Steven Slate debuts The RAVEN X1 Production Console

[ionian]

Originally Posted by barryjohns

The CD is dead, dead, dead,

Well nobody told me. I bought two last week, and one the week before that.

Regards,
Frank

[travisbrown]

Originally Posted by ionian

Well nobody told me. I bought two last week, and one the week before that.

Regards,
Frank

However, I was waiting in line to return something at the customer service desk of a store today and the guy ahead of me was trying to order a CD. The customer service guy said it was unlikely they'd be able to get it quickly if at all because their CD/DVD distributor went out of business this week.

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by The Vulture

No need for anyone to cry.
i am just skeptical.

Ua has made quality hardware and software side by side for a long time.
Steven slate for me have been primary a software company. But by all means, maybe his hardware sounds great but I trust other companies more.

The followers are mostly plugin buyers with low budgets.

Not just skeptical, you're also judgemental and ill informed.

UA have been making software for less time than they have been making hardware. At one point, they would have been in the situation Slate are now, only coming from the opposite direction (hardware to software). Good job people gave them a chance with their software hey?

You're entitled to your opinion on the Raven of course, but to say you don't trust something like the Dragon when you've neither used one, nor I doubt we're even aware they existed before venting your opinion on a software company making hardware, just makes you look ignorant. But hey! Who cares....your loss at the end of the day, if you miss out on trying/buying a great piece of hardware just because you "trust other companies more". Personally, I've heard enough about the Dragon that I can't wait to try one, even though I can't afford it. But I like new companies, and giving people a chance to impress me.

As for followers...we all know what twitter is. There's also a massive pro audio community who may not use twitter much, who certainly have the budget for hardware. But it's much more fun to speculate and throw around a load of made-up stats isn't it?!

[DSpec1]

Folks, could we remember that 'Slate' is a corporation that sells products? And, when a corporation co-opts a public forum like GS, forum members should be free to state informed or uninformed opinion of a current or upcoming product.

Steven Slate is a company asking for your hard-earned dollars, just like UA, Apple, Microsoft, Neve, SSL...He is not your best friend just because he conducts free market research and serious advertising on this forum.

I wonder why some folks feel as though they need to defend the company and belittle others who have opinions of this corporation with such passion--particularly given the general view of 'shills' on this forum.

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by DSpec1

Folks, could we remember that 'Slate' is a corporation that sells products? And, when a corporation co-opts a public forum like GS, forum members should be free to state informed or uninformed opinion of a current or upcoming product.

How can you be "free to be uninformed" about anything being discussed? if you want to be "uninformed' about a product you don't care about, don't click the thread titled "Slate debuts the Raven".

Originally Posted by DSpec1

Steven Slate is a company asking for your hard-earned dollars, just like UA, Apple, Microsoft, Neve, SSL...He is not your best friend just because he conducts free market research and serious advertising on this forum.

Of course not. But he is an approachable, personable face in a sea of faceless companies. There are plenty of others of course.

Originally Posted by DSpec1

I wonder why some folks feel as though they need to defend the company and belittle others who have opinions of this corporation with such passion--particularly given the general view of 'shills' on this forum.

I would defend a company that has served me well in the past. But more than that, I would argue against ANY opinion that is ill informed, whether it's for or against a company. Personally I like the idea of this console, I have no idea if it'll be any good in practice. I just take issue with someone having an strong opinion of something they know jack sh1t about.

If people stuck to commenting on things they actually know about, the forum would be quieter, but the signal to noise would be vastly improved.

[Hardtoe]

Originally Posted by Steven Slate

Hi Cube! In another week, we'll have some new shots. I think it looks pretty slick now.

I read today that it is almost certain that the Mac Pro will no longer be made next year. All new Macs will not have any CD-R or DVD-R functionality, which makes sense because we will also see the end of the CD's for music delivery next year. The iphone/ipod will be the standard means of music delivery, listening, and collection archiving. So if you are questioning why it will be so important to have iphone/ipod compatibility in your studio, the question will soon be answered!

Cheers,
Steven

This all seems a pretty ahead of the curve of where things are at in reality.

I really don't see cd disappearing overnight - even if Apple does remove cd/dvd drives, they have always been known for being ahead of the curve (and for having pissed off customers who wanted to do silly things with their computers like pop in a DVD for their kid to watch, but had to deal with Apple's vision of what things should be like)...

[DSpec1]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

How can you be "free to be uninformed" about anything being discussed? if you want to be "uninformed' about a product you don't care about, don't click the thread titled "Slate debuts the Raven".



Of course not. But he is an approachable, personable face in a sea of faceless companies. There are plenty of others of course.



I would defend a company that has served me well in the past. But more than that, I would argue against ANY opinion that is ill informed, whether it's for or against a company. Personally I like the idea of this console, I have no idea if it'll be any good in practice. I just take issue with someone having an strong opinion of something they know jack sh1t about.

If people stuck to commenting on things they actually know about, the forum would be quieter, but the signal to noise would be vastly improved.

Good points. Particularly the last one.

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

If people stuck to commenting on things they actually know about, the forum would be quieter, but the signal to noise would be vastly improved.

This is so true and practical , it wiil probably never happen

[Steven Slate]

Hi guys. If you do a quick google search with "end of CDs" you will be entrenched with articles on the subject. CDs are on their final breath. In 2013, you will be seeing a lot of major artists go direct to iTunes without ever going to disc. Whether or not you'll want to accept this as fact is up to you.

Regardless, even in early 2011, every one of my clients needed to transfer and/or listen to music off their iPhone. Having digital iPhone connection in your studio is not a trend, it's a necessity!

Cheers,
Steven

[Hardtoe]

Originally Posted by Steven Slate

Hi guys. If you do a quick google search with "end of CDs" you will be entrenched with articles on the subject. CDs are on their final breath. In 2013, you will be seeing a lot of major artists go direct to iTunes without ever going to disc. Whether or not you'll want to accept this as fact is up to you.

Regardless, even in early 2011, every one of my clients needed to transfer and/or listen to music off their iPhone. Having digital iPhone connection in your studio is not a trend, it's a necessity!

Cheers,
Steven

Ya - those headlines were a little sensational to get reader's attention.

If you are referring to the "Side-Line" story (http://www.side-line.com/news_commen...=46980_0_2_0_C) the author has an update further down the page which says this:

"Update: We were approached by several people working with major labels, who indeed re-confirm that plans do exist to give up the CD. We keep on trying to get an official confirmation, but it seems that the matter is very controversial, especially after Side-Line brought out the story."

You can reference the link below for a fact based article (using sales numbers), which is not relying on controversial talking points from nameless "people working with major labels":

Reports Of The Death Of The CD Are Greatly Exaggerated


"If CDs continue at the rapid rate of shrinkage they saw in 2010, it would still take them until 2015 to shrink to 80 million units sold in the US....However CD sales have not shrunk in 2011 so far. In fact, they’ve grown."


BTW - I think the iphone dock is a great idea, I just think the cd has a few years left in it....

[Steven Slate]

I'm surprised there is a debate on this because the proof is all around us. Here in the US, it's difficult to even purchase a CD. Tower records and Virgin records are done, and Best Buy is removing their entire music dept to one isle.

My clients now request I put their music on their phones. No one requests CD-Rs.

This is obviously troubling to some here because there is a special emotion when opening a physical package and playing your favorite music. I love buying CDs. But the future is about downloaded and streaming music, and the record industry knows it.

Cheers,
Steven

[Hardtoe]

I agree - eventually - in the future cd's will be minimal - not next year....

It's only your timeline I disagree on.

Originally Posted by Steven Slate

But the future is about downloaded and streaming music, and the record industry knows it.

Cheers,
Steven

[ionian]

Originally Posted by Steven Slate

I'm surprised there is a debate on this because the proof is all around us. Here in the US, it's difficult to even purchase a CD. Tower records and Virgin records are done, and Best Buy is removing their entire music dept to one isle.

And yet, I'm still buying them on a regular basis. I don't get it - if I have a problem finding what I want in a store, I just order it online. I'll admit I have had a slight problem finding everything I want in stores as they only now stock the mainstreamest of mainstream stuff now, but I have no problem finding whatever I want on CD in general.

As for missing out on the years of cutting school to hang in the basement of Tower Records on 4th and Broadway in Manhattan combing through boxes of the dusty imports and rare vinyls...well, that's getting a bit harder these days!

Regards,
Frank

[The Cube]

Originally Posted by Steven Slate

Hi Cube! In another week, we'll have some new shots. I think it looks pretty slick now.

I read today that it is almost certain that the Mac Pro will no longer be made next year. All new Macs will not have any CD-R or DVD-R functionality, which makes sense because we will also see the end of the CD's for music delivery next year. The iphone/ipod will be the standard means of music delivery, listening, and collection archiving. So if you are questioning why it will be so important to have iphone/ipod compatibility in your studio, the question will soon be answered!

Cheers,
Steven

errrr, actually I never questioned that Steven.. it was some other user in this thread. As far as i'm concerned you could even integrate a toaster and coffee machine in the raven and i would be all happy for it

Thanks for your sustained output around here. I will keep giving my input to make sure the X1 will be something I am willing to spend my (very hard earned) do$h on, as I was about to make a DIY project for something similar, I now just want to make sure you're gonna do it right, for me not having to have to do the "dirty" work

Thanks!

[jeremy.c.]

Originally Posted by The Cube

As far as i'm concerned you could even integrate a toaster and coffee machine in the raven and i would be all happy for it

I think you just stumbled on to something here... keep going... I hope Steven is listening to this input.

[daez]

cd's as well as other media like books are better off digital. Aside from an apocalyptic event killing our computers of course but when you think of how much media, a whole buildings worth of books and records can be fit into a wallet sized hard drive. Though some of this stuff becomes classic treasures a majority of it becomes garbage destined for a landfill. If you want to look up something would you go to a library and dig through books or just search google. I love records but hate digging through them to find a particular one , or storing them...

[ionian]

Originally Posted by daez

cd's as well as other media like books are better off digital.

Have you ever smelled an old book! Old computers, on the other hand...

Last month I took a weekend trip up to Buffalo, NY and found a great used book store and spent about $100 in used books.

Based on the comments here and the fact I still buy CDs and used books in large quantities, I'm beginning to fear I might be a dinosaur...


Regards,
Frank

[travisbrown]

Originally Posted by The Vulture

No need for anyone to cry.
i am just skeptical.

So you are fine with your skepticism being based on complete ignorance about the topics at hand?

Ten minutes ago you didn't even know the company made top shelf hardware, yet you still find grounds to "trust other companies more". The correct answer is, "I don't know anything about Slate hardware products so have no basis on which to opine or compare."

What's one objective point about Slate gear in any of your posts in this thread that's you've been correct about so far? So far your mistrust, skepticism and corresponding opinions have been based on error or ignorance. Yet you persist.

Predicate your opinions on knowledge, not ignorance, and you won't leave so many people rolling their eyes

[daez]

I can dig it. Still have a lot of book's and love to read and research myself. The sad truth is a lot of this stuff will just be garbage one day or just take up room in your house untouched forever. I not to long age got rid of a big vhs collection that I have just been sitting on for the longest. Reclaimed valuable space.

Originally Posted by ionian

Have you ever smelled an old book! Old computers, on the other hand...

Last month I took a weekend trip up to Buffalo, NY and found a great used book store and spent about $100 in used books.

Based on the comments here and the fact I still buy CDs and used books in large quantities, I'm beginning to fear I might be a dinosaur...


Regards,
Frank

[George Necola]

I dont own a single apple product.
(mini usb)
i use a goraga as wav/mp3 playback and a samsung sgs2 (micro usb).

I want to interface with the modern world too! Help me steven!

[The Cube]

People come on... every format has its time while it represents some advantage to the end user. CDs dont anymore. Neither physical books. We live in the digital era. We dont need to kill more trees to make books now that reading books in the ipad is so much fun. Same for CDs. Why waste physical resources to make CDs if there are much more clean and practical alternatives to listen to music now? Move on. Rock on. Steven is right, and so am I

El cubo.

[The Cube]

Originally Posted by George Necola

I dont own a single apple product.

Your loss really.. I am not a fanboy but they actually have a LOT of superior products. You should try them sometime :cop

[dysenterygary]

Did a price ever come out for this?

[travisbrown]

Originally Posted by daez

cd's as well as other media like books are better off digital.

Can't. Help. But. Respond... Ignore if you don't want to read tangental blather.

<tangent>
Some books. Not all. It's an imperfect analogy to recorded music. Regardless of how music is stored and retrieved, it all has to come out of a speaker of some sort to be heard. The objective opinion has to be narrowed to the scope of the delivered sound. It is delivered in a normalized singular medium in this respect, regardless of what happens before the speaker.

However, the delivery of written word can take many forms, and the factors that make one form better or worse than another are multitudinous. The delivery method can change how we receive the content. It's not a matter of liking books or tablets, or billboards, or words scratched in sand more; there are cases where the content is comprehended differently based on the different processes required or encouraged by the various formats. For example, there is ample evidence that people read and comprehend blocks of text on a printed page differently than on a screen. With screen the eye takes different routes across the words, more prone to scanning, and tends to notice fewer things like vowel and consonant leading, formal and structural elements, etc. In short, many explanations both psychological and logistical.

This excludes any extended benefits that make some methods and formats better than others for comprehension and experience in some cases, like being able to annotate, reference citations, using index finger to scan, searching, embedded definitions and lookups, down to keeping a finger in a page to flip back to when needed.

It's not that one is better or worse, it's just that they are different and produce different results. In the end, content and aesthetic are the primary virtues of written words and convenience of format has to come second. If some text is better delivered on paper or on screen, then you simply can't make the generalized argument that books are better off digital.
</tangent>

[ionian]

Originally Posted by The Cube

People come one... every format has its time while it represents some advantage to the end user. CDs dont anymore. Neither physical books. We live in the digital era. We dont need to kill more trees to make books now that reading books in the ipad is so much fun.

I don't own an iPad. Actually I don't own a single apple product. If there's such a thing as an anti-apple fanboy, I'm the biggest one.

I don't think reading anything digitally is more fun in the least in comparison to reading an actual book. It seems like just a faster way to eye strain. I also fly a lot for touring and session purposes - anwhere from 75-100 flights a year since 2004 and I get a kick out of how the ipad/kindle crowd have to sit on their hands until 10,000 feet while I can read the entire time we take off. A paperback also fits much better in my jacket pocket.

I like CDs. And I don't kill trees because most of the books I continue to buy are from used book stores. I also tend to pass on or donate books I'm finished with to libraries or friends.

Regards,
Frank

[The Cube]

Originally Posted by ionian

I don't own an iPad. Actually I don't own a single apple product. If there's such a thing as an anti-apple fanboy, I'm the biggest one.

I don't think reading anything digitally is more fun in the least in comparison to reading an actual book. It seems like just a faster way to eye strain. I also fly a lot for touring and session purposes - anwhere from 75-100 flights a year since 2004 and I get a kick out of how the ipad/kindle crowd have to sit on their hands until 10,000 feet while I can read the entire time we take off. A paperback also fits much better in my jacket pocket.

I like CDs. And I don't kill trees because most of the books I continue to buy are from used book stores. I also tend to pass on or donate books I'm finished with to libraries or friends.

Regards,
Frank

I can understand where you're coming from, but in fact being something like "the biggest anti-apple-fan-boy" is as regrettable as being the opposite of that. If you dont like an ipad because its too strain in the eye, bye an e-ink device. You'll be amazed how its similar to an actual p-book. Also a paperback fits better in your pocket..mm how about 2000 or more like an ipad or kindle can pack? Does that fit in your pocket as well.. regarding the fun part of reading books on the ipad.. just check out whats out there on interactive ones or the new recently released text book format for ibooks..

Anyway im sure you will get there sooner or later, just as you like driving a car and not necessarily still a horse pulled thingy just because its vintage :p

BTW: On the other hand I love old school computers like the C64, Amiga, Atari ST , Sinclair's etc .) So thumbs up for your rig and avatar!

[ionian]

Originally Posted by The Cube

BTW: On the other hand I love old school computers like the C64, Amiga, Atari ST , Sinclair's etc .) So thumbs up for your rig and avatar!

I'm 38 and that's what I started with many years ago, and I still love. So I'm sure after all these years you can tell I'm resistant to change!

Thanks,
Frank

[Steven Slate]

Originally Posted by ionian

And yet, I'm still buying them on a regular basis. I don't get it - if I have a problem finding what I want in a store, I just order it online. I'll admit I have had a slight problem finding everything I want in stores as they only now stock the mainstreamest of mainstream stuff now, but I have no problem finding whatever I want on CD in general.

As for missing out on the years of cutting school to hang in the basement of Tower Records on 4th and Broadway in Manhattan combing through boxes of the dusty imports and rare vinyls...well, that's getting a bit harder these days!

Regards,
Frank

I too buy CD's still. I just enjoy the experience. The booklet. Reading the songwriting and engineering credits. Knowing that I'm getting a high quality medium.

But its going away. People are NOT buying enough of them, labels don't want to make them, plants are closing, and CD stores are all but gone.

Here's another tip.. sell your REDBOX stock because in about a year or two, the movie store will be 100% directly streamed to your television in Hi Def as a standard (obviously this is already happening)... You'll be virtually renting any movie you want from your couch.

We're living in the future. We have to accept it, or be like my father who is still pissed that his old Simon and Garfunkel cassette tapes are useless in his new car.

Originally Posted by The Cube

errrr, actually I never questioned that Steven.. it was some other user in this thread. As far as i'm concerned you could even integrate a toaster and coffee machine in the raven and i would be all happy for it

Thanks for your sustained output around here. I will keep giving my input to make sure the X1 will be something I am willing to spend my (very hard earned) do$h on, as I was about to make a DIY project for something similar, I now just want to make sure you're gonna do it right, for me not having to have to do the "dirty" work

Thanks!

That last part wasn't intended to you sorry bout that.. but I appreciate your feedback and I'm really excited to soon show you what we've been up to for the past month.

Originally Posted by jeremy.c.

I think you just stumbled on to something here... keep going... I hope Steven is listening to this input.

If you knew how much of a coffee problem I had, you'd know that I honestly brought up a "coffee holder" in an R&D meeting.

Originally Posted by ionian

Have you ever smelled an old book! Old computers, on the other hand...

Last month I took a weekend trip up to Buffalo, NY and found a great used book store and spent about $100 in used books.

Based on the comments here and the fact I still buy CDs and used books in large quantities, I'm beginning to fear I might be a dinosaur...


Regards,
Frank

Everyone can relate to you here. Everyone wants to hold on to the past just a little bit. It's comfortable. It's memories. It's your life, and you don't want to change it.. and I personally have the selfish need to want young people to "have it the same way I did".. for fear that they are not going to experience it to the fullest extent. But in the back of my mind, I know that when I tell my young nephew that the touch screen on his iphone is harder for me than using an actual keyboard, he thinks I'm insane.

And you're not a dinosaur Frank. You're just vintage.

Originally Posted by George Necola

I dont own a single apple product.
(mini usb)
i use a goraga as wav/mp3 playback and a samsung sgs2 (micro usb).

I want to interface with the modern world too! Help me steven!

We have both 1/8" input which can route anywhere on the board, AND USB hub to capture the music digitally to put into the DAW. But you should get an iphone!!! They are really really awesome, coming from a Samsung Android convert.

Originally Posted by The Cube

People come one... every format has its time while it represents some advantage to the end user. CDs dont anymore. Neither physical books. We live in the digital era. We dont need to kill more trees to make books now that reading books in the ipad is so much fun. Same for CDs. Why waste physical resources to make CDs if there are much more clean and practical alternatives to listen to music now? Move on. Rock on. Steven is right, and so am I

El cubo.

Whether or not we want it, the fact of the matter is.. it's happening! CD's, DVD's, Large Desktop Computers, books...

The key for us is, can we still make great music? Or perhaps, can we make even better music, more efficiently, with better workflow? I'm trying to make the answer a big YES, not just with the RAVEN X1, but with all Slate products.

Cheers,
Steven

[The Cube]

Originally Posted by ionian

I'm 38 and that's what I started with many years ago, and I still love. So I'm sure after all these years you can tell I'm resistant to change!

Thanks,
Frank

Also an (almost) 38er here And I actually made a mini computer museum at my place with all those babies (and some more like the apple-II, the BBC-micro etc )

Having said that, I am totally in love with my ipad, macbook air, iMAc and iphone, just because they make me feel again that connection with computing that only the amiga and others made me feel at the time. something that, HP's, Toshibas, Acers etc never did!

So, my friend, change is a good thing, and you can always remember in a good wat what you left behind. They call it evolution Bring it on Steven Slate!

yo.

[Tango Zoulou]

Originally Posted by The Cube

Your loss really.. I am not a fanboy but they actually have a LOT of overpriced products. You should try them sometime :cop

Actually your lo$$