midas

Midas announces PRO2 & PRO2C consoles

For anyone who had been keeping an eye on MidasConsoles.com over the past week, you'll have noticed a little countdown going on. We've now arrived at the launch date, and the cone of silence has officially been lifted, as has the cloak of invisibility, and more importantly - the level of excitement!

What's it all about?
Midas released two new consoles at the PLASA trade show in Earls Court, London over the weekend. The PRO2, and smaller (compact) PRO2C look set to make some serious waves in the pro audio pool.

Both consoles have some serious power under the hood, and some well thought-out feature plus a few party tricks that together tick all the boxes. From the looks we were privy to before the official launch date, it's fair to say that it we have been VERY excited. Now that PRO2 is launched, we're ready for our support training, which starts tomorrow.

We've put links to the brand new consoles above, but if you want a really fast overview, check out the Midas PRO2 FAQ page here. Or you can come and check them out...when we get stock. Rumoured to be roughly a month-and-a-half away from yesterday's launch date but stay tuned - we'll definitely keep you posted.

And the long-form blurb:
The Midas PRO2 and PRO2C may be the smallest and least expensive Midas digital consoles so far; however, they represent a quantum leap forward in both technology and in concept for the art of audio mixing. Extending the line begun with the Pro6, previously expanded upwards and downwards in configuration with the Pro9 and Pro3 desks, the new Midas PRO2 and PRO2c ("C" for Compact) maintain the sonic performance of their XL8 and Pro Series, advance Midas' innovations in console navigation and live production control, while setting a new company standard for value.

The core specifications for both the PRO2 and PRO2c are: 64 input channels, 32 outputs, 27 busses, six stereo FX engines, and 28 KT Graphic EQs. Systems comprised of a control surface, a DL251 I/O unit, two 100m Cat5 cables, and a flight case are priced at $25,995 INC GST (PRO2c) or $32,995 INC GST (PRO2).

PRO2 can be operated in a number of different ways, depending upon the experience, ability and willingness of the operator to adopt new ideas. In "normal" mode, PRO2 behaves in a manner similar to many other digital consoles. Engineers who are new to Midas digital can relax, enjoy the PRO2's sample-synchronous audio quality, and operate the console from well within their comfort zone. As an operator becomes increasingly familiar with the console, they can activate the advanced navigation features which enable access to undreamt of levels of ease and speed of workflow on an audio console. Digital or Analogue!

MIDAS PRO6 masterclass with Nahuel Gutierrez

We were lucky enough this week to host a couple of great days, featuring MIDAS PRO6. The masterclass sessions were hosted at Factory Sound, in conjunction with MIDAS and National Audio Systems (the Australian importer for both MIDAS and Klark Teknik).

Our presenter was Nahuel Gutierrez, who has worked with a stack of touring acts as PA tech (Beastie Boys), Monitor Engineer (Oasis) and heaps more. Rather than presenting as a company product specialist, Nahuel was able to give real-world perspective during the 2 sessions we ran. It would have been great to invite everyone, but we only had space for 12 in each session. Both days were highly informative, and a great forum for healthy and robust discussion between a bunch of live sound engineers eagar to learn more about the future of mixing both here and abroad.

Of course, Factory Sound TV was there to grab an interview with Nahuel.

MIDAS PRO6 has featured in a few other episodes, so help celebrate YouTube's 5th birthday (doesn't seem long enough!) and have a Captain at this lot: Richard Ferriday talks us through Pro6 in Sydney here, Phill Webb shows us Klark Teknik hooked up to PRO6 at Integrate 09 here, Bryan Davidson shows PRO6 running IrisNet at Integrate 09 here, and some much older episodes with Phill Webb showing us some the 'new' Klark Teknik SQ1S at Entech 08 here, with Richard Ferriday showing the 'new' XL8 at the same Entech 08 show here.