When you hear the repeated stories about how traditional recording studios are dead, I suspect your first thought is not, “Finally! The dream of in-flight recording has its day!” or “Ah-hah! Now all the bands will move into inflatable plastic bubbles as a marketing stunt!” Yet, such things have come to pass. One involves a band you may care about and actually yields some practical tips. The other involves a band I’m almost sure you don’t care about and is a silly stunt.

Respectively:

Jamiroquai played a gig at 35,000 feet on its way to Greece for a select group of fans. I know this, because Focusrite sent out a press release. We get these kind of press releases all the time: someone used something or other (usually something expensive) somewhere in a way that’s not all that interesting. This case was different. Sure, recording a live gig in flight is a gimmick. But as a recording challenge, that means they:

1. Ran entirely on battery power.
2. Set up the whole recording rig in a standard airline row. (Coach, no less!)
3. Weathered some turbulence.
4. Had to fight a sudden outbreak of poisonous snakes. (Okay, made that one up.)

I have to point this one out in case you missed it: none other than George Massenburg chimes in on CDM’s comments on the new Focusrite Liquid Channel (click through to comments on that story for context):

Not sure everyone knows that although digital emulators are quite competent at some chores, others, such as comprehensive dynamics, are a different story; it’s my studied opinion that these devices are less than convincing when emulating analog compressors.

“This is all going to be software,” said a Focusrite rep at an AES show in 2004, as he gestured at racks of Focusrite’s beloved racks of audio gear. (Needless to say, that was not on the record.) While not everything can be digital — you’ll still need to get sound into the digital realm, meaning analog/digital converters and preamps will never go away — it’s astounding what is possible with ever-advancing digital audio tech.

And so, we have the incredible Focusrite Liquid Mix: 32 channels of EQ, 32 compressors, all modeling classic and vintage sounds in one cute, compact FireWire case. This tiny bus-powered device does all the number-crunching so your computer CPU doesn’t have to, thanks to onboard DSP chips. Price TBD, but it sounds as though it’ll be well under US$1000.

[Updated: Something odd happening with links. My links were posted incorrectly (my fault) but the address from Focusrite isn't working, either. I'll post once I get a corrected link from Focusrite. Thanks for your patience. -PK]

Important news — please forward as widely as you can, particularly to anyone in a position to watch for these serial numbers! -PK

Horrible news from the UK: an enormous inventory of music hardware has been stolen. And yes, this affects you, as this is inventory you won’t be able to get your hands on as someone else already has. Giles Orford, Marketing Manager of Focusrite, sends details to CDM among other outlets (see also their theft details page:

Monday, August 15th 2005, was a gloomy day for Focusrite and its sister company, Novation. As the morning unfolded, it quickly transpired that the companies had been the victim of a major burglary. Not only were many of the office computers stolen, but in addition, over £250,000 (retail) of stock was also taken.

Missing stock included a host of classic RED’s, ISA and Platinum rack-mount units, Novation X-Station keyboards, and the recently launched Saffire desktop interface.