FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Focusrite’s RedNet System Gets Cal State San Bernardino’s Music
Technology Program Ready for the Next Generation
When students return this fall they’ll find their music technology program fully networked for
both recording and live sound, thanks to RedNet components connected via Ethernet cabling
135th AES Convention, New York, NY, October 18, 2013 – The Music Technology program at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is growing by leaps and bounds, and when students return to class this fall they’ll find the future waiting for them. It’s in the form of a fully networked audio system that encompasses both the school’s recording studio and its recital hall, all connected by a local area network running on Ethernet cabling with audio interfaces and routing via RedNet, Focusrite’s acclaimed range of Ethernet-networked interfaces based around the tried and tested Dante® Ethernet audio networking system.
The first to offer IP network audio interfaces for the recording studio or any application that requires moving high-channel-count audio with ultra-low latency, Focusrite’s RedNet is rapidly becoming an important educational tool that lets academic professional audio programs such as the one at Cal State San Bernardino prepare for the future. Over the summer, CSUSB installed two RedNet 2 sixteen-channel analog I/O interfaces, a RedNet 3 thirty-two-channel digital interface (used to augment the audio signal from the RedNet 2’s), two RedNet 4 units (each with eight of the latest remote-controlled Focusrite mic preamps / line inputs), a RedNet 5 unit (used to interface with their Pro Tools system in the studio) and a RedNet PCIe card (used for “control routing” of the Pro Tools system in the recital hall). These RedNet units are networked by Ethernet cable on the school’s LAN, connecting the Music Technology program’s recording studio with the school’s Performing Arts Recital Hall. The RedNet units were purchased from Sweetwater; the sale was managed by Paul Allen there.
“The RedNet system really ties this all together,” says Scott Vance, Instructor of Music Technology at the CSUSB program. “We’ve had several rooms besides the studio that we’ve been able use as recording spaces, but they’ve had to be hard-wired with snakes. Now, the Recital Hall, which is about 150 feet away from the studio control room, is easily accessible on the network, thanks to RedNet. I’m quite pleased with the mic pre’s because we’re able to amplify the signal immediately, using significantly less analog cable. So the mic pre’s sound very good. It’s quite well designed and going to fit our needs very well.”
The CSUSB Music Technology program now has full analog and digital I/O capability. RedNet 2 adds 16 remote-controlled analog channels in and out and can be located anywhere on an Ethernet cable. Featuring Focusrite’s precision 24-bit A-D and D-A conversion for superb audio performance, it delivers 119-dB dynamic range at sample rates up to 192 kHz. The rear panel includes standard DB25 connectors for analog patchbay or breakout cable interfacing. RedNet 3 interfaces existing digital audio systems and components to the RedNet network, with up to 32 inputs and outputs and full software remote control. CSUSB is using the RedNet 3 to connect a Focusrite ISA 828 mic pre, which has its own A/D converters, to the network. RedNet 4 adds eight of the latest remote-controlled Focusrite mic preamps / line inputs to the RedNet system through a single Ethernet cable. With two selectable DI’s, RedNet 4 provides an effective range of analog inputs and includes Focusrite’s world-class precision A-D conversion. Mic/Line/DI selection, gain, phantom power, HPF and metering are also accessible from the front panel. The benefit of remote control microphone pre-amp gain is that the mic pre can be kept close to the source, minimizing the analog cable run while still setting gain stages from the control room.
As CSUSB began assembling its RedNet system, they included a RedNet PCIe card for Core Audio and ASIO applications such as Logic and Nuendo. When a RedNet 5 Pro Tools HD® interface is added in the very near future, the PCIe card will be used to interface with the Pro Tools system in the Recital Hall, adding live recording to the Music Technology program’s capabilities. In addition, the Recital Hall’s Yamaha DM 1000 mix console is equipped with a Dante interface card, making it fully compatible with RedNet’s own built-in Dante capability and making the RedNet components part of the school’s live sound system.
“RedNet allows us to really expand the kinds of scenarios our students can experience,” says Vance. “RedNet is a real help for teaching music technology, because both live and recorded music are moving into a networked environment. With RedNet, we are ready.”
For further information, head to www.focusrite.com or contact:
USA: Hannah Bliss +1 (310) 322 5500 // Hannah.Bliss@focusrite.com
Robert Clyne +1 (615) 662-1616 // robert@clynemedia.comAbout Focusrite
The Focusrite brand was established in 1985 and the founding principles of the company were to develop products that sounded more musical, in addition to just measuring well – today, we still carry these founding principles forward in our class-leading and award-winning designs. We measure our success by the success of you, our clients, and you will find Focusrite product prominent in professional and project studios throughout the world. Based just outside of London, we work with the best design talent throughout the world to bring you the tools to enhance the way you work. Our product is made with pride and principle in a highly automated ISO 9002 factory with significant level of test by engineers who themselves are musicians and understand the part our product plays in your process.Focusrite is exhibiting at booth 2930 at the 135th AES Convention in New York, NY.
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