Part 4.
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.
