MESSE:Yamaha Go mLAN Big Time With New O1X

US mLAN Product Takes Center Stage 05/03/03

All Together Now..- MIDI, Audio and Control - the O1X

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At this mornings swanky press gathering - well actually those of us who have a hard time getting to early press calls were a bit disappointed not to see any coffee or breakfast type things, were instead treated to Yamahas latest and much heralded mLAN release. Named the O1X, this new unit combines the DSP power of Yamahas latest digital consoles (DM1000 and O1V96 etc) with software control and integration using their mLAN technology. Touted as “Tomorrows total solution for the computer music environment”, the O1X integrates both audio interface and control surface into a single unit with mLAN compatibility delivering all MIDI and Audio data via a single cable. With nine motorised faders (8 channel + stereo) plus transport control, the O1X is designed to be at the heart of your setup with comprehensive software control – including a transport control. The promise of mLAN has always been alluring though up till now Yamaha haven’t released that world-beating product to bring it to a wider audience. The O1X can be seen in a similar area as Digidesigns Digi002 and Yamaha are not shy in making the comparison. Yamaha are giving this a big push and are promising much more mLAN to come. They have adddlso announced several software VST plug-ins to coincide with the release of the O1X, heralding their timely arrival into the software market. This does appear to be timely with the new, faster and some say easier to develop for USB 2.0 standard. Featuring low latency audio interfacing over mLAN for both Windows and Macintosh based computers the O1X delivers extensive remote control power unusual in a multi-function device. In fact, the O1X boasts DAW support for Cubase SX, Nuendo, Sonar, Logic Audio, Digital Performer and other products including many software synths – although we guess ProTools support is unlikely!. The neat thing about this being that parameter names (including track names) are displayed on the large, letterbox-style LCD on the O1X, sent from the host application. Track- arming, transport control, plug-in-editing, mixing, window selection plus much more can all be controlled directly from the O1X. Each of the 28 channels offers dynamics processing in addition to 4-band parametric EQ. Additionally, the incorporation of two comprehensive 32-bit effects processors ensure that O1X will not put undue strain on host computers when mixing or processing audio. Up to 63 mLAN compatible devices can be linked together. The unit can also easily be expanded allowing more inputs and outputs with optional mLAN products enabling the system to expand as further user requirements are necessary. Drivers are available for ASIO, WDM and Mac OSX Core Audio – in fact, mLAN support is coded directly into OSX 10.24 via Apple/Yamaha co-written drivers for deep efficiency the demo we saw was using Logic Audio on a less than current G3 laptop. The O1X comes complete with three VST plug-ins offering enhanced vocal processing, final mastering and studio quality format accurate pitch correction. When used in conjunction with Yamaha’s critically acclaimed Studio Manager the O1X enables instant access and control for every parameter directly from a computer screen, it also comes complete with a VST- compatible channel module which mimics the hardware DSP and functions of the mixing console. This allows parameters to be quickly copied form Studio Manager directly into a VST hosting application. The O1X is expected to ship in Q3 of 2003 with an RRP of around $1700/ Euros.

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