So what was at the recent British Music Fair? Well in all honestly, nothing much. Just about every manufacturer there were showing off their current production merchandise, noted absentees where EMU makers of the PROTEUS modules amongst other things, and
PAISTE the cymbal people. Not many were offering much new, but there where exceptions, such as:
YAMAHA's PROMIX 01, a programmable 16 channel mixer. It has 8 mic inputs, and 8 line inputs, which are then converted into a digital signal, as all the processing from there on, be it, 3 band EQ, the 3 compressors, and the 2 effectors is carried out in th
e digital domain. Main output, Monitor, and Aux are converted back to conventional analogue signals, but S/PDIF digital record out is provided which you can use to connect directly to your DAT recorder.
A large back-lit LCD display keeps you informed of channel information, metering, and provides plenty of graphics to keep you happy. Guaranteed to "break the ice at parties", as will the moving faders just like the "flying faders" on the big studio desks.
Snapshots of mix settings are also provided.
The fact that it's called the 01, probably means there will be a series offering more channels; the 02, 03, etc. Plus if you want your investment to look pretty, you can get wooden side panels, as well as the more practical rack-mount kit and carrying cas
e. The delivery date for the mixer will be around September.
Already released, are additions to the QY series of "Walkstation" sequencers. The huge QY300 (which can not use batteries), is almost equivalent to their QX series of hardware sequencers, but with a General MIDI compatable tone generator fitted. It also o
ffers a disk-drive capable of playing back Standard MIDI File sequences, and has built-in Reverb to boot, but no kitchen sink.
They have also released the QY8, which is slightly bigger than a GameBoy, but doesn't have a keyboard built-in for inputting notes, you need a MIDI keyboard. Were will it end? Will the QY1 be the size of postage stamp?
A VL-1 was on show, their "physical modelling" or "virtual acoustic" (the current buzz words) synth, but at that price, and the fact that it's duo-phonic, I think it's safe to say it's aimed at the Jean-Michel Jarre's of this world. It's designed to be ex
pressive with controllers for everything, and will supply very realistic sounding instruments, but the same realistic instruments that everyone's already access to thanks to Sample & Synth based instruments. I've no doubt the technology and development w
ill filter down to an affordable level though, and may be the level of expressiveness is the future. If it is, will the other keyboard manufacturers jump on the band wagon as has happened with S&S instruments?
I also noticed YAMAHA was the only stand in the show to have a demonstration room. Everyone else used those headphones that dangle down, the people on the ZILDJIAN stand looked most amusing with these strange shaped objects sitting on top of their heads,
with cables coming out of them. Still it keeps most of the noise down at these types of show.
YAMAHA aren't the only ones developing "physical modelling", KORG too use it on their new WAVEDRUM, a device aimed at percussionist rather than drummers, as it's device is played not unlike bongo or conga. The sound can be changed by tensing the drum head
, or hitting it in a differently. In fact I noticed some intriguing Indian sound rhythms coming from the demonstrator.
KORG have also just realised a 76 note version of the X3 keyboard, called the X2. Best of all they've released an affordable MIDI synth! The X5 which is based on their X5R module, it offers 32 notes, is 16 channel multitambal, GM compatable, 2 effect proc
essor, and a touch sensitive 5 octive keyboard, all for about รบ800.
PEAVEY, not that long ago, where know only for there public address (PA) systems and back-line amplification. Today, you name it, PEAVEY probably makes it; lights, MIDI equipment, effect units, guitars, basses, T-shirts, and now DRUMS? I kid you not, and
very strange they look too, but sounded very refined, especially the cracking snare.
ALESIS have been busy by the looks of it, fuelled by the success of the ADAT digital multi-track recorder. Following the recent QUADRASYNTH keyboard, there's a module version on the way, the the S4. The QUADRAVERB2 (or Q2) is a redesign of the popular QUA
DRAVERB effect processor, complete with more flashy LCD graphics (who will be the first company to use a colour LCD?), and importantly for pro-use now offering balanced inputs.
If your thinking of building a studio using more than one ADAT recorder, then the new X2 mixing console might be of interest to you. Offering 24 input channels, with 64 inputs at mixdown, MIDI muting, and direct connection to ADAT's via 56-pin connectors.
This ADAT compatibility is common with all new ALESIS products, both the QUADRASYNTH and Q2 have ADAT optical connectors, so the audio remains in the digital domain. Don't forget that FOSTEX also make an ADAT recorder.
TRACE ELLIOT is a name most bass players will know I'm sure. Well their now making PA systems as well, electronic crossovers, power amplifiers, and with speaker drivers by RCF, CELESTION and PRECISION DEVICES, all going under the name of the EVOLUTION SER
IES. Systems can be as small as 600 watts, to 5000, and above, and if PEAVEY are anything to go by, expect TRACE ELLIOT to be selling you a keyboard workstation in a few years.
MIDI lighting is still not as wide spread as perhaps it should be, but there where a couple of products that court my eye. A company called ABSTRACT have been making effect lighting for a while, and many a disco roadshow, and rave have used there products
be it; Scatter-Spots, Twisters, Wildstars, Hyper & Monster Moons.
Well now there getting into projector lights, sometimes called "Scanners", those types of lights you see on many a TV show, especially good ol' Top of the Pops. There's the GLADIATOR 250 DMX (shame about the name), and the FUTURESCAN 2. Both use mirrors,
and stepper motors to provide animated lighting that you've all seen somewhere I'm sure. However, as well as being able to control the lights with their own DMX dedicated controller via MIDI, you can use a MIDI keyboard. Yes be the first in your area to h
ave "VARILITE" type effects but at a fraction of the cost! It had to happen, but don't expect it to be exactly like the VARILITE as that system moves the whole light! (You can contact ABSTRACT on 0533 788078).
Another MIDI lighting pioneer is our friends at BCK PRODUCTS. Their LITE SHOW unit offers 8 channels of MIDI controlled light, by either MIDI notes on's with velocity controlling brightness, or by sending MIDI program commands to activate the preset scene
s in the unit. Due to it's 64 levels of brightness, fading the lights is very smooth, much better than many other units in fact.
The thing that got me inquisitive was a real-time control device for the aforementioned unit, with 8 separate faders for each light. Each movement generates a new MIDI note on. The preset scenes can also be recalled from the device. Although designed for
use with sequencers to help users program their own lighting patterns, there's nothing to stop your sound or lighting engineer (don't call them roadies it demeans them) using it "live", you don't even need MIDI sequences to run it any more. You don't even
need to be in a band. Small dramatic or theatre groups, or perhaps schools, can now have access to fully controllable lighting at a reasonable price (what no dimmer packs?).
The controller is still in the prototype stage, but will hopefully be available in 3 months or so. More importantly, BCK are offering ROC members discount on their products, so it could be even more cost effective to start looking at MIDI lighting! Strike
-a-light......
Well I guess it time to tell you what those lovely people at ROLAND have in store for you all. Well they've got been sitting around, as hot on the heals of the JD990 SUPER synth module, is the JV1080 SUPER JV Synthesizer Module. It's defiantly the GTI of
the JV's, or going by the size of the expansion board cover, perhaps it should be the Cabriolet. Four (yes 4) expansion boards may be fitted to this 2 unit module making it expendable to 42Mbytes of data (equivalent to 84Mbytes uncompressed), which will m
ean booking time-off to check out all the tones available.
Other features; well how about 16-part multitimbral capability, with 64 notes to play with (no doubt thanks to the 32-bit RISC processor)?
There's 4 banks of 128 preset patches; A/B/C/D, with D being General MIDI patches, there's also 128 user patches (a reasonable number at last), plus 64 on a data card. For drum sounds we have 4 preset rhythm kits (1 being GM), and 2 user kits, plus 1 on t
he card. Finally there's 2 preset, and 1 user bank of 32 performances, with 16 available on data card.
It looks as if the memory for the user locations is finally relying less on data cards, 128 user tones, no more "Data card not ready" error messages when you go above MIDI program command 64.
If the data cards memory now looks a bit tame, don't worry, as I also managed to spot another new ROLAND product, the new M-512E RAM card. Double the number of the M-256E card we all know and rely upon, and no question was designed just for the JV1080in m
ind.
The JV1080's tones can be structured, and there's a ring modulation feature, an idea from the JD990, plus there's a new feature called "boost". ROLAND say it increases the waveforms amplitude to produce distortion effects as well as pulse width modulation
effects. I thought boost was a chocolate bar.
The effect power has also been vastly improved, there's 40 "insert" effects which provide "Single effects", such as; distortion, phasing, chorusing, delay, reverb, auto-wah, rotary, and compression, "Serial-connected effects"; overdrive to chorus, flanger
to delay, so on, and "Parallel-connected" effects like; chorus & delay. The output of the "insert" effector can go to the 2 separate stereo outputs, or onwards to the "standard" JV system effects of chorus and reverb, and finally on to the main stereo ou
tput.
It looks as if ROLAND have chucked a BOSS SE70 in the unit as well, but I didn't spot any vocoder programs. It's not unlike the effect power of KORG's current range of synths and workstations.
Is the anything the JV1080 doesn't have? YES! I've found it, there's no sequencer! So although the module is clearly based on the JV1000, with extra user memory, it's not exactly the same. Who would but a sequencer in a rack mount which is tucked away in
a rack? (answer KORG, the X3R).
I can't tell how it's sounds unfortunately, every time I went around to the stand there was someone on the darn thing, still it prove's it's going to be sort after, and I don't think people will be disappointed with the sound going by stable of the other
JV synths.
Will the JV1080 mean the death of the JV880? Do ROLAND plan to have a JV990? Will the JV1080 be out before Christmas, and if so will Santa get one for you? I guess time and ROLAND only know the answers.
Anything else to come from ROLAND? Yes, calling all JD990 owners! There's 3 new data cards available for use with the JD990's internal waveforms, called Oz Perspective, Modern Masters, and Modern Sonics.
If you haven't found a wave expansion board for your JD990 or JV synth you like yet, or are into ethnic/world music, there's a new expansion board coming out soon, called "World" funnily enough.
That's about it really, good to see ROLAND with one of the few brand new products in the show, and continuing to expand on their expandible synths. All done for another year.
