byron bay

[mylesgm]

so for some reason I find myself at a loose end in byron bay for the next week and as I find that I dont really need my chakras realigned or my aura refreshed I was wondering what else is there to do in byron? Any studios to hang out in, bands to check out and people to meet?

[The Tasmanian]

No

[Ben M]

Man life's tough Myles.

You could go up to Federal and visit Rockinghorse Studios. I did a couple of things there and it has a really nice vibe. You'd have to ring first of course. Even if you don't go to the studio it's a beautiful drive up around them parts.

[The Tasmanian]

Exactly - get out of town
Myles - you wont look so great in a batik playing/making a didge on the beach.
At night it can be horrible - beware of the young drunks everywhere - like the gold coast
Its a nice part of the world up there when you get out of Byron

[Drumstruck]

SAE must be worth having a sticky at...

Nimbin is worth a look - even just to see what local gov'ts will do to kill off a peaceful little town - street cameras and a tar road are the latest destructors...

You might even be able to find Daevid Allen's Bananamoon studio if you have the right contacts

[ChrisW]

Bangalow is a nice spot to hang out (non musically).
I visited a nice private studio near Alstonville.

[atlantis]

..get your chakra aligned and get the fhakra out a there..

cheers,
dave

[Ben M]

See if they can align your chakra for +9 @ 15ips and give your aura a quick rub down with isopropyl .

[Junction]

See if you can get a peek at the new analog Neve 75 Series which they are building in Byron, near or next to SAE. An inspection is available on appointment, apparently.

[audioio]

See if you can get a peek at the new analog Neve 75 Series which they are building in Byron, near or next to SAE. An inspection is available on appointment, apparently.

I can confirm this and I have the email to prove it.

(No, I'm not planning to buy one myself!)

[Djembe]

You could check out who's playing at:-

The Beach Hotel
http://www.beachhotelgigguide.com.au

The Great Northern
http://www.thenorthern.com.au/gigs.aspx
(Art Vs Science on Wed. Josh Pyke on Thurs if you're still there)
or
The Rails
http://www.liveguide.com.au/Venues/836/Railway_Friendly_Bar_The_Rails

but better still, go for a walk in the beautiful national parks around Byron.

[mylesgm]

Taking a peek at the new neve could be interesting. Definitely off for a walk or two in the national parks, might catch the josh thomas gig too. Think I'll pass on the isopropyl rub down though as I think my head is transferring audio as best as ever it can.

[Djembe]

Those 2 gigs at The Great Northern are NEXT week. (21st and 22nd).
and it's Josh Pyke not Josh Thomas. (not so many laughs)

[mylesgm]

ah bugger. and yeah I always seem to get the joshs confused...

[jkhuri44]

go to nimbin...get hungry, forget what you went there for....sounds awesome to me.

[chribble]

go to cheeky monkey and dance on tables with backpackers

[mylesgm]

great quotes guys...

go to nimbin...get hungry, forget what you went there for....sounds awesome to me.

..get your chakra aligned and get the fhakra out a there..

cheers,
dave

See if they can align your chakra for +9 @ 15ips and give your aura a quick rub down with isopropyl .

[Djembe]

Hey Myles, "King Tide" are playing at the Beach Hotel this Friday (16th Sept).
Great dub/reggae band from Sydney.

[mylesgm]

Well I checked out rockinghorse studios (which was excellent in a lovely wooded valley setting, what a view) and I'm off this morning to see the new Neve so I'll report back about that...

[heathen]

Get a Cajun chicken burger at the Brunswick Heads hotel, mmmmmmmmm seriously. Don't eat chicken at Nimbin .

[Junction]

Myles, we're waiting on a full report from Byron and I want to know how that Neve looks?

Michael

[mylesgm]

ah well I got a full tour of the neve console 'facility' which was actually a very compact warehouse in a small industrial complex. A full going over the console both physically and electronically for about an hour and an excellent chat with the designer. All in all an enjoyable morning.

Feedback on the console design is that I reckon its a very interesting and well thought out console with a bunch of interesting features. Carnhill transformers all over the place, SMD everywhere for compact size and for the speed/cheapness of manufacture except for all the electrolytics which are through hole so that these can be replaced in 10 years or so. Inductor based eq, hi pass filter, b281 style output amps, 2254c compressors in the master section that can also be used mono and appear on the patchbay using 1 button. Lots of microprocessor controlled switching so that the main functions of the desk can easily be recalled (routing, pre/post switching, eq in/out etc). In fact nearly every switch actually controls a microprocessor rather than having actual audio passing through it which was one of my drawbacks but I'll get to that in a moment. 2 completely different style of mixbus with poth passive summing and current summing selectable on a per channel basis (thats the retro switch), 4 auxes, mix b and inline options as well. The master section has loads of options as well with aux masters and returns, groups, full control functions etc etc. In fact all the features are probably on their website and more.

The things that I saw that really stood out to me were the summing designs (both of them) which used clever designs to alleviate some of the issues with passive summing (long runs the length of the board, issues with cross talk etc). The attention to power and grounding which always seem to need modifying in older consoles, the microprocessor functionality for recall that can be operated by midi or without and the vast array of options that the microprocessor allows. The connectivity, the build and the ergonomics of the design, the laser etching on the faceplates and the engraving on each switch.

The downsides that I saw was the heavy integration of the microprocessor. In that if that fails (and I'm sure there are safeguards and possibly a backup) then many things on the board are rendered inoperable or at least it seemed that they would to me. Every channel has its own microprocessor for channel functions as well as one in the master section so there are quite a few in each board. The surface mount components bother me as a chip can fail easily from time to time and if they are smd they are much more difficult to replace than a DIP format. One of the beauties of real vintage consoles is most of them can be rebuilt from readily available parts except for pesky switches. And the switches on this board bother me not because of the quality of the switches themselves (they are grayhill and such) but because if the chip fails the switch can still work but not actually do anything. No idea whether the chips will be available in 40 years. One of the things the designer said was that expected the console to have a life of about 20-30 years. Now for a console that would cost me around 50k for the model I would like (not that I'm in the market) the cost of that console is about 2,500 or so a year for the life of the console (which is cheap in that light) but an original neve is still operable and worth a good chunk of cash, so are my vintage mics, so are the modules that have been pulled from consoles which are getting a new lease of life in a different form. This longevity is important to me both financially and conceptually though wouldn't necessarily be important to a facility. Also 25 years doesn't rock around and then the console fails, it would be a gradual process of things slowly going down over time. With the microprocessor maybe it will just go bad all of a sudden with no warning and then you have a lump.

All in all a very well designed and made board and whilst I have caveats if you want a solid and reliable desk rather than a high maintenance vintage or a need to modify older desk and have the cash this seems like a great option at a time when there don't seem to be many options in the medium sized console market.

[Chris H]

Great review Myles!