News Issue 50
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Welcome to AT’s commemorative Indispensable section of Issue 50. I know Andy has done a masterful job steering his introductory Ed Space around the craggy rocks of misty-eyed nostalgia… I’m afraid I can’t be so circumspect. It’s Issue 50, I’ve been doing AT since Issue 3 and I demand some misty-eyed nostalgia! Here goes: In 1998, when I arrived back in Australia after five years in the UK, my first stop-off was to see Greg Simmons and Philip Spencer in Sydney. I heard they’d just started a new magazine and also heard they were looking for another pair of hands in editorial. I guess they couldn’t believe that someone with pro audio publishing experience was just happening to head home, and I could hardly believe there was a mag in Australia that would allow me continue the work I was doing at Audio Media and Sound on Sound magazines. A match made in heaven… But it was tough times. I’m sure anyone who’s started a small business would be familiar with the uncertainty that comes with that – the lack of money and hardware, stupidly long hours, phones getting cut off… but also the profound satisfaction of doing something cool, doing it well and doing it your own way. I’m proud of AT. The 49 issues of the magazine that line up in front of me on my desk, account for the prime years of my working life, as well as a good chunk of what should have been my recreational/family time. And going back through them one by one has, dare I say it, been a real misty-eyed nostalgia trip. I hope you get a kick out of the next 49 pages. I know there are plenty of readers who have been with us since Issue 1, and for all those true believers, this issue is dedicated to you. Christopher Holder, Editorial Director. AT 49 In his inaugural editorial Issue 1 also saw Mike Simmo put high-end Stavrou’s first effort as ISSUE 1 audio design into a dollar a magazine columnist. and cents perspective, Immediately Stav identifying the value of demonstrated his left-of- paying five grand more field approach to ‘sound for ‘that wonderful tonal balance engineering’ with character we call ‘the his article on finding the sound’. It was a fitting best possible distance INDISPENSABLE INSIGHTS preamble to Simmo’s between your nearfield Thanks to everyone who took the time to make extraordinary interview monitors – espousing his their views known on our Indispensable Poll. In the with the legendary audio ‘ribbon effect’ philosophy in coming pages we’ll take a look at what gear and designer, Rupert Neve – an the process. WHO IS...? software people are relying on, and we’ll hear from The geezer we liked to call interview that spanned Meanwhile, Rick O’Neil you, the readers, about what you find indispensable the ‘JMC Dude’ graced the the first three issues of AT didn’t miss a beat from and why. pages of AT for a number of and arguably put the new his Sound Australasia issues, helping to advertise This is the input that really interested me. I was audio engineering school, magazine on ‘the map’. In writing, again taking up fascinated by what fired you all up. And it’s a real JMC Academy. If you know the the first installment, Rupert residency on the back and Simmo cover a lot of sign of the times that software is what gets the identity of JMC Dude, or if in pages of the magazine fact you are the JMC Dude and ground – the emerging and again weaving his juices flowing. It’s evident that we all know the reading this right now… then 24/96 digital standard, the beloved Ford Futura into a importance of great monitoring, microphones, please get in touch, there’s so limitations of ‘CD-quality’ preamps etc, but it’s the software that we all sit and much we want to know… that thought-provoking article mix… that hat… digital audio, and even how on the subjectivity of good look at for hours on end and it’s the software that the inherent distortions of sound. really generates the whole Ford/Holden loyalty. CD may be responsible for social problems! – and left Issue 1 caused quite a stir. There’s a real divide between what people own readers gagging for more. It was arguably the first and use and what really gets them animated. The Australian audio mag to only exception to this rule was Digidesign. Not Elsewhere in Issue 1, write about serious audio only do ProTools and Digi’s interfaces take the Mackie’s soon-to-be- topics in a way that agreed lion’s share of their market segments, but there are everywhere HR824 with pros, semi-pros and many grateful readers out there – you can read their monitors are hoisted onto enthusiasts alike. It wasn’t responses for yourself. – CH. the test bench, as was ravey and low-brow; it the ultimately-doomed was entertaining, cleanly PARIS workstation from designed but packed with (the ultimately-doomed solid info to chew on. company) Ensoniq. ProTools 24 was released, as was Now all the AT team had Cubase VST for Windows to do was ‘get up’ for the 95 and Logic Audio 3.0. ‘difficult’ second issue. –CH. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO…? ENSONIQ PARIS Upon its release PARIS was touted in the market’s haste to embrace digital plugins and market dominance) and the as ‘The Complete Digital Recording & audio workstations. Here’s some of ‘sequencers’ of the day like Logic and Mixing Solution’, which might sound what Stephen said in his interview with Cubase (whose users couldn’t understand pretty ho-hum in 2006, but back in Greg Simmons: “PARIS is the only DAW why they needed extra DSP when their ’98 it has to be remembered that no I know of that has a real studio monitor blazingly fast 200MHz Pentium was one was mixing records from within with stereo solo-in-place. It’s got a mix doing them nicely, thanks very much). their DAW environment. Digidesign’s bus, and a monitor bus with mute, mono, In Issue 17 we reviewed PARIS v3, but ProControl was still on the drawing dim and its own level control for studio by then there was a definite tinge of board, while Logic and Cubase were still monitoring. You use it like a real studio.” desperation in the words of our reviewer, Midi + Audio ‘sequencers’ – remember Remarkably, years later, stand-alone Sakis Anastopolous – the writing was ‘sequencers’?! Instead, PARIS arrived, devices like Mackie’s Big Knob and on the wall and despite our review’s out of the box, with its own hardware Presonus’s Central Station are doing a introduction, there wouldn’t ‘always be interface complete with (gasp) real brisk trade, offering the sort of dedicated PARIS’. As of 2006, even the PARIS true faders. Pivotal in the design of PARIS was monitoring that PARIS was supplying as believers have moved on – you can head audio luminary, Stephen St. Croix, who standard. Arguably PARIS may have been to www.parisfaqs.com to plug into the ensured PARIS featured the type ‘real before its time and fell between the two remnant colony of Parisians. studio’ functionality that was being lost stools of ProTools TDM (with all its juicy GREG SIMMONS, with PurePath’s designer, Mr this), I didn’t think the down a chance to talk with “This is Rupert...” Rupert was unlikely to tell FOUNDING EDITOR Rupert Neve. name ‘Rupert Neve’ was Rupert Neve? I resolved me to get off his phone and An Infinitely Recurring After exchanging Echo From a Warm and It seems crazy now, but I particularly newsworthy at to somehow shoehorn a formalities, we got down leave him alone. the time. It didn’t stack up half-page or thereabouts Distant Past… was lukewarm to the idea. to business… and my I didn’t sleep that night. I I was carrying in my head against the exciting things into the review. So while brief little six-question sat up for hours, playing “How about an interview the entire editorial vision I had planned for the first Frank arranged a date and 20-minute interview went the interview over and with Rupert Neve?” It for this new magazine, issue, such as our scoop in- time, I studied the PurePath on for two fascinating over again, transcribing it was late ’97, and the AudioTechnology, and depth preview of Paris (RIP), promotional literature and hours, covering every into Microsoft Word and enthusiastic voice on the had already mapped out the eagerly-anticipated jotted down half a dozen imaginable aspect of audio excitedly pacing back and end of the phone was the content of the first digital audio workstation questions. equipment history, design forth across my small home Frank Hinton of ATT Audio issue. Accompanying the from Ensoniq (RIP), and the When the time arrived, and application. Rupert was office. On tape were some Controls. Frank was the PurePath review with an accompanying interview I dialled the number. happy to talk for as long as of the most interesting Australian representative interview, no matter how with its designer, Stephen Somewhere in Wimberley, I was happy to listen, and and reassuring insights for Amek, the highly small, meant more space St Croix (RIP). This was hot Texas, an English gentleman I didn’t give a hoot about into professional audio I’d regarded British console would be required, and that ‘front cover’ news, whereas was waiting patiently by the the international phone call ever heard.