Stay tuned to this page to get your breaking news from the show floor!
—Editors

We get a lot of odd items in the mail at our offices here, but the other day we were intrigued by the arrival of a rather strange parcel. Within the ordinary-looking outer packaging was an unmarked black box (somewhat reminiscent of the black monolith from Kubrick’s 2001—A Space Odyssey) and within that was a Mackie Onyx 820i analog mixer with FireWire interfacing, a copy of Pro Tools M-Powered software, a DVD marked “Insert Me” and a page of instructions printed using ransom note–style cut-out letters. The outside of the mixer’s box touts a large notice saying it’s compatible with Pro Tools M-Powered in large letters with the words “and Logic, SONAR, Cubase, etc.” listed beneath in smaller type.

In true Mackoid tradition, the DVD had a short video clip of a Mackie employee with an altered voice and wearing a stocking over his face to conceal his identity. The mystery spokesperson explains a few people were chosen to receive this “top-secret” parcel and then goes to play part of a Pro Tools session through the 820i. More mysterious perhaps was the other file on the DVD—an installer for the Mackie Universal Driver Version 1 that would let Mackie products act as an audio interface/front end for Pro Tools M-Powered software. If so, it’s a lot of impact for a relatively few lines of code.

Assuming this isn’t simply a case of reverse-engineering on Mackie’s part, this development is significant for several reasons. Up until this point, Digidesign has been exceedingly protective about its hardware, with the only sanctioned deal being sister company M-Audio gear working with the specially branded Pro Tools M-Powered. So this is either the first step (admittedly, a small step and not a leap) toward easing Digidesign’s “software curtain” on Pro Tools hardware, or simply opening the market somewhat on the M-Powered side to bring more users into the Pro Tools fold. And once there, some of these users would, in theory, eventually upgrade to Pro Tools LE or a full-bore Pro Tools HD system, making it a win on Digidesign’s part.

Yet so far, other than a mysterious note, a new FireWire-enabled mixer and a driver with a lot of potential, there are many questions and few answers. However, more information should surely come on September 9—Mackie’s “official” launch date for the 820i. But one thing is for sure: This story ain’t over yet.

In Things We Hear, Mix editorial director Tom Kenny reports weekly from

inside the professional audio industry—in-studio, from the concert floor, on

the dub stage. The changes taking place in technology, production and

distribution are happening at a dizzying pace, and in Things We Hear, we’ll

provide the context that charts those changes and brings the news back

home. Stay tuned!

Hi all –

Well, GDC 2008 is finally here and the Mix editors are psyched to be checking out all of the new game audio gear, apps and everything else audio-related. Stay tuned for news from the showfloor!

OUTSTANDING TECHNICAL ACHIEVEMENT

ANCILLARY EQUIPMENT
Apogee Electronics Symphony

DIGITAL CONVERTER TECHNOLOGY
Apogee Electronics Ensemble

MIC PREAMPLIFIER TECHNOLOGY
SSL XLogic Alpha Channel

MIC TECHNOLOGY/SOUND REINFORCEMENT
Neumann KMS 104

MIC TECHNOLOGY//RECORDING
Royer R122-V

WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
Sennheiser NET1

SOUND REINFORCEMENT LOUDSPEAKER TECHNOLOGY
JBL Professional VP Series

STUDIO MONITOR TECHNOLOGY
Genelec 8200/7200 DSP Series

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGY
Moog Little Phatty

SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY/HARDWARE
Focusrite Liquid Mix

SIGNAL PROCESSING TECHNOLOGY/SOFTWARE
Universal Audio Neve Classic Console Bundle

WORKSTATION TECHNOLOGY
Digidesign 003

RECORDING DEVICES
Tascam DV-RA1000HD

SOUND REINFORCEMENT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
Digidesign D-Show Profile

SMALL FORMAT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
Trident Series 8T-8

LARGE FORMAT CONSOLE TECHNOLOGY
SSL Duality

OUTSTANDING CREATIVE ACHIEVEMENT

TOUR SOUND PRODUCTION
John Mayer Continuum Tour

FOH Engineer: Chad Franscoviak

Monitor Engineer: Mike Adams

Tour Company: Clair Showco, Lititz, PA

REMOTE PRODUCTION/RECORDING OR BROADCAST
49th Annual Grammy Awards, CBS

Production Mixers: Thomas Holmes, Paul Sandweiss

Music Mixers: John Harris, Eric Schilling, Joel Singer

Remote Facility: XM Productions-Effanel Music, NYC

TELEVISION SOUND PRODUCTION
The Sopranos, HBO

Supervising Sound Editor: Jason George

Re-Recording Mixers: Kevin Burns, Todd Orr

Production Mixer: Matthew Price

Audio Post Facility: Todd-AO West, Santa Monica, CA

FILM SOUND PRODUCTION

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Jerry Bruckheimer, Walt Disney

Supervising Sound Editors: Christopher Boyes, George Watters II

Sound Designer: Christopher Boyes

Re-recording Mixers: Christopher Boyes, Paul Massey, James Bolt, Lora Hirschberg

Production Mixer: Lee Orloff

Score Mixer: Alan Meyerson

Recording Facilities: Air Lyndhurst; Skywalker Sound; Sony Picture Studios; 20th Century Fox Studios; Todd-AO Radford, Studio City, CA

Audio Post Facility: Buena Vista Post Production Services

STUDIO DESIGN PROJECTRecord Plant/SSL 1, Hollywood, CA

Architects or Studio Designers: Vincent van Haaff, Jason Carson

Acoustician: Vincent van Haaff

Studio Owner: Rick Stevens

INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT SOUND PRODUCTION
Tomb Raider: Legend, Eidos Interactive

Audio Director: Troels Folmann

Sound Designer: Mike Peaslee

Sound & Music Integrators: Gregg Stephens, Karl Gallagher

Audio Programmers: Gregg Stephens, Karl Gallagher

Re-recording Mixer: Mike Peaslee

Audio Post Facility: Crystal Dynamics Audio Studios

SURROUND SOUND PRODUCTION
Love, Beatles (DVD-A)

5.1 Mixing Engineer: Paul Hicks

Mastering Engineer: Tim Young

Producers: George Martin, Giles Martin

Mixing Facility: Abbey Road Studios, London, UK

Mastering Facility: Metropolis Mastering, London, UK

RECORD PRODUCTION/SINGLE OR TRACK
“Waiting On The World to Change,” Continuum, John Mayer

Recording Engineers: Chad Franscoviak, Dave O’Donnell

Mixing Engineer: Manny Marroquin

Mixing Facility: Larrabee Studios, Los Angeles, CA

Producers: Steve Jordan, John Mayer

Recording Studios: Avatar Studios, NYC; The Village, West Los Angeles, CA

Mastering Engineer: Greg Calbi

Mastering Facility: Sterling Sound, NYC

RECORD PRODUCTION/ALBUM
Continuum, John Mayer

Recording Engineers: Joe Ferla, Chad Franscoviak, Dave O’Donnell, John Alagia

Mixing Engineers: Michael H. Brauer, Manny Marroquin

Mixing Facilities: Quad Studios, NYC; Larrabee Studios, Los Angeles, CA

Producers: Steve Jordan, John Mayer

Recording Studios: Legacy Recording Studios, NYC; Royal Studios, Memphis, TN; The Village, West Los Angeles; Avatar Studios, NYC

Mastering Engineer: Greg Calbi

Mastering Facility: Sterling Sound, NYC

We’re here with Rick Stevens, owner of Record Plant in Hollywood, and they’re announcing their expansion into Miami — South Beach, and introducing a new concept: The Record Plant, South Beach is going to be an 8-studio complex, two of which are owned by Record Plant, with the other six studios being owned by…..Top Artists and Producers. They’re calling them, “stu-di-o-min-i-um.” Cool, huh?

Studiominimum is a world-class recording studio and related lounge/work space, side-by-side with Record Plant’s own studios– all in one location. Record Plant will take care of everything, from technical and engineering service, messenger, runner staff, health club, swimming pool — everything. Rose Mann-Cherney and Rick believe that this development represents the development of the future of the high-end recording industry. Sales are underway; actual opening of the studios is projected for winter season, 2009. Stay tuned for updates.

For more, www.recordplant.com.

here we are with Jason Miles…what’s your thoughts on the show thus far?

I’vebeen to about 20 AES shows.The NY show is always the best hang.People seem to always pick up on thr NY energy.It is always evident that things in our business change.It’s now about Multi media and software.A few cool companies have hung on and I hope they thrive.I will check back in a few days to see if anything in this show excited me enough to break out the credit card

Peace, Jason Miles

Just got back from the American Music & Sound booth and they’re brimming with lots of new goodies: Focusrite’s ISA 828 8-channel mic pre (now shipping) and the Liquid 4PRE, and Allen & Heath’s ZED-14 stereo mixer and iLive-80 control surface. In other news, Turbosound joins the AM&S family, effective now.

Get ready for AES 2007 N.Y. with our special Mix, Electronic Musician and Remix site–where you’ll find our Survival Guide, Video, Podcasts, Newsletters, New Products and much more. Site is live (except New Products Guide, which goes live on October 1): September 21. Bookmark it now at mixonline.com/ms/aes2007!

Want a piece of the $13 billion game industry? Network with the talent behind today’s hottest titles and technology at the Game Developers Conference 2007 (March 5-9), taking place in San Francisco. GDC is the world’s largest game creation event, and Mix will be on the scene, reporting up-to-the-minute news from the show! Stay tuned for Blogs and Podcasts, but cruise through the site now for Mix editors’ inside tips on navigating through the city — restaurants, entertainment, getting out of the convention hall for a bit and much more!

See you on the show floor!

The Mix Editors