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

FACTORY AUTHORIZED! WE FIX YOUR GEAR RIGHT AND ON TIME WITH NO EXCUSES!

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 5

By Chuck and Brenda Surack

Owners, Sweetwater Sound

Nothing upsets customers, retailers
and manufacturers alike more than the
dreaded “vaporware” syndrome. We’ve
discussed it here before, but it’s worth talk­ing about again since it’s something that
will more than likely always exist.

Before we get into the entire subject,
we want to give you the good news: Al­most all of the most eagerly anticipated
products ever designed are now shipping.
That’s right, if you’ve been hanging on,
waiting for your Mackie digital mixer,
Alesis M20, Event Electronics Layla,
Roland VS-1680, or MOTU 2408 to arrive,
your wait is over. These products are ship-
ping right now and we expect to get
caught up with all our back orders within the next few weeks
or so (your order may even be at your doorstep right now).

So why does this situation exist? There are several rea­sons. Maybe the one that gets overlooked the most is that
manufacturers do not want to ship you a product that won’t
do what they’ve promised. They want it to work perfectly and
continue performing for you for many years to come. That
means they have to subject these products to an incredibly
rigorous series of tests. If a tiny component fails — even a
single IC chip or power supply — it can send the item back

our last video in 1994, we wanted to give customers a sense
of just how things have grown and how we operate on a day­to-day basis so they can have a better understanding of all
the many ways we go to extremes to take care of our custom­ers. Videos will be shipping soon. Let us know how you like it.
Which leads us to our next point (it’s nice when it works
out like that). We always, always want to hear from you. We
want to know what you like, and what you feel we are doing
right. But we also want to know if you’re unhappy or if you

think there’s something we can do that will make dealing
to the drawing board. More
typically, because manufac­turers often buy certain parts
from other vendors, they have
to wait until that vendor fixes
the problem and gets them
parts that will work correctly.

Meanwhile, because of
advertising deadlines that are
at least three to four months
ahead of the anticipated re­lease date of a certain piece
of equipment, the marketing
people have to start doing art­work and placing ads, not
knowing if a month down the road there might be a produc­tion glitch. Because competition for musicians’ dollars is
pretty fierce these days, no manufacturer can possibly wait

Mackie’s Digital 8•Bus is one of the hottest products to

come along in years — and it’s shipping now!

some cases this leads to misunderstandings with customers,
who are also only human and therefore may get upset when

something goes wrong.
until all testing is complete and product is in the warehouse
before beginning to advertise. They cannot afford to have
thousands of mixers or recorders or whatever sitting around
for three or four months while waiting for the ads to start
appearing. Some companies could actually go bankrupt if
that happened — yes, there is that much at stake.

son here at Sweetwater wants you to be happy with your new

purchase. We even want you to feel good if you call us and

get information about a certain item, and then choose not

to purchase it from us. But the only way we can be sure that

you are completely satisfied is if you let us know.

So they look ahead and make a “best guess” estimate of
when their latest, hottest item might start shipping. Then
they place ads. They tell us and we tell you. And then we all
keep our fingers crossed.

Because all of us want the best new gear, we just have to
be a little more patient once in a while. When that bright,

here without exception. If there’s a problem, it gets solved
— immediately. If you’re totally ecstatic (and almost all of
our customers are), we let everyone know during our regular
weekly meetings. This feedback allows us to better serve ev-

ery single customer, now and in the years to come.
shiny new digital wondertool shows up on your doorstep and
gets integrated into your studio, you want to be sure it’s go­ing to perform up to the manufacturers high standards.
Thanks to all the intensive testing, odds are good that it will.
A short delay in getting what we want might be a little frus-

how we’re doing. Our philosophy has always been: “If you’re

not happy, we’re not happy.” That’s not some snappy adver-

tising slogan made up by some ad agency, it’s plain and

simple our way of doing business every day!

We can say with absolute certainty that every single per-

We read every single letter, fax or e-mail that arrives

So take a couple of minutes, sit down and let us know

trating, but having to send
something back for repair is,
at best, a hassle you can do
without. So let’s all be glad
that manufacturers care
enough about their custom­ers to make darn sure that
any product they release will
give them years and years of
trouble free service.

On another topic, many
of you can look forward to re­ceiving a copy of our brand
spanking new, up-to-the­minute “Welcome to
Sweetwater” video. Be­cause things have changed a
lot around here a lot since

with Sweetwater an even bet­ter experience.
As most of you know, the
majority of our customers
come back to us time and
time again when they need
something. But we are not
perfect quite yet: There are
about 130 people here now,
and once in a while, one of
them is going to make a mis­take — which is only hu­man considering the hun­dreds of orders that get filled
on a typical day here. But in

Q:

What's a direct box? Someone said I need
one in my studio and I didn't want to appear dumb,
but I don't know what it does.

A:

With special thanks to the Sweetwater Web
site guys, here is the official "Word Of The Day" defini­tion. Direct Box: Often abbreviated DI (for direct inser­tion), a device commonly used to convert high imped­ance, unbalanced signals from a stage instrument (like
a guitar, bass or keyboard) into low impedance bal­anced signals. This puts the signal at the proper volt­age level for the mixer and prevents the instrument
from becoming loaded down (with too low an imped­ance), which could cause tonal shifts and distortion. It
also allows the signal to be transmitted over long
lengths of cable. DIs are always used in live sound to
get a signal from an instrument on stage out to the
mixing board, which can be as much as 500 feet away.
A simple direct box consists only of a small trans­former, but more sophisticated designs employ elec­tronic gain stages that resemble the input section of a
modern instrument amp. They may also have some
combination of ground lift switches, EQ switches, level
matching switches, isolated line outputs, and more.

Q:

Can I use any CD-ROM drive with my K2000
or do I need a certain brand? I see that they're really
cheap in some of the big computer catalogs, but I don't
want to waste time sending it back if it won't work.

A:

We have found that most SCSI CD-ROM drives
do work with the K2000. However, with the huge num­ber of drives out there we have only been able to test a
random sampling. We did find that
and

most all

brands of CD recorders
the K2000 and the Kurzweil
IDE CD-ROMs. You want to make sure you have the
most current OS (3.54) installed in your K2000 as it
greatly expands the number of CD-ROM drives that
work with it. Here at Sweetwater, we carry several very
affordable drives from 4x to 24x speeds that are guar­anteed to work with the Kurzweil.

Q:

Is there any way to connect more than six
external SCSI devices to a Mac? I have the Mac at one
end and my Roland sampler at the other, but I also
have a scanner, two external hard drives, an internal
hard drive, a CD-ROM drive and a Zip drive. I'd also
like to add a tape back-up system and I don't want to
keep swapping out cables. Help!

A:

There are a couple of solutions to add more
than seven SCSI devices to your Mac. Your best bet is
to install an additional SCSI bus to your Mac via a third
party PCI card. These cards give you at least seven more
SCSI IDs. An additional benefit is that they are usually
even faster at sending and receiving data than the in­ternal Mac bus. The other solution is a SCSI switcher
box, but here you normally have to power cycle the
computer to change which devices are active.

most

do not

does not

NEC drives

work with

work with

any

NO DELAYS! ORDERS PROCESSED SAME DAY!

In most cases, orders ship the same day we receive them!

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 6

There was a time when Macintosh owners had all the cool software. Not a fun
time for PC owners. But all that has changed, and now Mac audio addicts envy those
who live in the Windows world thanks to an incredible suite of products from a

company called Sonic Foundry. Keep in mind that
we’re going to be covering a lot of products here,
so we can’t even begin to list all their features. Your
best bet, as always, is to contact your Sweetwater
Sales Engineer for more detailed information.

The software that started it all, Sound Forge,
is now at Version 4.5 ($499 list). Sound Forge is
high end sound editing software for Windows that
includes an extensive set of audio processes, tools,
and effects for manipulating audio to your heart’s
content. You can combine Sound Forge with any
Windows-compatible sound
card to create, record, edit, and
refine audio files. Its clean,

friendly interface and familiar Windows

environment make editing fast and easy.

Version 4.5 includes Sonic Foundry's Batch Converter and
Spectrum Analysis Plug-ins. Batch Converter saves time and al­leviates the monotony (and splitting headaches) of converting and
processing numerous audio files. Thousands of files can be pro­cessed in a single batch. Any process, effect or tool in Sound Forge,
or any DirectX plug-in, can be batch processed. Spectrum Analysis
performs precise FFT analysis and displays the resulting data in
two graphical formats. If you’re into Multimedia and Internet De­velopment, Sound Forge supports a wide range of cross platform
files and audio/video compression formats including Internet en­coders: NetShow 3.0, RealAudio/Video 5.0 and JAVA AU files. It also
allows the user to edit sound to image with frame accuracy by sup­porting Video for Window (AVI) files.

Recording and editing music? Sound Forge is loaded with sys­tem-defined presets and will also allow you to create and save your
own. All processes and effects dialogs give you the ability to pre­view changes, as well as a bypass option for before and after com­parisons. The Undo/Redo History can quickly restore your files to
any previously edited stage (this can be a real sanity saver!). In
Sound Forge you can create and give unique names to markers,
loops, and regions. Drag any region to a playlist for non-destruc­tive editing and arrangement within a sound file. Create, edit, or change sustain and
release loops for samples in the realtime loop-tuning window. Transfer samples to an
internal or external sampler via SCSI/SMDI or MIDI Sample Dump.

ACID ($399 list) is a break­through loop-based music production
tool from Sonic Foundry. With loop-ar­ranging and editing, ACID gives musi­cians unprecedented creative flexibility.
Just imagine working with hundreds of
cutting-edge loops or bringing in your
own audio samples to create custom
music in minutes. ACID allows you to
preview any loop before adding it to
your mix, automatically matching the
tempo and key in real time (this pro­gram is actually smarter than we are!).

Click-and-drag to easily add or de­lete loops. ACID allows realtime changes
to pitch and tempo to unlimited tracks
(based on system RAM). Control the vol­ume, pan, and effect envelopes for each

track to create a perfect mix between loops.

To add the finishing touches, you can apply multiple real-time ef­fects with DirectX Audio Plug-Ins. To further edit loops, ACID provides quick access
to Sound Forge or even other audio editors. Processed audio can be directly output
as .WAV files or exported as digital audio tracks. ACID is also compatible with Sonic
Foundry's CD Architect and direct-to-digital audio CD programs. Finally, ACID in-

cludes a library with hundreds of loops in many different musical styles: Techno,
Rock, Rave, Break Beat, Funk, Country, Hip-hop, Disco, Alternative, House, Indus­trial, Guitar, Ambient and more. ACID rated thumbs up from our own Dave Schmid
(Sweetwater’s ace Webmaster), so you know this is very cool software.

cially prepared for use with Sonic Foundry's ACID. The loops store special data that
optimizes ACID's time stretching/compressing and
pitch change features. Of course, Loops for ACID
are standard .WAV or .AIF sound files with just a
little extra data tacked on, so they can be used for
all your audio content needs. Very potent mate­rial here that you are gonna want!

In ($249 list), which is a digital signal-process-

with surface noise in a single pass. Noise Reduction Plug-In will run on any DirectX
compatible host application in real time!

dubbed XFX ($149 list each). XFX 1 includes 6 discrete plug-ins: Reverb (19 types),
Time Compress/Expand, Multi-Tap Delay, Chorus, Pitch Shift, and Simple Delay/Echo.
XFX 2 includes Noise Gate, Graphic Dynamics,
Multi-Band Dynamics, Paragraphic EQ, Paramet­ric EQ, and Graphic EQ. XFX 3 includes Ampli­tude Modulation, Gapper/Snipper, Flange/Wah­wah, Vibrato, Distortion, and Smooth/Enhance.
XFX plug-ins work in any program that fully sup­ports DirectX Audio plug-ins.

material you’ve created with your Sonic Foundry
software and burn professional audio CDs to Red
Book specs, you’ll want Sonic Foundry’s new CD
Architect ($395 list). Tracks in the PQ List can
be assembled with regions from single or mul­tiple sound files. Full PQ code editing allows even
the most sophisticated mixes and crossfades be­tween tracks. The software can be used as either a stand-alone editor or as a Sound
Forge 4.5 plug-in. CD Architect is ideal for building audio CDs on Windows and
Windows systems, and it now also supports IDE/ATAPI CD-R drives.

phone and talk to your Sweetwater Sales Engineer about all these remarkable tools
from Sonic Foundry. It’s advice you’ll want to thank me for, but hey, I’m just doing my
job. Call ‘em now! — Michael Rief

Loops for ACID ($59.95 list) are high quality sound files that have been spe-

What I want is the Acoustics Modeler Plug-

ing tool that adds the acoustic
coloration of real environ­ments and sound altering de­vices to existing recordings.
Unlike some artificial-sounding
reverb units, Acoustics Mod­eler actually incorporates the
acoustical responses of a specific environment into a sound file:
from large concert halls and live rooms, even to the vintage sound
of old tube microphones. Besides achieving ultra realistic imag­ing, the impulses can also be used to generate entirely new and
unique effects which you have to hear to appreciate. The Acoustics
Modeler includes an extensive library of high-quality acoustics sig­natures and impulse responses.

If you’re like me, you probably have some wonderful old

recordings laying around that you wish you could clean up. So
here’s great news: the Sonic Foundry Noise Reduction DirectX
Plug-In ($349 list) analyzes and reduces low-level background
noise such as tape hiss, electrical hum, and machinery rumble
from recordings, all with minimal unwanted effects and nasty digi­tal artifacts. To do this, audio is separated into its frequency com­ponents to distinguish distracting noise from the desired signal.

The Noise Reduction DirectX Plug-In also includes Click Re­moval and Vinyl Restoration Tools. Click Removal, as you’d expect
from the name, enables click and pop removal automatically or
manually. The Vinyl Restoration Tool reduces clicks and pops along

Also available from Sonic Foundry are three sets of DirectX plug-ins collectively

When you’re finally ready to take all the great

My only question at this point is why you’re still reading this? Go pick up that

NEED IT TOMORROW?

We can ship via FedEx for next day delivery! [phone]

Sweet Notes Page 7

A few years ago — has it really been
that long already? — the guitar world was
stunned by a new amplifier that boasted
tube sound, but without tubes! The
cutting-edge technology behind this
startling development was called physical
modeling. The product was the AxSys 212
by Line 6. As you might guess, it was a
worldwide best seller.

But now it's 1998, and let’s face it, a
whole lot has been learned since the AxSys
was first unveiled. The second generation
of physical modeling amps are now here,
and they’re more powerful, more accurate
and more player friendly than ever. While
that first amp was a great start, the people
at Line 6 actually listened to what guitar
players and industry publications had to
say, and the new amps reflect that.

Replacing the AxSys at the top of the
Line 6 . . . umm, line . . . is the AX2 Digital
Guitar Amplifier System ($1199 list). The
AX2 uses the same electronic insides as
the company’s original 2x12" system, so
every AxSys 212 can be fully upgraded to
be an AX2, with all the features of this
new Line 6 flagship (proving the awesome
advantage of software-based products and
their ability to be inexpensively upgraded).

The heart of the AX2 is its software­based amp models which use Line 6’s
TubeTone Amp Modeling to bring you a
wide variety of sounds and effects modeled
after some of the most popular classic tube
amplifiers. The TubeTone software in the AX2
improves over the original AxSys 212 with even better
modeled amp tone and an expanded set of amp
models. All of which means that the AX2 can pretty
much give you any guitar amp tone you want or need
— 19 of them to be exact, all at the push of a button
(or one stomp of the optional Floor Board).

While Line 6 doesn’t name names on its front
panel (the manufacturers of the originals would
strongly disapprove), you can easily guess which
amps they’re modeling by the descriptions: Small
Tweed, Jazz Clean, Black Panel, Brit Blues, Rectifier,
California Crunch, Modern Hi Gain and more. The
AX2 ships with 128 preset sounds, or you can dial in
your own and save it to the amp’s 128 user memory
locations (no tube amp offers this feature!).

What’s more, the onboard digital effects are

No organ donors required for POD! See details on next page . . .

Tone for the '90s and beyond: The 100-watt 2x12 AX2 (left)

and Flextone (right) with Floor Board and FB-4 pedals

WELCOME TO THE TUBETONE REVOLUTION!

easily the equal of many outboard pedals and
modules, offering up tasty reverb, delay, chorus,
flange, tremolo and even rotary speaker simulations.
But there’s more: Five overdrive/distortion models
including Octave Box, four types of wah pedals, and
even a 5-band graphic equalizer.

All settings are programmable, of course, with
instant recall and seamless switching of complete
amp-and-effects setups. A high quality direct out with
cabinet and speaker emulation lets you record direct
with real miked-up amp tone, or play with great amp
tone through headphones. All this tone is driven by
100 watts of stereo power into dual custom 12"
speakers. You also get a chromatic digital tuner and
an independent aux channel free from guitar tone
and effects for clean amplification of acoustic guitar,
CD, drum machine, tape, or even vocals to

accompany your guitar sound.

But say, maybe you don’t
need 100 watts or dual 12"
speakers. You want a combo
amp with classic looks, but you
also want that killer TubeTone
modeling. Simple! You want a
Flextone ($799 list)! Powerful
enough for rehearsals and live
gigs (in reasonably-sized halls,
of course), yet compact enough
for studio use or as a practice
amp, the 60-watt mono 1x12
Flextone is for you. With 16
amp models and 16 pro quality
effects setups, each arranged
on separate knobs, you can dial

up the amp model you want, add effects to taste,
then save the combination in one of the Flextone’s
four foot-switchable channels. The amp includes a
direct out for recording that gives you great TubeTone
cabinet simulation and speaker emulation —
recording great guitar tones has never been easier
than this! — and the direct out doubles as a
headphone jack for late night, speakerless practice.

If you need more power, take a look at the
Flextone Duo ($949 list) with 100-watt stereo
amplification and two 12-inch speakers. This puppy
can crank out the volume to fill up all but the most
gigantic concert venues, yet it still has all the
convenience and features of the 1x12 model. For
those that need an all-out, high power, four-channel
amp head, the Line 6 people also offer the Flextone
HD with stereo 2x150-watt amplification, guaranteed
to detroy the delicate eardrums of anyone over 40
(or under 40, for that matter). Hook it up to your
favorite speaker cabinets or a couple of Line 6’s
Cab212S closed back speakers ($299 list each).

Okay, now you might be asking yourself at this
point, aside from the power and speakers, what’s
the difference between an AX2 and a Flextone. Good
question. Here’s the deal: The AX2 is designed to
give you a total of 256 different sounds, live or in the
studio. Programming is done via a front panel matrix
that’s much easier to learn than it is to explain. It’s
the ultimate in tone-shaping, but it does require a
bit of work to really get the programming thing going.
Meanwhile, the Flextone series is designed more like
a traditional amp, so you just dial in the sounds you
want via the top panel controls, and then save them to

— Continued on Page 8

ACCESS OUR 2,000+ PAGE WEB SITE DAY OR NIGHT AT “WWW.SWEETWATER.COM”

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 8

BURN YOUR OWN CDS WITH MICROBOARDS

A few years ago, if you wanted a CD of your music, you had to spend big bucks for just one
single disc. If you wanted data transferred from your computer to a CD-ROM, again, big bucks.
Man, am I glad that’s all changed! Today, you and I have the ability to burn our own CDs at a cost
that’s a fraction of what it used to cost in the “old days.” Whether you need one CD or a dozen or
several hundred, one company has the technology and the machines to do the job. In fact,
Microboards Technology, Inc. has some of the most versatile CD burners on the market!

If you’re looking for one duplicator that can do it all in your studio — from audio CDs to CD
ROMs to Multi Session and Mixed Mode discs — take a look at the CopyWriter A2D CD Duplication
System ($1849 list). The A2D is actually the first CD to CD stand alone duplicator with built-in
analog to digital conversion. It also features an extremely user-friendly interface, a 2.1 GB internal
hard disk and a SCSI port so you can easily connect it to any Mac or PC.

Microboards Copywriter A2D

verifies and even prints labels (300x600 dpi ink jet) on up to 50 CDs automatically. The recorder
has a SCSI-2 interface, runs at speeds of 4X for super fast disc creation and the precision
robotics (you can finally tell folks you own a robot!) maximizes productivity — you just load it
and walk away. When you return, there are your CDs! Yes, its list price is $7685, but if you could
see this thing in action, I guarantee you’ll want one.

But maybe 50 CDs aren’t enough. What if you need a
duplication system that can burn up to an astounding 650 discs
per hour? Yes, the DSR-8000 CD Station ($6995 list) will
make you from one to five CDs (or even DVDs), but when high
production is needed, you can expand your five slot DSR up to
20 slots. With the unit’s Direct SCSI channel, all of the CDR
(and even DVD-R) recorders in the DSR-8000 will function as
a target writer for Mac, PC or Workstation.

If you have your CD recorders on line already, but are tired
of having to label discs by hand, look into the Signature CD
Color Printer ($1245 list) for printing 300x600 dpi ink jet
labels right on your discs that look like they were silk screened.

Call your Sales Engineer right now for more information
and (of course) your special low Sweetwater pricing on these
superior duplication systems from Microboards.

This machine is so cool, you can even plug in a mic and record, or record

from the audio line input (thanks to the A/D converters, of course). If

speed is critical, note that the A2D can read at 8X (1200 Kbps)

and write at 4X (600 Kbps), so a single 60 minute audio CD will
only take about 15 minutes to create or duplicate! And the Cue
Sheet function has Play, Delete, Swap, Move and Back commands
that allow you to change the order and alter individual audio
tracks after extracting tracks from CD or input from tape or
other analog source.

If your needs are more sophisticated — and these days,
whose aren’t? — you might want to take a close look at the
Cedar Desktop CD-R Publisher. It loads, cleans, records,

Cedar Desktop CD-R Publisher

LINE 6 PRODUCTS

— Continued from Page 7 one of the unit’s four channels. So in essence, if you need 5 to 256
different sounds at the touch of a button, the AX2 is for you. If you want a bit more traditional amp feel
and only need to switch between four different sounds, you want a Flextone. Not too tough, was it?

If you don’t do that much gigging (like me), but still want all the incredible TubeTone sound and
versatility, the Line 6 folks just introduced the world to the POD ($399 list), an awesome-sounding
tabletop direct recording tool that’s designed to deliver all the sounds of a Flextone (meaning killer
tube amp sounds) in a compact package. Line 6’s exclusive A.I.R. direct recording output even provides
outstanding cabinet/speaker/mic emulations that actually sound like real miked cabinets. This little
beauty offers a deep, inspirational sonic palette that uses exactly the same modeling technology as
Line 6’s combo amps, but without the possibility of pulling a muscle or irritating the neighbors (the
ones that go to bed at 10 P.M.). This thing is affordable, and its mind-blowing sound makes it essential
for every serious guitar player that wants to lay down the tone on tape (or hard disk).

As you might guess, we have more to tell you about these fabulous amps (we haven’t even told
you about the Floor Board and its eight switches and two pedals at $299 list). But that’s a job for
your Sweetwater Sales Engineer. True, at this point you probably already want a Line 6 product, but
trust us, as amazing as these things may seem in black and white, they’re even more incredible when
you actually plug in a guitar and play. So what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone and give us a
call for information and special low pricing on these amazing Line 6 products. — Bill Hoover

ALESIS QS6.1

by Daniel Fisher, Director of Soundware Engineering

Back in the mid to late 80's, when I was a Synth major at
Berklee College, I used to hang around the local music stores
and lust after all the new amazing gear. For me, the most exciting
products were the ones that were actually affordable like the
original Alesis MidiVerb with its unbelievable low cost that seemed
impossible considering the features it offered.

Throughout the years Alesis has continued to stun musicians
with each new product release, bringing previously unattainable
technology to the masses and always with a jaw dropping price.
Now get ready for the Alesis QS6.1 64-Voice Expandable
Synthesizer. This 61-note keyboard, which is a heavily updated
version of the QS6, still weighs only 19 pounds but now features
the following improvements: 16 megs of uncompressed 16-bit
linear, 48kHz Sample ROM (up from 8 megs) which adds the
critically acclaimed Stereo Bosendorfer Grand Piano and also
includes all the Alesis DM5 Drums along with the LA Philharmonic
Strings and Brass as well as Keith Emerson's Modular Moog
and Hammond Organ samples. Wow!

The QS6.1 is fully expandable to up to 32 megabytes via
two PCMCIA-format ports (up from the QS6’s single port) which
let you immediately access an additional 16MB of sound ROM
without installing complicated circuit boards or waiting for disk
drives. You can use this port with any of the tasty Alesis QCards
that accommodates your musical style, whether you're into
classical, hip-hop, pop, rock, orchestral music or otherwise.

Also new are enhanced GM programming, four Edit/Control
Sliders (up from just one slider in the QS6) which can be assigned
to any parameter. Two new front panel buttons (Transpose and
Sequence Start) make live performance even easier. It even has
a faster Serial Port which can now transfer data at up to 15k
Baud (up to four times as fast as a MIDI interface!), so you can
access either Macintosh or PC platforms to get into sequencing,
notation, sample importing and downloading, editor/librarians
and multimedia authoring.

A new brighter and bigger display allows for easy visibility
in any situation, there’s an internal power supply now (no more
wall wart!) and the latest Fatar-built 61-note keyboard gives you
the best feeling synth keyboard on the market. The QS6.1 also
provides a huge selection of 640 Programs and 500 multitimbral
Mixes. If you want to use your own samples or sounds from
other sample libraries, the QS6.1 includes Sound Bridge software
that lets you import, save and playback AIFF, WAV and other
sample formats.

Knowing Alesis, you might expect that they added all these
great features for only a couple hundred dollars more than the
original QS6. But are you ready for this? They've actually reduced
the price by $100!! The new list price for the QS6.1 is now only
$999. But how does the QS6.1 sound? Well, I'm a bit biased,
seeing as how Alesis flew me to California for a while to be part
of their QS Programming Team, but I know you will be knocked
out by how much professional sound can come from this
lightweight and astoundingly priced marvel of engineering.

If the QS 6.1 sounds like a great addition to your personal
setup, I suggest you call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer today
for more information and special pricing on the 6.1 and the entire
line of exceptional Alesis QS Series synths.

Great Job! Great People! Great Pay! Careers are available now on the Sweetwater team! Call us at [phone]

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 9

by Daniel Fisher, Director of Soundware Engineering

Having read your way through much of this issue you
already know just how excited we are about the new prod­ucts we saw at the Summer NAMM Show. It was also a
great chance to show the world some of our own exciting
releases. Unquestionably, the biggest draw to the
Sweetwater booth was our exclusive K2500SWx keyboard
package, which delivers the world’s most powerful syn­thesis and sampling keyboard along with everything
needed to make it a world-class music production station
— one that looks as good as it sounds.

The real oak endcaps and oak music stand along with
the custom wooden keyboard stand will make the K2500SWx the centerpiece of your
studio. A customized, lazer engraved brass plate with your studio's name completes
the look. The K2500SWx not only comes fully loaded with every possible option inside

the 88-note weighted keyboard, includ­ing 128 megs of RAM, 28 megs of ROM,

2.5 megs of P-RAM, and the powerful
KDFX digital multi-effects, it also sports
an internal 2 gig hard drive.

The K2500SWx has the latest
soundware and software upgrades in­stalled as well which provide the very
cool KB3 organ simulation and the ex­citing Live Mode which lets you bring
external audio signals in for “VAST-ing.”
Our K2500SWx is also unique in that it
comes with our entire Sweetwater
Soundware Library including the ac­claimed Power Translator Series (with
the Roland CD-ROMs!), along with some
of the best third-party CD-ROMs in the
industry for a grand total of over 15,000
megabytes! There’s so much more to tell
about the K2500SWx, but I’ll leave it to
your Sweetwater Sales Engineer to fill
you in on the rest.

$99 "Mini" CD-ROMs including the Electron Bomb CD-ROM which features Dance,
Techno, Industrial, Rave, and Ambient VAST programming from Kurzweil gurus An­drew Schlesinger, Gary Phillips, Brian Cowell, and Bruce Duncan. You'll find 100
Synthetica Volume 1 programs (regularly $39) as well as the latest Synthetica Volume
2 for Contemporary ROM (also $39). You
can “rave-on” with the 100 DEEPRAVED
Programs ($39) and push the limit with
our 100 Techno/Ambient programs (again
$39) and much more, all for just $99!

And don't forget our recent addition
to the $99 Mini CD-ROM series, the Young
Chang Mini CD-ROM for the K2000/K2500
which features our best 16 meg and 13
meg Stereo Virtual Grand Pianos. It even
includes an 8 meg Mono Virtual Piano for
your mono PA gigs all for the outstanding
"Mini" price of only $99. If you bought
these three floppy sets separately it would
cost you $227, but we're offering this
"mini" CD-ROM for only $99! Get your
copy today and start playing piano for real.

Well that's all we've got for this is­sue. Next issue I'll be back to let you in on some really hot soundware that we're
developing for several of the other popular brands of samplers. You won’t want to
miss this one.

In other Soundware news, we're proud to announce our
latest offering for the E-mu ESI-4000 sampler called the
ESI Premium Rhythm Section CD-ROM ($99 list). It's
the latest of our $99 Mini-Series CD-ROMs which now
brings our award-winning Young Chang Stereo Triple­Strike Grand Piano to E-mu owners (an E4/e64 version
is currently in the works). The CD-ROM also contains 5
of our GM Standard Drum Kits from the Total Stereo
Session Drums CD-ROM, 5 of our best Bass Guitars
and a Yamaha Rock Piano and C7 Piano. There's even a
classic DX-7 Electric Piano thrown in for variety.
This CD-ROM follows our other already successful

SIGNATURE 284: THE ULTIMATE DIRECT BOX FOR GUITAR

by Daniel Fisher

I have a confession to
make: I've been a keyboard
player for 30 years now
and all that time I secretly
always wanted to be a
guitar hero, too. This
passion got even stronger after working full time on Sweetwater's Ultimate Guitar CD­ROM for the Kurzweil, with its 115 different guitars. The killing blow came when
Sweetwater started its highly successful “Custom Select” Premium Direct Luthiers
program which put literally hundreds of top quality guitars and accessories in the same
building where I work.

So I gave in and treated myself to an electric guitar. Being a trained musician and
soundware engineer, but only a beginning guitarist, I currently find myself focusing
more on tone than on highly technical playing. This has led me to explore all of the
fantastic tone-shaping products we carry for guitars and I truly believe I've found the
"Holy Grail" of all that is TONE! It's the new Lexicon Signature 284 (list $1099), an
all tube, Class "A" stereo recording amplifier and direct source. This hand-built, all-tube
amplifier was designed by tube guru John McIntyre specially for Lexicon.

What makes it so special? Well, one key factor is its low output power which allows
you to get the sinuous touch and gorgeous tone that only a fully-cranked all-tube amp
can deliver. With only 3 watts per side, its low-power design makes it ideal for recording
as well as live performance applications where high volume levels are undesirable. The
Signature 284’s unique design combines a high-gain preamp with a low-wattage, stereo
Class A power amplifier.The preamp section uses three 12AX7 tubes and incorporates a
switchable high-gain stage and beautifully voiced tone controls. To put the finishing

between the preamp and power amp for sonic effects that can't be obtained at the
console. Simultaneous outputs let the amp drive any combination of stereo speaker,
balanced recording and slave amp outputs. The speaker outputs can handle 4 or 8 ohm
cabinets. Built-in speaker simulation lets you select "smooth" or "bright" independently
for each recording output. For silent recording, the passive load is automatically connected
when the speaker is disconnected. Because the slave outputs tap the signal after the
power amp, they carry all of the Signature 284's characteristic tone and can be connected
to any power amp and guitar cabinets for greater performance volume.

So what does this all mean to you, the guitar hero? It means that you can get the

best fully-cranked all-tube sound all the time, whether you're practicing with headphones,

recording to digital, or blowing away an amphitheater full of fans, using the same hand­wired preamp and power amp. It means that your high quality analog and digital effects

touch on the 284's tone,
a stereo power amp uses
two EL84 tubes in a
Class A configuration. A
tube-driven stereo
effects loop lets you
place effects in-line

— Continued on Page 10

WE HAVE ALL THE HOTTEST PRODUCTS FROM ALL MAJOR MANUFACTURERS . . . IN STOCK!

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 10

over development of Apogee's Master Tools UV22 plug-in.

NASHVILLE NAMM REPORT

— Continued from Page 4

ROLAND. We took a vote and Roland won the award
for coolest new product at the show. The JP-8080 ($1595)
looks like a JP-8000 in a six-space rack unit, but has 10
voices with a monophonic mode and has a multieffects unit
with 384 patches. But here's where it gets interesting: It
also has audio inputs that can be routed through the filter
sections or used as an oscillator. Using an external audio
source as an oscillator brings a whole new palette of sounds.
Add MIDI synced LFOs and filters that can be controlled by
an audio input and one can quickly build some sounds that
are just begging to be sampled and looped. The VS-880 EX
($2195) will replace the VS-880. It has a new backlit dis­play and the effects board is now built-in. Plus they've made
it able to record on all eight tracks simultaneously and
it is now all 20-bit via six balanced inputs. There are
now two digital I/O ports (both S/PDIF) and it will be
capable of archiving to CD-R.

For the DJ market Roland added the DJ-2000
Mixer ($1495). It can do all the basics, but also adds a
three-band “Isolator” which can be used to radically
boost or cut low, mid or high frequencies. Making Iso­lator control easy, the DJ-2000 incorporates an inno­vative Grab switch which allows DJ's to instantly trig­ger Isolator EQ settings on the fly for drastic sonic
manipulation. The new SRJV80-14 Asia board, and
SRJV80-13 Vocal Collection board are both phenom­enal. The most impressive demo of the show was Scott
Wilke's fluid performance of five-way velocity switched
jazz scat vocals from the Vocal Collection card.

SHURE. Their new UT and UC series VHF diversity
wireless microphone systems were the most signifi­cant offering. The UT series are designed specifically
as a low cost solution while the UC series have select­able frequencies and are still sensibly priced. Also
showing was the new UA888 networking interface which
can control up to 32 of the U4S and U4DUHF wireless sys­tems on a Windows PC.

SONY enters the DJ market? They showed the DRE-1
(as in Dr. Dre?) which should be shipping in September for
around $1200. It's a Mini Disc-based platform with sam­pling trigger banks and all sorts of instant looping and
scratching features. Speed and pitch can be adjusted inde­pendent of one another or together via a very simple dual
slider mechanism. The neat thing is that, with their ATRAC
compression technology, it's easy to record any performance
you do right back to a Mini Disc and have it ready to play

LEXICON SIGNATURE 284

— Continued from Page 9

can be power-amped with real tubes in stereo. It also means that you can finally send the true output of your stereo
power tubes directly into your mixing board (no power-soak needed) for a fatness that no direct box could ever deliver.

You may wonder what Lexicon is doing making a custom “boutique” guitar amplifier. I asked Steve DeFuria of
Lexicon for the story. It turns out that Steve needed a small, low-wattage, portable, all-tube, stereo amp with stereo
effects inserts to research the development of their new MPX G2 Guitar Effects Processor (list $1799). Guess what?
No amp like that existed, so Steve enlisted the help of tube guru John McIntyre to build him a one-of-a-kind research
amp. Once the prototypes of the MPX G2 were ready, Steve traveled around showing the MPX G2 to many of the best
engineering ears and guitar gods in the industry. Each and every one of them loved the G2, but always started out by
asking, "Where the hell can I get one of those amps?"

After a while it became clear that modern guitar effects technology had outdistanced the amplifiers they needed
to play through and the Lexicon Signature 284 was born. The electric guitar will never be the same again. There's even
a specially designed stereo guitar speaker cabinet made for the Signature 284 called the SB 210 (retail $499). It's a
stereo, split baffle closed-back cabinet loaded with 2 Mojo 10" speakers that are rated a 35 watts peak per side which
are custom made by Mojo Tone.

To learn more about this amazing custom hand-made amplifier, call your Sweetwater Sales Engineer today for
current availability and your outstanding Sweetwater price.

can be used after the preamp tubes have shaped your signal. Then your effected signal

instantly — all in real time. The DVS-V55 ($550) is based
on the engine of its big brother, the DPS-V77. It retains the
great sound quality of the V77 without the cost, but the im­portant things are there: 20-bit converters, four inputs and
outputs, tap function, easy dial up of 45 algorithms, 200
factory and 200 user presets.

SOUNDTECH has the most fantastic cable checker I've
seen (I'm kind of into nerdy stuff like this): It's called the
MCT-7 ($149) and checks MIDI, video, 1/4 inch, 1/8 inch,
RCA, XLR, and some more I can't think of. It checks for
polarity and any pins shorted together or to ground. They
also have a handy polarity checking device called, well, Po­larity Checker. It costs over $200, but is an extremely valu­able tool in system setup.

SPIRIT. The big splash was the 328 digital mixer
($4995), a 32-channel 8-bus mixer with 16 mic inputs that
comes with ADAT Optical and TASCAM TDIF I/O already built
in. Their unique feature is the "E-Strip," which allows the
user to view an entire channel's controls horizontally across
the board. It virtually eliminates digging through menus for
parameters. The FX-16 is a 16 x 4 rack-mountable board
with 4 aux sends and three band EQ (mid-sweep) per chan­nel. Really cool: A Lexicon effects processor that's built-in.

STEINBERG was in the Thinkware booth showing the
new 24-bit version of Cubase VST and Wavelab 2.0 ($499).
They also have announced that they will license and take

An obvious first development will be VST compatibility.

SWEETWATER. We introduced our new SWx, a fully
loaded and customized version of the K2500 (see Page 9).
We also showed a selection of Oram outboard gear to a ton
of enthusiastic studio engineers. The MWS and Hi Def EQ
were huge hits with everyone who stopped by.

TANNOY. We found their compact new Reveal ($399)
monitors in use all over the show, sounding great. The dis­tinctive red color really makes them stand out and the shape
is both pleasing to the eye and nice to the audio with very
rounded off front edges.

TASCAM was out in force with the DA-98 and TM-D8000
digital mixer. The buzz, however, was centered on their TM-
D1000 compact digital mixer ($1199) and the new DA-45
24-bit DAT recorder ($1999), the world’s first 24-bit SAT.

The TM-D1000 sports an impressive array of cool fea­tures, including backlit LCD display, channel switches
that light up, built in TDIF, S/PDIF and AES digital
connections. There is also going to be a FX-1000 ef­fects board available that will add four channels of
dynamics processing and a pair of multieffects pro­cessors. And finally, a long overdue product, the
T3000 3-well duplicating cassette deck ($1499). It can
act as a stand alone duplication system or work in a
chain with nine other machines for a total of 30 po­tential slave decks.

WASHBURN. Their Buzz Feiten Tuning System
is being incorporated in more and more of their gui­tars. It’s both a manufacturing technology and tuning
method that allows guitars and basses to be much
more consistently in tune across the range of the neck.
Models include the XB500TR 5-string bass ($899) and
the XB925 ($1699) a 5-string that has two Bartolini
pickups and is made from exotic woods. There's a
Paul Stanley guitar model, the MR450 Sammy Hagar
model, and the P4, which has a mahogany body and

a maple top and employs sound channels inside for in­creased string clarity on distorted sounds.

YAMAHA. This show's smash success for them was
the DJX ($459), a really powerful workstation keyboard
geared towards producing dance and groove oriented mu­sic. This thing is packed with 238 sounds including hits,
scratches, breakbeats, loops, human voices, and 128 GM
sounds. There are 100 dynamic patterns to groove with and
lots of real time controls. Also in the fun category were their
new PSR-Series keyboards. There is the PSR-79 ($149),
PSR-195 ($259), and the PSR-225 ($399) which adds GM
sounds and EZ chord fingering with chord dictionaries and
directories. The new MU-128 ($1295) is brand new (ship­ping in October) and will soon be redefining the standards
for small modules. It has 128-voice polyphony and over 1400
sounds in 24 MB of wave ROM. The really amazing thing is
that it has three of what they call PLG slots. These slots
provide ports for "alternate technology cards" to be installed,
giving it even more functionality. They also showed their
new SW1000XG card ($699.95), a PCI wavetable card with
hard disk recording (4 record and 12 playback tracks) and
multi effects processing. It has 20 MB of wave ROM, six
effects, and will be supported by all the popular sequenc­ers. It supports the PLG cards mentioned above for the MU­128 and also has the ability to interface directly with the
company’s upcoming DSP Factory.

ZEN DRUM still gets my award for coolest looking prod­uct and for booth with the best vibe.

That's it. Another NAMM show is behind us. Get in con­tact with your Sweetwater Sound Sales Engineer to find out
the latest low down on all these new toys. Many of the prod­ucts are right on the brink of shipping so you'll want to get
your orders in right now to get one of the first ones.

SWEETWATER PROTECTS YOU WITH THE INDUSTRY’S FIRST AND BEST 100% BEST VALUE GUARANTEE!

Sweet Notes Early Fall 1998 Page 11

By Jim Miller

Like most of you, I can sing a sad song these days. See, I didn’t get to
Nashville for Summer NAMM. Oh I know, you’re thinking, “But Jim, you’re an
industry powerhouse! How could there be a NAMM Show without you?”

Okay, so you weren’t really thinking that, but it’s nice of you to humor
me. Actually, the reason I couldn’t make it to NAMM was simple: I was running
behind in my work. Besides my regular duties with Sweet Notes, I had several
articles and reviews to complete for Electronic Musician, and I was putting
the finishing touches on samples for a new
Sweetwater CD ROM (if you’re nice, Daniel Fisher
will tell you all about it soon).

Fortunately, as you have probably already
noticed, Sweetwater’s own David Stewart was
there in Nashville and he put together this
issue’s most excellent overview of all that was
new at the show — and there was plenty; so
much, in fact, that I’ve had to give up much of
my page so we can fit it all in. Of course, the more
amazing new gear there is, the more we find we
need, right? I can hardly believe the tools we have
available to us these days.

For my (brief) article this issue, I want to
discuss a topic that’s on a lot of people’s minds
lately, which is 16-bit vs. 20- and 24-bit
technology. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t get
asked about this: Is 16-bit finished as a format?
Are we dinosaurs if we don’t step up to the higher resolution formats? It’s an
interesting question and one that certainly will not get definitively answered
for some time. But let me share some personal observations.

About six years ago, a major consumer stereo publication conducted
exhaustive blind testing to determine whether CDs were actually superior to
(of all things) cassettes. We all have an opinion on this subject, right? Well, I
won’t keep you in suspense. With properly calibrated, high quality cassette
machines running with Dolby C noise reduction, most of their panel could not
— and I repeat, could not — consistently tell the difference between a cassette
and a CD. No, not even those with so-called “golden ears.” If they boosted the

“Hey, my ADAT can beat up your ADAT!”

level of the cassette a bit, many people chose the cassette as the better-sounding
format (thinking it was the CD). Amazing, isn’t it?

Okay, if it’s so tough to hear the difference between cassettes and CDs,
what’s the likelihood that listeners will hear the difference between, say, 16-bit
and 20-bit recordings?

Obviously, when the 16-bit, 44.1kHz format was introduced in the late 1970s
(has it really been that long?), those were the upper limits of our technology.
Still, I have lots of CDs that were recorded at the dawn of digital that sound

fantastic. The reason is simple: The recording
engineers on these projects (and on analog
recordings of the same vintage) were masters of
getting the most out of their medium.
Now I’m no different than anyone else. Give me
the choice between 16-bit and 20-bit and I’ll take
20-bit every time. Problem is, I still have a 16-bit
wallet (ouch!). And the hard truth is that I still
have not produced any recordings that have
absolutely tapped the upper limits of 16-bit’s
potential. Another fact that should be apparent is
that not all 16-bit recorders are created equal.
Some sound better than others. The same, I’m
sure, will be said for higher bit machines.
So what it boils down to is this: What’s your
budget? Higher bit formats are the future, no one
can argue with that. But neither can you argue

with the fact that 16-bit will be with us for quite
some time to come and sounds pretty awesome for 20-year old technology. Until
my ship comes in (and damn it, I’m still waiting) I will try to make the best
recordings possible using my present 16-bit machines. When the day comes
that the technology cannot handle what I am capable of producing, that’s the
day I will bite the bullet, call the bank and switch to the highest bit-rate I can
afford. For most of us — maybe not you, but the majority of us — I think that
day is still a ways down the road.

With that I’ll declare the subject open for discussion and thoughtful
responses (if any) will be addressed here next issue. Meanwhile, my new
philosophy is simple: Life’s short, make music.

P AUL REED SMITH: Guitars Without Compromise

— Continued from Page 1

the bridge and 1 3/4" at the rim with a carved spruce
top, carved mahogany back and sides and the superb
McCarty neck profile (nice and chunky, my favorite) with
moon inlays. Also included are the newly designed
McCarty Archtop pickups with sound that
perfectly complements the look and feel of the
instrument, a PRS stop tailpiece, 14-to-1 low
mass tuners with ebony buttons. You also get
the standard McCarty electronics: one volume
and tone control plus three-way selector
switch. The McCarty Hollow Body II ($3600
list), has the same features as the Hollow body,
but with a carved,figured maple top and back.

If you like your guitars slightly fatter (and
I mean that in the best possible way!) there’s
the McCarty Archtop ($3200 list), which has
all the features of the Hollow Body, but is 4"
deep at the bridge and 2 3/4" at the rim with
carved spruce top. The McCarty Archtop II,
($3800 list) has the same features, but with a
carved, highly figured maple top and back.
Options include Bird inlays, adjustable stop
tailpiece and rosewood headstock veneer.

At the top of the hollow body PRS line is
the magnificent McCarty Archtop Artist
($10,000 list). It features a carved Artist grade,

highly figured maple top and back and carved mahogany
sides, 4" deep at the bridge and 2 3/4" deep at the rim.
Features include a Brazilian rosewood fingerboard,
Abalone birds with gold outline, rosewood head stock
veneer, wide fat neck carve, adjustable stop tailpiece, 14-

The PRS McCarty Archtop II with amber finish

to-1 low mass tuners, ebony buttons and gold hardware.
Whew! This is a serious guitar for serious guitarists!

Also new this year is the McCarty Soapbar, which
is basically a McCarty with a solid mahogany body and
special Seymour Duncan “soapbar” P-90s. Options

include Abalone bird inlays, PRS tremolo and
14-to-1 low mass locking tuners. Though it’s
not new, the Carlos Santana model ($8000
list) is now a special order. It includes a leather
case, rippled Abalone purfling, Brazilian
rosewood fret board, rosewood head stock
overlay and an optional stop tailpiece.

The Paul Reed Smith philosophy is simple:
Make guitars that players just won’t be able
to put down. The craftsmen at PRS build guitars
with a passion that you might have thought
was gone these days. But it’s not. And you’ll
feel it the very first time you pick up one of
these fantastic instrument.

Whether you’re searching for the perfect
stage ax or that special once-in-a-lifetime
investment, call your Sales Engineer right now
and check out the current selection of Paul
Reed Smiths in the Sweetwater Custom Select
collection. I promise: You’ll have an instrument
that will deliver the tone you’re searching for
with looks to match! — Jim Miller

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