2007
NAMM Report Buttons are back! Tactile Digital Audio Workstation (DAW)
interfaces are gaining popularity
by Keith Hatschek
The NAMM show, arguably
the biggest event of the year for those in the business of music and
recording, highlights new products, technology, and innovations in
music gear, merchandise, and software. It’s also a great place
to scout for trends in the industry. This year, there were two trends
that caught my attention, specifically in the recording universe.
Tactile control. Buttons are back! There is a movement to upgrade
studios using new interfaces that offer tactile control of recording
software to help increase session speed, flexibility, and productivity.
The second trend? It’s time to drop some cash on the engine
of today’s digital studio. In other words, maybe you ought to
consider upgrading your computer.
For our NAMM wrap-up, we’ve asked two pro audio equipment experts
to share what they see as the cutting edge in new recording gear.
Randy Hamm Randy Hamm, at The Musician’s Superstore in Westminster,
CO, explains that for many home and project studio owners, it’s
time to upgrade to some sort of tactile interface and move beyond
mousing around. (Randy has been a regular PSE contributor, back when
his current store was operated as Pro Sound.)
TASCAM's
DM-3200 offers a powerful mix and DAW interface.
For live sessions with
multiple input sources, running everything through the mouse and keyboard
interface can prove to be challenging. Not that it can’t be
done, it’s just a whole lot faster to use one of the new generation
interfaces, which look and act like a mixing board. That’s essentially
what they are, with the added plus of providing very efficient access
to your DAW recording programs.
There are a lot of them coming out now from most of the names you’d
expect including TASCAM, M-Audio, Mackie, and Yamaha. The good ones
range in price from a low of about $1,000 on up to more than $4,000.
Most of them have total memory recall, so if you have to end a session
and quickly set up for another one, you can store everything, and
with one button, get back to exactly where every knob and dial was
set from the previous session.
TASCAM's
DM-4800 ups the ante with more inputs and features.
TASCAM has an updated
version of their DM-3200 and DM-4800 consoles, which give you 48 or
64 simultaneous channels, respectively. The 3200 allows for 16 simultaneous
mic/line inputs while the 4800 adds eight more. With optional IF-FW/DM
card ($449), you can have one Firewire cable sending and returning
24 or 32 channels of digital audio to your workstation via HUI or
Mackie control emulation, and complete automation of every function,
eliminating a load of cables from your set up.
At a lower price point, M-Audio’s Project Mix I/O Interface
offers eight analog mic/line inputs as well as four analog outs, 2x2
S/PDIF, 8x8 ADAT Lightpipe, and MIDI I/Os. With eight touch-sensitive
motorized faders and transport controls, using this or the TASCAM
console makes your sessions much more intuitive. You can simply reach
up and grab something, flip a switch, and you’re done. No more
mousing, scrolling, and clicking just to tweak a track. Even if you
don’t use it to record, it’s a much better tactile interface
for mixing. [Ed. note: the street price for the 3200 is $2,999, while
its big brother, the 4800, goes for $4,999. The Project Mix averages
about $1,250.]
M-Audio's
Project Mix I/O is another popular mixer/interface compatible
with most DAW programs.
One other trend is that
for the past few years, most of the lower-priced recording interfaces
were coming with a stripped down software bundle, such as Cubase LE
or Sonar LE. The next generation of interfaces will not only have
more I/O, they are going to be shipping this year with a full-feature
software package, including some plug ins for between $350-650, depending
on the product.
Making the most of one of these mixers and interfaces requires you
to have a powerful enough CPU that is set up for multimedia, which
fortunately has now has become very affordable.
Geoff Clegg Further out west, Geoff Clegg is the pro audio and keyboard go-to
specialist at Skip’s Music newest store, located in Elk Grove,
CA, just south of Sacramento. Our conversation was a perfect cross
fade from Randy’s, as Geoff had just been to the local Best
Buy to upgrade his own studio laptop.
I purchased a Gateway
PC with an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, 140 GB hard drive, Firewire,
USB 2.0, and plenty of memory for $750. The cost of power computing
is within every musician’s reach today.
The
PreSonus Firestudio provides excellent sonic performance and
a wide range of I/O options.
[Ed. note: For those readers
partial to Macs, prices have dropped as well, relative to performance.
The iMac desktop with Core 2 processor, 17” integrated monitor,
160 GB storage, and 1 GB memory goes for $1,199, while the MacBook
Pro portable with 15” screen, Core 2 processor, same memory,
and a 120 GB hard drive streets for around $1,599.]
Of course, quite a few
of our project studio clients are scrambling to get more inputs and
outputs today to handle sessions with multiple players. One of the
Firewire interfaces I like is the PreSonus Firestudio. It offers eight
of their XMAX Class-A mic preamps, up to 16 channels of optical ADAT
Lightpipe I/O, eight analog line-ins and two instrument inputs. It’s
very flexible and sounds great. There’s also an optional Monitor
Station Remote (MSR) that provides complete surround /stereo speaker
manager, input switcher and talkback system that connects to the Firestudio
via a Cat 5 cable.
TASCAM
also offers a mid-priced interface solution, the FW-1884.
We’re also getting
plenty of interest in the M-Audio (Project Mix) I/O interface and
the TASCAM FW-1884, which both provide great control surfaces for
your workstation. The 1884 is compatible with Digital Performer, Logic,
Cubase SX, Nuendo, and Sonar. And by emulating HUI or Mackie Control
routines, the FW-1884 can be used as a comprehensive control surface
for DAW applications such as Pro Tools. It has eight mic preamps,
8x8 ADAT Lightpipe, MIDI I/O, and eight analog outputs, so it’s
perfect for surround mixing, too. It ships with an app called SoftLCD
that allows you to see the channel configurations on a computer monitor.
The bottom line is that a lot of project studios are realizing that
the tactile side of mixing is very important. Both of these products
offer excellent performance, lots of mixing options and won’t
break the bank. [Ed. note: Street prices for Geoff’s picks are
$699 for the Firestudio, $199 for its companion Monitor Station Remote,
and $1,299 for the FW-1884.]
Inside
NAMM Every
January, more than 80,000 musicians and 1,500 music
products companies come together at the annual Winter
NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. There’s plenty of spandex,
big hair, and new technology on display. NAMM is the
trade show of the International Music Products Association,
a trade organization that represents firms that design,
build, and market anything needed to make music from
mics to digital audio interfaces to more guitar stomp
boxes than you can imagine. It’s the ultimate
gear candy store. In addition to literally miles of
aisles of gear to check out, there’s live music
going on 24/7. Throw in attendees from more than 100
countries, walking outside to see the snow-covered Matterhorn
at Disneyland, and you have a rather unique and sometimes
surreal four days of musical exploration.
A few highlights of the January 2007 show: A
memorial jam session in honor of Harold Rhodes, inventor
of the electric piano bearing his name that featured
the amazing George Duke, Jeff Lorber and David Benoit,
with some solid bass support from Brian Bromberg and
tasty sax solos by Eric Marienthal. Bumping into Bootsy
Collins in the line to get into the NAMM show. Seeing
Stevie Wonder checking out new gear on an adjacent aisle.
Listening to the legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band lay
down a steaming, Cajun groove recorded live right on
the show floor at the PreSonus booth, using a couple
of Firestudios linked together for the interface.
One
of the other great things about the convention is the
ability to talk with many inventors like Dave Royer
of Mojave Audio, John LaGrou of Millennia Media, Larry
Villella of ADK Mics, and Wade Goeke of Chandler Designs.
Best music? Had to be a VIP concert at the adjacent
House of Blues with the Robert Randolph Family Band
at the top of the bill and YouTube darlings, OK Go,
as openers. Thanks, Sennheiser, for inviting me to a
great gig!
Every
January, more than 80,000 musicians and 1,500 music
products companies come together at the annual Winter
NAMM show in Anaheim, CA. There’s plenty of spandex,
big hair, and new technology on display. NAMM is the
trade show of the International Music Products Association,
a trade organization that represents firms that design,
build, and market anything needed to make music from
mics to digital audio interfaces to more guitar stomp
boxes than you can imagine. It’s the ultimate
gear candy store. In addition to literally miles of
aisles of gear to check out, there’s live music
going on 24/7. Throw in attendees from more than 100
countries, walking outside to see the snow-covered Matterhorn
at Disneyland, and you have a rather unique and sometimes
surreal four days of musical exploration. 
A
memorial jam session in honor of Harold Rhodes, inventor
of the electric piano bearing his name that featured
the amazing George Duke, Jeff Lorber and David Benoit,
with some solid bass support from Brian Bromberg and
tasty sax solos by Eric Marienthal. Bumping into Bootsy
Collins in the line to get into the NAMM show. Seeing
Stevie Wonder checking out new gear on an adjacent aisle.
Listening to the legendary Dirty Dozen Brass Band lay
down a steaming, Cajun groove recorded live right on
the show floor at the PreSonus booth, using a couple
of Firestudios linked together for the interface.
One
of the other great things about the convention is the
ability to talk with many inventors like Dave Royer
of Mojave Audio, John LaGrou of Millennia Media, Larry
Villella of ADK Mics, and Wade Goeke of Chandler Designs.
Best music? Had to be a VIP concert at the adjacent
House of Blues with the Robert Randolph Family Band
at the top of the bill and YouTube darlings, OK Go,
as openers. Thanks, Sennheiser, for inviting me to a
great gig! 
