Mosfet
amplifier and the first mixer with MIDI... 1984 - 1986
Early
1984 saw the launch of the Mosfet 1000 power amplifier. This marked
a significant development in amplifier design and ended the long
running 800B range. Mosfet technology offered much greater audio
performance and reliability over previous bi-polar designs. The
power rating was a massive 500 Watts per channel and housed in
a compact 3 rack space cabinet. All input and output connectors
were located on the rear panel (the 800B were fitted on the front
panel) and the large VU meters gave way to stylish 12 segment
bargraphs. This was the amplifier pro sound companies were waiting
for; many buy up to 100 units. The Mosfet 500 (250 Watts per channel)
was introduced the following year and offered studios a high power
amplifier to drive their monitors and with out the need for noisy
cooling fans. Both models stayed in production for several years
until replaced by the 1200B in 1989.
MIDI
was fast becoming the standard in electronic instrument control
and the development department reasoned that this format could
be adapted to mute the input channels of mixing consoles. This
was the first step in simple mixer automation as the mute function
could be stored as note on/off data in a MIDI
sequencer along with keyboard and drum machine information.
The original intention was to mute or close unused channels
on the mixer to lower back-ground noise although it was subsequently
put to many more creative uses.
Demand for larger format mixers to support the growing number
of project and home studios resulted in the Series 2
consoles. 4, 8 and 16 bus configuration, expandability,
6 auxiliary send and 4 band (2 sweeps) EQ was impressive but
the Series 2 was to be the first mixer with MIDI automation.
All connectors were on the front panel to make patching easy,
the meter bridge gave clear signal indication and the 100mm
smooth faders felt like a much larger mega buck console.
The
promotional material around this time featured a number of new
and established artists who were happy to be pictured with a
Studiomaster product. Phil Collins, Phil Lynott, Martin
Kemp were just a few that were using Studiomaster products.
The picture of Phil Collins shows him next to his Series
2 consoles.
Although
Studiomaster had pioneered the compact on-stage monitor console
back in 1978, it was time for a larger format model as most
bands were now demanding quality monitoring. Built into a flight
case, the 12 bus configuration had full parametric EQ on each
output - an impressive start to this very unique console. Called
the 12M, it had 24 inputs with an optional
8 channel expander, HI pass filters, insert bypass switches
and 100mm faders. The input channels could also be used as effects
sends to supply on-stage reverb or delays. There are still many
12Ms in operation around the world. This is due not only to
their reliability but the fact that there has never been a console
with these features to supersede the 12M.
Early
1984 saw the launch of the Mosfet 1000 power amplifier. This marked
a significant development in amplifier design and ended the long
running 800B range. Mosfet technology offered much greater audio
performance and reliability over previous bi-polar designs. The
power rating was a massive 500 Watts per channel and housed in
a compact 3 rack space cabinet. All input and output connectors
were located on the rear panel (the 800B were fitted on the front
panel) and the large VU meters gave way to stylish 12 segment
bargraphs. This was the amplifier pro sound companies were waiting
for; many buy up to 100 units. The Mosfet 500 (250 Watts per channel)
was introduced the following year and offered studios a high power
amplifier to drive their monitors and with out the need for noisy
cooling fans. Both models stayed in production for several years
until replaced by the 1200B in 1989.
MIDI
was fast becoming the standard in electronic instrument control
and the development department reasoned that this format could
be adapted to mute the input channels of mixing consoles. This
was the first step in simple mixer automation as the mute function
could be stored as note on/off data in a MIDI
sequencer along with keyboard and drum machine information.
The original intention was to mute or close unused channels
on the mixer to lower back-ground noise although it was subsequently
put to many more creative uses.
The
promotional material around this time featured a number of new
and established artists who were happy to be pictured with a
Studiomaster product. Phil Collins, Phil Lynott, Martin
Kemp were just a few that were using Studiomaster products.
The picture of Phil Collins shows him next to his Series
2 consoles.
Although
Studiomaster had pioneered the compact on-stage monitor console
back in 1978, it was time for a larger format model as most
bands were now demanding quality monitoring. Built into a flight
case, the 12 bus configuration had full parametric EQ on each
output - an impressive start to this very unique console. Called
the 12M, it had 24 inputs with an optional
8 channel expander, HI pass filters, insert bypass switches
and 100mm faders. The input channels could also be used as effects
sends to supply on-stage reverb or delays. There are still many
12Ms in operation around the world. This is due not only to
their reliability but the fact that there has never been a console
with these features to supersede the 12M.