This year, as in others, my visit to Afial was a reunion with the Spanish companies whose gear we use and buy, both importers and distributors and domestic manufacturers, and especially with the sales reps you have been running into for so many years and from whom you keep buying gear, with mixed results (almost always good).
And with whom I have shared many coffees and a few beers while we tried to glimpse the supposed future of the business.
This edition brought to Madrid many new products already presented at ISE Amsterdam and Prolight + Sound Frankfurt, and I arrived at the show fully determined to dig deep into the sound side, especially the consoles, mostly because of the breadth of new systems on offer, but also to find out what new programming access tricks I was going to have to learn (because being an old-timer carries its own weight) and whether manufacturers really are continuing down the path of locking down system programming, aiming to offer complete but closed machines, or whether, on the contrary, integration between brands will keep increasing and, as it does, the time I spend wading through endless manuals will decrease.
DIGIGRID Waves eMotion LV-1
My first stop was at NEOTECNICA, and of course a hug with Javier Puente, the sales rep for the central region, was a must; he quickly put in my hands the new PEAVEY system for DIGIGRID Waves eMotion LV-1. Although they had already presented it at the end of February, I hadn't had the chance to sink my teeth into it, and the truth is that I was pleasantly surprised by how it handles: I expected the touch system (it's multitouch) to stumble more, but in fact it is fast and well executed, the interface is intuitive and the graphics have the quality WAVES has accustomed us to; in addition, its integration possibilities with different systems give it a wide field of application. I tried it, and I had a very hard time getting the plug-in loading to slow down; only by overloading the system can you get it to crawl at a snail's pace, though it never stops responding. The console gave me a feeling close to studio work and computer protocols, something that, although we are used to it by now, is very different from a YAMAHA or a SOUNDCRAFT, which you get going simply by flipping a switch.
Soundcraft Vi2000
And since we're talking about SOUNDCRAFT, I spent a little while fiddling with the VI2000 while another engineer tinkered on another of its screens (it has four). Certainly, if it sounds like its big sisters, it is a really smart option, since it includes Dante and MADI connectivity in the basic package and is very easy to work with, with very direct access; it also integrates control of a host of HARMAN devices, as well as SHURE microphones, and although it seems like a trifle, the business of color-coded faders according to their function or layer helps the console-engineer tandem need less adjustment time, which is why SOUNDCRAFT is the brand chosen at the Glastonbury festival for monitor control… Not so for the P.A.: last year the festival went with an AVID S3!
Avid S6
And there was AVID, presenting two control surfaces at the SEESOUND booth, in addition to the long-awaited S6 I had already tried at ISE Amsterdam, but this time with updated Venue software: an absolute marvel, though, admittedly, at a premium price too. However, with an impressive feel and spectacular processing power, the new software gives it a more professional look, and from what they told me it is extremely stable (although having to boot up a computer for the console to work is still something that commands a healthy respect from me).
DiGiCo S21
At the MEYER booth, DIGICO had the S21, a very interesting compact option at a price the brand has not accustomed us to. The sales reps told me that the launch tour around Spain is going extremely well. In addition, the software updates are already well advanced, they already run at 96 kHz, and they are winning new followers for the brand. The truth is that it is a high-quality option in a price range where the basic MIDAS series, the YAMAHA QL and similar consoles compete in the market. I know that in Spain the S21 is less common than the latter and that we are less used to it, but if you have a live music club, a theater or a space for commercial events, the S21 is a big console in a small size, and it would be foolish not to consider it among the possible candidates for our equipment.
Allen & Heath dLive
At the LEXON booth they were showing off a brand-new ALLEN & HEATH dLive, a full-size, mid-priced desk, somewhat in line with this manufacturer's usual commercial approach and nothing like the iLive series. The dLive is a large-format console aspiring to reach big tours, but at the price of that second tier, which is the most common on our tours. On paper it performs like the biggest consoles and has enormous possibilities; whether it becomes a leading player depends largely on the experiences of the technical staff who work with it and whether they like it or not. Time will tell.
At that moment I ran into Óscar Marañón, a legend among Spanish engineers, armed with a monitor console from the country's most famous manufacturer. He was looking for a new wireless system for Alaska, who is touring with Fangoria, and I decided to follow him as a spectator. Almost before I knew it, he was already asking about the SHURE KSM8, the dual-diaphragm Dualdyne, looking into its possibilities, what kind of station, how much money and, of course, the type of control offered by the digital series, both through SOUNDCRAFT consoles and via iPad. Almost convinced, and under the knowing gaze of Ángel Martos, a master if ever there was one, he crossed the show floor to check out AKG's 800 SERIES, and although he didn't seem completely convinced by the Austrian manufacturer's dynamic capsules, when he saw that he could fit a C535 head on the latest generation of transmitters, he put on a grave, silent expression that seemed to mean the final decision would be a close call. I still have no idea how it ended!
Yamaha PM10 Rivage
After this last round, and with the overview of their entire console range that the YAMAHA people had given us still very fresh, I headed home trying to draw some clear conclusion, but what can I tell you: I left half dizzy from everything I had seen, as happens to all of us after every trade show, still unable to draw any conclusions. (More about this console in Afial Chapter I and about its launch at Prolight + Sound 2015 here
Yamaha TF Series
Midas Pro X
To let my impressions settle, I focused on dressing appropriately to attend the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of ALTAIR Equipos Europeos Electrónicos, which was taking place that day at the Galileo venue: 30 years of great work, enthusiasm and national pride in a world taken over by foreign gear, in which they and a few other heroic Spanish manufacturers have carried our flag around the world. And as we enjoyed another beer among family, we recalled the reason for our love of an impossible trade: ours.
