PNW February 2018 meeting on the virtual studio with (L-R): Colin Isler (Rane), DJ Jamie SImmonds, Brandon Ryan (Roland), Steve Turnidge (host), Scott Morgan (Roland).
PNW met February 21, 2018 at the local, independent Guitar Store in Seattle for a look at the virtual studio offerings of the Roland Cloud service, and more on the virtual studio. PNW Chair Dan Mortensen opened the meeting, announced upcoming meetings, and had attendees give their brief self-introductions. About 36 (13 AES members) attended.
The possibly misleading original title of the meeting might have been more accurately called The Continuing Evolution of the Virtual Studio, Including: Roland Cloud, Gig Performer, and Rane turntables. Host, author/mastering engineer et al Steve Turnidge welcomed presenters Brandon Ryan and Scott Morgan of Roland, Colin Isler of Rane and turntablist Jamie Simmonds. David Jameson, author of the Gig Performer software, assisted in preparing the demos and answered questions but did not have a formal presentation.
The popular Steinberg VST (Virtual Studio Technology) ecosystem continues to evolve and the Roland Cloud is part of that. A subscription service (now under $20USD/month), it offers a catalog of virtual instruments. Brandon Ryan, with assistance from Turnidge, demonstrated many of the accurate classic Roland synth sounds available. Gig Performer is a VST host, and originally envisioned as a live performance tool; Turnidge showed how it works as an ITB (In The Box) studio configuration tool. Author David Jameson answered questions from the floor.
Another step in virtualization came next in the form of new Rane DJ turntables — now with no tonearms. However, master turntablist (and PNW Committee member) Jamie Simmonds showed how this is not a problem for DJ-ing, with demos. Colin Isler of Rane (and PNW Committee member) assisted and provided background on developing the system.
After a break, where attendees could ogle the displays of guitars, effects, and vintage and boutique amps at The Seattle Guitar Store, door prizes were awarded:
-Trendnet Ethernet over powerline set, courtesy Dave Lucavish/Eagle Computers — won by Sean Dolstad
-The Guitar Store Tee-shirts, courtesy The Guitar Store — Mike Goodreau, Jayney Wallick
-Roland Cloud demo disc, courtesy Roland — Charles Oxley
-Amprobe infrared thermometer, courtesy Rick Rodriguez/Fluke — Marcell Marias
-AES papers CDR, courtesy René Jaeger — Rick Rodriguez
-Fluke hat light, courtesy Rick Rodriguez/Fluke — Jessica Toon
Next, Scott Morgan of Roland Cloud Engineering spoke about developing a sampled guitar virtual instrument for Roland Cloud, Tera Guitar. You can even adjust the sound of fingers sliding down the strings. He brought his own acoustic to demonstrate aspects of a real guitar vs. the VST.
A big thanks to The Seattle Guitar Store and Sean Dolstad for hosting the meeting amongst walls of beautiful guitars and rows of amps and pedals.
