Studio TECH - Raven MTX2: Mixer of the Future
Introducing the Slate Pro Audio Raven MTX, Multitouch Production Console
In the past decade, the technological revolution has transformed audio into a medium that is produced and delivered in the digital domain. Powerful Digital Audio Workstations enable music makers to create more efficiently and economically. Costly large format analog consoles were never designed for a modern production process. What is missing is a new solution that REMOVES ALL OBSTACLES between the engineer and DAW. Introducing the RAVEN MTX from Slate Pro Audio – the first ever Multi-Touch Audio Production System.
Overview
The RAVEN MTX is a state of the art touch screen display featuring the RAVEN MIXER – A powerful multitouch mixer that can control all major DAW’s – And a flexible and user-customizable, multifunction TOOLBAR. The RAVEN also incorporates a full-featured analog monitoring section designed for today’s audio engineer, with multiple speaker outs and input sources, smart phone connectivity, USB, multiple headphone send and cue options, and much more. But at the heart of the RAVEN MTX is the most important thing of all… Your DAW, right at your fingertips.
The Multi Touch Display
When we began to develop the Raven concept, we studied the touch screen industry for months and became experts in the various technologies. We realized something very quickly: to make a multi touch monitor suited for the pro audio industry, no “off-the-shelf” product would work; they were too slow, with thick, untreated glass and unusable parallax between your finger and the image. The screens themselves wouldn’t look correct at the angle that we needed, the glass had a horrible friction to it, and there were no proper drivers to do real Mac and PC integration with professional DAWs. So we started from the beginning, and built the RAVEN touch display from the ground up, using brand new touchscreen technologies that were literally being introduced to the market as we were working. We build our own displays using commercial grade LED backlit screens and components from industry-standard display manufacturers. It’s sharp, bright, and looks great at any angle. But one of the greatest achievements we made is in our custom made NANO GLIDE surface. This ultra thin 3mm glass is coated with a proprietary nano technology that makes the surface slick and smooth, even smoother than the famous touch tablet… and it allows you to work effortlessly. This is the Rolls Royce of touch screens… nothing on the market comes close in terms of performance, feel, and build quality.
The Raven Mixer
The Raven Multi Touch DAW control software puts your DAW right at your fingertips. A large-format multitouch mixer gives you complete access to faders, pans, mutes, solos, sends, automation, and even plugin inserts. Of course on a 46” screen, plugins function as if you were tweaking 19” outboard gear – you can easily tweak the controls with your fingers. This is a world-first in DAW control. Having the DAW at your fingertips makes it easy to directly interact with the music.
The Raven Toolbar
In Toolbar mode, The Raven Toolbar is anchored directly in front of your hands at the base of the touch display. Your DAW controls are where you want them: Transport, Edit/Mix window selector – convenient tools for tracking too, like Record Looping, Click, Create Group, and Undo. Use intuitive multitouch gestures on the Raven NAVPAD to perform Scrub/Shuttle, Waveform Zoom, Track Zoom, and Track Banking. Raven’s Customizable Hot Keys open up the world of possibility for creating your own buttons for frequently used functions. Best of all, because the Raven Toolbar is virtual, it’s user-customizable – Put the controls you want where you want them.
The Analog Monitoring System
The analog section of the Raven is 100% digitally-controlled analog circuits. You’ll never have to worry about scratchy pots or noisy switches, ensuring that your monitoring path is the most minimal possible. You hear your music with absolute purity. The sound is clean clear and articulate. The monitor section has four speaker outputs, multiple source inputs, built in laptop reference speakers that we call Betty, 8 channel cue outputs for custom headphone mixes through optional headphone mixers, a 7.1 module for surround mixing and mastering, and even convenient console-top USB ports to plug in thumb drives, dongles and external hard drives. Hear your iPhone or iPod like never before when it’s plugged into the iPhone 4 and 5-ready Raven iDock. Even studio communications are easier with multiple talkback mic options, including Raven’s automatic hands-free mode.
The Modern Analog Production Console
The RAVEN was built from the ground up to modernize the idea of the classic recording console. Recording, mixing or mastering with the RAVEN MTX Production Console is effortless and intuitive. For more information go to slateproaudio.com.
RAVEN MTX Specifications
Touch Display: 46″ LED backlit, 12-touch multi-touch display HD resolution, 1920 x 1080Initially supports Pro Tools 10, 11 and Logic Pro XCompatibility for all major DAWs coming shortly
