Allen & Heath has released an interim firmware update for its iLive range of digital mixing systems – v1.91 offers a series of presets created by sound engineer and iLive user, Ben Booker.

Booker has toured as a monitor and FOH engineer with many artists, including the Scissor Sisters, Spiritualized and PJ Harvey; and has also produced, mixed and mastered recording projects; and mixed on-stage sound and broadcast mixes on TV and Radio shows, including the MTV Awards and BBC Live Lounge.

He has extensive operating experience of iLive and has written presets for dynamic EQ and multiband compressors based on years of touring with the system. iLive now have access to his Off Mic Boost to deal with bad mic techniques, IEM Help to gently compress in-ear mixes, and Bass Fix to smooth out bass guitars.

‘The Dyn EQ and Multi BD compressor are both creative and controlling in use,’ he says. ‘They are the swiss knife off the audio world as virtually any sound can be fixed or enhanced with them. They are very powerful and worth taking the time to learn in depth.’

More: www.allen-heath.com

DiGiCo has extended the flexibility of its SD-series of mixing consoles with the release of its Audio Router.

The matrix style Audio Router provides a user-defined recording path for each system input (from stage or locally on the console) to allow recording and playback without drawing on any of the console’s own resources.

‘All of the system I/O is made available in a crosspoint router format, where any input can be copied to single or multiple outputs on any port,’ says DiGiCo Head of Software Development, Roger Wood. ‘The Copy Audio panel provides you with an independent audio router. For playback, you press the Listen to Copied Audio button, and any channels that were fed by copied live signals will then switch to your nominated playback sources. Any input can be set to Listen Safe mode, which allows you to quickly replace the playback signal with the live mic on a per-channel basis.’

More: www.digico.org

Rupert Neve Designs has released the 5060 Centerpiece 24x2 Desktop Mixer, bringing the centre section features of the company’s flagship 5088 console to the desktop. The class-A analogue design aims to ‘cement outboard equipment together with serious custom transformers, flexible monitoring, DAW transport controls and the raw power of a Rupert Neve-designed 24x2 mix-bus’.

The 5060 Centerpiece takes the 5088 into a compact, modular format with extensive interconnectivity. In a modular, hybrid analogue/digital mix system built around the Centerpiece, gear can be integrated with this mix-bus. Using modern DAW control technologies, the 5060 integrates stem outputs from the DAW with the rest of the control room, sums the final mix, and provides two-track outputs, source selection, and multiple speaker feeds from the monitor section.

Custom transformers, a class-A mix bus and variable Silk control, the 5060 can provide a wide range of tonal options. The mix bus can be driven hard and Silk/Texture used in either of two different transformer saturation modes, or Silk can be disengaged. Used in conjunction with 5059 mixers and Portico modules, the 5060 forms the centre of a completely scalable analogue system. In this arrangement, the 5059s provide individual channel control, aux routing, and expandable channel counts, the Portico modules provide preamplification, EQ and dynamics, around the 5060.

More: www.rupertneve.com

With ten television production facilities in Belgium, Videohouse has its own in-house design and systems integration division. Called ProjectBuilders, this facility recently gor to work installing two Solid State Logic C100 HDS Digital Broadcast Consoles in two DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation) OB Trucks.

The choise of SSL is a continuity call for the DR engineering staff, as the company recently completed a four building complex for television, radio and live concert/events, which uses eight C200 and three C100 consoles.

Announced at the ProLight & Sound show, the launch of the Live console brings SSL into the sound for the stage market for the first time.

‘Many people have been asking us to make a console for live for so long and the time has come,’ says SSL MD, Antony David. ‘It has been a couple of years in the making because we like to get things right at SSL, and we are very confident that we have created a console engineers will fall in love with. It is very exciting to be entering a completely new area of the industry, with a new technology platform and a fresh approach to how a live console should sound and how to give engineers a control surface that helps them deliver exceptional performances. We are really looking forward to how the professional live sound community reacts.’

Based on SSL’s new Tempest processing platform, Live supports 976 inputs and outputs, and 192 full processing audio paths at 96kHz. Audio paths configuration is extremely flexible, being allocated to Channels, Auxes, Stem Groups and Masters as determined by the needs of a particular event. All processing is built into the console surface, as is I/O connectivity. A full range of Stagebox I/O connects to the console via Madi with the potential for larger systems to make use of SSL’s Blacklight technology, which carries up to 256 channels of bi-directional audio and control via a single fibre-optic connection.

Console control uses multiple tablet style multi-gesture touchscreens intended to allow engineers to work as they wish – with touchscreen or classic hardware technology, or to combine them both. Live uses SSL’s ‘studio grade’ SuperAnalogue mic preamps, with 96kHz/24-bit AD/DA conversion, and 64bit internal processing. There are also 30 effects and audio analysis tools onboard.

The console is designed to meet the demands of all aspects of live sound production in touring and installation, and at FOH and monitors. It is aimed at applications ranging from arenas and concert halls to houses of worship.

Live is due to ship in September 2013, with pdices depending upon configuration(ranging between: £48,000 and £75,000/€57,500 and €90,000/US$84,000 and US$130,000)

More: www.solidstatelogic.com

Directors at Solid State Logic in Begbroke invited local MP Nicola Blackwood to see its UK base and manufacturing facility, and discuss the firm’s current recruitment drive. The firm currently employs 120 people locally (160 globally) and has vacancies at its HQ – in engineering, R&D and product support.

A trained classical singer – she gained a First in Music at St Anne’s College, Oxford and an M.Phil. in Musicology from Emmanuel College, Cambridge – Blackwood took a tour of the factory facility to see consoles being assembled. She was also shown the Product Demonstration building which houses six acoustically treated and fully equipped sound studios, each with an array of SSL consoles and smaller products.

‘It’s great to see a local company doing so well internationally in the music and broadcast industries – and recruiting at a time when unemployment is rising,’ she said. ‘I have enjoyed seeing behind the scenes at SSL, seeing the consoles at various stages of assembly on the factory floor, and going to the actual studios to see the finished products in action. I’ve spent time in recording studios before but have never got involved in the production side. After today I understand a bit more about the technology that allows producers and engineers to record and mix audio, and see why Solid State Logic is considered a leader in its industry.’

‘We have enjoyed the opportunity to show Nicola around, and welcome her positive response to our business,’ saus SSL MD, Antony David. ‘We consider ourselves lucky to be positioned in Oxford where there is such a formidable pool of talent within a commutable radius. Of course the macroeconomic climate is affecting the industries we operate in – music, broadcast and post – but the company is growing nonetheless. We have a strong reputation for technological innovation and customer service, and have diversified our product range over recent years to appeal to wider markets. All of this adds up to increased demand, which is why we are on a recruitment drive.’

The MP has also nominated Solid State Logic’s AWS 948 SuperAnalogue mixing console for the Made by Britain project, organised by the Associate Parliamentary Manufacturing Group. All 650 UK MPs have been asked to find a product that is manufactured in their constituency, with the aim of building up a diverse and comprehensive picture of British industry today.

More: www.solidstatelogic.com/about/jobs

Stagetec has extended the functionality of its Nexus-based Aurus and Crescendo audio consoles with with new loudness metering – allowing loudness values to be exported for long-term logging and legal audit trail.

‘In broadcast, where our systems are in common use, the importance of loudness metering is increasing,’ says Stagetec International Sales Manager, Sam de Pauw. ‘Our new interface to the most sophisticated loudness logging system on the market today significantly eases the burden of documenting and analysing loudness measurements for our customers.’

Salzbrenner Stagetec MediaGroup unveiled the first integrated loudness metering for Nexus 12 months ago, allowing each Nexus Base Device to provide simultaneous and independent metering for three audio programmes with up to eight channels each. The new Nexus software includes loudness metering in accordance with the American ATSC RP A/85 as well as with the international ITU and European EBU recommendations and enables external peripherals to be eliminated.

The software provides three loudness integration options – Momentary Metering with an integration time of 400ms, Short-term Metering with an integration time of 3s, and Integrated Metering with custom integration time, which enables Loudness Range (LRA) to be calculated natively within the Nexus. The results of the Integrated measurement can be inserted directly as metadata into a Dolby E stream or, with the help of the interface, stored for later use.

More: www.stagetec.com

Studer’s Vista 5 digital audio console has been updated with the addition of company’s the FaderGlow system. Named the Vista 5 M3, the console joins the Vista 9 and Vista 1 in offering colour-coded indication of channels and functions, along with integrated RTW loudness metering as standard.

Studer FaderGlow uses an led strip alongside faders to indicate assigment, such as which faders control a subset of an orchestra, or highlighting the fader for a key presenter on a show. FaderGlow is also used to show additional functions such as graphic EQ to faders allowing the 30-band GEQ to be displayed and controlled on the faders.

The integral loudness metering is based on the RTW TM7 touchscreen meter, and provides a number of international broadcast standard metering types including bargraph, needle PPU and VU displays in addition to various loudness displays.

The Vista 5 can also be used with the new optional Vista FX system, which uses Lexicon PCM96 engines to provide up to 24 effects channels fully integrated into the Vistonics channel screens, and with the Vista Compact Remote to provide not only remote control facilities but also redundancy.

Another new software update for the Vista series including the Vista 5 M3 is VistaMix, automatic microphone mixing for games, talk shows and discussion panels. This intuitive system uses a gain sharing system to provide an optimum automatic mix that minimises background noise and spill without losing the start of words in a fast paced unscripted production.

Other new functionality in the Vista 5M3 includes channel metering, touchpad GC control, enhanced networking and a parallel Madi/Cat5 interface for the monitoring links to the DSP core. It also has integral audio router capabilities and control interface possibilities with video switchers via the ProBel protocol, and newsroom automation systems using the Ember protocol.

More: www.studer.ch

Solid State Logic is to expand is AWS series of consoles with the launch of the AWS 916 mixer and DAW controller.

The AWS 916 has been designed to extend the reach of the AWS range, including private and commercial studios and educators.

The console offers the same functionality as the AWS 924, with a reduced channels count –16 channels instead of 24. The AWS is, however, expandable to full AWS 924 specification with the addition of an eight-channel upgrade package available separately.

‘At £35,000 (US$52,500 US), the 16-fader variant of the AWS is ideally placed to accommodate both the operational and financial requirements of the music professional,’ says SSL Group Commercial Director, Piers Plaskitt. ‘Additionally, not everyone has the processing requirements of our larger format consoles and will find that 16 channels of SSL SuperAnalogue are more than enough for their needs. When you add in the elegant DAW integration, it is hard to find anything else in the marketplace that comes close.’

Using the 24-fader footprint, the AWS 916 offers 16 SSL SuperAnalogue mic preamplifiers, SSL dual-curve EQ on every channel, two assignable SSL Dynamics processors, Stereo Bus Compressor, TotalRecall and 5.1 monitoring. In addition to onboard SSL automation, the AWS 916 also features the A-Fada system, with motorised analogue faders that follow DAW automation data.

Dedicated heavy-duty DAW transport, V-Pot multifunction encoders with position indicating LEDs and digital scribble strips are part of the package, along with a DAW fader mode, global and channel routing controls and built-in TFT display for plug-in control. Project session management is kept simple through SSL’s proprietary Logictivity interface.

The AWS 916 aso features Ethernet connectivity for hardware control of a DAW environment.

More: www.solidstatelogic.com