Panasonic DA7 User Manual

PANASONIC DA7 DIGITAL MIXER

Page 2

MUSIC TECHNOLOGY DIRECT

Guitars W ithout Compr omise

If you are a lover of fine, hand-crafted guitars, I probably don’t need to do anything more
than point to the photo on the right. Sporting a premium flame maple top and back and finished
in an absolutely stunning dark amber, this is the new Paul Reed Smith McCarty Archtop, just
one of several brand new instruments designed and built by what is unquestionably one of the
premier guitar makers in the world. I actually mentioned the new hollow body PRS guitars in my
Tech Notes column right after the Winter NAMM Show, and some of you out there immediately
placed orders. That was smart of you, since these are hand made guitars, not instruments that are
flying off the assembly line by the thousands. In fact, it will probably be a while
before supplies of PRS hollow bodies can actually catch up with huge demand.

Before I get into the specifics of these brand new PRS models (and wait
until you see the photo on Page 11), let me just say that Sweetwater has an
incredible selection of existing models in stock right now, in all sorts of gorgeous
finishes, ready to ship to your door. From the top-of-the-line Artists and Santanas
to the surprisingly affordable Customs, McCarty solid bodies (the best-seller in
the entire PRS line) and CE bolt-ons, there’s probably a guitar in the warehouse
that has exactly the options you want in exactly the color you’re looking for at
prices that start at under $1800. Many of them even have the highly flamed maple
“10-Tops” that PRS has become justly famous for.

Now it just so happens that I’m partial to vintage yellow and tobacco sunburst
myself, but you might prefer a whale blue or teal black or even an emerald
green PRS. In fact, these instruments come in a startling variety of colors
(even turquoise) with or without the PRS tremolo and with Abalone birds
or moon fretboard inlays. My suggestion is that you call Sweetwater for
an up-to-the-minute rundown on the exact models and finishes in stock
right now. As a proud PRS owner, I can tell you these guitars look fantastic,
play like a dream and sound even better.

Still, if the thought of a new PRS hollow body has you reaching for
your credit cards, let me give you the complete story on all the new PRS

guitars: First up is the McCarty Hollow Body

($3000 list) which is 3 inches deep at

— Continued on Page 11

EARLY FALL 1998 ISSUE

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Yamaha PSR Portables

They have features that, just a few years ago, were only
seen on high end keyboards. They have hundreds of
sounds, onboard sequencers, built-in accompaniment,
digital multieffects and, oh yeah, they sound incredible.
Dollar-for-dollar, the Yamaha PSR-Series keyboards
have serious music-making potential at surprisingly
affordable prices.

Summer NAMM Report

In case you weren’t able to make it to Nashville this
past July for the 1998 Summer NAMM Show, we have
a first-hand report inside this issue that’ll knock your
socks off. From the latest digital mixers to the newest
synths and samplers, there’s
something for everyone!

— SEE PAGE 3

Sonic Foundry

Software

Windows users re­joice! Now you can

take your creativity

to new heights with

the latest technology

from Sonic Foundry, like Sound Forge 4.5, ACID,

CD Architect and more.

— SEE PAGE 2

— SEE PAGE 6

Line 6 Tubetone Amps

Guitar players never stop searching for the

ultimate tone. In the past, this meant ex-

pensive tube amps. Enter the AX2,

Flextone and POD with the latest amp
modeling TubeTone technology from

— SEE PAGE 7

Line 6.

PLUS:

Lexicon Signature 284,

Microboards CD Duplicators,

Alesis QS 6.1 Synth

AND MORE!

Late-Breaking News: MACKIE DIGITAL MIXER SHIPS!

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 2

PANASONIC DA7 DIGITAL MIXER SETS A NEW STANDARD

You've been considering one of the new digital mixing consoles, but you might be
concerned about the steep learning curve. When you read the feature list on these babies,
it's easy to assume they're going to be formidable machines. Relax. You can have digital
power without shutting your studio down for a few weeks to learn an entirely new user
interface. Introducing the Panasonic DA7, a board with all the really important bells and
whistles (and truly impressive specs!), but one that you'll feel right at home with. Oh, and
a price that you'll feel pretty good about, too: Under $5,000 — and that’s list!

For those of you who may have been vacationing in some remote area of the Amazon
for the last six months or so, the DA7 is a 32-input, eight-bus, six Aux mixer that offers true
24-bit I/O capability (and let’s face it, the future is 24-bit, so you might as well get with the
program now), 5.1 surround sound mixing mode, extensive dynamic and snapshot auto-

mation and one function/one step screen layer operation, to name just a few features.

Internally, the DA7 reflects Ramsa's expertise in digital consoles (Ramsa's DX-1000 digi­tal console has been critically acclaimed in Japan for years, though it has been unavailable in
the US) and Panasonic's powerful influence in digital audio recording environments — Ramsa
is the pro audio division of Panasonic, just in case you were wondering why there are two
names on the board. Ergonomically, the console has the look and comfortable feel of a famil­iar analog friend, and houses an “LED Farm” display: A series of LEDs providing a quick look
at the routing status, automation modes, Channel On/Off status, EQ On/Off, Dynamics On/Off,
Panning In/Out, and Aux Send On/Off. Additionally, quick access to the console's current con­figuration is accessible via a large screen graphic display, designed to eliminate having to dig
deep into layers of screens to view routing configuration information.

As a matter of fact, Ramsa engineers took the “time is money” reality of studio and
broadcast environments seriously when designing the graphics display routing feature. The
displays of channel settings and parameters are all quickly accessible via a quick touch of the
assignable control buttons. The type or amount of data to be displayed on the screen can be
user defined, while certain indicators, such as a SMPTE Time Code readout, are present on all
screens. All mix, processing, routing, and surround sound parameters are accessible via the
graphics display. Built-in parametric EQ and dynamic controllers are assignable on all inputs
and Aux Returns. Via the unit's MIDI ports, a variety of external automation operations are
possible, including control of external effects and other MIDI compatible instruments. In ad-

dition, up to 50 each of EQ, Dynamics and Channel Status settings can be stored, as well as

50 Global settings of the entire console for instant recall.

Industry experts are already singing the praises of the Panasonic DA7. In the July

issue of

EQ

, Craig Anderton wrote, “The (user) interface is, in a word, marvelous. I was

able to get quite far without looking at the manual. I hesitate to say that, though,

because you can’t use the DA7 to its full advantage unless you do read the manual

— there are many shortcuts and nifty little features.”

Put together all the features and user-friendly interface with the DA7's rather
breathtakingly low list price, and you have to admit — I mean

this is one of the most impressive price-to-performance items to come along

in quite some time. Yes, you can spend more on a digital mixer, but most of us
would rather pay less and get all the functionality and sonic performance we

need (personally, I don’t need that integrated digital bun warmer) in one pack-

age that’s ready to plug in and use to make great music.

have to!

— that

YAMAHA PSR-SERIES: PORTABLES WITH POWER

There was a time, not long ago, when portable keyboards were rated not by
their sound, but by their cheese factor: Little plastic machines making little plastic
bossa nova rhythms. Man, have times changed. From first hand experience, I can
tell you that today’s portables have very little in common with their ancestors. See,
I bought my father a Yamaha PSR530 last Christmas. I bought it because he had to
give up his prized Kimball piano when he moved into his retirement community and
he wanted something he could use to continue writing music in his spare time (I
think his retirement is more active than my so-called “normal” life).

He and I were both amazed when we heard the quality of the sound coming out
of the onboard speakers. But what was even more startling was the complexity and
sophistication of the built-in accompaniment. My first thought was: I gotta get me
one of these things. As a late night “sketchpad,” I wouldn’t even need to turn on
the equipment in my studio to lay down some tracks. That’s because the integral
multi-track sequencer can store everything until I have a chance to either write
out the parts or sit down and record the “real thing” in my studio. For me, there’s
nothing worse than losing an inspiration because I haven’t got a tape cued up.

And then I thought: “Wow! I could even take this thing with me to the
beach or up to the mountains.” Duh! Yamaha has been telling us this for years.
Guess I wasn’t paying attention (hey, I was real busy, okay?).

Take it from me, every keyboard player needs one of these machines. You
won’t believe how good they sound or how much attention Yamaha paid to the
sheer musicality of the accompaniment styles. Yes, there’s still a polka or two lurk­ing in there, but there’s more than enough rock, jazz, country and Latin grooves to
keep anyone tapping their toe — these are accompaniment styles that are truly so
good they can actually

I won’t take up a lot of space here listing all the different PSR-Series keyboards

WE ACCEPT EVERY MAJOR CREDIT CARD!

inspire your creativity!

We make it easy to get the gear you need! Call us at

that Yamaha makes — it would take up two pages anyway. Log on to Sweetwater’s
Web site and you can download all the information you need on these amazingly
versatile and surprisingly affordable instruments (prices start at just $149.95). While
you’re there (in case you still don’t believe me when I say these things are amazing),
check out the Yamaha PSR8000 with its Virtual Arrangement function (intros/end­ings, multiple fills, bridge/chorus/verse arrangements), Vocal Harmony feature (build
your own backup singers) and Gender Function/Pitch Correction (shift the pitch of

The do-it-all, take it anywhere PSR630 from Yamaha: Nothing short of amazing!

your voice up or down while retaining human voice quality or just adjust the pitch of
your voice to match the key of the music). This is heavy duty musical firepower, folks.

Now if you don’t happen to have Net access at the moment, feel free to call your
Sweetwater Sales Engineer for all the specifics on these great instruments, plus your
very special low Sweetwater pricing. You’ll find it’s, well . . . inspirational!

[phone]

— J.M.

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 3

Wow! Just when we thought it was safe to hop in the
van and start driving again, what happens? We end up
in Nashville at the Summer NAMM Show. This year
there were no helicopters or Lear jets to get us to
the show as in the past; just a trip in Chuck's luxu­rious van. Trips that we take together are always
interesting. Even when we try to talk about some­thing other than work, we still end up back at the
same place — work, and how we can better serve
our customers. You'll hear more about these new
ideas in the coming months.

NAMM shows always have a very festive mood
(lets face it, musicians
this one was no exception, with great bands playing up
and down every major street and great concerts every
night. But in the end, fatigue (partly due to information
overload) always wins at the show.

The theme of this year's show was once again gui­tars, with a notable presence of groove or DJ-oriented
equipment and digital peripherals. In spite of walking
what seemed like 50 miles per day and listening to ev­ery sales pitch known to man, I’m sure we missed
things. This report is in no way meant to be the defini­tive all-inclusive text on the matter. Before you enter
remember this: List prices (where available), model
names, release dates, colors, sizes, power ratings,
specs, weights, knob per dollar ratios, cool guy fac­tors, and everything else are all subject to change. Space
prevents us from covering everything in these pages,
but a more detailed report is available on our Web site
at “

www.sweetwater.com/reports/summer-namm98/

AKAI. The S5000 ($1995) and S6000 ($2995) samplers appeared to be working
perfectly. They aren't shipping yet, but Akai expects them to be ready by October or
November. These beasts are the latest incarnation of the S-series, and they can
hold up to 256 MB of RAM, have 64 voices across 32 MIDI channels and sport a
nice removable front panel that doubles as a remote control (a la Fostex recorders).
They look to be the de facto standard in sampling machines for the next few years.

AKG showed a new satin silver version of their popular C1000S microphone. It
comes with a second capsule converter that provides more presence and ships
along with the standard hypercardiod modifier. They also changed the color of the
C3000 to satin silver as well. These new colors will probably not show up in the
field for a few months. Also of note was their new IVM-1 in-ear monitoring system,
which is the most advanced application of their Individual Virtual Acoustics tech­nology, using binaural processing technology to achieve an extremely natural sound.

ALESIS. The M20 is shipping! Actually we've already sold a bunch of them, so
it’s not news to us. They were also showing various M20 support products such as
the CADI Controller ($1299) and the RMD 32 channel remote metering option ($799).
They were also thrilled to report that the wait for the Q20 effects processor ($999)

By David Stewart

do

know how to party) and

”.

name are Bob Moog’s “Moogerfooger” products: the Ring Modulator ($289) and
Lowpass Filter ($299) are analog effects with genuine Moog designs. The knobs
(oh yeah, there are knobs) are the same type as used in the original MiniMoog
keyboard. They also had the handmade Ethervox MIDI Theremin working ($3500).

BOSS. Their newest tuner, the TU-2 ($139), is housed in a floor pedal style case
with LED's that can be seen in full sunlight. It doesn’t use battery power until acti­vated by stepping on the pedal. The output can be muted or passed through while
tuning. The AD-5 acoustic guitar processor ($249) has a very unique feature coined
at the show as “Reverse Amp Simulation” which allows an acoustic guitar to be run
into a standard guitar amp and make it sound like a full range speaker. Release date
is scheduled for October. Can't afford an MC-505? Boss has the answer with the Dr.
Groove ($495). The DR-202's waveform memory incorporates 24-voice polyphony,
with its 207 drum and 49 bass samples arranged into 128 Preset drum kits plus
over 400 Preset patterns ready for instant triggering. From Hip-Hop to Acid Jazz and
Latin, practically every genre of Groove music is represented in these Preset pat­terns, all with street-level authenticity. There's a 3-track sequencer with a 13-part

is almost over, as well. They expect to roll them out in
August. The new QS6.1 ($999) will be taking over the low
priced keyboard duties (see Page 8 for additional infor­mation). David Bryce gave us a great demo of the new
DM Pro drum module ($899). This baby sports four times

the ROM memory (16 MB) of its predecessor, the DM5,

holding 1600 instruments spread across 64 mapped
drum kits, with 256 different snares. It has six outs
and 16 trigger ins that are controlled by a separate

microprocessor running some very sophisticated

software. Availability is early October. Oh yeah, it
sounded fantastic. In other news, the Studio 32

mixer is going down in price to $999.

ART is now in full production on the new

TubePac and TubeEQ (both $249). They have a dual
tube EQ ($449) coming out in September and in October
they’ll be announcing a single rack space channel strip
for around $499. We were shown several products at the
drawing stages that look very impressive. Stay tuned.
AUDIO TECHNICA was showing their soon to be re-
leased 4060 ($1695) large diaphragm tube microphone.
It sounds incredible and I found out that a prototype has
just been used on the current Celine Dion album.
AXON. Anyone serious about controlling MIDI instru-
ments with a guitar needs to check out their stuff. The
AX100, the latest in a series of neural net guitar to MIDI
converters has the most consistently fast tracking I’ve

seen in a system that works with any guitar. The SB ver­sion adds hundreds of sounds and effects. Unlike other gui­tar synths, it’s just as fast triggering external MIDI modules
as it is its own internal sounds. Works great for bass, too.
BIG BRIAR. Winning my award for coolest product

— Continued on Next Page

The Nashville Convention Center, home of the 1998 Summer NAMM Show

(above) and an overhead view of just one of the exhibit halls (at right).

5335 BASS RD. • FT. WAYNE, IN 46808

FAX: [phone] [e-mail] www.sweetwater.com

[phone]

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 4

SUMMER NAMM REPORT

— Continued from Page 3

drum track, a dedicated bass track, and an external source track for triggering external
MIDI gear plus a variety of real time controls including tap tempo.

CAKEWALK. In collaboration with Roland and Fender, Cakewalk plans to participate in
products enabling guitarists to be more creative and productive in recording and live per­formance. The first solution from the alliance is the combination of three distinct products
optimized to work together: Cakewalk Guitar Studio digital audio and MIDI recording soft­ware, the Roland GR-30 Guitar Synthesizer and the Fender Roland-Ready Stratocaster.
Guitarists can record and play eight tracks of CD-quality digital audio in tight synchroniza­tion with MIDI. Tracks can be edited and mixed in a familiar environment because the user
interface is designed specifically for guitarists. It features a Vir­tual Fretboard for the display and input of melodies and chords.
Players are able to capture ideas quickly by using the rhythm
patterns provided. There are also specialized utilities including a
guitar tuner, MIDI Guitar setup, and guitar effects including cho­rus, reverb, EQ, flange and delay.

DDRUM was showing a new expanded drum kit called Ddrum
System One ($4595), which is based on the Ddrum 4 technol-

ogy. It adds three Ddrum cymbals and a hi-hat to their System Two
kit ($3795). Since you use your own stand for the hi-hat it feels like
real hats with sounds for open, foot, and closed pedal positions.

DIGITECH. Expanding on their success with the S-100, Digitech
showed the new S-200 processor ($339). It has 20-bit I/O in a
two in/two out configuration (the channels can be separated),
plus a more comprehensive and easier to use display than the S-

100. The Vocalist Access ($469) packs the harmonic punch of
the Vocalist Workstation into a 1-space rack mount package. The
user interface is made more friendly by a new edit knob: push it
in to edit, then push it in more to release the edit mode and it
pops back out. The Talker ($299) may be their most innovative
product at the show. Housed in a simple (but cool looking) floor
stomp box, it gives a guitarist (or anyone else!) access to all
kinds of talking effects made popular in the 1970s.

EMAGIC. Their big news is that they are finally shipping all of
their software packages announced at the January NAMM Show
(see our Winter NAMM ’98 report). They have also announced
VST support. Even bigger news is that they are going to be sup­porting Roland VS-series products. They had a Mac up and run­ning in the Roland booth doing graphic editing on the new VS-880EX.

EVENT announced that all of their computer recording plat­forms (Gina, Darla, Layla) are shipping. They were showing Layla
running on a Mac, but they say it will still be Fall before it is
available that way.They showed a new microphone, the Rode
Broadcaster, a large diaphragm condenser mic that is mounted
to a clip so it can be boomed in to a broadcast person with ease.

G&L had several new models at the show all featuring Leo
Fender’s “Z-Coil” design, based upon his earlier split coil
humbucking pickups. Unlike stacked humbuckers, these pick­ups offer a true single coil sound, but are hum free. New guitars
include the Comanche, which employs the G&L Dual Fulcrum
tremolo system, the ASAT Z3, which has their patented Saddle Lock fixed bridge, and the

ASAT Z3 Semi-Hollow, which has twin voice chambers contributing to a scooped midrange.

JBL had their full range of new LSR products working and sounding great. Their newest

system consists of the LSR28P bi-amped monitor system with LSR12P powered sub. The
compact system should go for around $2000 and, from what I heard, is worth every penny.

KAWAI showed a fully working version of their new MP9000 piano and controller ($2195).
The keybed assembly in this unit is a whole new design that employs real hammers at the
back of the key for a more realistic feel. It has fantastic piano sounds, which were modeled
with a new process they are calling “Harmonic Imaging” — a modeled technology that is
continuously variable based on your playing velocity.

KORG. The new Trinity V3 is the marriage of the famed Trinity and Z series keyboards
into one incredible instrument with 38-note polyphony and 100 effects. There will be a new
option that will combine the PBSTri and SCSITri into one package bundled with sample CDs
that include performances from the likes of Steve Gadd and James Brown. Availability of
the keyboard is late September. The N1R ($850) packs the punch of the N1 and N5 key­boards into a single rack space. There are 563 multisamples and 304 drum samples stored

The Korg Booth showed the new Trinity V3, while
drummers checked out Roland’s V-Drums (bottom)

in 18 MB of wave ROM. Interestingly, the LCD display can be switched from amber to green.

LEXICON. Further solidifying their position as a premier guitar effects developer Lexi­con introduced the MPX-G2 processor. It works with any amp using two separate sets of
inputs and outputs allowing guitarists to place effects anywhere in the signal chain for
optimal performance. They were showing their System 12P audio recording hardware
($2999) working with Steinberg's VST and their 284 Signature amp ($1099 — also see
Page 9 for more) was in use in many of the high end guitar booths.

LINE 6. POD is their Flextone on a table ($399). This kidney-shaped unit has all of the
front end features of their highly acclaimed Flextone amp (see Page 7 for more).

MACKIE. The buzz of the last few NAMM and AES shows (and this one) is still the

Mackie Digital 8•Bus Console ($9999). They do have product
on the assembly line and they should be arriving as you read
this. Some minor features have changed a little bit since the last
time we wrote about it, but the thing still does look incredible
with 56 inputs, 72 channels, 48 channels with EQ, compression
and gate simultaneously, hardware DPS card expandability, soft­ware plug in capability on generic DSP cards, SVGA display
output port, Apogee UV22 process on tape and main outputs,
integrated 3-way meter bridge, motorized faders, 5.1 and 7.1
surround capability and tons more which we’ll cover in detail
next issue. As with most products of this nature, these boards
are going to be extremely hard to get for a while, but due to our
great relationship with Mackie, we are at the top of the list for
receiving product. Get your orders in now.
MARTIN. Heading up the “I wish I could afford one” cat-
egory was the Steven Stills model. They're only making 91 and
they tumble in at a price of only $19,310! Oh, but what a beau­tiful instrument it is. They also showed a Don McLain model
($5750), a Lester Flatt model ($8500), and a Willie Nelson
model. They did not, however, reproduce the hole he has in the
front of his. The East Indian Rosewood version is $5500, and
the Brazilian Rosewood one is $9800. There were also three
Johnny Cash models (priced between $3950 and $8200) and
the “lowly” Eric Clapton model at a mere $3500. In the more
affordable range they showed a new cutaway guitar designed
for women available in three different woods ($1900 to $2300),
a new JC-1 jumbo cutaway laminate with built in Fishman pickup
($1499), and a new thin body acoustic (00CME) ($1399).
MIDIMAN never fails to amaze me (and I'm terribly difficult
to amaze these days). This year they introduced SAM, a S/PDIF
ADAT mixer and format converter ($399.95). Weighing in at just
one pound, SAM's main function is to be an ADAT to S/PDIF
(and vice versa) converter. It just happens to be able to mix
eight ADAT tracks to one S/PDIF output with 56-bit internal pro­cessing and it can lock to sample rates from 39 to 51 kHz. To
complement SAM, they have also introduced Pipeline 8 x 8
($899.95), an 8-channel A to D and D to A 24-bit converter box
with ADAT compatible light pipe I/O. It can also work on a vari­ety of other systems which support the light pipe interface.

NORD. Clavia was showing off the new Nord Micro Modu-
lar synthesizer. At $895 everyone can now afford to get into the power of modular synthe­sis. It comes with and uses the same software as its big Modular brother, but has a smaller
hardware package with four realtime controller knobs (instead of the 18 on the Modular).

OPCODE. After being purchased by Gibson a short time ago these guys are as enthusi­astic as I've ever seen them. Announcements at the show include Vision DSP ($495),
which will replace Vision Deluxe, with support for Steinberg's VST architecture and full
ASIO hardware compliance. DATport has a USB port on one side and a pair of S/PDIF ports on
the other. Plug it into the USB port on your PC and it's ready to go. No messing with drivers (it
doesn't even come with a disk), DMAs, IRQs, etc. Available in September for under $200.

PRESONUS displayed their M80, 8-channel class A microphone preamp system
($1899.95), an ideal front end for Paris or Pro Tools users. They have set it up so each
channel can easily receive mic or line level signals on TRS or XLR connectors. To top it off
they smartly made a mix buss with XLR outputs and a high output headphone jack with
level control. Each channel includes phantom power, phase reverse, -20 dB pad, low cut
filter, and a unique IDSS harmonic distortion control. They’re in stock now.

— Continued on Page 10

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