AES reports

[Kendrix]

I know Phil asked for frequent posts during the show.

I failed at that miserably.

However, I'm now home where I can type on a real keyboard.

Here are some of my takeaways.

 

Friday and Saturday the show was really busy. The exhibitor floor space was slightly reduced from two years ago. However, within that space the crowds were buzzing all day. That was good to see.

 

I finally got to meet Bruce- very breifly at the end of his participation on the platinum producers panel Sunday AM. Dave Reitzas, Visconti, Massey and Clink also participated. The common thread amongst these guys was that their careers had much to do with simply being lucky/being in the right place at the right time- and then being able to take advantage of the opportunities that came their way. Bruce got choked up a bit when asked about Michael. His soulmate Bea was there and Bruce made sure everyone in the hall knew about that.

 

I saw Craig on the floor Friday afternoon. However, he was always busy talking with someone and I never did get to say hi. I hope he's not too disappointed.

 

Other SSS'er I ran into included Mike Rivers and Dakhter. Where were the rest of youz guyz?

 

I must say its hard to compare speakers witout A/Bing them on the spot. However, the new ADAM SX series really grabbed me. While the prior versions sounded nice they didnt give me the "goota have it" reaction. These new ones make some significant changes. The low mids are now fully formed and the bass is very tight and defined. The top end seemed even smoother than it was with the old ribbbon drivers. Does anyone have $3K they don't need?

 

Big dissapointment for many was that Digi did not support the show. This was mentioned indirectly by the AES staff on a few occasions. Given the support that the users provide Digi this snub was not well taken. "Shame on them" was one quote.

 

The recording the Beatles section was well attended. Kevin Ryan did a great job. B. Kehew couldn't make it since he was touring with Roger Daltrey. Howard Massey tried to diss the book since G. Emerck pointed out a few factual errors exist. This was not well done. Massey came across as pompous and as trying to position himself in the limelight. The crowd came to Kevin's defence.

I was soo dissapointed with this stunt that I boycotted Masseys subsequent producer panel.

 

All the big guys were seen on the floor- P. Ramone, Kramer, Ainley, Manning, Sides, Maserati, Lord-Alge and many others.

 

Rupert could be seen on his scooter.

 

New AT active ribbons were interesting. However I think I may prefer the AEA stuff. ( hard to tell in the listening environment at the show).

 

I spoke with Schwartz engineering about their laser mic technology. I dont expect to see a product anytime soon. These guys have a most basic demo of the fundamental technology. However, they are a long way from having a mic that would be useful. For instance, right now their polar pattern is a straight ahead narrow beam.

 

All in all Im glad I could be there. I made a number of connections and came away inspired. I made it to the studio party that dangerous sponsored downton on Friday. I missed the 40th anuniversay API bash at the Roseland saturday.

 

FYI- it is still possible to find great pizza in NYC.

 

Cheers,

[Mudcat007]

 

...Howard Massey tried to diss the book since G. Emerck pointed out a few factual errors exist...

 

 

That's interesting considering all of the factual errors in the book Massey co-authored with Emerick (as pointed out by Ken Scott and various others).

[dahkter]

Hey Kendrix,

Great seeing you over there on Saturday.

I didn't get a chance to see any other SSS'ers, however it was great talking to some of the manufacturers of the gear that I own and use.

 

Some of the news I gathered that may be helpful / useful:

 

- Mackie is releasing a new set of drivers for their Onyx mixers for XP/Vista/7. I own the original Onyx 1220 and I am able to use Music Software, however I am not able to listen to Windows default sounds. This should fix that.

 

- I had a good time using the Vestax VCI-300, this is a dj controller + soundcard all in one unit. the Vestax rep advised they are releasing some new software for this unit in two months also that will provide many new features (including post fader effects)

 

- The Novation Live controller looked neat, however there were 20 people gathered around it, so I didn't get a chance to try it out.

 

I really enjoyed the show, as Ken says it's definitely inspiring to be around so much nice gear and so many knowledgable and interesting people.

[Phil O'Keefe]

I spoke with Schwartz engineering about their laser mic technology. I dont expect to see a product anytime soon. These guys have a most basic demo of the fundamental technology. However, they are a long way from having a mic that would be useful. For instance, right now their polar pattern is a straight ahead narrow beam.

 

 

This should be interesting. A MIT / Caltech trained physisist friend of mine and I have had several theoretical conversations about how we'd design a laser mic... I look forward to seeing what they have planned!

[Ernest Buckley]

Unfortunately I could not make it this year and its in my backyard. AES is great to meet people that you`ve heard about or hang out with on forums but as far as trying out gear, its really not ideal with all the noise. Looking forward to reading about what others experienced there and who they met!

[Monkey Mouse]

I went Sunday morning and it was dead, more so than I thought it would be. At least I didn't have to wait in line to ask questions at the manufacturer's booths - loved that...

[Ronan Murphy]

There was a lot of really cool stuff this year. I think my favorite thing might have been the VOG by Little Labs, which is a sort of narrow low frequency resonator and super steep high pass filter combined to do some really cool things to kick drums and bass.

 

I am intrigued by the new Trident Monitors with the swiveling mid and tweeters. Sounded really good on the showroom floor (for what that is worth) I shot a ton of interviews that I have been scrambling to get together for my show.

 

Got to hang with Craig a bit, which was awesome.