Tech Blog

Not being part of the Las Vegas posse has never really bothered me.  Until now.  Until lucky Laurel and Hardy here get to go up in a private plane at the end of InfoComm for a zip about near the Grand Canyon.  I say “near” as I’ve been told you aren’t allowed to just fly over it as there’s a bit of a monopoly on just who gets access, I guess to limit the number of tourist flights.  I say “so I’ve been told” as Richard might have made it up when the actual truth was they wouldn’t let someone into the airspace who looks this deranged.

End of show madness overtook the airfield staff and they allowed them to go for a flight. I gather the fumes in the cockpit were being recycled in flight to provide fuel. Make of that what you will.  Here they are pre-flight:

So moving on, maybe some comment from the show itself.  Well, interesting news was that Danté has been taken up by more manufacturers, one of the notables being Midas.  This is all good, and as we’re starting to ship the our Danté breakouts, everyone wins.  At a recent seminar recently I was asked why we had gone with Danté as the option for our “Live” Breakouts (the DC range of breakouts are available with Cobranet and Ethersound as well as Danté).  The simple answer to that is that it sounds the best by quite a margin, and as sound quality is as important as it’s even been to us, we wouldn’t have felt happy with our box being a weak link in a potentially top class chain of gear.  Coupled with the flexibility and ease of use of the Danté system, and other details such as their virtual soundcard driver (with multiple AISO pairs available) and their commitment to AVB future-proofing, it makes sound sense, so to speak 😉

Coming up soon – not content with ruling the skies, XTA takes to the water with spectacular results…

So I made it back alive, hair full of ash, eyes smarting from the sulphurous fumes.  Or something.
Now, onto more frivolous issues.  How many of you have in your arsenal of rapidly depleting external boxes of tricks, a processor you absolutely feel you can’t do without?

With more and more processing being built into digital boards, what scope is there left for truly creative control over what the audience hears?  If all the processing becomes standardised, then doesn’t the sound become so as well?

I realise I am “painting with broad strokes” here, but that’s the point.  Whilst there is a vast proliferation of available plug-ins to manipulate and mangle sound in a computer recording environment, it’s still pretty much the case that if you buy a Yamaha digital desk and use the effects inside, be they dynamics, EQ or time related (reverb/delay/pitch I am thinking of), you are getting Yamaha algorithms.  Nothing wrong with that in itself , but what if you don’t like Yamaha EQ?

If you buy a Soundcraft digital desk, you’re gonna get BSS algorithms.  If you buy a Midas digital, chances are you’re gonna get KT algorithms and so it goes on…

Maybe the concept of individual engineers’ “sound” or “polish” is finally coming into its own.  There aren’t as many ways left to put your stamp on the mix apart from using something that’s not going to be built-in and that you can guarantee not everyone will have.  But can this become a self-defeating purpose?  Just because it’s “niche” and supposedly imparts a certain something that makes it your own, doesn’t necessarily make it better.

I remember hearing a tale some years ago about an engineer who insisted that he needed a DN360 across the master outputs of the desk and that things wouldn’t be right without this final essential processing.  This was duly provided, and I recall seeing the publicity shot afterwards and it being pointed out that, whilst there was a slight bit of “creative correction” applied to the faders, the graphic was bypassed (although powered up!). 

Should such a conceit even be considered?  Is not the job of the engineer just to invisbly aid in the conveyance of the sound on stage, to best effect, to the audience assembled in front of said stage?

Just to finish on an XTA note, rather that the philosophical one that was developing(!), our SiDD processor became such a “signature” device for a lot of engineers, with them carrying a couple round in a soft rack case to use on a few select inserts or across masters, although this may have been as much to do with having a general purpose toolbox of useful things, as wanting to have a unique sound.  Reviews of SiDD when it came out all talked of the transparency and “lack” of processing so it just did its job in a non-intrusive manner.

I use one at home on the masters of my desk for recording and it can indeed be made to impart something extra to what’s going on, but that’s a creative process not a corrective one.  And so we’re back to that question…

Tech blog?  Travel blog more like. 
Just checking in from Hong Kong, potentially on way back from Oz, although “subject to disruptions” is the BA line on their website, so we’ll see how that goes.

The missing photos from the last post will make it up some time next week, when time has righted itself.

I didn’t realise that’s what Australians called foreign fools like me.  It’s not an especially derogatory term, I don’t think, and it could be worse.  I am feeling pretty international right now, sitting in the sun in Sydney writing this.

Based on the sudden realisation that I am sat in the sun writing this, I won’t be writing it for long.  What was I thinking?!

Anyway, this is more just to send a little love back to CMI in Melbourne for their frankly sterling efforts with the seminar I attended and (apparently) starred in.  It was over 4 days with small (intimate was the word being used, but no-one sat on my lap that I was aware of) groups of carefully selected consultants, installers and engineers from all over this continent being invited along to hear all about xta, MC2, and then some other companies I’ve forgotten the names of 😉 
(Ok, so Ive not and with0ut wishing to offend anyone, they were HK Audio from Germany – hello to Christian – hope you got back OK although Ive a bad feelng you’ll be stranded somewhere what with the ash disaster going on, Adamson – check you later Des, One Systems and someone else who I have genuinely forgotten about right now.  I can blame Andy McIntyre from CMI for that.  Should’ve been more remarkable mate ;).

Sorry for that long aside – back to the facts.  Arrangements were made for various presentations, followed by a speaker demo and lunch or dinner, depending on morning/afternoon session.  We were doing two groups a day, apart from the last day when I was giving an AudioCore masterclass.  I use the term loosely – my show of hands revealed nearly everyone there was a bit of a master with the software already, but most seemed to have picked up something new by the time I’d done, so all good.

Star hits of the week were Danté discussions, that iPhone app, and my lash-up Veroboard interface for the MC2 Ti Series breakout boxes.  More details of that are available on request!

Many thanks and much respect is due to the following individuals (this is verging on an Oscars speech)

Peter Troysomething or other – maybe one day you’ll get my name right, but I’m not holding my breath;)
Andy Mcintyre – found my sunnies in the bag this morning – are you wanting those ones you gave me back?  You’ll have to come get them.  Oh and did the Opera Bar last night – cool stuff.
Des Williamson – my hot tip is don’t drink before you go to the Opera House – you might nod off.  Wake me for the interval.
Brad Parker – we need more screens mate! 

So enough of the industry back-slapping for now – wil someone clean that ash up over there – it’s in the way of my plane.

culminating in the Atlantic Audio party on the stand commencing at, well whenever really – should have been after 6, but really it all started about 4. 

What with all the DiGiCo hangers-on (!) and wine and beer already freely flowing, things were beginning to loosen up, so to speak.  Atlantic Audio do us all proud with the party each Frankfurt and this year was no exception.  Good music (courtesy of a DJ who looked suspiciously like he’d just been train-spotting – anyone know wo he was?), good food, good GOD so many people!  I think it was probably the best attended event yet.  

Certainly it was the latest for an after-show party – we managed to say our good-byes about 11pm (normally I would say we’d be out of there by 8 at the latest).  And herein lay the problem.  Due to fantastic Germanic efficiency, all exits from the hall, bar one were now locked.  The exit that was still open led to another hall, and to another and so on, eventually depositing us somewhere in Munich, or so it felt.  Due to the possible consumption of some alcohol, we got a little sidelined on the way out and happened upon an exhibitor’s stand which really had to be experienced in an “up close and personal” manner. 

I am still not sure what was actually for sale here.  If anyone knows, let us know.  I would guess at outdoor event type speakers – the sort of things disguised as rocks, or maybe in this case JUNGLE ANIMALS.  The following photos were all taken shortly before we were mauled and all riding of wild beasts was purely for defensive purposes only.  Beer bottlese were used to stun and then scare them away.  

When that didn’t work, I had to go for a head lock, but even then he was non-plussed, 

so we moved on to the baby elephant.  Having trouble getting through to it so we decided on a trunk call.  Sorry, but that joke had to be used.  Elephant, mobile phone, calling, trunk, and we’ll get our coats.