CHOOSING THE UNIVERSAL BWAV FILE FORMAT Joe Bull, JoeCo founder
Why? “I wanted to create a compact, standalone, live multichannel recorder that could feed material into any DAW. Rather than using a proprietary file format, deciding on mono BWAV files enabled captured audio to be instantly re-purposed for a range of different applications, without worrying about file transfer or compatibility issues – effectively bringing back the transportability of 2-inch analogue 24-track tape. This particular advantage has been a key factor in the BlackBox Recorder’s growing popularity, especially with its track counts rising from 24 to 64, so it is definitely one of our best decisions ever.”
ADDING REMOTE CONTROL Johan Wadsten,product manager, Merging Technologies
JoeCo BlackBox Recorder
A GRAPHIC EQ Richard Ferriday, Music Group brand development manager for Klark Teknik
Why?“The ubiquitous DN360 can honestly be called ‘industry standard’: it’s the world’s favourite graphic EQ, still in continuous production in the UK since 1984.
“One world-renown sound engineer once said to me, ‘Wherever I go, I find two things: Coca-Cola and the DN360.’”
THE MODERN LINE SOURCE ARRAY Stéphane Ecalle,marketing director, L-Acoustics
Why?“L-Acoustics pioneered the field of modern line source array as early as 1993 with the introduction of Wavefront Sculpture Technology on the V-DOSC system. Based on physical rules in a paper developed by Heil and Urban (AES 1992) the WST theory defines five criteria for design and use of true line source arrays. At the heart of Wavefront Sculpture Technology is the internationally-patented DOSC waveguide, which morphs the spherical wavefront of the HF driver into a cylindrical, isophasic wave.
“In combination with WST, coplanar symmetry – the equivalent of coaxial assembly for HF, MF and LF drivers in vertical arrays – provides a coherent wavefront over the entire horizontal coverage at all frequencies. This behaves as if the sound was radiated by a single, continuous and articulated ribbon. “Any line source featuring L-Acoustics elements respects the coplanar symmetry and all WST criteria on the entire sonic spectrum. This allows an exceptionally coherent sonic signature in
Why?“The one decision that we took early this year with our Ovation Media Server and Sequencer (above) is one which I believe is going to make a huge difference to any live sound event. The addition of a remote control paradigm (using Eucon, Oasis or HUI) to control the MassCore mixing engine inside our Ovation Platinum package is going to help to redefine the type of consoles that even the largest productions are going to need to take on the road. “By outsourcing all of the playout mixing (which already comes from the Ovations ability to play up to 384 tracks of audio simultaneously) to our internal mixer, means that there is now much more real estate left on the console for stage inputs. With other features including playback of multiple multitracks simultaneously, live input management, interactivity controls for stage and FOH, along with MIDI/LTC/TCPIP/COM integration, this is a winning combination.”
THE COMPACT MIXER Greg Young,director of Mackie product development
Why?“The creation of the
affordable compact mixer is undoubtedly Mackie’s biggest contribution to the pro-audio world. The original Mackie CR1604 (shown) was the
first mixer to deliver professional tools into the hands of working musicians and engineers. This founding decision has driven Mackie product development from day one. Our new DL1608 digital live sound mixer embodies this concept perfectly, providing unmatched technology and paradigm-shifting mixing tools at an extremely accessible price point. We believe everyone should have access to the latest technology without sacrificing performance for cost.”
THE INTELLIGENT MULTI-CELLULAR SPEAKER ARRAY Bill Webb, Martin Audio engineering consultant
Why?“Almost 20 years on, touring line arrays still suffer from varying sound levels and frequency response, depending on the distance from the array. With line array, the aim has been to produce coherent wavefronts as they exit the speaker grilles usually way up in the air. The system-tech then ‘manages’ whatever comes out of the array using preset libraries to find a ‘best-fit’ when the sound arrives on the audience floor.
“MLA (Multi-cellular Loudspeaker Array) technology takes completely the
opposite approach specifying exactly what SPL and frequency response is required at the front rows, the mix position and the rear of the venue, and then using intelligent, automated software to individually control each of up to 144 cells in the array to produce that result. It redefines array technology.”