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 | | | | Jul31Written by:Garry Simmons
Friday, July 31, 1998 6:00 PM  Nearly 600 manufacturers of all things musical crammed the Nashville Convention Center and the Nashville Arena from July 10th through the 12th for the summer NAMM show. There was obviously more to see and write about than space allows, so this report will focus on Soundcards and Software for the PC-based studio, plus Other Cool Stuff.
As an aside, I've heard that NAMM stands for Not Available, Maybe May (when referring to the January show). It seems the summer show stands for Not Available, Maybe in a Month. Lots of products were being demo'd that weren't in production yet. I expect most of these products will be on the streets by the time of the AES show in September.
PC Soundcards/Audio Interfaces
Unless you live under a rock, you're probably aware that the Event Layla is finally shipping. The biggest problem seems to be finding one to buy. Stores can't keep them in stock! Combine a great mix of features at an attractive price point and you've got a winner. I got a pretty thorough demo of the Layla at the Event booth and came away very impressed. Check out the Layla review in the ProRec archives.
Since Layla is actually shipping, the current soundcard buzz is about the Yamaha DSP Factory. The Yamaha DSP Factory is ready to ship, but Yamaha is sitting on the card (in the USA) until the software companies supporting the card are done adding code to their programs to access the power the card provides. The card should be shipping in a month. I was given demos of card at both the Yamaha booth (using Cubase VST and the C-Console) and the Cakewalk booth. I spent a lot of time quizzing Yamaha's Mark Lopez about the capabilities of the card and have all the details in a special preview, Factory Tour: Yamaha DSP Factory elsewhere in this issue of ProRec.
Aardvark, known for their high-quality sync boxes, was showing off their new 20/20 soundcard, a PCI card featuring 8 analog inputs and outputs with 20-bit converters plus S/PDIF in and out (coax). In a related announcement, Nemesys Music Technology announced that a very low latency driver interface has been developed for the 20/20 to allow it to provide multiple outputs from the GigaSampler. Aardvark also manufactures the TDIF-based Aark TDIF card, which is a simple, full duplex TDIF interface for your DA-x8 deck (or perhaps Tascam's new TM-D1000 digital mixer!).
MIDIman, who has long been known for their MIDI interfaces, soundcards, and assorted widgets, had lots of cool stuff at their booth (check out their web site). The product that grabbed my attention though was the Pipeline. The Pipeline is a one-rack space unit featuring 8 balanced/unbalanced analog ins and outs (switchable between –10 and +4), 24-bit converters and ADAT Lightpipe for connection to your soundcard. The Pipeline can dither the 24-bit output of the A/D converters for use with 16-bit applications. The Pipeline is expected to ship by the end of August.
The Alesis ADAT-PCR card features ADAT Lightpipe in and out, as well as a real ADAT sync port. This means that you can do sample accurate sync between your ADATs and your PC. Very helpful if you have more than one ADAT and want to fly all the tracks for a project in the PC and have them line up exactly. The card should be shipping in about a month.
Although I didn't find out about this card until I got back from NAMM, you owe it to yourself to check out the Pulsar card from Creamware. Go to the News page on the Creamware web site for preliminary info. The Pulsar is supposed to ship by the end of September. Look for a preview of this card in an upcoming issue of ProRec. Until then, visit the web site (and wear a bib to catch the drool!).
PC Software
Sonic Foundry had a large demo area with about a half dozen PCs set up around it. The big news from Madison, WI is ACID. If loop-based composition is your bag (or even part of your bag), you owe it to yourself to check out ACID. And you don't have to be into techno to get off on it. The buzz about ACID is that it will time stretch AND pitch change your loops to fit the key of the song, in real-time and with no artifacts! The user interface is very clean and intuitive, as is typical of Sonic Foundry products. Hundreds of loops come with the program, but additional loop libraries are available too… Sonic Foundry also announced that Sound Forge 4.5 was due soon. 4.5 will include the batch file converter and spectrum analyzer as well as new tools for authoring Internet media and creating loops for use with ACID. Details on 4.5 are available on the web site.
Waves, makers of the much loved Native Power Pack, were demo'ing their MaxxBass plug-in as well as the Renaissance compressor and EQ plug-ins. The Renaissance series of plug-ins aim to recreate the sound of classic pieces of analog gear. The Renaissance compressor is shipping and the EQ should be shipping shortly for the PC.
Cakewalk announced the latest additions to their line of software, Guitar Studio and Overture. Guitar Studio is the result of a partnership between Fender, Roland, and Cakewalk. Guitar Studio is special version of Cakewalk that has been enhanced for use by MIDI guitarists. Fender is selling a special Roland-Ready Strat that has a Roland GK-2A pickup installed on it. Guitar Studio features a built-in control panel for the popular Roland GR-30 guitar synth. Cakewalk also announced Overture, music notation product, for Windows and Mac OS. The recently released flagship product, Cakewalk Pro Audio 7 was also being demonstrated with the Yamaha DSP Factory.
Steinberg was demo'ing Wavelab 2.0 and Cubase VST 4.0. I've been a faithful Cakewalk and Sound Forge user for several years, and this was my first real look at the Steinberg products. I have to say that Wavelab 2.0 really got my attention. It's 24/96 ready right now, processes audio in real-time and includes CD burning, all at a very reasonable price. No more waiting for an EQ preview or processing effects back to the file. I can't wait to load up the demo from the CD and check it out more… Version 4 of Cubase VST has just been released for the Mac and the PC version should be available in a couple months, maybe sooner. The big news with version 4 is 24-bit support, plus a variety of other enhancements.
The DSP/FX Virtual Pack, a suite of DirectX plug-ins, is now being distributed by Event Electronics. A review of the Virtual Pack (version 3) can be found in the ProRec archives. Version 4 offers even better performance and a lower price which makes the Virtual Pack a virtual no-brainer purchase considering the high quality of the effects and low CPU usage.
Syntrillium Software was showing off the recently released Cool Edit Pro 1.1. I hadn't checked out CE Pro before, and came away thinking it had a pretty clean interface. I have a couple of friends (online) that swear by it and say that version 1.1 offers a number of cool enhancements.
PG Music caught my attention with their PowerTracks Pro Audio 4.0, a MIDI sequencer with digital audio. I don't know how they do it, but it LISTS for a measly $29. If you're a starving musician, this looks like an awesome bang for the buck. Jeez, it's hard to buy a case of good beer for $29, let alone a sequencer with digital audio…
Other Cool Stuff
I wanted to check out all of the new digital mixers, but didn't have the time (or energy) to get full-blown demos and info on all digital mixers there. I don't think the Panasonic/Ramsa console was anywhere to be found and I really wanted to see it in action. Even if your whole studio is inside your computer, you still need mics, preamps and other outboard gear to feed those fancy new A/D converters, so here's some new analog stuff to check out too.
There was quite a buzz about the Tascam TM-D1000 digital mixer (under $1200 list!). The stock mixer gets you 8 analog inputs (4 mic/line with inserts, plus 4 line inputs) plus 8 digital inputs via the TDIF port for your DA-x8 deck. I see this as a great choice for the studio that has a single DA-x8 deck, some MIDI gear and some favorite outboard effects. Tascam also offers optional boards to add onboard effects, an extra digital I/O. Things start to get really interesting if you think about the possibilities of a TM-D1000, a DA-x8, and an Aardvark TDIF card. Lots of mix and match synergy there…
Spirit by Soundcraft has a hot digital console in their new 328 board. 16 analog inputs (all with mic preamps) plus 16 digital inputs. Here's the cool part; the 16 digital input can be either ADAT or TDIF, since both formats are built in! You can even use one of each if you want! List is only $5000. I thought the board was well laid out. There are way too many features to cover here, so check out the web site for details. Digital consoles aren't just for studios with tape decks. I could see hooking this console up to my PC via a Sonorus StudI/O card (new list price of $849) and running my MIDI rig and effects returns into the analog section along with 16 digital outputs from the PC.
I also got a look at the Mackie Digital 8 Buss and Tascam TM-D8000. We're climbing up the price scale here, with list prices in the $10K region. I was very impressed with both consoles. They definitely have their own personalities as to the layout of the console. The TM-D8000 is really aimed at the studio with a rack full of DA-x8 recorders. The Mackie is happy to do either ADAT Lightpipe or TDIF since their (optional) MDM I/O card supports both formats on the same card.
I stopped by the Daking booth to meet Geoff Daking. I already own a pair of his 52270 mic pre/EQs and wanted to get a demo of the new 91579 compressor. Geoff used some raw album tracks he had burned on a CD to feed the compressor. I wouldn't have believed that over 25dB of compression on a vocal could sound that clean. It just blew my mind. I found myself seriously tempted to burn some plastic on the spot and take a pair home… Those two empty rack spaces in my Daking rack are calling me to fill them even as I type this report…
I stopped by the Earthworks booth to get a first-hand look at their mics. I have been really interested in mics since I do a lot of minimalist stereo, live-to-DAT gigs. Their QTC-1 mic is their top of the line omni and is specially designed for recording quiet sources (low noise, high output). I hope to get a pair of QTC-1s and their LAB102 preamp for review in the near future. I listened to a nylon string acoustic guitar mic'd with a QTC-1 (from very close range) and was very impressed, especially considering the conditions of a trade show!
In more new microphone news, a couple of Ohio companies were showing their wares… CAD was showing their new E-350 and VX-2 microphones. The VX-2 uses a pair of tubes, has interchangeable capsules and an (optional) preamp/converter for a digital output… Audio-Technica was excited about their new 4060 tube mic. I didn't manage to get into the private demo of the 4060 at Ocean Way, but I tried…
I got a tour of the newest 5.1 studio on Music Row, JamSync. Owners KK Profitt and Joel Silverman gave me a tour of the facility, then we hung out, talking shop and listening to a variety of surround mixes. The Steely Dan Gaucho remix was really, really good.
Conclusion
There was just WAY too much to see if you wanted to really check out all the booths. I saw more beautiful wood on guitars than I ever had in my life. Some of the guys giving demos in the booths were really hot players too. Laurence Juber gave some memorable performances in the Taylor and Sony booths. I got to meet Eddie Kramer (legendary engineer) and Billy Cox (from Hendrix's Band of Gypsies) in the Lexicon suite where the new Signature 284 guitar amp was being demonstrated. All in all, I had a great time, the town was rockin' and I'm looking forward to next year!
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