Avid is updating their M-Audio Axiom line of USB controller keyboards. New in this version is DirectLink, which provides automatic mappings for software like Ableton Live, Logic, Cubase, and of course Avid’s own Pro Tools, similar to what’s in the Axiom’s big-brother Axiom Pro. The controller itself has also been improved, with lower-profile faders on the 49/61 model, smooth rotary encoders (not knobs!), an angled-up top panel so you can see what you’re doing more easily, and other tweaks.

Perhaps the most significant feature is improved keyboard, with an updated semi-weighted action and adjusted playing angle.

The updated Axiom enters a market that has been maturing recently – a market M-Audio themselves helped popularize in the first place with the Oxygen line.

Novation has continued to update their Automap functionality and added a more inexpensive option in the form of the Nocturn controller keyboards. The Novations are nice, although I’ve heard a fair bit of frustration with the add-on Automap software that sits between you and the software you’re controlling; while it adds functionality, it also adds complexity, and I find it interesting that its rivals are going a different direction.

I just got in a review unit for Cakewalk’s A-PRO series. (See Cakewalk’s current keyboard lineup.) Like the Avid units, it also adds automatic mappings without requiring extra software, supporting a number of hosts for Windows and Mac. Also notable, Roland has added their higher-quality semi-weighted action, so that instead of feeling like a cheap plastic controller keyboard, you get the solid “clunk” in the action that previously was reserved for standalone synth products – without paying much of a premium for the privilege. I’ll be interested to feel how the new Axiom action stands up, as the Axiom Pro keyboard also feels pretty good.

One especially nice feature the Axiom has that many of its rivals don’t: it’s class-compliant. That means you can plug and play without drivers on Mac and Windows, and it’ll work on Linux, too. (I’ve been running Linux for reliable, low-latency performance with the Pianoteq piano, for instance, using M-Audio keyboards.)

I expect the Axiom will be competitive on price and likability, certainly. I asked some follow-up questions with Avid spokesperson John Krogh last week, including an explanation of what the heck the difference is between Axiom’s DirectLink and Axiom Pro’s HyperControl – each methods for zero-config control of your favorite host and instrument software.

CDM: Okay, I’ll bite. DirectLink? HyperControl? What’s the difference?

John at Avid: It’s fair to think of DirectLink as a subset of what HyperControl is. There are some similarities: With both technologies, the keyboard faders, knobs and transport buttons get mapped to mixer channels, pan, and transport controls within compatible DAWs. That’s sort of “basic” mixer mapping.

The new Axioms with DirectLink also feature an Instrument Mode that, when engaged, will instantly map the faders and knobs to meaningful parameters on software instruments within compatible DAWs. This mapping relies on Axiom Instrument Maps, which are essentially preference files for the built-in software instruments included with Logic, Live, and the rest of the DirectLink-compatible DAWs. The thing with the Axiom Instrument Maps is that they’re set up to provide consistent, intuitive access to the most commonly used plug-in parameters. For example, filter cutoff will always be located on the same knob, regardless of the instrument selected, so the experience is more like working with a hardware synth where there are dedicated physical controls for the parameters you’d want to tweak in real time. In general, parameters such as filter cutoff and resonance get mapped to the knobs, and ADSR controls get mapped to the faders (e.g., amp envelope ADSR will map to faders 1-4, filter envelope ADSR will map to faders 5-8).

Currently, there are Axiom Instrument Maps for the built-in software instruments in 3P DirectLink DAWs. More mapping “profiles” will be added over time for third-party software instruments. For software instruments without Axiom Instrument Maps, DirectLink will automatically map the encoders to the first 8 parameters that are published to the host software, and users can use MIDI learn to re-assign how these are set up.

Note that this kind of predefined mapping is only available to software instruments, not plug-ins. That’s one of the big differences. With the Axiom Pro and HyperControl, you’re able to access every software instrument and plug-in effect parameter – not just a fixed number of controls for software instruments (which is limited to the number of faders and knobs on the Axiom keyboard). On the Axiom Pro you can page through every parameter, so there’s no limit to the number of parameters you can access.

HyperControl on the Axiom Pro also provides a lot more feedback on the LCD, and adds QWERTY key command support (ability to assign QWERTY keystrokes to pads and buttons).

there was also a description (referring to HyperTransport) as being an “open” protocol, but my understanding was that the SDK was available only to specific partners. Will there be a published spec on using DirectLink? (It’s all built on MIDI, anyway, so it would be possible for, say, an independent music host developer to voluntarily add support.)

There isn’t a public SDK, but we’re “open” in the sense that we don’t limit DirectLink to specific third parties. We’re willing to work with any third-party DAW developer if they’re interested in adding DirectLink and/or HyperControl support. We just happen to have existing developer relationships with Apple, Ableton, Propellerhead and Steinberg, and we work with each 3P developer on their integration of DirectLink/HyperControl.

CDM: Is the keybed comparable to any other M-Audio keyboards, or is it new?

John: It’s a new keybed that offers a weightier feel compared to the original Axiom (it’s not the Tru Touch keyboard found in the Axiom Pro).

So, there you have it. The “Pro” still has more sophisticated control options, a more serious action, and of course Speed Racer-white styling, but the standard Axiom looks competitive now, too.

What’s your controller keyboard of choice? How has your experience been with what you’ve owned? What’s important to you when making a decision – that is, what do you want to know? (We’ve gotten a number of requests from readers wondering what to get, but that can depend on what variables matter most to you personally.) Let us know in comments.

Avid at Axiom

Score one for standards. According to second-hand sources and a post to a public mailing list, the upcoming Apple iPad accessory adapter for cameras, the iPad Camera Connection Kit, will support audio interfaces that are compatible with the USB Audio Class. I don’t have official confirmation from Apple, and the adapter itself appears not to be shipping until later this month, so file this as “likely, but unconfirmed.” But it’s one to watch, and comes as a surprise to me. (Generally, camera accessory kits aren’t a way of providing audio expansion.)

Let’s assume, as these sources suggest, that USB audio devices were available via the standard stereo output (or even input) for the public Apple APIs for audio I/O. In that case, the other good news is that iPad apps would be able to support your third-party hardware without special modification of the software, or a signed hardware license agreement.

Most pro audio interfaces are not class-compliant; it’s more common to use custom drivers, even for USB 1.x-compliant interfaces. Custom drivers would be out of the question. But there are a number of interfaces that do provide class compliance, like the M-Audio Fast Track or Edirol UA-25. (I have a Cakewalk-branded, Roland-manufactured SPS-25 that works as a class-compliant device with the “advanced” mode on the back switched off.)

Incidentally, devices that support this spec will also easily work with Linux, and possibly upcoming updates to Android, if the latter adds similar USB host support. That means there’s now ample incentive for audio interface vendors to investigate providing class support, as it could mean more customers not only from iPad owners, but owners of other slates and tablets, too – including those we don’t yet know about. (Google tablet, anyone?) That further illustrates why up-to-date class descriptions for hardware are so badly needed (though it also, sadly, reminds us how much isn’t covered by these generic classes).

Before you get excited about connecting a MIDI keyboard to your iPad, I don’t know that this will mean support for the MIDI device class. But it’s nothing if not a reminder of the power of standards. (See also the Nintendo Wii remote, which enterprising musicians have used as a controller on multiple operating systems, thanks to its support for the Bluetooth spec.)

And yes, this means the prospects of the iPad becoming an all-in-one, live performance machine are looking brighter. DJs are still likely to be unsatisfied, as I doubt that this will allow separate audio cuing, but given that I didn’t see this coming, who knows?

Supporting evidence:
Re: iPad USB Audio Class 1 and Update on OSX Class 2 [Apple Core Audio API Mailing List]

Thanks to Art Gillespie for pointing this out. He’s got a connection kit coming, so expect a full test.

Get used to saying “Avid Pro Tools.”

Avid is retiring the “Digidesign” moniker this month as it works to unify its product lines in music production, music notation, and video production. I spoke on the phone yesterday with Mark Williams and Adam Castillo of Avid’s Communications team to talk about their plans. Today, they released an open letter intended to sooth the nerves of customers. It seems that, judging by forum chatter, some Pro Tools users were concerned that the new branding meant the pro audio segment was being de-emphasized at Avid.

The branding change itself is not all that earth-shaking. Pinnacle, Sibelius, and M-Audio will all remain, because they’re names of product lines as much as brands in themselves. Digidesign will not, because “Pro Tools” is the brand everyone knows anyway. (I’d say the Pro Tools name has higher recognizability in the general public than anything else in the industry – video or audio.)

What I took away from the conversation, though, was that Avid really is endeavoring to pull together their different products and make some changes. Key points:

“Agility” was a word that came up a lot. Translation: Avid wants to be more responsive to change, and release, literally “more products.”

The unification of the brands is an attempt to get out of Avid’s silos. Avid today is a confluence of different acquired companies, all of them supposed to work together. But with the acquisition of Sibelius, of M-Audio, and of Pinnacle, we haven’t always seen those components function as a whole. Branding is the public face, but behind the scenes, there is an effort to change that by getting teams working with one another and developing products that complement and interoperate.

Going after the Preditor is another goal. The … wha? “Producer plus editor” — audio plus video. To that, I asked, what makes that important now? Hasn’t Avid been in the business for some time, and haven’t the enabling technologies been available for ages? Yes, responds Avid, but there is an uptick in customer demand, as old barriers break down. People are now doing audio post and music instead of just one or the other. Video people are doing more audio. Audio people are doing more video. And it’s clear that economic pressures and the rise of independent production are accelerating the trend.

“Open” was another word that came up. Now, obviously, Avid wants its own products to interoperate more effectively – but what about competitors products, I asked? Would Avid really deliver on this “open” promise? Avid says yes, and points to, for instance, recent media asset management that works with video rival Final Cut Pro. “It’s a cultural thing that we’re an open company,” says Castillo. “We recognize that, to win, you can’t just build bigger walls.”

Most importantly, says Avid, they want to start thinking about the future, ten years down the road instead of only the immediate future.

That means, rather than turning their back on audio or pro audio, they’re going to need more out of it than ever. It seems to me Avid will also need to make both its consumer and “pro” sides work, too, in order to survive and flourish. So I’m not surprised they want to be running on all cylinders.

Of course, branding is one thing: most of you, I suspect, who compose in Sibelius or edit in Pro Tools, care most about the actual material proof. I know one particular concern has been support options going forward. Avid did confirm that the support tiers they introduced in 2009, with different levels of support tailored to different interests and products, and more dedicated options for an additional fee, are the plan going forward. If you have specific questions, I can pass them along.

But don’t think I’m just taking Avid at their word – I know you won’t. We’ll keep the communication lines open and continue to keep you posted with what they’re doing.

In the meantime, here’s their letter:

The future of Digidesign: An open letter to customers

As you might know, one year ago we decided to combine all the Avid companies—including Digidesign, M-Audio, and Sibelius—into a new, unified Avid. Since then, we’ve taken steps toward transitioning Digidesign to the Avid name. We understand that you might have questions about the future of Digidesign and the product lines you’ve invested in. With that in mind, we’d like to share some information, answer some questions, and explain how these changes will affect you.

New website launching April 12th

Many of you told us that we needed to improve the navigation, organization, and the overall user experience of digidesign.com. In order to make these improvements, a major overhaul was necessary. On April 12th, we’re going to launch a brand new avid.com website that will include all of the digidesign.com pages—plus a number of enhancements to make navigation faster and easier. At first, the website will be US-only, but over the next few months, we’ll work on moving the international Digidesign websites as well. To help you get acclimated, we’ll be posting an interim page at digidesign.com offering links straight to the pages that are most important to you.

Why move the website to Avid.com?

Not surprisingly, many of you own products from multiple Avid companies—including Digidesign, M-Audio, and Sibelius—so we thought it would be more convenient to offer one centralized, unified website for all Avid products. We’re working toward providing you benefits like a simplified product registration process, single login ID, and a one-stop source for all product information, support, downloads, and news.

What will the new site be like?

The people behind the look and feel of Digidesign and M-Audio are now creating a new look and feel for all Avid—so don’t expect the new site to look like we sell IT products! It will feature completely new navigation and organization, making it easier and faster to find what you want. Overall, it’s a big improvement over the current Digidesign website. Our web team incorporated feedback from customers into the new site—we think you’re really going to like it.

Is the Digidesign name going away?

Yes, we are in the process of retiring the Digidesign name—but the products will live on. After talking with many of you, we discovered that most people identify more with the product names—such as Pro Tools, VENUE, ICON—instead of the company name (actually, there are some people who thought the name of the company was Pro Tools, so go figure…).

What is happening to the Digidesign team?

Rest assured, the same core Digidesign team of audio fanatics is still here, with offices in Daly City, CA. We just have a different logo on our letterhead. And since the transition, we’ve been playing key roles in creating the new Avid. Over the coming months, you’ll start to see our influence on packaging, videos, customer communications (like this one), and the overall look and feel of Avid.
Why is the Digidesign name being retired?

In today’s rapidly changing business environment, it no longer makes sense to maintain many separate brands. It’s also impractical to have multiple marketing teams, websites, newsletters, and separate methods for communicating with customers. Our new brand strategy is to combine everything under the Avid name. This will help us streamline operations and become a healthier company—which frees up more resources for product development. We figured that you’d rather see us put more money towards designing innovative new gear than maintaining five separate brands.

What does this mean for the Digidesign product lines?

You’ve seen a taste of what can be accomplished when we work together—products like Pro Tools M-Powered, Video Satellite between Media Composer and Pro Tools, the DSM monitors, and Sibelius integration into Pro Tools. Moving forward, audio and video are going to be equally important for Avid. We’re totally committed to Pro Tools, VENUE, ICON, and all the other product lines that used to be branded under Digidesign. Combining forces with the other Avid companies means more resources for our R&D department to work with, enabling us to release more great products than ever. We’re also committed to expanding our product lines further—in fact, we have some incredible new audio products in store for 2010 and beyond…
What about the M-Audio brand name?

We’ve begun the process of transitioning the M-Audio name to a product brand instead of a company name. You’ll continue seeing product names like the M-Audio Oxygen 25, and the M-Audio BX5a Deluxe.

What does this mean for the M-Audio and Sibelius websites?

Eventually, the M-Audio and Sibelius websites will be moved to the new Avid.com as well. But for now, those sites will continue to operate independently just as usual.

We truly appreciate your loyalty and continued support, and hope you take some time to explore the new website on April 12th. If you have any questions or comments, please join the conversation here.

Sincerely,

The Digidesign (aka Avid) team

It’ll be interesting to see what they’re cooking up in the audio department, and I intend to hold them to this “open” idea, as well. Stay tuned.

I expect readers have passionate feelings both ways, so let it out – and have a great weekend.

It’s something we take for granted now, but not so long ago, the only way to scratch and cue records was with analog vinyl. Now, of course, simulating those behaviors using digital records on turntables connected to computers is commonplace. But that hasn’t stopped the question of who owns the technology from spawning legal disputes. Most recently, a suit brought by patent claimants N2IT against M-Audio was dismissed. You can read the history from the time N2IT, a two-person company, launched their first commercial digital DJing (for BeOS, no less) back in the late 90s.

In patents, “first” is everything. And while N2IT had the first commercial product, it seems that broadly speaking the concept of how to make digital DJing work was not exclusively theirs. Chris Bauer writes CDM to share documentation of his own working prototype in 1998, before N2IT shipped their product. Nor is he alone. N2IT hasn’t yet brought suit against digital DJ maker Serato, and Serato’s Steve West publicly demonstrated research at the University of Aukland which leads back to 1996, well ahead of N2IT’s own demos.

It’s well worth reading the whole article for the timeline, but the basic concept is this:

the system created the illusion that the music being heard was actually on the record. and any piece of digitised music could be ‘played’ using this one special record and the spacedeck prototype. the system was fairly crude, but was certainly a working proof-of-concept. you could also perform needle-drops, and very rudimentary scratches. both of these techniques are essential for djing with vinyl, as this is how djs cue and beat-match the records they play.
the main steps of development were as follows:
1. research timecode. it soon became evident that SMPTE timecode would probably be the easiest to work with.
2. burn CDR with SMPTE and write code to ‘listen’ to it and get the speed, direction and position of the code.
3. research and write code to manipulate the speed, direction and position of digital audio files. i used quicktime.
4. write code to playback an audio file according to the incoming timecode data
5. get acetate record (dubplate) with SMPTE timecode on it, test with the system and and fine-tune timecode reading routines
surprisingly, there were no major problems in development. this is probably due to the concept being very simple.

And while N2IT indisputably had the first commercially-available product, this could call their patent claim into question:

the granting of N2ITs patent/s is extremely contentious, as they failed to mention various pieces of ‘prior art’ in their original application, including my project/MA thesis, which they were aware of as early as 2001. patent applicants are obliged to disclose this type of information if they are aware of it.

Chris’ full article:
the spacedeck project 2009

The legal wrangling over patents and who owns digital vinyl technology continues. The latest development: the court has dismissed N2IT’s claim against M-Audio, as covered by djtechtools. Before you strike this as a victory in the M-Audio column, it’s possible the parties settled out of court. Based on my limited legal background, I tend to agree with Ean Golden at djtechtools: this does seem to diminish the likelihood of N2IT successfully pursuing a new case against Serato. (In the Netherlands, it’s not possible to buy Serato, because there is would violate Dutch patent law, in the country in which N2IT is based.)

Previously, background on the story:
NI Ends Legal Dispute Over Traktor Scratch; Digital Vinyl’s Twisty, Turny History

Note that NI did acknowledge N2IT’s claims as valid. That would seem to set some precedent for future legal action by N2IT unless were to M-Audio win a countersuit against N2IT, which apparently has not happened.

It is interesting to hear djtechtools readers defending the N2IT patent. That may well have merit, but the basic technique of using an audio signal for control is something fundamental that well predates any notion of digital vinyl.

Technics 1200 Series: Discontinued (or not)?

Updated to reflect conflicting reports.

As digital vinyl presses on, reports are circulating in press and online communities that the the great emblem of the vinyl era is no more. Parent company Panasonic is reportedly discontinuing all remaining Technics 1200-series turntables (including the 1210).

Technics is dead [inthemix.com.au]

Updated: Sources for statements from Panasonic appear to be unconfirmed and/or conflicting. inthemix is where I had read this story; some CDM readers are describing these as unsubstantiated rumors.

It’s certainly possible that this isn’t the common “wild Internet rumors” phenomenon, but the equally common “large global company representatives aren’t on the same page” phenomenon.

The inthemix story, however, should be regarded as incorrect. As reported in the Australian cnet, the Panasonic Australia source has denied saying quotes attributed to him. There’s perhaps a more interesting (if not at all surprising) story here, which is that analog turntable demand is sagging — but apparently that will not result in the immediate end to 1200 sales.

Analog in ‘decline’ but Technics not dead [cnet AU]

Scratchworx tracks various, conflicting statements from different parts of Panasonic. There hasn’t been a formal press release, but then companies usually send press releases when they’re introducing products, not when they’re discontinuing them, so I wouldn’t read too much into that. One possible explanation could be that circulating rumors about the demise of the 1200 may have increased demand. It isn’t hard to imagine Panasonic responding to their reseller channel if lots of vinyl-heads began demanding turntables.

It’s also possible the rumors were incorrect. It’s easy for such a rumor to start, as vendors often don’t instruct resellers (or sometimes even their own global arms) about the status of products. I’ve often had conversations with press representatives of major music tech makers who weren’t entirely sure of the status of a particular product. And with store inventories low during a credit crunch, it would be easy enough for low stock to be misinterpreted as a discontinued product.

Scratchworx also notes that supposedly officially-discontinued models have remained in the channel.

Bringing some sanity to the Technics rumour [scratchworx]

Let me be absolutely clear: I think that vinyl deserves occasional attention from CDM, but I’m not a vinyl expert, and for that I rely on Scratchworx in particular.

If the Technics were discontinued — or, realistically, hen that day finally comes — what might it mean?

“It’s the end of an era” is the general response of the DJ community, but vinyl isn’t really going anywhere. The 1200 will always be remembered as the iconic scratch turntable, and there’s no question these ultra-reliable devices will continue to flourish, played and repaired by loyal DJs. (In fact, the quality of the gear may be partly to blame, in contrast to the planned obsolescence of a lot of newer equipment.) The 1200′s heydey, meanwhile, is long-since past. I personally think that’s healthy.

The golden age of scratch came about only because artists were irreverent and experimental, misusing and abusing equipment in a way that transformed music. It was not a musical movement born of pure nostalgia, and without a certain experimental drive, we’d be robbed of new experiments in the future. Today, abusing circuits and code have supplanted vinyl, a fitting medium for noisemaking, and one likely to last many more years. The Technics will survive, too. The really sad thing that our gear today is unlikely to last nearly as long as the Technics 1200.

Not all users upgrade to the same version at the same time – least of all when it’s a paid upgrade. So, it’s welcome to see that a number of improvements and fixes are making it to the previous version of Live, 7.x. Not only does CDM count numerous Live users among its readers, but users of 7.x are especially frequent, and we’ve been getting your questions – like whether you’ll be able to use the Novation Launchpad controller.

John Kuan, DJ and “culture industrialist,” alerts us that release 7.0.18 brings a lot of improvements, including:

• Support for the Novation Launchpad, Akai MPK line, and improvements for the APC
• Major bug fixes for the APC40 and Novation Remote SL under Mac OS (something I think I’d seen people complaining about in comments)
• Major, bug fixes for show-stopper crashes

There’s even an M-Audio Axiom Pro fix in there. In short, if you’re using 7.x, it looks like you want this upgrade. Full details on the Ableton forum:

Live 7.0.18 change log

And yes, this news is from last week, but it’s news to me.

Having full control of a complete mix and session from your MIDI keyboard – without having to move your hands to the mouse or shift your focus to your computer screen – can be an addictive, if elusive feeling. Here’s a look at one way to accomplish that objective using the new Axiom Pro keyboards from M-Audio and CDM reader favorite Ableton Live, thanks to a first-look video provided to CDM first.

We’ve seen efforts to make this happen before, notably including the Korg Kontrol keyboard series working together with Propellerhead Reason and Novation’s Automap with software like Ableton Live. M-Audio’s Axiom Pro line has a new twist on the idea with what Avid calls “HyperControl.” Several details make HyperControl unique. For one, it doesn’t require any intervening software or drivers; the keyboard is USB class-compliant and plug-and-play, and you don’t have an additional software layer as with Automap. Also, the Axiom Pro is natively capable of sending keyboard commands, and even has a numeric keypad on the front panel of the unit. But most importantly, the Axiom Pro has its own workflow for different editing and performance functions. My suspicion is whether you love or hate HyperControl will probably hinge on how you adapt this feature.

Avid has been kind enough to give CDM an exclusive scoop on an extensive video they produced walking you through the process of setting up HyperControl with Ableton Live, step by step. Now, normally many of the videos from hardware makers make me cringe. John here has done a really terrific job, however. It’s really a tutorial and not a sales pitch, and while I’m a fan of writing and reading, this would be really confusing without the video.

Much of the working method focuses here on controlling the whole session rather than performance parameters. If that doesn’t appeal to you, skip to about seven minutes in for a discussion of “Device Mode,” which is when you finally map those eight encoders to the eight macro parameters for Device Racks so you can tweak your live synth sound. What’s nice here, though, is that you could couple that technique with the tips on recording clips, so you can play, record those clips, play back lips, and tweak all at once, one-man-band/one-woman-band style.

Have a look at the video, and let me know what else you might like to know. What isn’t covered? What other ways might you want to use a keyboard-and-software rig like this?

And don’t worry, while this week is becoming Controller Week (like shark week for MIDI nuts?), it doesn’t have to be The Ableton Live 24 Hour News Network. HyperControl also supports other software, including Avid’s own Pro Tools. Apple just released support in Logic Studio 9 and MainStage which I’m researching now. And while HyperControl is a slick moniker, I’m also researching more conventional control methods, which can even support Linux thanks to the fact that the hardware (unlike Novation’s) is class-compliant. So let us know your priorities in comments, and I’ll see if we can make them happen.

Axiom Family at M-Audio (now Avid

I Want My CDM TV

We’ll be putting more videos onto CDM TV very soon, and now you can subscribe to videos easily via iTunes, Miro, and RSS. Transcoding is fixed, too, so you can load up this video on your iPhone / iPod touch and balance it on the end of the Axiom Pro while you practice these techniques, if you like!

Subscribe to CDM TV with iTunes
Subscribe to CDM TV with RSS
Subscribe to CDM TV with Miro

Still a little thinner than we’d like, but expect this channel to heat up for the …um, fall season.

In a Hollywood overrun with remakes, a new Tron has quite a daunting challenge. The original film may be a cult hit for its 80s arcade cool, but it also was a seminal moment in the evolution of computer animation, at the nexus of obsessive-compulsive optical effects that came before and digital effects that came after. (Google Perlin Noise, if you must.) But where the bits of the effects look uneven or dated alongside the brilliant, it’s nearly impossible to top the genius of Wendy Carlos’ score. Her deft blend of choirs, orchestras, organs, and rich electronics wasn’t just forward looking: it’s fresh today, an alternative to some of the signature sameness in today’s games and films.

Perhaps Tron Legacy will do what other belated sequels have not: express love for the original. With Daft Punk helming the score and a reverent, inspired crew ready to make Tron live again, the trailer last week was the real sleeper hit of Comic-Con.

If that’s not enough layers of fandom, though, head to GearSlutz for a lesson in film scoring and a recreation of the trailer in Reason, custom Reaktor patches, and Ableton Live. This is not much of an infomercial for Live: because Ableton’s arrange view doesn’t quite understand frames, scoring with Live is a bit of a beast. (Live 9, anyone?) But it’s a great example of love for the movie and its original score. And hey, everyone need a source of joy, even a film.

Ableton Live for Sound Design :Tron Legacy [GearSlutz forum]

Stripped the original audio and redid all of the sound from scratch using Reason/NI Reaktor/Ableton Live 8. An M-Audio Axiom 49 was used to perform the Lightcycle Engine Oscillations

Wendy Carlos, if you’re out there, we get it. You revolutionized film scoring and electronic orchestration, and we’re all in your debt. It’s not so much that you switched on Bach or switched on Moog or even switched on Kubrick and guys in glowing skin-tight outfits. You switched on sound, and nothing has been quite the same since.

Now, we just have to hope 2010 can show us a good time, too.

Is your MacBook Pro a rightie?

Something’s going on with the one or two left-hand USB ports on all MacBook Pros. I’ve heard some issues with hard disks, and now some problems with audio. (Controllers are evidently just fine.) The solution: use the right-hand USB port for audio instead.

Updated: Reader Adam suggests that this is probably due to a difference in power delivered to the respective ports. USB audio requires more power, and so odds are you’re under-delivering on the left-hand ports. I’m inclined to think that this is exactly what’s going on – unless someone knows something else. (Easy way to test: try plugging in the power adapter. Note that this can be an issue with FireWire, too.)

In fact, even if for some reason M-Audio has found another reason behind this, Andy Ihnatko noted the issue with different USB ports and power variation way back in 2008. It affects non-Pro MacBooks, and I expect likely many PCs, too.

The MacBook. All USB Ports Are Not Equal [Wired Gadget Lab]

M-Audio (now Avid) has gone as far as to tell its customers officially to avoid the use of that port for audio entirely. Native Instruments forum users have evidently had similar discussions. Via matt_bot on Twitter:

The use of USB Audio Devices on the Left-Hand USB Port Is Not Recommended.  This applies to ALL MacBook Pro Models (Core Duo and Core 2 Duo).

•    The 15" MacBook Pro models have 1 USB port on the left side, and one USB port on the right side.
•    The 17" MacBook Pro models have 2 USB ports on the left side, and one USB port on the right side.

Due to the current USB configuration of the 15" MacBook Pro under OS X, use of USB audio devices is supported on the right-hand USB port only.  Use of such devices on the left-hand USB port(s) is not advised because it may cause audio interrupts and/or dropped samples.  However, the use of an iLok on the left-hand port has been qualified and is fully supported.

Due to the current USB configuration of the 17" MacBook Pro under OS X, use of USB audio devices is only supported on the right-hand USB port, and the left-hand USB port farthest from the screen.  Use of such devices on the left-hand USB port closest to the screen is not advised because it may cause audio interrupts and/or dropped samples.  However, the use of an iLok on the left-hand port has been qualified and is fully supported.

These USB port recommendations are specific to USB Audio devices only (such as the FastTrack USB or Audiophile USB).  USB Keyboard and Control Surface products do not have a recommended USB port at this time.

MacBook Pro recommended USB port(s)

That’s got to be a tough technical advisory to issue, like having to tell your users they should turn around in their chair three times counter-clockwise and shout “Mimmymabby” before recording. But I’ve heard indications that devices other than M-Audio’s are seeing symptoms, so I’m inclined to believe there may be something to this.

Now, before you use this to assume this means FireWire is better than USB or PCs are better than Macs or veganism is better for your love life or the end times are upon us, the whole point is what’s causing the issue and why. (Correction: I’m satisfied enough with Adam – and Andy Ihnatko’s – explanation above that I think there’s not much mystery here! So quit with conspiracy folks and trashing vendors you don’t like, folks. Technology doesn’t need superstition; it needs users hungry to know what’s actually going on.)

Of course, that raises a question: why are some USB ports not entirely up to spec on power? My hope would be that USB is USB and you don’t have power variations between ports, but then, I live in a fantasy world of naive hope. (Can anyone comment on PC laptops and power on different ports? I imagine some would have exactly the same issue.)

One theory for the power discrepancy: John von Seggern claims via Twitter that the issue could be the iSight video camera, which does indeed use the USB video bus. (I would think it shouldn’t draw power when switched off, but perhaps that has caused some other change in the configuration.)

Further, we have reports that not only the iSight, but also Bluetooth and other power-consuming peripherals are on the same bus, as well. (That means turning off Bluetooth might be a good idea if you don’t already.) And we have at least one PC with the same issue. This will definitely be something to research with computers, as it’d be pretty desirable to get machines that, erm, don’t do this to their USB ports.

And someone’s having the opposite port work or not work? Now I’m really confused. (I guess we could simplify all of this to say if you’re having problems with USB audio, try either connecting your AC adapter or switching USB ports.)

Amidst all of the USB audio hating, I have to say, it is possible to get good performance out of USB audio interfaces. On the other hand, removing FireWire from MacBooks seems again like a poor choice.

Avid, the parent company of music product makers Digidesign, M-Audio, and Sibelius, has decided to assert the brand of its mothership more aggressively. As near as I can tell, that means you won’t see the M-Audio, Digidesign, or Sibelius brand names any more – along with video maker Pinnacle. You’ll see, presumably, Avid Pro Tools? (Right now, you see the Digi site with an Avid banner across the top that says “Digidesign is Avid.” But that was true before, so I don’t really know what this exactly means.)

Avid has also unveiled a new logo made, cleverly, to look like transport buttons on video and audio equipment.

I have to say, I have extremely mixed feelings about this, for a number of reasons. And by mixed, I mean mixed – this could be really positive, or really … not. The good news is, having one brand and one brand strategy probably does make a whole lot of sense. The (potential) downside:

• Avid may be the weaker of the brands here. It’s known among video people, but not necessarily even beloved there. Digidesign and M-Audio, meanwhile, touch wider user bases, and have real resonance with musicians.
• Will combining video and audio products actually work? Will a single brand really help? Sony has tried to do just this, with less-than-stellar results – perhaps because the video, audio, pro music, and “consumer” music markets (and their many factions within those umbrellas) are so particular. Sony has much bigger brand recognition than Avid (understatement), but even that hasn’t really made products like Acid or Sound Forge or (for video) Vegas substantially more popular. It works for Apple, but that’s because people associate Apple’s products with the computers they buy – and, well, they’re Apple and normal rules don’t seem to apply.
• You can’t read the new logo. Sure, the triangles are clever, but you can’t actually read the letters. Also, aren’t old-school hardware transport buttons a bit dated in this day and age? I’m going to assume all of that gets sorted out in practice, so I’m not actually worried about this, but I did have to point it out.

On the other hand, Avid’s combination of Digidesign, M-Audio, and Sibelius, plus the Avid/Pinnacle stuff on the video side really is a whole heck of a lot of what the music and video production world is about, and that hasn’t been clear. So despite the caveats and dangers, there is potential here. It’s all in the details.

And more important than branding is how Avid relates to its customers, and how the company operates. If that goes right, the brand will respond.

The press release promises not just a new identity, but a “new strategy” and “a new operating model.” But it isn’t clear, yet, what that actually means in the real world, particularly on the audio end.

http://www.avid.com/us/pressroom/brand-identity.aspx

The press release isn’t terribly encouraging, though, as it immediately shifts to Avid-centric, ultra-high-end / pro video solutions. Those products are extremely important. It’s tough to know just how anyone could find a way to relate that to a person buying a $100 plastic MIDI controller at the other end of the market, so I don’t envy the job of the business folks at Avid. At the same time, I do believe it’s possible to run a business that covers that gamut.

I’m going to talk to the Avid folks about this next week to get a better understanding. But because I expect many pro audio folks will react similarly on first brush, I decided in the interest of bloggy disclosure to go ahead and publish my initial reaction.

Let us know your questions or thoughts, and I’ll pass them along to Digidesign/M-Audio Avid next week.