CTS All Digital Studio

Now, and for evermore, CTS Studios in Wembley will own the considerable distinction of being the world's first all-digital multitrack music recording studio. It was in earnest recognition of this fact that one Thursday morning in February a coachful of eminent (aging) techno-journalists could be seen propelling its way up the A40 towards that hallowed digital domain to be plied with hard facts, soft-edged allegory and a free and bounteous lunch.

Control rooms all over the world have long been awash with examples of digital processing hardware such as delay lines, pitch changers, reverb systems etc, and even digital tape recorders are now somewhat old hat. The main stumbling block has always been the mixing console which, due to technological/cost limitations, has had to remain analogue. Most of the audio signals processed in the studio are required at some time to pass through said console, and for this they need to be in analogue form. Hence, as programme passes to and fro between tape recorders, digital processors and mixing console, it is constantly having to go through an irksome analogue/digital/analogue conversion process, that introduces unpleasant distortion and noise etc, thereby rather defeating the point of having a digital anything at all.

The 'All Digital' label loudly emblazoned about the corporate forehead of CTS actually means that, in addition to having digital multitrack and stereo tape recorders, the Eastlake designed Studio One at CTS is endowed with an expandable Neve 48:32:6:2 DSP digital mixing console, the like of which has never before graced our fair planet. Thus it is now possible to have the multitrack, the mixing console and the stereo mastering machines all talking to each other exclusively in the 'digital domain', ie in digital form. Not only does this mean that there is practically no signal degradation from the time the signal enters the console, right through to point at which it leaves the consumer's compact disc player (assuming he/she has one), but it also means that much of the processing gear normally housed in an auxiliary rack can be part of the console itself. Indeed, apart from the standard facilities such as four-band parametric Eq, four auxiliary sends etc, each channel of the console includes a compressor/limiter, a gate and a delay (max 700ms); all digital, of course.

Once the audio is converted into numerical (digital) form, any processing is simply a case of deriving the correct algorithm (formula). The possibilities are practically endless. The console itself is simply a set of digital remote controls for the central processing computer system and in fact the only audio that passes through it is the talkback. Instead of having a separate control for each function for each channel, there are fewer sets of multi-purpose, or 'assignable' controls; indeed there are only two sets of Eq controls which can be assigned to any channel. Because all the controls are software based, a complete desk set-up can be stored on floppy disc in seconds and retrieved equally quickly, thereby making lock-outs a thing of the past. If you fancy a DSP to go with your A-8, you can look to the piggy bank for something in the region of £250,000 or if you want to hire CTS Studio One, it's going out at an all-digital rate of £150.00/hr (£105.00/hr using A800 24-tracks).

But getting away from such vulgar topics, Neve reckons that the DSP has approximately 1500 less knobs than the equivalent analogue desk, and as unchallenged lords of the digital mixing domain they consider their actions to simply be 'knoblesse oblige'. Rule Britannia. JB

On a bender

Pingg! Recognise that sound? Yes, that was a top E string parting neatly halfway through your big Van Halen whammy-bar extravaganza solo, a sound becoming ever more familiar to the growing legions of wangist axemen.

Since the Kahler tremolo and all its imitators and variants hit the bum end of the guitar, people have taken the fullest opportunity to bend strings up and down further than anybody ever before. There's been one problem though — strings were generally still tailored for the good old days when the most anybody did was a slow Eric Clapton number up a mere couple of semitones, and under the stress and strain imposed by the newfangled systems they'd give up the ghost very quickly indeed.

Luckily string makers are now a lot more clued-up, hip, hep, on the case and together than they were when early geetar heroes had to use banjo strings as top Es. So more and more companies, having sussed the need to make reinforced strings, are turning out the anti-whammy sets. I took a couple of the first two types — Ernie Ball RPS and Superwound's Xtra-wrap — to hit the market in this country and subjected them to a severe bout of trem work.

The guitar used was a Washburn Tour 24 — a sort of Tele-shaped black and red thing with two humbuckers and a very Kahlerish bar assembly, including a locknut and fine-tuners. With normal strings, and a hefty-handed bit of bending, it loses a string every three hours or so of playing — not a lot when you consider how long the average rehearsal is — and though it's mostly the top string that goes there have been occasions when the whole lot have pinged apart in succession right down to the A.

The usual strings put on this guitar are Dean Markley .009" to .042", and both sets of the trial strings were the same gauge for better comparison.

First on the test bed were the Ernie Ball RPS (Reinforced Plain Strings) set. They look well made, and upon putting them on the guitar sounded very bright — but due to some mysterious circumstances the top E snapped as soon as it was wound round the tuning post. A kink in the string? A sharp edge on the post? Dunno, guv. Anyway, it was on with the test and out with the whammy bar...

And some ludicrous bending antics later, they proved their worth by staying in tune very well. Much better than the usual set in terms of tuning, and they took their punishment (apart from the E) very well. If you like the sound, which is very 'upfront' indeed, these might be a good bet.

And now, Bernie, the second set please... Superwound's Starfire Xtra-Wrap, again with more twists of wire at the ball end than normal but this time with a much less harsh, strident sound-more like the Dean Markleys. After a bout of serious tremoling, however, there's a fair effect on the final tuning, more than the Ernie Ball set.

And though they don't snap, over continuous use there doesn't seem to be much of an improvement. They still have a tendency to stretch ever so slightly and put your tuning out.

However, bear in mind that both these tests were done deliberately to give the strings the thrashing of their lives. 35 degree bar bends, instant pitch drops to the point where they were hanging off the fretboard... you name it. So under normal conditions the tuning loss may be completely insignificant.

There are several makes in the US (home of the Van Halen imitator, and the real thing) that haven't yet travelled over the ocean but will in the near future; D'Addario and Guild being just two. So keep your eyes on the press for details as they arrive. The idea, however, is great, and judging by these two it certainly will cut down those irritating breakages that make you wish you'd fitted the whammy bar to your clarinet. CM

MONITOR MIXER WINNER

The Moet & Chandon was liberally sprayed around the office walls, the odd tear was spilt and no expense was spared on the Editor's part.

Steve 'The Sling' Foster had won the Allen & Heath Brenell SRM monitor mixer and we were throwing a modest party to celebrate.

Until recently, Steve, 27, had been playing in a Progressive Rock outfit but he has seen sense now and is drumming in The Ikon, an American oriented Rock band. To date the group have used a pale imitation of the A&HB desk with their IK rig but that's all going to change now. Their heavy gigging schedule in and around the Midlands should see that the desk spends many miles on the road.

"I'm stunned," said Steve, "I didn't realise that people actually won these competitions."

£1,600 worth of gear says that some people do! AD

PHANTASTIC PHILLIPS

A fair splattering of stars of the percussive persuasion were spotted amongst the 1000 strong audience at the annual Zildjian drum clinic at The University of London on 19th Feb, including Carl Palmer, Ted McKenna and a confused looking Fish of Marillion.

I came along here as a drummer to find out what all the fuss was about after Simon Phillips' last Zildjian clinic at The Venue. Needless to say the very amiable Phillips put on his usual devastating show behind his battery of Tama drums, flinging his limbs about like a leper in a wind tunnel. After an extended drum solo, audience question time gave many budding bongo bashers and old pro's alike the chance to have their queries answered by the man himself, who did so very enthusiastically as he excitedly leapt around the stage.

Having already displayed their ample abilities earlier in the evening, the entertaining double act of Robbie France (UFO) and Steve White (Style Council) joined Phillips in a hastily worked out, but brilliantly employed drum symphony bringing the evening to a climactic close. FN

Casio Cream

Having had more time to spend with Casio's new CZ101 since our review a few months back, I'd like to emphasise its total wonderfulness...

Everything about this instrument is extremely well thought out — the instruction manual for a start could well be the best to have yet come out of Japan.

There are many features within the instrument which are not even found on keyboards costing four times its price. By first pressing 'Mono' and then 'MIDI', the CZ101 will act as four separate mono synths, all with different voices and MIDI channels.

Another use for this facility would be the sequencing of the CZ101 from a MIDI drum machine — programme four different percussive 'noises' into the CZ101, assign these to match up with the drum machine's bass drum/snare/hi hat/floor tom (as can be done on Yamaha's RX drum computers), and you can then have an exciting variety of effects at your fingertips.

I think its about time we had a poshly named award for such things... CS

Industry Guide

In an attempt to atone for his involvement in the Capstick Comes Home single of two years back, John Leonard has collaborated with fellow Radio One producer Dave Shannon to produce the Band's Guide To The Music Industry.

"The idea for the book came from a Radio One series we did with Janice Long, called Platform Nine. The response to this, which was our attempt to give an insight into the workings of the business, was overwhelming. Dave and I realised that between us we had a pretty wide general expertise of how it worked, so we went on from there."

The rather slim volume ("I was very disappointed with the price," muttered Mr Leonard) is packed with information about almost every aspect of Da Biz, from the intricacies of joining the PRS, MCPS, and PPL, to approaching record companies with demo tapes, and including straightforward advice on recording and gigging. It's clearly written, and the hints it offers could save inexperienced musicians a lot of time and money, particularly in the complex legal field. There's also a reference section containing addresses and telephone numbers that might be useful, even if one or two are already out of date.

Band's Guide is published by International Music Publications at £3.95. JJ