KORG Kaoss Pad 3

Kaoss pad 3 rocks. That's all I gotta say about the newly released gear from Korg. My plan to get KP2 for the upcoming gig to lay live FX on drums has eventually been disrupted. So entré the Kaoss Pad 3. Dark, slim, full metal jacket, red swirling lights making it look like something that fell off Darth Vader's armor... The don't mess with me look was eminent.

I've had it for a while now since the October 2006 just days after it was released. I gota say its definitely making news in every dj's setup or any creative producers studio.

So Luke, its finally time to come to the dark side... Breathe in hard my boy!

MOTU Traveler

I did a recording at Den Haag Conservatorium yesterday and the proof of its mobility, agility and prowess is all proven in the days' recording. 192 KHz and all firewire bus powered. It evens provides Phantom power to the mics I used all from one cable. I have my MacBook Pro, external hard drive from Sarotec 2.5" 7200rpm with 80GB, MOTU Traveller and 4 condenser mics. The setup just works. The Sarotec HD connects with USB2 HS bus powered, Traveler is FW400 bus powered, 2x AKG C1000s mics, 1x AKG C112 & 1 RODE NT1A - all fully phantom powered by Traveler which is mind you all powered by one cable from the MacBook Pro. At one point I even tripped on the MagSafe power plug and the system was still running solely powered by MacBook Pro battery. It would have been total devastation when that happens with power shut downs, but yesterday it was not the case. That happened only for a split second before I re-connected the MagSafe cord back into place. Man... LogicPro 7.2.3 and the recording just kept going!! It was a technical phenomena to me. But i'm sure some tech person could explain how that was even possible to keep going.

So I'm very sure its Shaman Powered. Though I will not want to try to do that again!! There it is to you. A 192KHz recording and no AC Power needed for 4 phantom mics, Traveler and a 2.5" HD story to share. And of course MOTU's bomb proof hardware.

Focusrite Liquid Mix

I've been thinking about adding color to the mixes.. and options about getting new outboard pre-amps and compressors have been lingering. But last week I finally bit the bullet and got myself Focusrite's Liquid Mix. It got me amazed on how different previous overall mix turns out to sound running several channels thru it. I plugged in main instruments through selective compressors and tweaking it with either included vintage EQ or Waves plugins brought it to a different world altogether. I couldn't afford to get an LA-2A and now its one of the 40 Emulated compressors in Liquid Mix. AWESOME gear!

Now for that other track thru a Neve 2254 compressor! Or maybe through a Manley or a Urei with an Avalon 2055 EQ.

JVC GZ-HD7 Full HD Camcorder

World's 1st Full HD camcorder arrived in our studio from NYC! This small but highly capable camcorder stores its recorded footage in a 60GB internal hard drive thus eliminating the need for tapes. It records Standard Definition video on SDHC flash cards and Full HD 1920 x 1080i which was not possible on pro-sumer camcorders until recently. Just imagine... we can disembark in the world of Hi-Def and surround sound for a music video if needed! You can watch few of the footages from the Video Page or on Vimeo on the JVC HD7 Channel which we have painstakingly put together.

Another Mac?!!

And yes folks. We're guilty. We did it. Now rastAsia stock the new MacBook just dedicated for images and videos while the MacBook Pro is focused as dedicated audio field machine. We are slowly thinking of putting the Dual G5 away to a good home... Know anybody interested for a dual core PPC G5? Let us know!

Samson Zoom H2 Handy Recorder

Q: Whats better than a one mic field recorder?
A: A 4 mic field recorder of course! From Samson's new release named the Zoom H2. Its got 4 built-in condensers that is tasked to bring Goliath down! This small fella can record in almost any format ready for a good 4 channel surround and standard stereo spread between 90˚ or 120˚ all in mp3 and wav format to an SDHC card powered by 3 AAA batteries. You have to try it to believe how incredible and handy it is as the company claimed.

Sony HD headphone V900HD

Its all black and silky from looks to sound! Sony MDR-V900HD boast of its ability to produce lower of lows and higher of highs in the audio spectrum. 5Hz - 80,000Hz to be exact. Now we can do mixes and let your chihuahua howl to it! With its 3000mW power handling I think I'd be trusting this guy for a while from today on for my listening pressure. No spelling error there.

RODE SVM Stereo VideoMic

The legendary VideoMic prompted us to get an even better one that was just released from the studio trusted company in Australia. Our experience with RODE's NT1a and NTK sure made this acquisition an easy one. Higher SPL, good Signal to Noise Ratio and equipped with Bass Roll-off option along with a 10dB Pad for concert use as compared to its predecessor spells a big YES for use with the HD7 camcorder. At the same time we can also use this mic for our field recordings both on the camcorder and also on the Zoom H2. Well hey Stereo is always better than Mono - at most times..

TAKE THE LIQUID MIX CHALLENGE AND WIN!

Fancy yourself as a bit of an audiophile? Think you can you hear the difference? Then take the online ‘Liquid Mix Challenge’ by clicking here

So confident are Focusrite of their revolutionary Liquid technology, that they’ve chosen to put their necks on the line and create the ‘Liquid Mix Challenge’, complete with the chance to win a new Liquid 4PRE. 

This challenge provides ten different excerpts; each features a dry sample, followed by two processed samples, A and B. One of these is processed through the original vintage or classic hardware, the other through a Liquid Mix emulation of the same unit. The question is, ‘which is which?’ 

For each excerpt, the user must decide which sample has been processed through the Liquid Mix, as well as decide which sample they liked the most. Your score is displayed at the end of the short test, alongside an aggregate of the world’s scores to date.

With over 17 awards under its belt, Focusrite’s Liquid Technology (featuring Sintefex’s patented dynamic convolution techniques) is a proven winner. The challenge further demonstrates Liquid Mix’s impressive ability to deliver class-leading classic and vintage compressor and EQ emulations. But don’t just take their word for it; hear Liquid Mix for yourself and make up your own mind. Is it really as good as all the magazines say? Find out by taking the Liquid Mix Challenge now.
Visit
www.focusrite.com/liquidmixchallenge
rastAsia is in no way sponsored or paid for this competition held by Focusrite. But we do agree that Liquid Mix is one heck of a revolutionary product for vintage sound emulations.

Liquid Mix Version 2.0 Released!

The new software release is available for download and delivers a number of improvements over the original software. The new release makes Liquid Mix a no-brainer for producers and engineers wanting classic vintage processing, but with the flexibility of the digital world.
Liquid Mix 2.0 now features an EQ sidechain on the compressor, providing an additional single-band EQ to be fed into the sidechain of any classic compressor emulation. Combined with the existing Listen feature, this provides the ideal solution for high-quality de-essing and more creative compression.
Version 2.0 also ensures that the hardware follows the software GUI functionality in every way. Version 2.0 also delivers improved stability on both PC and Mac, making Liquid Mix rock-solid, even when operating with all 32 instances simultaneously.
For users struggling with buffer issues, Liquid Mix v2.0 offers variable buffer size and supports large DAW buffer sizes, helping to ensure lower-latency operation across all sequencers and provide compatibility with software packages such as Wavelab, SoundForge and Audition.
For more information about Focusrite, visit
www.focusrite.com.

Final Cut Studio 2

After a long wait, we finally decided to do get into frame with the right color tools and better updated codecs for video. We now house FCP2 for better video edits alongside the more powerful Soundtrack Pro 2.