Pro Audio Technology News From Around The Web

At this week's http://www.iseurope.org/kcms/home.php Integrated Systems Europe trade show in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Roland Systems Group announced a feature update for the R-1000 multichannel recorder/player, a firmware update for its S-4000 Series Digital Snake Systems, and a Mac version of Remote Control Software for its Digital Snake and Personal Mixing System.

Shure Incorporated in Niles, Ill., reports that customs officials in Peru and Paraguay recently confiscated thousands of counterfeit Shure microphones. The actions were the result of ongoing investigations by Shure representatives in both countries, in cooperation with local customs and law enforcement agencies. The seized products will be destroyed under the supervision of customs agents.

Sound Devices has purchased a new facility for its U.S. headquarters in Reedsburg, Wis. The company says it expects to relocate and settle into the 27,000-square-foot facility in the first half of 2012, where it will continue to manufacture audio mixers and recorders, and video recorders for feature film, episodic television, documentary, news, and acoustical test and measurement applications.

Mix Magazine February 2012 Online Extras

Reduced price in February and March-- Press Release: Native Instruments has launched a time-limited special offer on Traktor Kontrol S2, reducing the price of the compact 2-deck controller to $449 / 399 EUR throughout February and March 2012.

Discount through February and March-- Press Release: Native Instruments have launched a time-limited special offer on Studio Drummer - offering the Kontakt-based instrument at a substantial 50% discount.

The 88-key Nord Piano 2 HA88 stage piano has a hammer-action keyboard and is loaded with over 1,000 high-quality instruments; built-in phaser, wah, flanger, chorus, and delay effects; and also includes a 3-band EQ, amp simulations, and a compressor and reverb. It is designed for fast, intuitive, and expressive operation on stage.

New entry-level interface from Receptor range--  MUSE RESEARCH UNVEILS RECEPTOR VIPCompletely New Entry-Level RECEPTOR Model Debuts at NAMMAnaheim, California. January 19, 2011—Muse Research and Development, Inc. isdebuting a completely new entry-level RECEPTOR called RECEPTOR VIP (VirtualInstrument Player). RECEPTOR VIP makes use of an entirely new user-interfaceinspired by the MuseBox, and includes an incredibly simple front panel hardwareinterface to find and manipulate your virtual instrument and effects presets quickly.Sporting a new 2U rack-mount design, this product is ideal for customers who need morepower and channels than a MuseBox, and the RECEPTOR VIP provides a lower-costalternative to the top-of-the-line RECEPTOR 2+ PRO and PRO MAX models. TheRECEPTOR VIP model will replace the existing base model RECEPTOR 2+, and willship in March with a MAP price of $1599.New Hardware, New Software, New functionality, New Price Point!The RECEPTOR VIP is an entirely new design. It features high-quality stereo inputs andoutputs on the rear panel, a full size MIDI input, a footswitch input for incrementing ordecrementing through presets, as well as front-panel guitar and microphone inputs (withphantom power). The front panel volume control and headphone output round out theI/O, letting you listen in private.The front panel hardware interface is entirely new, featuring backlit buttons for selectingpresets and changing channels, as well as a backlit blue 2-line LCD. The unique "PLAY"mode of RECEPTOR VIP lets you quickly browse factory presets with the turn of aknob, and calling up presets at a gig is as simple as pushing a button. In fact, the frontpanel hardware interface is so easy, even a non-musician can start using RECEPTOR VIPwithout instruction!Like its big brothers, RECEPTOR VIP's high performance is a givenLike all RECEPTORs, the RECEPTOR VIP features a dual-core processor with 4GB ofhigh speed RAM and a 1TB hard drive to make your virtual instruments and effectsperform like the dedicated hardware devices they replace. And just like RECEPTORPRO and PRO MAX, you're assured of remarkably low latency, superb audio quality,and superior stability whether you are playing live or recording in the studio.And gigging musicians will love RECEPTOR VIP's unique Dongle Garage™ - a placeto keep your iLok dongle safe and secure during transport but easily accessible for addinglicenses. With your dongle safely parked in the Dongle Garage, you'll never be stuck at agig without your software security key!-moreMUSERESEARCH UNVEILS RECEPTOR VIPMuse R&D Press Release Page 2New OS 2.0 Software Makes RECEPTOR VIP a Very Impressive ProductTying all of the new hardware together is a completely new software platform calledMuse OS2.0. Muse OS2.0 provides all the high-performance VST hosting benefits ofprevious RECEPTORs, but adds new user interface features that make it a delight to use.For example, MuseOS 2.0 features the exclusive SoundFinder™ feature for navigatingthrough the factory presets. This allows even a novice user to take advantage of theimmense power and functionality offered by RECEPTOR. Additionally, the graphic userinterface features a truly simple drag-and-drop interface for creating your own sounds,letting you run up to 16-instruments or effects at one time. Also new to MuseOS 2.0 iscomplete MIDI Learn functionality, which lets you marry your RECEPTOR to yourcontroller keyboard or MIDI guitar foot pedal with ease. Finally, the stereo mix channelwith configurable effects makes this a truly comprehensive device suitable for anyperformance situation.RECEPTOR VIP is ready to go, right out of the box.Unlike a computer, RECEPTOR VIP has tons of virtual instruments and effects built inwith presets created by world-renown sound designers. RECEPTOR VIP comes withMusePlayer by Universons pre-installed, as well as great virtual instruments and effectsfrom Camel Audio, Applied Acoustics, ForeFront, WaveArts, MuVoice Technologies,and others. Also installed in demo mode on RECEPTOR VIP are various virtualinstruments and effects that you can try in a fully functional demo period beforepurchasing giving you the opportunity to truly "try before you buy". And finally, thanksto Muse Research's partnerships with Native Instruments and IK Multimedia, you'll havethe KOMPLETE 8 collection and the Total Workstation Bundle pre-installed in demomode and ready to authorize, letting you expand your sound palette quickly and easily.“RECEPTOR VIP is a breakthrough product for Muse Research" comments BryanLanser, VP of Product Development at Muse Research. “This product delivers theunrivalled world of virtual instruments and effects to musicians in a portable and robustpackage with a user-interface that is incredibly easy to use. We're really excited that weare able to empower musicians with this unique combination of software and hardware,and look forward to sharing this solution with the market.”RECEPTOR VIP will ship in March 2011 and will have a US MAP price of $1599.To learn more about these exciting new products visit www.museresearch.com, send anemail to info@museresearch.com, call (650) 326-5400, or contact your local dealer.Press Release: Muse Research and Development, Inc. is debuting a completely new entry-level Receptor called Receptor VIP (Virtual Instrument Player).

Chief engineer picks Aurora converter for ProTools rig-- Press Release: The Aurora 16 converter from Lynx Studio Technology has been selected for the ProTools rig in the historic Sun Studio.

Mix magazine Offers Grammy Preview of Albums Nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical by Mix magazine Contributing Editor Barbara Schultz

Get great stereo sound straight into your iPod Touch, iPhone 4/S, or iPad 1 or 2 with the new Blue Mikey Digital microphone. Mikey Digital plugs into your iOS device, and can be swiveled over a 220-degree range for perfect placement for any recording environment. Features include a 3-position gain switch, guitar input, soft carrying pouch, and compatibility with almost any recording/music app.

After 35 years of working in media professionally, I’ve heard and auditioned many microphones. From cheap to uber-expensive, American, German, Japanese, Chinese, you name it. It has been an interest of mine for many, many, years.

In 1980, I was Production Director and reluctantly, on-air announcer for KATI/KAWY radio. We were given an opportunity to upgrade our microphones, from the Electro-Voice 661 and 630 — which were nicknamed “the nail pounders” because in some old ads for the mics, a guy actually pounds a nail with one, and it kept on going. They were great for field use and disc jockey abuse, but really weren’t up to snuff quality-wise, especially for FM radio.

The word went out, and within a week we had audition offers from almost every known company making broadcast mics at the time. We also tried any professional mic that anyone personally had and would lend to us, including some nice old RCA ribbons. I also had, in my personal mic locker, a used Neumann U87, and a Sennheiser MD 441U, which I bought as a combo from another announcer whose studio had fallen on hard times. I paid $125.00 for the combo.

We needed seven mics total: two for each production room, one for each control room and one for the newsroom. Pricewise, the Neumann mics were out of the question; I think they were going for $1000 each at the time. We had a maximum budget of $300.00 for each mic. That helped narrow down the choices.

We had been loaned two microphones from Shure: the Shure SM5B and SM7. The SM5B went into AM production, while the SM7 went into FM production. Right away, I fell in love with the sound of the SM5.

The SM7 at the time was a newer design, and had some pad and EQ switches, but its sound was a bit overly bright, especially with female voices. The SM5B had something that made everyone sound great: smooth, rich, unaffected by the over-processing you get coming out of a broadcast signal. I liked the SM5B even over my Neumann and Sennheiser. It was perfect.

The SM5B was a huge mic, a blimp mic, with two large, two-tone gray windscreens. I think it was originally designed to be a boom mic for motion picture sets and field recording. In fact, I later saw a few of these on “boom poles” on motion picture sets. You could not hit the capsule with a plosive even if you tried. When the windscreen was removed, there was another windscreen covering what was really a pretty unimpressive-looking capsule, looking like the raw capsule of an SM57/58, suspended by what almost looked like small surgical tubing (that I later learned was silicone). It also had a humbucking coil, which prevented all the mechanical equipment and speakers in the studio from causing the mic to hum. It was quiet. I think that’s why broadcasters picked up these mics. It also was a hotter mic than dynamics are normally, even with the hero-sandwich windscreen. Proximity was never a problem as well, as long as you were in front of the mic; it sounded great, even at 12 inches. Its pickup was more like a shotgun mic.

The only drawback to the mic was the windscreens. If you had a smoker, a liquid lunch indulger or spitter that used the mic before you, well it could be pretty nauseating. The windscreen was not something that an announcer could swap to have his or her own, so as not to spread mono or the flu. Spraying the foam with Lysol was a big no-no.

Surprisingly, the windscreens did not seem to mute the sound of the mic at all. The same was true of the SM7, though it had a smaller foam filter.

Windscreen problems were the reason we didn’t buy the Shure mics. The announcers had a tendency to pick at the foam, and poke it with pens and pencils, making me and Shure very unhappy. After many choices were given, and votes were cast, we went with Sennheiser 421s. They looked and sounded nice, were bullet-proof, and each announcer could use his/her own windscreen. The mics also had an EQ switch in the back, which could give each announcer a more-personalized sound.

Since then, I have used a great number of voice microphones, both dynamics and condensers. But I can’t get the old SM5 sound out of my head. A boom operator on a movie set let me listen to one some years back; it still had “that” sound. So I have my eye out for one, but you never know what you are going to get off of Ebay, even at an $800.00 plus price tag.

Postscript

I just auditioned the new Shure SM7B, an updated version of the old SM7, at the NPR Studios in Culver City, CA. I had a “Beringer Wine” voiceover script on my smartphone [Ed. note: David used this in his Yeti Pro review.] With the SM7b’s “presence” switch engaged, the mic had that meaty, mid “oomph” of the SM5b! Eureka!

I knew the SM7 was popular in broadcast applications, but didn’t know it was so popular in recording studios as well (e.g., Bruce Swedien used an SM7 for most of Michael Jackson’s vocals on “Thriller”). It’s just a great-sounding mic, another Shure classic. Listening to both the SM5 and SM7b gives me the feeling of listening to a microphone with the smoothness of a ribbon, the clarity of a condenser and the punch of a very good dynamic. I’m very happy to have once again found that sound. I hope to be adding an SM7b to my mic locker soon.

The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced today that The E.W. Scripps Company would receive the NAB Distinguished Service Award during the 2012 NAB Show. The E.W. Scripps Company is a diverse, 134-year-old media enterprise with interests in television stations, newspapers and local news and information Websites. Scripps President and CEO Rich Boehne will accept the award at the opening keynote session on April 16 in Las Vegas.

With the Alesis DM Dock, you can connect your drum pads to your iPad for an infinitely expandable selection of sounds! Thirteen TRS trigger inputs support dual-zone or 3-zone pads or cymbals (including continuous hi-hats, a hinged door locks your iPad in place, and professional audio and MIDI I/O keeps the signal flowing. The new DM Dock app lets you download new sounds whenever you want, wirelessly.

Universal Audio (UA) in Scotts Valley, Calif., announces that Sonnox in Oxfordshire, UK is a Direct Developer for the UAD-2 Powered Plug-Ins platform. This partnership will bring Sonnox’s award winning mixing and mastering plug-ins to UAD-2 DSP Accelerator hardware.

For the third year in a row, SPARS was an active participant in the H.O.T Zone at NAMM. The 33-year-old recording association brought in artists, producers and engineers to share their expertise and experiences in recording successful projects.

U.S.–based pro audio plug-in company Plugin Alliance LLC announces the BIG 4 Bundle—which comprises four pivotal plug-ins from Alliance members Brainworx, elysia, SPL, and Vertigo Sound —plus four free plug-ins from fellow Alliance members for anyone who opens a free Plugin Alliance account as of January 13, 2012: Brainworx’s bx_cleansweep, Brainworx’s bx_solo, elysia’s niveau filter, and SPL’s Free Ranger.

Mojave Audio in Burbank, Calif., introduces the Mojave Audio MA-301fet ($895 MSRP), a solid-state, large diaphragm condenser microphone with a hand selected, 3-micron thick, 1-inch (diameter) gold sputtered capsule. Based upon the popular MA-201fet designed by David Royer (known for his work with ribbon microphones), the new MA-301fet offers cardioid, omnidirectional, and Figure-8 (bi-directional) capabilities, and incorporates a switchable 15dB pad and switchable bass roll-off.

Digital wireless microphones-- Press Release: Line 6 has announced the XD-V75, XD-V55, and XD-V35 series digital wireless microphone systems at Winter NAMM 2012.

Active 3-way loudspeaker & subwoofer-- Press Release: Line 6 has announced the launch of StageSource L3t loudspeaker and L3s subwoofer.