Creating a new homepage look can either be met with cheers or yawns depending on how personally invested you are in the site. We get pretty excited here about many products and often can’t help ourselves from “getting our geek on” and wanting to tell you about all the cool stuff we carry…whether it be our own OWC branded products, the products from NewerTech for which we are an exclusive distributor, or a great deal on one of the many other leading brand names in our over 2,500 item on-line catalog.

Realizing that might be a bit much and overwhelm you like a kid in a candy store, we redesigned macsales.com homepage to have a kinder, gentler look. Adding to this fresh approach is a caricature of OWC Larry himself calling your attention to products he gives a hearty thumbs up to.

So we hope this redesign (and our ongoing efforts to come) is met with cheers from you and improves your site experience with us. As always, keep your feedback coming and thank you for your trust in us as your source for your Mac, PC, iPod, and iPhone technology needs.

As mentioned in one of my blog posts last Friday, we’ve been busy testing the limits of the 2009 Mac mini models.  In late August, Apple released Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 which improves compatibility with the latest Apple memory kits on Mac mini computers.

It did a little more than that though.  It improved compatibility of OWC brand memory as well.  As all of our memory meets or exceeds Apple’s requirements for RAM, it’s no surprise that, yet again, OWC can support memory expansion beyond the maximum installed amount suggested by Apple.

We have fully tested all 2009 release date Mac mini computers with both Leopard and Snow Leopard and found no issues regarding which OS was used for testing a full 8.0GB of RAM installed.  Under both operating systems, the memory was fully utilized and no system detriment in speed was observed.

Keep in mind, this information is for Mac mini model identifier macmini3,1.  Intel Mac mini machines released prior to 2009 (macmini1,1 or macmini2,1) have hardware limitations that only allow those machines to max out RAM at 2.0GB and 3.0GB respectively.

Want to take your mini to the maximum? OWC has the Mac mini upgrades you need to make your machine screaming fast.

I really couldn’t wait on this… this news is just too juicy to bottle up for the whole weekend.

While we’re not completely finished with our compatibility testing, early signs are pointing to 8GB of memory supported in not only the new October 2009 Mac mini models, but prior generation mini models as well.  We believe we found the “secret ingredient” that makes exceeding Apple’s recommended 4GB maximum in these machines possible.

Previous testing revealed prior generations of the Mac mini were able to boot with 8GB of memory, but sadly either did not utilize the extra memory installed or – even worse – made the entire machine slower when accessing more than 4GB of memory at a time.  In Late August, Apple released Mac mini EFI Firmware Update 1.2 and this allowed these generations to boot without kernel panic. However, we still found that most systems slowed to a crawl when exceeding 4GB of memory in the system.

So far, here’s what we recently found though: our OWC 8GB Upgrade Kit works in the latest Mac mini 2.26 and 2.53 machines and are consistently and completely utilized by the machines.  We then tested these same modules on the prior generation Mac mini (early 2009)… and found them to work consistently as well! All units tested were running Snow Leopard.

We do have more testing to do using the same memory modules with prior Mac mini generation models running OS X 10.5. We also need to do performance tests to make sure that the additional memory actually gives a solid performance boost when more than 4GB is installed. But at this point, we’re feeling pretty confident that our “secret ingredient”…namely the quality of OWC brand memory… delivers the reliability you desire.

Be sure to check back Monday as we’re hoping to complete our testing at that time and be able to confirm that we will support over 4GB of memory in the Mac mini, or if my excitement got the better of me.

There’s quite a bit of wind blowing around the OWC facilities here in Woodstock, and not all of it is coming out of our Marketing Department. Fortunately, we can put that wind to good use.

As part of our ongoing commitment to making our facility as “green” as possible, OWC has constructed a wind turbine, which should supply 100% of the company’s electrical requirements.

The structure, which can easily be seen towering over the surrounding countryside, was completed late last week, and is slated to pass its final inspections and go online within the next couple of days.

Once online, the turbine will generate approximately 1,250,000 kWh per year (kilowatt hours per year) – more than double the amount that the Other World Computing facility needs, or slightly more than the requirements for your average time machine. The anticipated surplus power will be sold back to local power providers to sell to other customers.

OWC’s power usage will be about 500,000 kWh per year, out of the total anticipated 1,250,000 kWh per year available from wind power generation. However, that usage already demonstrates energy savings, as the geo-thermal heating and cooling system used in the OWC facility is vastly more efficient than traditional means.

By setting our goals high and starting out “Green”, the resulting benefits will be far greater than merely financial. The payback is all around us, and with each new Green undertaking, people will see that they too, can take part in making the world “Green,” one project at a time.

In case you were too caught up in our Facebook images covering our wind turbine arrival, you might have missed the plethora of media attention that our newest OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro^™ model received yesterday. What’s the big news? How does the first FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0 bus powered 2.5” portable drive offering 1TB of storage capacity on the market grab ya?

The high-performance, pocket-sized portable storage solution for Mac or PC users features FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and/or USB 2.0 connectivity for data transfer speeds up to 100MB/s with its 1TB of storage capacity, now offers 100% more data storage capacity than the highest capacity offered in the Mercury On-The-Go Pro line at the start of September.

It’s small enough to fit into your shirt pocket yet can hold up to 1,000,000 JPEG photos, 500 DVD movies, 76 hours of digital video, or 350,000 MP3 songs in its stylish, impact resistant (teaser alert…VERY cool video coming on this soon…) acrylic case. Because it’s bus-powered, it can be used without an AC adapter which makes it perfect for road warriors, students on the go, and even the outdoors types that want to watch that latest blockbuster movie while communing with nature.

With a variety of FireWire and USB 2.0 interface models to choose from, the Plug and Play ready Mercury On-The-Go Pro can be used with Macs and PCs for data backups, transporting large files between computers, additional storage capacity, and even demanding uses like A/V editing and live music recording. The drive can also be used with storage capable digital cameras and camcorders with FireWire and/or USB data ports for fast, on-location backups of images and video.

OWC Larry was like a proud new papa when we realized that the OTG was going to be the first FireWire/USB 2.5″ 1TB external drive announced. “This was quite a month of innovations. The first week of September came the first 750GB FireWire/USB bus powered portable on the market. Mid-month we debuted solid state drive based models that are the most affordable SSD based portables on the market. Then to finish off the month with the new 1TB On-The-Go models really goes to show we put a big emphasis on even the smallest of our drives.”

The new Mercury On-The-Go Pro 1TB line is available in three interface models:

• “Triple Interface” with FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0 connectivity, $359.99
  

• “Combo Interface” with FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connectivity, $329.99
  

• USB 2.0 only connectivity, $299.99

All three models are available for pre-ordering with an expected shipping date of October 19. They are compatible with Apple OS 8.6 to 9.2.2, Apple OS X (all versions) including the latest 10.6 “Snow Leopard”; and Windows 98SE or later operating systems and come ready for Plug and Play ease of use with all supported interface connecting cables, carrying case, $200 retail value disk utility software bundle, and an industry leading three year complete solution warranty which also features 48 hour warranty service.

We talk so much about speed, performance, and OWC in this blog that I just had to give some love to one of the exclusive brands we carry….Newer Technology, Inc. Also referred to as NewerTech, this long time Mac industry manufacturer (trivia buffs: who introduced the first memory upgrades for the Mac?)  is known today for unique consumer friendly/average user solutions that focus on product design and functionality. Case in point is today’s introduction of the NewerTech FireWire 800-400 Adapter.

What this handy little accessory solves is the quandary many of you face after buying one of the newest Mac Pro, MacBook Pro 17″, Mac mini, or iMac models….“great, with FireWire 800 only support, how do I use my existing FireWire 400 devices?” Additionally, this adapter eliminates the hassle of determining which cable type and length to buy.

With this adapter, you can now Plug and Play connect your scanner, printer, memory card reader, external drive, digital camera, iPod and other FireWire 400 devices to the latest Macs quickly and economically. Just plug the adapter into your computer’s FireWire 800 port via the 9-pin male FireWire 800 connector end. Then, just connect any standard 6-pin male FireWire 400 cable to the 6-pin female FireWire 400 connector end.

Now if all that pin and numbering stuff sounds too techie, remember how I mentioned above that NewerTech really takes into consideration the average user experience? Well, there’s even Flash based sequence on the product page that shows just how easy this adapter is to use!

Creating (and showing how to use) an accessory that maximizes your past and present technology investment? Man, nothing “average” about that and in my book, a pretty high performance commitment to thoroughness…and to NewerTech’s slogan of “Newer Is Better Than New”.

Fewer things get us as excited around here at OWC HQ than introducing a first to market product. Equally exciting is when this introduction continues a tradition of excellence.

Case in point is our announcement today of the new OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro 750GB model as the first 750GB FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0 bus powered portable storage solution on the market.

With 750GB of storage capacity, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro now offers 50% more data storage capacity than existing models in the line and can hold up to 750,000 JPEG photos, 375 DVD movies, 57 hours of digital video, or 262,500 MP3 songs.

Don’t let the big capacity fool you…with its diminutive 3.5″ x 5.5″ x 1″ footprint, the OTG (as we lovingly call it here) is small enough to fit into a shirt pocket. And I can vouch for that as I was once pressed into duty as a model to illustrate this portable’s svelteness.

So, the  Mercury On-The-Go Pro has “big and littles” …like a true hot rod for your high performance data storage/backup travels. Speaking of hitting the road, the OTG  is ideal for for presentations, multimedia, law enforcement, surveyors, and other “mobile office” uses as it is bus powered which means no AC power adapter is needed.

But that’s only part of the story here…it’s the proven, eight year performance history of this line that shares equal billing with this new model. With FireWire 800 ports capable of delivering data transfer rates up to 100MB/s, that’s the kind of performance you can count on for real-time A/V editing, as well as making quick, convenient backups of images and video with storage capable digital cameras and camcorders that have FireWire and/or USB  ports.

And you know you’re on to something good when the leading Mac industry media source brings challenger after challenger to see if they can dethrone the reigning portable storage performance champ.

When you feel the need for speed and want the largest capacity FireWire portable drive on the market, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro is truly Top Gun.

Have you heard about that nifty little gadget by Apple? Apparently it’s some sort of cell phone combined with a music player that you sync using iTunes, and is apparently quite popular…

I am, of course, referring to the near-ubiquitous iPhone. To avoid hearing about it or its music-only iPod brethren, you’d have to avoid television, radio, magazines, Web sites, and pretty much not go out in public at all. In other words, its everywhere.

With something that popular, there are going to be a lot of people using it in a lot of different ways. This opens the door for all kinds of different accessories.

Newer Technology, no stranger to the iPod arena, has released a couple of new sync cables. The first, the NewerTech 3 in 1 Audio/Sync/Charging Cable for iPod and iPhone is a standard sync cable, with something a little extra – a mini stereo jack that outputs a line-level signal. Now you can go from charging and playing music at your desk, to playing your music in your Auxiliary input equipped car stereo without changing cords.

If you don’t have a car stereo with an Auxiliary input, but would still like to charge your phone in the car, NewerTech has also released an auto charger. It does what it says: plug one end into your iPod/iPhone, the other into your car’s 12V accessory outlet  and your iPod/iPhone will charge as you drive.

Psst… a secret tip.

While each of the two cables is useful in its own right, they really shine when you’ve got both pieces. The auto adapter features a USB connection – the sync cable is a standard USB/dock connector cable.

You can plug the “3 in 1” cable into the auto/USB adapter component of the auto adapter and use it to charge AND play through. You can then use the cable from the auto adapter as a second sync cable, useful for work, travel, or replacement. This allows you to sync, charge and play music from your iPod/Phone via iTunes when at your desk, then unplug from your desktop and continue to listen and charge in the car.

And if you want to charge your iPod/iPhone via a wall adapter at home or while traveling, just use the new Auto Charger with NewerTech’s 120-12V Power Adapter.

This is definitely a case where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts!

While we don’t have an instructional video for you this week, we’ve got something just as educational, if not as animated. Not resting after designing OWC’s new look, our crack product development and graphics departments put together a nifty resource center to help de-mystify RAID setups.

While I would be hard-pressed to find the Mercury Elite-AL Pro Performance 7200RPM RAID, the Guardian MAXimus or the Elite-AL Pro Qx2 to be lacking in multi-drive capability, sometimes you need something larger and/or integrated.

Unfortunately, unless you have some experience building a RAID, picking out the appropriate hardware can be kind of tricky. That’s where this resource really shines. Using this page, you’ll have your RAID hardware picked out in no time!

Selecting RAID components in eight simple steps.

1. Select the computer you want to attach your RAID array to and how big you want it to be.
2. Click the “Show RAID Options” button. You will be presented with a selection of the kinds of RAID levels supported by controllers compatible with your computer.
3. Select the Type of RAID you want. If you’re not sure what kind of RAID to choose, there’s a series of QuickGuides to the right that will give you a decent grounding in what kind of setup will work for your needs. Once you select the RAID kind you want, the list of compatible cards will adjust to show only the cards that support that RAID type.
4. Select the card you want from the next list. There’s not much science to this; choose one that has the manufacturer/features/price you want. The enclosures list will adjust to enclosures compatible with this controller card.
5. Select the enclosure you want. Again, this is a matter of personal preference. Once you do, a list of compatible cables will be listed beneath them.
6. Select compatible cables to connect the drives to the controller card.
7. Click the “Add selected items to cart”.
8. Select the SATA drives you wish to add to your RAID – keep in mind that, in most cases, they should all be the same size. Other than that, though, your choice of drive is really up to you.

It’s that easy!

In case you hadn’t noticed, there have been some significant changes to the OWC Web site.

Our Graphics and Web Design teams have spent countless hours moving and redesigning the site to make things a little easier to navigate around. Here’s a couple of the great changes you’ll see.

• Shopping Cart Status – Brand new to our site is the Shopping Cart Status indicator, which is located in the upper-right corner of each page. It will tell you how many items you’ve currently got selected for purchase and by clicking on it, you can view the contents and/or check out.
• Support Information all in One Place – Links to Customer Service and Technical Support have been moved to the top of the page, along with a more in-depth site map and contact information. You can also check on the status of current orders here.
• Simplified Tabs – Large changes have been made here. Our categories have been streamlined to make finding what you need even easier.
• Easy Access to Newsletter and Blog – Links to the OWC Blog and the OWC Newsletters are now right at the top, rather than having to dig for them.
• Revamped Footer – At the bottom of each page, you’ll find an expanded version of the tab bar at the top, with quick links to each sub-category. You will also find a smaller version of the Shopping Cart and all our contact links.

Hopefully these new changes will help make shopping with OWC an even better experience!

When Apple introduced the MagSafe adapter in 2006, it was kind of a mixed blessing. While the theory behind it is incredibly cool, the fact it is a proprietary connector protected by patents and lawyers means that third-party power adapters aren’t going to be legally seen at reasonable prices any time soon, and Apple’s trend toward integrated batteries means that you can’t hot-swap while on the road if you need to. The only option you have is to buy a second adapter from Apple… until now.

OWC’s happy to announce that we’ve got Apple Genuine 60 Watt MagSafe Power Adapters for MacBook & 13” MacBook Pro and Apple Genuine  45 Watt MagSafe Power Adapters for MacBook Air now in stock.

These are Apple Genuine adapters, not some illegal, unsupported knockoff. While not brand new, these units are in Good condition, have been OWC Tested before shipping and are backed by a 90 Day OWC Warranty for your peace of mind.

If you can use a spare MagSafe adapter, or need a replacement for one gone bad – buying a used adapter from us saves you about $30 bucks off of the cost of a brand new one.

Keep in mind, though, that these adapters are only good for the MacBook/13” MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. They won’t work for the 15” & 17” MacBook Pros. We are currently on working on getting some 85 Watt adapters for those models and we’ll let you know right here on the OWC Blog when we get them in.

There are many different bus-powered portable hard drives on the market, but most fall short in delivering everything you need. Bus-powered means that you do not need an AC-adapter to run the drive and that your FireWire or USB port powers it. Iomega, LaCie, Apricorn, and others sell 500GB portables that fit in your pocket, include some kind of shock resistance, and as I can personally attest, work flawlessly. What these companies do not offer is a portable drive that offers multiple types of connections, a speedy hard drive mechanism accompanied by a reasonably sized data transfer cache, and a suite of useful hard drive utilities.

Enter the Mercury On-The-Go Pro. What sets OWC’s new portable solution apart from other brands are these features: Drive speed, data cache, software, and warranty. The newest option finds a massive 500GB 7200RPM drive with 16MB data cache – suitable for video and sound editing on the go – securely housed in our proven shock resistant polycarbonate acrylic transparent case. While big on performance, this little powerhouse will fit discreetly into your pocket and weighs only 2.5 lbs.

This 500GB baby fills your travel bag or pocket with a complete solution, perfect for photographers who depend on RAW file capture or the video or audio editors that need portable speed and space. When you need to preserve your MacBook’s or laptop’s battery life, you can use the OWC Mercury On-The-Go AC Power Adapter. The adapter sells for only $4.99 and uses a standard US AC plug.

If your technology budget hangs over your head like the Sword of Damocles, OWC offers other Mercury On-The-Go Pro solution in a variety of affordable FireWire/USB 2.0 interface and RPM speed models.

Included with all these perfectly portable storage solutions are a carrying case, all the cables you need, a 3-year warranty, and a CD with OWC’s signature disk utility software bundle. The $200 retail value bundle includes a retail version of Prosoft Data Backup 3 for OS X, NovaStor NovaBACKUP for Windows, Intech HD SpeedTools, and Carbon Copy Cloner. These applications are not required to use the On-The-Go, but are useful utilities for backing up data and managing your hard drive.

Don’t Take Our Word For It

While our newest, speediest solution hasn’t been on the market long enough to generate any reviews, we can link you to reviews of our other Mercury On-The-Go products. Read for yourself how the experts liked the ultimate portable Mercury On-The-Go solution. Please note that the prices listed in the reviews may not reflect current pricing.

BlogCritics Technology Review, by Mark Buckingham, 3/13/09: OWC Mercury On-The-Go 320GB 7200RPM External Hard Drive.

ZDNet, The Apple Core, by Jason O’Grady, 5/6/08: Review: OWC Mercury On-The-Go 500GB portable HDD.

Macworld.com, by Chris Holt, 12/09/08: OWC Mercury On-The-Go FireWire 800/400 + USB 2.0 320GB.

CNET Editor’s Review by Dong Ngo, 5/13/08: OWC Mercury On-The-Go (500GB).

The new OWC Express USB 2.0 Enclosure is one of the most reasonably priced small hard drive cases you’ll run across. This $19.99 stylish drive in Discreet Black, Sleek Silver, or Smooth White holds any 2.5″ Serial ATA hard drive, also referred to as SATA I or II. At only 2 oz plus the drive weight, and with sleek dimensions (3.07″ Width x 5.12″ Depth x .55″ Height), it fits into many pockets or purses easily. We even include a carrying sleeve and a double-shielded USB 2.0/1.1 connector cable, so it’s a complete package. (Mouse in photo not included.)

You can easily use any 2.5″ drive up to 9.5mm height and up to 7200RPM speed. All you need to know is how to twirl a screwdriver to install a drive mechanism. If you don’t have a spare drive handy, OWC offers drives from trusted sources, such as Hitachi, Samsung, Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital mechanisms to fill ’er up to 500GB starting at $47.99!

If Your Port Isn’t Up to Snuff

Now, one USB port supplies 500 mA of current, which is usually enough to power up any bus-powered drive, but sometimes, you need more power. If you connect your Express and it just sits there and doesn’t mount, you may need more power. You can solve this problem without an AC adapter, by adding a USB “Y” cable, also called a double USB cable or dual input USB cable. OWC sells this handy accessory in clear or black, and it incorporates a 1-meter cable with one USB 2.0 Mini-B connector and two USB 2.0 A connectors. It’s even designed to stretch behind your laptop, so that you can reach the USB ports on both sides of your PowerBook or MacBook.

Basically, this USB  cable doubles the power your bus-powered drive receives, so that it works flawlessly. While most Mac users may never need such a cable, it’s a handy item to keep in your computer tool arsenal, especially for computer consultants.

One note of caution though, do not use this cable to connect your new OWC Express to more than one computer at the same time. It won’t work and it may damage your drive. No USB or FireWire drive can be connected to more than one computer at a time; that’s why we have file sharing and networking so easily configurable on the Mac.

Our versatile and fearless leader Larry O’Connor has posted an informative article in our Quick Tips area, titled “Make your Current Mac feel like it’s a New Mac again!” This concise article links to helpful tidbits on how you can possibly get better performance out of your old Mac by upgrading some of its parts, than if you plop down that fortune on a brand new machine.

The article also links to an archived newsletter (linked below) that details how you can add RAM, a hard drive, faster DVD, or even replace your video card and/or processor to create your dream machine. All at a fraction of the cost of a new machine.

I know the “Speedbump that current Mac for that ‘New’ Mac feeling” article was useful to me, because I upgraded an old 500 MHz G4 AGP Graphics tower with one of OWC’s PowerMac processor upgrades and now use that machine solely for scanning photos, something it couldn’t do before. It’s convenient to have a workstation devoted to a life’s work that involves multiple pieces of hardware, which I don’t have to move out of the way when I need to work; I have an Intel Mac for that! Plus, scanning my thousands of photos gives that doorstop a purpose in life!

OWC just received the new, speed-bumped 15″ MacBook Pros that Apple released last month. While the boost in processor speed is nice, there’s another performance booster that Apple has remained relatively quiet about: these newer models can handle up to 8GB of memory!

That’s right! You can replace one factory 2GB module with an OWC 4GB module to go to 6GB, or replace both to take it all the way to 8GB, just like their 17″ brethren. We know. We confirmed it ourselves, in actual MacBook Pros, right here in our own testing facility.

We’ll be posting the benchmark results of how much this memory increases performance in these models shortly, but as we have all seen time and time again, adding more memory results in better overall performance. With more memory, you can “feed” all those memory-hungry apps like Photoshop, ProTools and Adobe AfterEffects and enjoy the performance increase of many common tasks.

You may be wondering if Apple supports this configuration, since they’ve said very little about it. Apparently, they are supporting this configuration since they are selling an 8GB upgrade kit on their site. Perhaps there has been little fanfare on their behalf because that particular upgrade is going for $1200!

Fortunately, you don’t have to shell out that much. OWC has you covered with a much more wallet-friendly solution.

However, this 8GB maximum only applies to the new 2.66GHz and 2.93GHz MacBook Pro 15.4″ models that were released in March 2009. The October ‘08 “Unibody” MacBook Pros remain limited to a maximum of 6GB, as do the prior 15.4” models equipped with 2.53GHz or 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo processors.

OWC offers a full line of memory for upgrading nearly every Apple model made in the last twenty years. Whatever model MacBook Pro (or MacBook… or Mac Pro… or Mac mini… or iMac… etc.) you have, you can count on OWC to have the correct memory to maximize your Mac.

One of the most under-appreciated problems in home recording is the sound of your room.  Ever record a vocal track in your home studio (typically a bedroom or basement) and despite the great vocal performance, great preamps, and top of the line microphone, the track still doesn’t sit in the mix right?  We’ve all had the problem where the vocal track doesn’t sound like 99% of the professional recordings we’ve heard on the radio -leaving us scratching our head and asking ourselves “Why?”.  And where most people will blame their microphone or their mixing skills, the one thing that everyone overlooks is the sound of the room.  You can be using a $17,000.00 vintage Telefunken, but even that magical and legendary microphone won’t keep your voice from bouncing off of drywall.  

Enter the Reflexion Filter…

The Reflexion Filter from sE Electronics is basically a portable device for recording live sound sources with reduced room ambience. It is an advanced composite wall which is positioned behind any microphone by means of a variable position stand clamp assembly which ships with the product. The main function is to help obtain a ‘dry’ vocal or instrument recording. This is especially useful in studios without proper acoustic treatment, but can also be used to help record takes in control rooms, where the performer also has to operate the recording device, or in rehearsal studios to reduce ambient noise. 

Reflexion Filter (microphone not included)

How does it work?

The Reflexion Filter has 6 main layers. Firstly, a strong layer of punched Aluminium which allows sound waves to pass through it, diffused, to a layer of absorptive wool. The sound waves then hit a layer of aluminium foil which helps dissipate energy and break up the lower frequency waveforms, and from here they hit an air space kept open by rods passing through the various layers. The air gap acts as an acoustic barrier. The sound waves then pass to a further layer of wool and then through an outer, punched, aluminium wall which further serve to absorb then diffuse the remaining acoustic energy.  The various layers both absorb and diffuse the sound waves hitting them, so progressively less of the original source acoustic energy passes through each layer. This reduces the amount of energy hitting un-treated walls and other surfaces so there is less of the original source reflected back as unwanted room ambience to the mic. The Reflexion Filter also helps prevent any reflected sound reaching the back and sides of the mic. Its shape and size have been carefully tested to maximize absorption while keeping ‘coloration’ down to only around 1dB, and leaving the microphone’s polar pattern unaffected.

The main absorber has 4 formed pieces of state-of-the-art special acoustic absorptive material attached to its face via the extended separation rods, which further serve to absorb and then diffuse the sound waves as they pass to the main filter.

The stand assembly is comprised of a mic stand clamp fitting, which attaches by means of a vertical joint to the horizontal bar assembly onto which both the Reflexion Filter and any standard fitting shock mount can be fixed. The microphone (in its shock mount) can then be moved both vertically and horizontally along the bar, and the Reflexion Filter itself can be moved vertically to obtain the optimum working position.

Final Verdict

All in all, it’s a very clever and desirable piece of equipment. It allows you to record vocals, guitars, etc with a ‘drier’ sound without having to have an acoustically treated room. With the Reflexion Filter, you won’t have the added room noise that makes it impossible to fit your vocal tracks in the mix.  It allows you to get a dry, untainted sound that’s only picking up the source you’re trying to record and nothing else. Because of this, vocal tracking frustrations will be a thing of the past. It’s portable, it uses state of the art materials, and most importantly it works! It’s also a fraction of the cost of acoustically treating your studio environment!  Every serious recording musician needs one of these in their arsenal.

You can find the sE Electronics Reflexion Filter, sE microphones, and other great new music products at www.macsales.com/music today!

No drummer sits and plays eight-bar patterns robotically over and over again, and that’s why your virtual drum tracks may be sounding lifeless and unrealistic.

Enter FXpansion’s BFD2

BFD2 is an acoustic drum production environment for your computer with unprecedented power and flexibility. It provides extreme realism and sound quality, fast and easy set up, with total plug-in integration to your favorite digital audio workstation all in one software solution.

Now, it’s easier than ever to create expressive, complex drum parts using 55GB of rare, vintage, boutique and classic drum kits that were recorded at the famous AIR Studios in London. Mix your drums with flexible routing, submixing and built-in EQ, compressors and other effects. Additionally, BFD2’s Groove Engine offers advanced editing, performance and humanization functions for creating realistic drum parts. You can even lay out a full song’s drum track entirely within BFD2!

The Sounds

Customized 10, 18 or 32 piece kits are at your fingertips, with full control over tuning, damping, ambiance levels, velocity response and more. You can layer parts of the kit for powerful hybrid sounds which is perfect for modern productions or flick through preset kit-piece profiles for quick access to dry, damped and other useful settings. BFD2 lets you configure your sounds like a real drum kit instead of pushing buttons on a sampler.

The hyper-detailed 55GB library features sounds with multiple articulations recorded with up to 96 velocity layers to open up new worlds of rhythmic expression. BFD2 makes it possible to program or play convincing nuances and ghost notes, intricately varied and dynamic hihat parts, elaborate cymbal workouts and visceral kick and snare lines.

The refined tone and definition of the space at London’s legendary AIR Lyndhurst studios is captured with two pairs of room mics, including a mid/side set. Meanwhile, the kit is mic’d with stereo overheads and mono close directs. All audio is routed through the magic of a custom Neve desk with Air Montserrat preamps into Prism A/D converters, sealing the foundations of a killer drum sound.  Just check out these samples:

Same 70’s Garage

Hey Liverpool

Taurina

The Mix

BFD2’s flexible, comprehensive mixing console lets you blend, route, submix and process the mic channels just like a real-world drum recording. Tweak bleed levels, play with ambient mic width, create aux sends and patch sidechain effects to shape your drums into infinite variations that sound convincing and powerful. The built-in processors include circuit-modelled dynamics, filters and distortion to deliver fat and floor-shaking sounds, while the flanger, bitcrusher, ring mod, delay and other effects allow subtle to extreme timbral variety.

In fact, the depth and scope of BFD2’s mixer rivals that of many fully-fledged sequencing hosts, meaning that you don’t have to worry about setting up multiple outputs in your host for mixing your drums. If you want to take advantage of external reverbs and other plug-ins or outboard you can route channels freely to any of the 32 available outputs. However, if you’re more of a musician than an engineer, you may prefer to browse through the supplied presets from experienced studio veterans, suitable for a variety of musical styles.

The Grooves

BFD2’s Groove Engine provides the perfect environment for editing patterns, setting up performance modes and applying humanization effects for added realism. Although you can create and record your own grooves, over 5000 stylistically diverse patterns are ready for you to slot straight into your productions or edit and combine with elements of each other to make new, customized parts. You can even lay out a sequence of grooves to form a full drum track entirely within BFD2.

If you’re a previous user of BFD, you’ll love the new time-saving and powerful functional enhancements in the Groove Engine like the advanced editor, synced audition previews, individual start and end actions for each groove and improved sorting, searching and management of your groove library.

Whether you’re a drummer wanting to input your latest groove into MIDI, or a guitarist that simply can’t play drums and needs a human-sounding drum track, BFD2 is the software for you! Find BFD2 and other great quality music gear at www.macsales.com/music today!

It’s taking the Mac and pro audio world by storm, and its name is ProTrack.  Alesis, one of the world’s leading pro audio and studio electronics manufacturers designed the ProTrack to provide a convenient, direct-to-iPod stereo digital recording solution in a portable, handheld form factor. Users can capture live audio anywhere and anytime with their iPod, iPod Nano, iPod Touch, or iPhone. ProTrack’s smart design integrates the iPod into the recorder, with included sleds to securely mount supported iPod models to the recorder.

The Ins and Outs

Alesis ProTrack with iPod Touch

You can record detailed, 16-bit, 44.1kHz or 22kHz stereo digital audio without connecting any additional equipment using ProTrack’s onboard pair of cardioid condenser microphones. The on-board mics are fixed in an XY configuration for optimal stereo imaging. ProTrack also has a pair of combo XLR-1/4″ inputs enabling you to connect any external professional sound source including condenser and dynamic microphones or mixer outputs. Whether you are running on AC or battery power, ProTrack supplies 48V phantom power to its inputs for operation with external condenser microphones. 

Powerful Features

The ProTrack has LED-level metering for instant visual indication, even in a dark club. You can monitor or play back recordings on the 1/8″ stereo-headphone output, and the controls for phantom power, limiter, and volume located on either side are convenient and easy to access. Additionally, the ProTrack automatically dates and time-stamps files when recording so it’s easy to identify which track was the recording of the acoustic-guitar folk duo last Tuesday at happy hour, and which was the flailing hard-rock drummer from Friday night. And speaking of that percussive dynamo, you’ll appreciate ProTrack’s switchable limiter which ensures that your recordings are distortion-free. The exterior contains a Universal Dock for iPod, LED signal indicators, and controls for 48V phantom power, limiter, and volume. Four AAA alkaline batteries provide four to five hours of operation. And, last but not least, a threaded mount is integrated for tabletop use on a camera tripod.

Alesis ProTrack with iPod Nano

Record anything, anywhere

The Alesis ProTrack is the most convenient way to capture sound effects, recitals, jam sessions, speeches, interviews, rehearsals, performances, meetings, lectures, notes-to-self, and anything else you can thing of… directly to your iPod.

Check out www.macsales.com/music for the Alesis ProTrack and other exciting music gear today!

ProTrack records to iPod Classic 7th and 6th generation, 5th-generation iPod, 3rd and 2nd-generation iPod nano, 2nd-generation iPod Touch, iPhone and iPod nano-chromatic. Sleds are not included for nano-chromatic and nano 2G. iPod is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.