Band On The Run
Every AIR console comes equipped with Bob Lentini’s award-winning SAW (Software Audio Workstation), which works in the background to capture the inputs, the groups, the outputs, audience reaction mics, or whatever else you tell it to, up to 72 tracks.
The resultant recording can be used for a virtual sound check at the next gig, or it can become a full-fledged album release in its own right. You can overdub flubbed vocals at a later date in the studio, use an auto-tune plug-in, or leave it as raw as you wish. And speaking of plug-ins, the SAC platform supports VST, which means that a vast range of effects can be applied to one, or as many, virtual consoles as desired.
While the band’s en-route to their next destination, the engineer and producer can be busy mixing-down last night’s performance for Internet release, archival purposes, tomorrow night’s virtual sound check, the next day’s radio broadcast, or any other artistic or commercial requirement.
Those who desire physical faders instead of virtual ones, can interface an AIR console to a wide selection of commercially available control surfaces. Up to 256 faders, buttons, and rotary controls can be mapped to inputs, outputs, Aux sends, EQ and so on. Future AIR products will include dedicated fader banks that can be combined with PC tablets, bringing the best of both formats to users.
Learning Curve
Though initially it can take some effort to get one’s head wrapped around the new concept of an AIR console, the payoff is likely to be worth the learning curve. The issues are no different than when the first wave of digital consoles originally entered the market.
Leading companies like Yamaha, Digidesign, DiGiCo, Soundcraft, and others, quickly realized that the key to selling their products was to help users become as comfortable as possible with the new paradigm of digital workflow, in as short a time as possible. AIR consoles realizes this as well, and has built its plans and has followed suit.
“Training is of paramount importance,” AIR’s Glen Campbell notes emphatically. “In this early phase we still provide hands-on assistance to every customer. This is essential for us to help our customers get up to speed as rapidly as possible, as well as for us to learn exactly what’s needed among our clientele, while we seek to broaden our scope of activities.
“In the near future, we’ll be introducing a variety of educational media, while we continually add product specialists and support personnel to our staff. Our customers must have a clear path available to them, in order to realize the full potential of this unique technology,” Campbell states. “This is essential for them to take full advantage of the unique capabilities that AIR consoles provides,” he concludes.
Ken DeLoria is senior technical editor for Live Sound International, and at one point during his highly accomplished career in pro audio, he served as worldwide director of live sound to launch Avid’s VENUE digital console.