live

Furman Merit Series - the power of protection

If it plugs in to power, make sure it's protected. Of course, it seems like a no-brainer, but it's amazing how many bits of gear get powered straight from the GPO.

For your studio lavalamp or a variety of kitchen appliances, there is really no problem with that - but for the many bits of gear that are right in the thick of the sound chain, there is more than one area of concern. The first has to do directly with your gear fund.

Spike and surge protection is the smart way to ensure no nasties get past your power conditioner, and adversely affect your prized equipment. Bolt one of these into each rack for your live shows, and make sure all your studio gear is plugged into the appropriate number of conditioners also. That's the easy way to avoid the horrible sinking feeling when you get a spike and something doesn't make it through the ordeal.

Since we're in the sound game, the second reason to make sure you condition your power has got to do with the quality of your sound chain. Noise filtering of the incoming power reduces radio frequencies and electromagnetic interference.

These 'Merit Series' conditioners by Furman are a simple way to make sure your gear performs as it should. 10Amp rating, with circuit breaker, 10 rear panel IEC outlets (plus one on the front panel), and also the option of pull-out rack lights. The incoming power lead will stay put, unless you have a crack at the locking mechanism with a screwdriver.

M10LXE - includes pull out lights
M10XE - no lights

Presonus StudioLive: go harder with Universal Control 1.5.2

Presonus, you've done it again. Not content with a simple software nip, tuck and tidy up to cater for Mac OS X® 10.7  (Lion), this latest version of Universal Control is a big plus for current (or future) StudioLive users.

First of all, straight to the big one - for anyone who's been wanting more graphic EQ for their StudioLive 16.4.2 you've now got it. In fact, how does six of them sound! Here's the extended blurb via Presonus website:

"StudioLive 16.4.2 mixer owners can now take advantage of six 31-band graphic EQs that are dedicated to the aux buses, variable (2 to 500 ms) output delays on each subgroup, and Aux Flip mode, which lets you include the Tape input, Main FireWire return, Aux A input Aux B input, FXA bus, and FXB bus in Aux mixes 1 through 6.

And just so no-one is feeling left out, StudioLive 16.0.2 owners have also been shown the love here, with "added compatability for PreSonus StudioLive Remote control software for Apple iPad® - a much-requested feature. With this update, StudioLive 16.0.2 owners can choose to record channels 1 through 16, as before, or can record channels 1 through 14 and the L/R main bus. Thus, you can use the StudioLive 16.0.2 to mix down previously recorded tracks and record the stereo mix to PreSonus Capture™ or to a DAW (including PreSonus Studio One™)"

It's a free download, so do it now! Here's the link to the Presonus press release page, which contains the download (down the bottom), and a bit more info. We've already updated our store demo consoles, and it's definitely exciting times ahead.