Webinar – USB for A/V Applications May 16 2013

Thursday, May 16, 2 to 3 PM Eastern Daylight time.

This is another webinar of a series of occasional on-line talks sponsored by Herman Pro AV.

Learn about the applications and limitations of USB, the most common way today of connecting computers to external devices. What are the throughput speeds and how do you know whether your USB connection will work to the desired level? In this webinar, you’ll learn the genesis and evolution of the USB standard, best installation practices and challenges, and the future of data connectivity connections.

Register here. Registration (and the webinar) is free, and won’t result in spam, though you’ll get a confirmation, a reminder, and a URL for the webinar. I’ve tuned into several of these Herman AV webinars and found them to be informative, reasonably comprehensive, and well presented.

Sony Spectral Layers Pro – Promo Sale Price

Close to half price – $199 through April 26, including the on-line instructional seminar sessions.

This is a really deep “un-bake the cake” program. I’m still trying to figure it out myself so I can’t rave or rant over it, just pass on the info for an interesting approach to editing.

Going beyond the spectrogram editors that are becoming part of some of the popular DAWs, this one allows you, once you’ve identified a characteristic sound in a mix, remove it from the mix, save it as a separate “layer” and then put it back into the mix (or not) at the level and with edits that you choose. It also does straightforward background noise reduction/removal (car horns, barking dogs, sirens, chair squeaks), though honestly, if that’s all you need, there are programs that are easier to use. But if you really want to get into this sort of editing, it’s worth a shot.

To get further details on the program, download a free trial version, or take the $199 plunge, click here

 

Focusrite Forte USB Audio Interface Posted

The Forte is a high performance USB 2.0 audio interface that features excellent mic preamps and a pretty darn intuitive user interface for a device with a single knob to control everything (there’s a computer application, too). It’s a gorgeous tabletop format package that sounds as good as it looks.

Check out the Product Reviews page or jump right to the review here.

Webinar on Assistive Listening Systems – April 18 2013 at 2 PM EDT

Knowing that a number of your who visit here are involved with sound in houses of worship, and that assisted listening (hearing aid loops and beyond) is important, I thought that this one might be of soune interest. Presented by Herman Systems and Sennheiser Electronic Corporation, the webinar will provide a brief overview of ADA compliance standards for assistive listening systems. We will explore different ALS solutions including infrared, installed loop and RF systems. Lastly, we will cover useful tips for successful system specification and implementation.

For further information and registration, click here.

NAB Show 2013 Highlights

This isn’t a detailed show report as I usually write as I’m in the back-to-back travel mode now and wanted to get something out before I forgot what I saw. NAB isn’t a big show for audio, but it’s nice to be able to talk at length with some of the manufacturers who are swamped at AES and NAMM shows. Read or download the report here.

PreSonus and Me

I know that many of you have come here from the PreSonus forum. Regulars may have noticed my absence from that forum lately (at least my ego hopes you noticed) and may be wondering if I’m still around.

The reason for my absence there is simply that I’ve been kicked off the forum. What I was told was that the company had received “several” e-mails from people who were offended or annoyed by things I had posted on the forum, and asked if I was an employee (probably with intent of getting me fired). Now for the life of me I can’t imagine what I said that would provoke this response, and further, PreSonus’ action as a result, but apparently they decided that despite my frequent detailed explanations, helpful suggestions, and useful solutions, the forum would be better off without me than with me.

To be clear, while I have given presentations at the PreSonuSphere user’s conference (in fact, that event grew out of a suggestion of mine) and written a few white papers as PreSonuSphere handouts, I have never been employed by the company other than for piecework.

I won’t deny that I feel a bit of sour grapes over this – it’s like being fired from a job I didn’t know I had, for reasons that weren’t clear to me. However, I think the company makes good products (it’s why I got involved in the first place) and I’m not going to try to dissuade anyone from buying their gear because I feel they’ve treated me badly.

You’re of course welcome to contact me with any questions you have about their gear (or anything else for that matter) if you think I can be of assistance. Just don’t look for me on the PreSonus forum in the future. As far as I know at this time, I’m unwelcome there and won’t be back.

-  Mike

Winter NAMM 2013 Show Report Posted

Finally got the consolidated show report with links and pictures up. Better late than later, but still sooner than the magazines. Well, I did take a week long working (on something else) vacation after the show, so I didn’t get started sorting out the small pile of literature I took home, and digging out the rest from the web.

Browse the Trade Show Reports section or download it directly here.