Calrec's Apollo digital audio console is an OLED-laden beaut
By Ross Miller 
posted May 3rd 2009 1:24AM
posted May 3rd 2009 1:24AM
[Thanks, Tom]
posted May 3rd 2009 1:24AM
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My God
/orgasms
+1
Will this equipment help me sing like T-Pain?
@lot: Only people with real talent can sing like T-Pain.
Exactly. Only people who are really talented at auto-tuning can make you sound like T-Pain.
SWEET JESUS, want...
oh and FIRST
Epic First Fail
You're two hours too late to be first.
Studer, a Swiss company makes stuff like that (less OLED). Hundreds of individual displays for each parameter. We are talking nice Ferrari price.
Any idea what this sells for?
If I were rich, I would buy one JUST to play with.
The Studer Vistonics tech is actually just a resistive touch-sensitive TFT with knobs physically overlaid on top of the screen.
The price will depend on the installation, the number being bought and so on. A company I used to work for bought the Vista 8, a similar sized (but more music-oriented) desk to this Calrec for around £250,000GBP, I imagine the Calrec will be similar.
I'm so glad that I will one day be in that %3.
Thats not something to be proud of.....
That I might be in the 3% that will need a console of this magnitude
Can I mix Brittany and Prince with this?
I expect to see this is a rap artist's private studio on the next "Cribs."
"yeeeaa... this is the CAL-REC A-POL-LO right heea, yea that's right, if you ain't got this, you ain't doin it, naw I mean?"
You ain't lyin.'
I'll take a vintage neve over this hunk of plastic any day. I love that now adays all these companies are just competing as to who can make the board with the most lights. nothing will beat the warm sexy pres on a neve or the compressors on an ssl.
Cypher1313,
Analog vs Digital has been hashed over many hundreds of times, by nearly everyone in the pro audio world, and i am not going to pretend to contribute anything new...
But just keep in mid that this console is intended for "live production and on-air television broadcast", where quick access to every parameter is vital. When doing live work, warm, smooth, analog sound is worth a lot less, than fixing a compressor's threshold in and instant, instead of searching for the right channel it in the racks.
Nerve has its place in the studio, but brilliant digital consoles, like this one, also have their utility.
Warm? Sexy?
Yeah, um...Go get married to Elton John.
SSL Matrix FTW
Try mixing a multi-act, 3-hour long live broadcast out of an OB truck with an analogue desk and you'll soon change your mind.
Without (at the very least) instant digital recall you simply can't keep up with the demands of high track-count bands with short changeovers.
And since you mention it, high end digital desks, such as the Studer Vistas, Euphonix S5, and the Calrec range do sound *very* good, on a par with analogue SSLs and Euphonix desks we used to use. There's no reason you can't insert your favourite Urei compressor to keep that analogue tone where it's needed.
In the end, however, it's not enormously important when you consider that the broadcast engineer will be squeezing your mix down a 128kbit pipe which is played through a pair of 2" TV speakers.
Why on earth would you think you want your PA injecting "warmth" and "presence" into your mix? A console that is coloring your mix in any way except in what you explicitly control is BROKEN.
@radarskiy
Uhh...if my microwave suddenly starts spewing out beautiful frequencies, you better well believe I'm going to record it and use it. The whole point of analog synths is that they're imperfect; any dolt with a DAW on his computer can access the same synth presets and recreate the exact sounds with a few button presses. Not so with an analog synth.
One person's broken is another person's opportunity, I guess.
Nobody is talking about synths man!
Actually there is very little thats plastic on any Calrec desk, this one has only an overlay thats plastic, all legs, module cases & chassis made from aluminium. Any module can be hot swapped which is good as at the NAB show some one dropped a speaker through a TFT screen,( spare was on hand though). If you know the Alpha desk you can run this in Alpha mode, same with Sigma, Omega & Zeta.
Yikes! Top right corner looks like the periodic table...
Sometimes the mix needs a little more strontium and a little less selenium.
Sounds like Tin, dial back on the Sn.
Unboxing please, Engadget?
I'm one of those in the 3%
Hey me too, when the Digidesign Venues and Neve systems just don't cut it. I've mixed on both BTW.
I didn't know "beaut" was a word.
I learned more from the heading than the article.
Not surprised they didn't pick up the fact that the OLEDs allow for instant custom configurations over each display (i.e., each knob can serve a completely different purpose), which is the real beauty of this console.
Ya, you can basically design your own board layout.
If you NEED a console like this, it's cost is pocket change (no matter how much it costs).
That is glorious. Absolutely glorious. Really puts my Mackie TT24 to shame.
The TT24 is nice for what it is and does: 24 inputs into digital channel strips with a decent amount of processing for $5k. We are looking at BIG consoles with (theoretically) good innards that will compete in studio and live work. Be ready to drop a few $10k ($100k???) into this sucker.
Of course it doesn't have the name of didgi, neve, or SSL, so it will probably flop. I love the readouts and control layout though.
Doug, any other digital console is more intuitive than the tt24 and so much more gorgeous than the tiny b&w screen, with places too small for any finger... bad choice, I guess !
Have you seen the presonus digital board?
@RansomRR
The presonus board does not have motorized faders, which makes it a lot less functional than something like the tt24. It has lots of cool blinking lights, but that money would have been better spent on moving faders. Its a real bummer, since its otherwise looks like a cool product.
I think it needs MORE COWBELL.
Hopefully there's a specific knob for more cowbell.
The price tag must as epic as the board !
Looks like it's made of legos, though.
I've held a Yamaha M7CL a few dozen times and plaed with it, and it's a much cleaner look, though I think this thing is a class higher than even that.
The M7CL isn't even on the same planet as this. An M7CL couldn't handle a small-to-mid-market MLB game, (Most FSN shows are on a Euphonix 5b right now) but Calrec's current boards are mixing the superbowl, etc.
100K?!? not even close. the previous model Alpha can be over 600k depending on options. Didn't get pricing on this one yet, but I'm sure it will be more to start. can't wait to drive one...
Oh... my... god.
I need one of those so very, very badly.
My God... it's full of knobs!
That's cool and all, but where's the "Suck" knob lockout feature?
Raymond sure wishes he had one!
digidesign ICON is a great board.
nothing beats walking into the studio stoned and staring at vegas mode for 15 minutes before starting a project