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RME Fireface UCX - Now in stock!
Aw... they grow up so quickly thesedays! Since RME first released the Fireface 800 (would you believe 9 years ago and still going strong!), things have gone from strength to strength with this marvellous series. Fireface 400 was next (compact size), and was then followed by Fireface UC - with USB port, which has cleverly been optimised for use specifically on Mac or PC (easily switchable should you change from one platform to another).
More recently, we've seen the exciting release of Fireface UFX, packing the supercharged Totalmix FX... and now (insert timani roll) the most recent member of the Fireface family: Fireface UCX. Compact, clever, and with a handy remote control - no doubt inspired by the popularity of the little Babyface USB interface.
You can see a good quick list of features, specs and connectivity here, but more importantly - as this was only realeased at NAMM a couple of weeks ago, stock is thin on the ground. So if you're keen and this is a 'must-have-now' tool for your studio, make sure you make contact asap as we don't have a huge amount of stock just yet.
Factory Sound has been a huge RME advocate since the get-go, and the reasons are plain and simple. Apart from the great sound - high quality AD/DA converters with BIG dynamic range - the support in Australia is fantastic, which is exactly what is required for anything 'hi-tech' that you depend on for your studio, project, and more often than not, your livelihood.
And just in case you've got nothing better to do (hard to imagine), here's a 4 min interview with Hermann Vega-Savon, RME CEO that we filmed at last year's Melbourne F1 Grand Prix. Luckily we filmed this before too much happy fluid had been consumed!
Read full postAllen & Heath ZED16FX & ZED18 announced
Seems our Cornish friends have been rather busy of late. Hot on the heels of the GLD Series announcement earlier this month, we're also excited about the two new ZED series mixers. They beautifully fill the gap between the original ZED14 / ZED12FX, and the larger framed ZED24 / ZED22FX.
If you've kept even half an eye on the Factory Sound story over the past dozen-or-so years, you'll have notice that Allen & Heath has always had a starring role. From back in the days when our fave little mixer was a GL2, which (after a couple of generations) became part of the Wizard-3 series. GL2000, GL2200 and more recently GL2400 have been a staple for the mid sized (24-32 channel) 4-sub group console, and all of these consoles have had great EQ and responsive Mic Preamps.
Since then, the introduction of ZED series has seriously shaken the tree from the bottom, top and now the branches in-between. ZED18 and ZED16FX were announced at NAMM 2012, and look to be headed to Australia sometime late in February - more updates as they become available.
Like all of the ZED series, there is a flexibly routable USB port on board, along with the right number of Aux sends for the frame size, and a grunty DuoPre mic input that does the job nicely. Optionally available rack ears make this one just the right size to slot into a little rig and carry it from show to show - or build it into a tight booth for your performance space. For more detailed info on the mixers, check ZED16FX (10 mono, 3 stereo, USB + effects) and ZED18 (10 mono, 4 stereo, USB).
Or go nuts and have a squiz at the whole ZED Series range. Nice one Allen & Heath.
Read full postGLD Series - Allen & Heath Digital Mixer
Ready to tick all the boxes? Allen & Heath has been working hard at this one for a while, we're guessing. And possibly the name says it all - their much-loved analogue GL Series has kept A&H up the top of the tree for so long in live venues, and with mobile production companies, and now (thanks to plenty of innovation inherited from the iLive series) we've got a Digital soloution at an analogue price.
We haven't played with one yet, seeing as GLD was only announced today, but since Allen & Heath has always delivered in spades, since back when all of us at Factory Sound were still wearing shorts, let's borrow a bit of blurb from their pen: "As you would expect from Allen & Heath, GLD delivers outstanding audio performance, with a new high-end mic preamp, low latency and the DSP muscle to provide full processing without compromise. GLD-80's FX engines are taken directly from the iLive system and feature beautifully crafted emulations of industry classics."
But how does it all work? First of all there's the tactile heart of the system - the GLD-80 digital mixer. Via XLR, you get 4 in and 4 out (plus other I/O), so to fully get the system happening, you'll need to add either a GLD-AR2412 (main audio rack, 3RU, 24 XLR in, 12 XLR out), up to two GLD-AR0804 (expander audio rack, 1RU, 8 XLR in, 4 XLR out) - or any combination of all three, for a total XLR I/O count of 48/24.
As a nice little addition, there's even an 'Aviom' port on the GLD-2412, just to help out if you've already sorted your stage monitoring rig. And of course, we're really just scratching the surface here. GLD has the ability to record and playback a stereo signal on a USB memory stick. Standard iLive audio I/O option cards for Dante, MADI, EtherSound and Allen & Heath's ACE protocols can be fitted, allowing multi-channel record/playback, FOH/monitor splits, and connection to A&H iLive systems, which can easily be configured using GLD's extensive soft-patching.
We're seriously looking forward to getting stock, so make sure you keep an eye out - watch this GLD space. Thanks to Allen & Heath, it looks like a very happy new year in 2012.
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