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.

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

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

For further information and registration, click here.

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

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

This webinar, sponsored by Herman Pro AV and presented by Furman Sound, will explore the difference between series, multi-stage surge suppression and standard shunt surge suppression. We will also discuss linear filtering for transverse mode noise vs. non-linear filtering. Lastly, we will cover contractor specific products within the Furman line and the Contractor Series, BlueBolt.

Register for the webinar here. Don’t worry, they don’t send spam, only a reminder of the upcoming webinar and the link for logging in.

These are well presented webinars, and the subject of protection from power line surges and noise is frequently discussed in pro audio forums. There’s lots of both valid and misleading information floating around. Get the scoop from a company that’s been making power management gear for a long time.  While you’re at it, check out other webinars in this series that you might have missed.

If anyone wants to restart the “Behringer copies Mackie” round of stories, now’s the time. Behringer’s new iX16 digital mixer borrows a lot from the Mackie DL1608. It has 16 mic preamps and a dock for an iPad, built in effects, and remote control capability.

A couple of years ago I reported on D-Fend, a speaker protection technology from Eminaence. At that time it was still a concept, and finally there’s a product for sale. It’s a hand-sized module with a big heat sink outside and circuit board inside that can be attached directly to the back of a speaker or installed in an amp rack. A computer application (fill out a form) sets parameters for maximum power, frequency frequencies for multi-speaker systems, compression threshold, and a couple of other things. It goes in line between the power amplifier and speaker, and is reported to be audibly transparent until a protection threshold is crossed, at which point it limits the power delivered to the speaker, protecting it from damage. At a target price is $200 for a device that can prevent the cost of repairing or replacing a driver.

Lamplifier is another of those Hall E exhibitors who seems to have survived the first critical period. Their entry product was a vocal microphone with built in EQ and compression which could be optimized for a singer’s voice and technique. This year they introduced the Infinite Direct Box, one of the most complex DIs that I’ve seen yet. 7 knobs on the front panel control and equalizer that’s tailored to guitars – low and high shelving, a presence range around 2 kHz, a broad sweepable peak in the 400-1600 Hz range, and a narrow bandwidth sweep in the low mids to tame body resonance that tends to encourage feedback with amplified acoustic guitars. There’s a compressor and a speaker simulator, and a mysterious Lamplify knob. A combo XLR-1/4” jack for acoustic setups accommodates an internal condenser mic with phantom power if needed, or a high impedance input for a piezo pickup (but not both together since they’re on the same connector). There’s also an input that can accommodate a magnetic pickup, an amplifier output (to the speaker) or line level source. There’s an XLR DI output (a hot mic level) which can accept phantom power to power the box, as well as a ¼” jack that provides a buffered “thru” output, There’s also a USB digital output for direct recording or as an alternate power source. And for backup to the backup, there’s a 9V battery and an outboard AC adapter.

Warm Audio is a fairly new company that makes classic style mic preamps. Their core product, a half-rack sized transformer in/out, API style discrete op amp based mic preamp, the WA12, is now available in a 500 series module package. Brand new for this show is the Tone Beast, a mic preamp that offers a choice of internal signal path, selectable with front panel switches. You can select between either an API 2520 or another model op amp  that I can’t remember (no literature, no web page yet), or you can plug in your own favorite 990 style and footprint op amp. There’s a switch selectable choice of a steel or a nickel core output transformer (both CeneMag), or the output transformer can be bypassed. If that’s not enough, a switch gives you a choice of a tantalum or aluminum electrolytic capacitor at critical points in the signal path. I’ve seen a few mic preamps that offer plug-in selection of op amps or transformers, but this is the first time I’ve run into one that’s this convenient to play around with while you’re recording.

Miktek introduced two new large diaphragm mics at the show. The C1 is a cardioid 1” capsule mic with on board low cut filter and 10 dB pad. An interesting twist is that it’s designed to operate with a capsule polarizing voltage of either 48 or 60 volts. I’ll have to check this out further since few of us have 60v phantom power supplies in our console (I suspect an internal DC-DC converter). The way it’s described, at 60v, the diaphragm is at higher tension and the mic is “extremely accurate and articulate,” whatever that means. At 48v, it’s “able to react to extremely subtle changes in sound pressure, enabling the microphone to capture the slightest nuances in performance.” I thought that’s what a microphone is supposed to do. Miktek has a very good reputation, particularly among engineers in Nashville, their home base, so I suspect that this isn’t as much BS as it sounds when reading the brochure. Also from Miktek is the CV3, a large diaphragm multi-pattern tube mic. This is quite similar to another of their models only it uses a currently available subminiature pentode rather than a new old stock vintage tube, which saves big bucks. The C1 is $600, the C3 is a grand.

I’m packing up the hotel room and getting ready for the final day, hopefully to fill some holes in my fuzzy memory. Come back in a week or so for the full, integrated and somewhat more coherent show report.