies,...
Sep 1, 2007,
By George Petersen
Just when we'd thought we'd seen it all, new digital consoles and mix controllers keep coming. The good news is that your console could be only an expansion...
Jan 1, 2007,
By George Petersen
Ten years ago, this article would have been very different. The concept of digital consoles for sound reinforcement was in its infancy, with a single...
Oct 1, 2006,
By George Petersen
Sep 1, 2006,
By George Petersen
Apr 1, 2006,
By Barry Rudolph
The Euphonix MC Media Application Controller and System 5-MC represent the company's vision of the future of audio/video production. The goal is to provide efficient, seamless and simultaneous control of multiple DAWs and video apps, with full high-res metering, EQ and pan graphical curve displays, along with the interactivity of automation and real-time plug-ins.
...
Nov 2, 2005,
By George Petersen
Two years ago, Solid State Logic unveiled the C100 and C200 — two scalable digital consoles designed for broadcast and production applications. At AES, SSL will show the next entry in its successful C Series, a fully configurable, multi-operator board for film mixing and large-scale video post installations.
...
Sep 1, 2005,
By Steve LaCerra
It wasn’t too long ago when “snapshot recall” on a live console meant that you took a Polaroid photo of the desk after the soundcheck was over. Today, snapshot or scene store and recall are standard features on virtually every digital console. Resetting the entire desk at the push of a button makes digital consoles...
Sep 1, 2005,
By Steve LaCerra
It wasn’t too long ago when “snapshot recall” on a live console meant that you took a Polaroid photo of the desk after the soundcheck was over. Today, snapshot or scene store and recall are standard features on virtually every digital console. Resetting the entire desk at the push of a button makes digital consoles a natural choice for multi-act tours, where each engineer can quickly and accurately access settings for their band with a minimum of soundcheck time, as well as for theater productions...
May 1, 2005,
By George Petersen
Predicting the future is a tough proposition. And often, every industry analyst and prognosticator in the world can be just plain wrong. For example, when the Neve DSP—the first commercial digital console—was announced in 1982, many felt this heralded the eventual demise of the analog mixer. ...
Dec 1, 2004,
By Barry Rudolph
After amplification, summing and mixing are two of the oldest and most basic audio processes—going back to the early radio broadcast days when the announcer's microphone signal and the record player's output were combined for transmission. Summing and mixing have always been inseparable, interrelated processes: Control the individual signal levels (mix) and then combine and amplify them on a mix...
Aug 1, 2004,
By Strother Bullins
n the world of marketing, high-end pro equipment and budget recording gear have one thing in common: They both use a relatively simple sales pitch. On the superexpensive side of the console market, the product thrust is straightforward: "Behold the best. ...
Jul 1, 2004,
By George Petersen
Mention the name Solid State Logic and images of huge, high-end, high-ticket mixers immediately come to mind. Yet at the recent NAB show in Las Vegas, this producer of world-class consoles unveiled a product that breaks new ground in terms of performance and price.
...
Apr 1, 2004,
By Kevin Becka
Hold onto your seats folks, we're about to change the way you think
about Pro Tools. For years now, Digi users have been wondering about
the next generation of controllers to come out of Daly City, Calif.
What you're about to discover will definitely leapfrog any expectations
you may have—and then some. ...
Feb 1, 2004,
By George Petersen
Set your time machine back to 1989, and you'll enter a different world. It's hard to believe, but just 15 years ago, everyday audio technologies and products like Pro Tools, ADATs and DA-88s simply didn't exist. That year's "affordable" digital 8-track was defined as Yamaha's $30,000 DMR8;...
Oct 1, 2003,
By Kevin Becka
There is something reassuring when a new console with a lot of fresh
bells and whistles still looks familiar. That's the impression I got
from API's Vision surround console. Between the meter bridge and the
armrest, there is a mix of tried-and-true discrete API components,
along with some new innovations that differentiate the Vision from its
predecessor: the Legacy Plus....
May 1, 2003,
By Erik Hawkins
These days, with so many wonderful control surfaces available, there are few excuses not to interface with your DAW or digital audio sequencer using a mouse or computer keyboard. No matter what your platform and working style, there's a control surface with real faders and knobs that will fit your desktop and budget.
...
Apr 1, 2003,
By George Petersen
Mention the name Solid State Logic in audio circles and images of large, high-ticket, state-of-the-art consoles immediately come to mind. However, since the debut of SSL’s new C Series boards at last week’s AES convention in Amsterdam, the “large” and “high-ticket” terms are being removed from the equation.
...
Apr 1, 2003,
By Chris Michie
In 1988, a team of young designers working in a garage in Silicon Valley founded Euphonix to develop new and different approaches to audio console design. The company’s first product, the CS-1 Crescendo—a high-performance analog console ...
Apr 1, 2003,
By Randy Alberts
An alternate headline to this article might've read "Old Dogs Learn New Tricks," but calling a 24-month-old digital console "old" just didn't feel right. Legacy mixers and brand-new releases alike made significant strides in the past year thanks to numerous operating system upgrades, new add-on options...
Jan 1, 2003,
By Chris Michie
A few years ago, an objective observer might have predicted the end of the large-format live mixing console. Harrison/Showco and Yamaha had both introduced single-chassis consoles that could handle at least 96 channels on a single worksurface, and Soundcraft and LCS offered all-digital systems that featured compact, reconfigurable worksurfaces designed to take up a minimum of space,...
Oct 1, 2002,
By Gary Hall
In today’s studio, “resource utilization” is the watchword. Studio managers must efficiently reconfigure rooms quickly and put any given piece of gear to work where it’s needed. Gone are the days when a room could operate with a more or less fixed configuration of gear, supplemented by rentals paid for by the client.
...
May 1, 2002,
By George Petersen
In 1995, Yamaha kicked off a not-so-quiet revolution with its original 02R, a 20-bit/48kHz digital console with moving faders, instantaneous reset of all console parameters,...
May 1, 2002,
By Maureen Droney
Purchasing a console, especially a big-ticket one, has never been easy. Previously, choosing which console to buy wasn’t that difficult: There weren’t that many out there, and they didn’t perform that many functions. For your high-end studio, you picked from among two or three manufacturers and bought the latest, biggest, baddest, sexiest model you could afford. For your mid-priced studio, you bought used....
Hybrid Console/Controllers