Well, I just got back to Ohio from the AES show in San Fran.

Wow, what a weekend! Although it's about new gear and education, I felt that it was really about the people who make up this crazy industry. It was a non-stop affair with the show opening at 10am and closing around 6pm but, it was the after-hours happenings that were the most interesting.

When you walk into the main exibition area it's like a giant bee-hive of people, from geeks to freaks to business suits, all brought together for many reasons. My main goal was to speak with people about where they thought the industry was going. I got quite a few opinions, none where very optimistic though. Many said that the last 18 months where probably the worst on record. This made complete sense to me. Why should our industry be any different than any other. We are in a soft economic time and when you couple that with a major flux in technology and throw in all the sh*tty record labels, it makes even more sense.

But.
Great people are still making great recordings and the basic flow of knowledge is still intact.

Here's a quick list of "my" favorite things/people/experiences:

1. Meeting Rupert Neve. I came around the corner and there in front of me is Rupert Neve standing in front of a sign that says "This is NOT a Neve Clone". This was a priceless moment and I wish I had my camera with me. He was speaking to a company that was comparing it's product to a Neve 1073 and Rupert was talking shop with the designer. I don't even think that Rupert knew the sign was behind him. A classic moment indeed.

2. Hanging out with Al Schmitt at Hyde Street Studios. Al put on a vocal Micing clinic for about 50 engineers. The cool thing was, that the studio was having problems with the sound files and we had a half-hour to just chat with Al Schmitt while they fixed it. I didn't learn a whole lot about Micing vocals but I did learn that even Al Schmitt has to deal with some pretty bad talent behind the mic. So, we are not alone, even the best has to deal with bad musicians from time to time.
Thanks Al!

3. The Gear!
a. The Sony booth had a demo on the new Oxford Plugins. All of them sounded over and above what I've been using the last few years.

b.The Mackie Digital Xbus. I know it's a Mackie but I was impressed with the console. It seems like a huge step up for the Mackie company and I'm hoping they let me have a demo model for my showroom/studio. It's a very eliquent hi-def production console with a really nice work path. Check it out.

c. Chandler Ltd. Ok, this stuff just rocks! It's quite different sounding than almost anything else out there. Wade and Cody have produced a re-issue of the Abbey Rd. EMI Beatle's console. The vertical rack system was just introduced at AES and is comprised of an 8 channel eq rack and an 8 channel line amp. It's basically the same console that Pink Floyd used to record and mix Dark Side of the Moon, all in a vertical rack system. I thought the sound was amazing and the layout was righteous.

d. Ultrasone Headphones. I know, not the sexiest piece on the floor but one of the best sounding (that's what this is about, right?) Ultrasone has a unique way of designing thier headphone's that make them sound like you are listening to a great pair of nearfields. I'm ordering some today.

e. Vintech x73i. Of all the "Neve" clones out there. I think this one tells the best story. For it's price-point, I think it's hands-down the best choice out there. Now I haven't tried them all, but I have used 1073's and the Vintech x73i and they are nearly identical.

f. Focusrite Liquid Channel. Just like TapeOp, I really wanted to hate this thing, but after standing there for 30 minutes, I couldn't help myself. It just sounds great. It's also very expensive and probably does not emulate everything equally well. What it is, is a first step towards the mic preamp emulation wars that will begin soon. Now I will not be buying one yet, but it is, at the very least, an interesting first shot. I think the price-point will be it's death though.

g. klein-hummel 500 series monitors. Without a doubt the best sounding studio monitors I have ever heard. And when I win the Lottery, I shall have them.

This is but a short list of the best of AES 117 in my opinion. I'm sure other R.O. members have thier own take on it and I hope they share it with us all.

Cheers,

Chris