StudioLive now in stock!

10 outta 15 ain't bad! To us it has felt like a long wait...but the highly anticipated StudioLive16.4.2 has finally arrived. And it's a perfect 10.

15 have landed in Australia, and we're rapt to know that 10 of those are (as at lunchtime today) sitting in stock ready for action. You can see more on the product here, or our orignal blog post here, or if you'd like to delve deeper - check out the Presonus StudioLive blog here.
Actually, that Presonus blog is pretty cool - you'll see both articles and youtube clips on how to use StudioLive for monitor mixing, FOH, and in the studio with Apple Logic.

and for a late-breaking news flash on expandability and connectivity, go here.

May 21st - Rode University
We had a great night. Here are some pics, and we've also put a highlights reel together for Factory Sound TV.

Above is the view from inside the fishbowl...where we had Event Opal monitors cranking. And below looking from the outside at the great spread of Rode microphones.


We had a terrific turnout, and all who came were rewarded with beer, nibblies, a free Rode PopShield, and the chance to ask as many questions to the experts as they needed.




Here's to the next chance for a gathering - any excuse will do.

Anyway, here's our YouTube clip from the night...


www.factorysound.com

Rode University on Tour

The Rode University Tour bus is just about to land at Factory Sound.
We're eagarly awaiting Thursday 21st May 2009, with the welcome mat rolled out from 5.30 - 7.00pm, at Factory Sound.

Anyone who registers prior to coming will be able to claim a free Rode PopShield. In case you haven't registered yet, send an email off to us (to the infopool address) and we'll pop you on the list. We are closing registrations at 5pm on Wed 20th May - that'll give us the day to organise some nibblies and drinks for all!

Apart from having every Rode microphone, Event Opal studio monitors, Presonus studio gear - including soundcards and their all-new StudioLive digital console on show, we're also hosting Craig and James from Rode. Craig has been the Australian representative for Rode Microphones for as long as we can remember, and James represents both Event and Presonus in Australia. They'll be ready for all your questions.

And, it almost goes without saying, there will be cracking specials for anyone who buys up on the night. We'll have lots of stock - so take advantage!

www.factorysound.com

PreSonus StudioLive

We had an entertaining visit this week from the brand new (soon-to-be released) PreSonus StudioLive16.4.2 digital console. After a quick introduction, we took it for a tour around the shop.

With a couple of firewire ports on board, StudioLive was looking comfortable, lounging on the couch in our monitor listening room. Being rackmountable and weighing in at just 10 kg, we figured StudioLive would be well suited to life on the road also.

Yep, we were right.

Then for the bench testing...we did some side-by-side (and back panel to back panel) comparisons against other 16 channel consoles we have in stock. StudioLive16.4.2 has all the ins and outs you'd normally see: 16x XLR inputs, 16x 1/4" Line inputs, 16x channel insert points. You also get direct outputs for channels 1-16 (via 2 x DB25).

Of course, the undeniable benefit of a digital mixer is the processing power on board, and StudioLive16.4.2 has got plenty for every in and out point of your mix, which leads us to...

Fat Channel
The control section of the mixer is very easy to get hands on. There's enough faders to do what you need quickly, and it's also super-simple to select the 'fat channel' control section for any of the inputs, aux sends, sub groups or master outputs. Fat Channel is the bright blue heart of the console., giving you instant access to all the controls you'd need.

Here's what Presonus have to say about their Fat Channel:
"...engaged by pressing any 'select' button, features extensive equalisation and dynamics available to every input channel, every aux output, every subgroup output, and main output. High pass filter, and four-band semi-parametric equalization algorithms are based on PreSonus’ custom-designed digital EyeQ™ equaliser, delivering extremely musical results. Also included in the Fat Channel are compressors, limiters and gates modeled after PreSonus’ award-winning ACP88 for complete dynamics control."


Did we mention 2 x dedicated internal effects...




Our new friend StudioLive16.4.2 even managed to time the visit to coincide with customers who ask all the right questions. Take John Hall for example... he's a regular user of Midas analogue and DiGiCo digital consoles, working as house engineer at Melbourne venues. No doubt he gets plenty of experience with other boards while touring Australia and US. For him, StudioLive was appealing as it offered a quick, portable (and well-priced) way of controlling a bunch of in-ear monitors for tours - especially doing festival shows where want to just patch in and get your ears going in next to no time.



It's settled then. Looks like StudioLive16.4.2 has got it's own spot at Factory Sound.

Stay tuned for further updates. If you simply can't wait, go here to download the brochure, or here to download the manual. Nice one PreSonus.

www.factorysound.com

3-day bargain-fest to finish 2008 in style!

December 29-31. It's our end of year bonanza!
By the end of today (assuming the planets align for us) you should have received an email with a hint of the stupid pricing we'll be putting on for the last 3 days of 2008. If you're not currently a Factory Sound InfoPool member, you'll just have to come in after Boxing Day and get stuck into the bargains!

As a little tease, here's a couple of prices:
Mann M21 Studio Condenser just $195 (RRP $695) - 45 only in stock, NO rainchecks.
JBL PRX518S Powered Subwoofer $1750 (RRP $3899) - 3 only in stock, NO rainchecks.
TC Electronic M350 Dual Engine Effects $299 (RRP $575) - 3 only in stock, NO rainchecks.

OK, you get the picture.
Get in quick, or the boat will set sail without you.
The usual disclaimers apply (see below).

And if we don't see you before the New Year arrives - warmest wishes for a lovely Christmas and New Year period.

RRP is the Recommended Retail Price, as suggested by the respective importer/wholesaler of each product. RRP does not reflect what price these models have been sold for in the past, or what price they will be sold for in the future at Factory Sound. RRP is listed here as guide. All other prices listed are the 3-day-sale special prices (valid until 31^st December 2008, or until stock items sold out - whichever comes first). No rainchecks available. Please note that whilst every effort has been made to ensure all information is correct, Factory Sound will not be held accountable for any errors within this post. No exceptions.

Event Opal now in stock

Seems so long ago that we first started writing about Event Opal powered studio monitors...
When we heard the very first pair every built, it was way back at the end of July, when the Aussie dollar was just about buying a whole $USD! We traveled to sunny Las Vegas, and after some serious jetlag, missed planes and a few quiet drinks (along with some rowdy ones), got to hear just how impressive the Opals are.

You can too - just come into Factory Sound and bring your reference CD. And if you haven't already jumped on the number 112 tram or hopped in your car on the way here, take some time to check out the pic from our hotel window back in Vegas... it was taken during Rehab, which happens on Sundays at the Hard Rock Hotel.

the fesitval of Behringer

It was twenty years ago today...
We were invited last Monday night to attend 'an evening with Uli Behringer', which was an intimate affair: a few Behringer dealers from the Southern states of Australia, together with the Behringer Australia team, and on his very first trip to Australia - Uli Behringer.

We expected to walk in to a Sgt Peppers theme, with cardboard cutouts of The Beatles playing Behringer guitars through Bugera amplifiers. However it was a rather chilled affair, and we were treated to a few cool ales and settled down to a relaxed session at a function room at Crown Casino (a short walk from our day at Factory Sound).

Uli hopped up onto stage, and sat down for a Parkinson-style session with Behringer Australia's GM, Michael Jago. Factory Sound was not only well represented with quite a few of us attending, but also very impressed. Uli is (in no particular order) relaxed, intelligent, passionate, charismatic and inspiring. We also got the feeling he is genuinely talented in many areas of audio, whether it is musically, or pro audio. This was indeed confirmed when he came to Factory Sound the following day.

We've no idea how he managed to end up at Factory Sound on the day of his 20th Anniversay (since Behringer began), but Uli spent quite a bit of time chewing the fat with us. It was in our speaker room, that we realised there is a reason why his company is 20yrs old and still rising. The reason is Uli. He has a firm grasp on not only what sounds good, but what is required both now and in the future for all things pro audio. We listened to every speaker in our room, and his face could not lie - Uli has never listened passively to anything in his life. Even when he is Salsa dancing, we're pretty sure he's going to be focussing on more than his feet and his partner.

Really hard to put into words how 'switched-on' Uli is. If you've got a spare 10 mins though, check out our video podcast interview (episode 21)that we did with Uli on the same day. We think it's the only time he's done it before, so we're thankful that he took the time during his hectic 20th Anniversary year to come in and share a beer and a few stories for Factory Sound TV.

Great deals, bec$AUS we can!

If you've been looking for an upgrade to your PA system or a new addition to the studio, there has never been a better time...and it's most definitely a case of first in, best looked after.

Recently the wheels have fallen off our dollar, and most pro audio wholesalers have reacted by putting prices up. As more than casual observers, we are amazed at how quickly we've received TWO price rises (or one enormous one) from some of our suppliers.

In fairness to them, many pro audio importers had significantly lowered the Recommended Retail Price of many lines while the going was good, although the drop in prices seemed to take a lot longer (and less steep) than the recent rises, which have been quick and big.

So rather than reducing our stock levels and running lean...we went out and spent the last of our beer money buying as much stock as possible to ensure we can offer the best deals around. We figure that the summer festival season doesn't care about our $AUD, nor does the upgrade your studio needs. The only thing that gets affected by a big price rise is your bottom line - that is, unless you go for it while you can.

While we've got stock, take advantage because the deals simply cannot last. Once our stock is gone, we'll have to replace it with more expensive stock.

Brands we have really bought up big on include: RCF (the great wall of Art boxes), Allen & Heath (Zed mixers, Wizard Mixers and GL2400 series), DBX (comps, graphics and drive racks), Soundcraft (EPM & EFX series mixers), Avalon (heaps of the black VT-737SE), Shure Wireless (PGX / SLX) and Wired (SM series & Beta Series), Sennheiser (Evolution wirelss + e900 series vocal & instrument mics), Soundcards by Presonus & RME, plus heaps more.

Until the new prices have settled (around first week of November...though there's probably more grief to come), we've disabled many 'go' prices on our website. We will be looking after existing customers first. This means that if your name is not already on our database, you'll need to subscribe to get the best possible pricing.

Think of it as an early Christmas pressie ; )

a ZED for your studio

Delivered fresh in the last few days, the new A&H ZED R16 recording mixer has taken prime position on our mixer table right up the front of the showroom.

What is so interesting about Zed's new mixer? Only everything!

First of all, we'll call this model a '16 channel firewire recording mixer' which is a pretty good summary. Of course, having the firewire ports (and ADAT) on board, it means the R16 is most certainly capable of taking a bunch of microphones (16 channels worth), and including your gain & eq settings, resulting in 16 channels worth of 1's & 0's.

Or let's say you'd like to go the other way...using the console for a mixdown. Take your 16 channels worth of ADAT or Firewire, and bring them up on the board's analogue control channels. You'll have enough juice left for a L&R record path back to your computer. And you can also make full use of the handy transport buttons.

For more info, check out A&H's page on the R16, or come in and a have a look/feel for yourself. We're suitably impressed, and won't be surprised if you are too!

And just in case you've got nothing to do something specific to look for, here's a link to the great Zed range from A&H.

No stopping this solder station

Just in time for the start of Spring, we've just received a desperately needed top-up of Solder Stations (and other goodies) from Weller.

Hayden is especially happy...we guess it's because, with these great-performing solder stations, he's hoping there will be a rush of DIY-techs ready to solder up their own leads. It's not that he doesn't love his work, there's just so much of it at the moment!
For tech's on the run, up ladders, or working in tricky spots - look no further than Weller's Pyro Pen, for 'wireless' (butane powered) soldering.

For even more tools, check out this part of our website. You won't find any leaf blowers or chainsaws, just a small gathering of very useful tools for studio maintenance, live sound repairs on the road, and general audiovisual tech work. Oh, and a set of metric or imperial hex-keys to re-tighten that bit of furniture that came flat-packed and is looking like it may end up back that way...

New 'stealth' VT-737SP from Avalon

We had a visit yesterday from our mate Wyn Morro. For anyone who sits in their special place through the days and cold winter nights (the studio), you'll have no doubt used Wyn's pure Class A devices, or at least wanted to. In fact, we have a friend who, when it was time to start a family, would have his wife whisper seductively in his ear..."Avalon"... it's true.

So, Wyn brought his own latest baby for us to have a look at. It's heavy...Tone's not trying to use it as a violin.

And it's just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. Actually, the 'guts' are exactly the same as the VT-737SP, it's only the face that has changed. But for a limited time, you can get it black if that's what turns you on. There are only two (2) in the world at the moment, and a small production run is currently underway. You may pre-order as soon as you want, we'll get back to you with an ETA. But you know what they say with black...there will be no going back.

We also had an off-the-record discussion with Wyn about what is coming up from Avalon. Seems he's got the bug, and his lab is cranking up. Unfortunately the 'only' thing we can reveal currently (it's still a ripper!) is that there is an exciting Avalon product coming up for studio monitoring, and it's not speakers.

Would you like to see something in particular from Avalon? Let us know and we'll pass it on. Wyn's 'all ears' at the moment. For anyone who's had a go at the range, we know that he's always been 'all ears'.

Mann o Mann...

Funny things happen on late on a Tuesday at Factory Sound. Seems that around 5.30pm, Ollie was scratching around like a chicken at feeding time, and found a whole stack of Mann M21 microphones. 

They're actually a ripper studio mic, and quite different to others that normally come in at the same price point (thinking Rode and Shure KSM). Smooth top end is the comment we are often hearing from M21 devotees. 

With a Recommended Retail Price of AUD $695, the 50 x Mann M21 mics we've landed should be very popular ($500 a pop seems more than reasonable).

NO! Says Ollie (already well-known for inventing prices that are often somewhat suspect). $150 is the price, and we're going to stack them on our bargain table, and watch them fly out the door.

He's prolly onto something there. In fact, if you're one of the lucky ones who is able to also grab an sE Refelxtion filter for $249 before they run out, hang on...grab the calculator...you'll be getting RRP $1260 worth of project studio love for just $399. That's just plain stupid! And it's nearly 69% off RRP. You do the math.

Oh Ollie...you've made it work again!

Beer & Bulls**t in Vegas

First of all, let's not let the title of this musing get in the way of a great story. Tone, Dean and I went to fabulous Las Vegas, Nevada last week. We were taken over there by the good people at Event Electronics (now owned by Peter Freedman, who is already famous the world over for his Rode microphones), to witness the launch of their brand new studio monitor - Opal.

 

We understand they'll be built right here in Australia (at the Rode factory), and the demo we saw was nothing short of gobsmacking. If you want to catch part of the presentation we saw (not the demo), then have a peek here.

No doubt we'll be publishing heaps on this event over the next weeks and months, because it was a trip that has left indelible memories on all of us. 

But this post is about beer & bulls**t in Las Vegas. It can happen anywhere. Try clothes shopping in Vegas "oh honey, that looks great on you" etc... Tone and I decided to sit and grab a pitcher of beer each while Dean was playing the slots at the airport.

So, we're faced with a small selection of tapped beers at the little 'bar and grill' at McCarran International. Budweiser, Bud Light, and a couple of beers we'd not yet had a go at. One was a stout, and we thought 40+ degrees Celsius was simply too hot for a stout. So we asked about the fourth beer on tap. "We've never had a #$%^ before, what's it like?"

"Oh, sure...have you ever had Stella Artois? It's just like that"

"Great...2 big ones please, and don't hold back on the froth"

What a crock. It tasted very similar to (yes, we've had many beers in this life) Carlton Draught served out of the dreg-i-est pipes imaginable, with a couple of tabs of artificial sweetner chucked in each pitcher for good measure. 

So what's the point?

We simply can't imagine saying it with a straight face. What happened to "I don't know man, I haven't tried it." How about cutting out the bulls**t and giving it to us straight. If you know about it, then talk about it...if you don't know, then say so. That's what we do, so it's what we expect. At least I suffered no ill effects from the hotdog he served up.

And while we're at it, hats off to Peter Freedman. He took us 3 simple blokes from Factory Sound all the way to deep in the heart of  bulls**t-ville Nevada, and through all the smoke and mirrors allowed his new Event Opal monitors speak for themselves. Sure his presentation was snappy, and the surrounds intoxicating (very intoxicating). But the fact remains that when we finally heard the speakers we'd flown halfway around the world to hear, we were all smiles after hearing sounds in songs we'd never heard before.

No Bulls**t.

Onya Opal, and congratulations to Peter and your team. We look forward to getting some Opal love in store before we kiss 2008 goodnight.

Battle Royale - Reflexion Filter Slashed

It's not often that we get a chance to satisfy three cravings at once...but today was one of those days. First of all, we opened the shop this morning to find the elves had created a stack of sE Reflexion* filters up to the ceiling. To cut a long (and boring) story into a manageable chunk...the distribution of sE has recently changed in Australia, and we won't be dealing with the new distributor. Nevertheless, Reflexion Filter was a great product when it was first released, and it' still a very simple and effective way to deal with the sound of your recording environment. So, we've purchased ALL of the remaining stock from the old importer, and we're going to slash the price until they're gone. $249 is all you'll pay. Bear in mind the RRP is $565, so this really is a great deal. Very strictly no rainchecks.

Now, other than the craving to move all our Reflexion Filters to better homes asap, Ollie was keen for someone to get a photo of his shiny red Vespa before he sold it. Seems the time has come for him to travel with four wheels again. Know anyone who wants a candy apple red chick-pulling machine?

The third craving? Dean wanted to cut up a beer carton and wear it as a helmet. I don't believe we'll ever know how his mind works.

*this link will cease to function once we've depleted our stock

Drawmer KickBox 4x4

We received something new from Drawmer in the shop last week. As anyone who's used any Drawmer gear since the early 80s will testify, they make great sounding gear that really delivers on the promise. This one's a little different to all that have gone before it... cause it's not the full 19 inches. But don't worry, 4x4 comes pre-packed inside its own 'road proof case' with detachable lid for 'unhindered access to all controls and connections'

The detail: portable 4 input/16 output active distribution amplifier. AKA mic and media splitter.

Of course, in typical Drawmer fashion...there's little extra than you'd get with the usual.

Each of the 4 channels has 66dB of gain (twist the pot), and an 8-segment LED ramp for metering. Select mic or line with a button, choose +48v via a button, and hit the 'listen' switch if you want.

Top left hand side of the 4x4 is a headphone output jack, with a level pot right next to it. With a decent pair of cans, you can effectively check how the incoming signal sounds. Then it's just up to the outputs...

4 outputs per channel, they're pairs of optionally selectable transformer isolated XLRs with LED status for transformer load. You can select a variety of input / output options:

• 4 x 1 in / 4 out
• 2 x 1 in / 8 out
• 1 in / 16 out
• 1 in / 12 out and 1 in / 4 out

The 4x4 from Drawmer is part of their new 'KickBox' series. Any thoughts on what's coming next? The great little 4x4 has a Recommended Retail Price of $2399, and as usual, introductory deals are there to be done! Now in stock.