Yet another busy year!

It has always been my intention to write this Newsletter on a more frequent basis, but despite having plenty to say - there always seems to be more important things to do!

These of course include the 3 main areas of business, the first being the repair of audio equipment, including mixing desks - which could be described as a speciality, including Allen & Heath products; over the year we have repaired many of their models from the largest design to the small DJ mixers. Most faults were quickly and easily located and fixed - resulting in small repair charges, making the overall cost of ownership for these fine products to be kept low. Such is their reputation that secondhand prices are generally high (again ensuring low overall lifetime cost) - so consider Allen & Heath if you are looking for a new or bigger mixer in the coming year. Remember that we can supply them at very good prices, delivered directly to your address from their Factory. Ask for a price quote.

Last January a visit was made with 2 customers to the Allen & Heath mixer premises in Penryn Cornwall to have an advance look at their new iLive digital mixer. We were given a very exhaustive hands on demonstration of this exciting product - as well as a Factory tour to see how they are made. They are now shipping all over the world - to great acclaim. It was instructive to talk to the people actually involved in the design and support - not just the sales guys (who are also fantastic of course!).

Secondly would come product design and manufacture - all undertaken in small batch quantities here in Exeter. This ensures that high quality standards can be maintained - with testing carried out at every stage of assembly. Thirdly are the custom designed items, often employing well proven assemblies from our existing products. We are very proud to know that our many products were used at most major UK festivals, the Albert Hall and at the O2 in London arena for the Led Zeppelin concert. Wow!

In April Show Of Hands held their 3rd Royal Albert Hall concert - to celebrate their 15th year Anniversary - this was an extremely enjoyable event, with a sell out crowd coming from all over the world. Congratulations to all the technical staff and musicians involved in this fabulous venture - making it such a success.

One of our suppliers of connectors and cable asked if this gig could feature in some of their publicity material, admitting that they had to be inventive to make their important products 'interesting'. Possibly the same applies to our range of 'black boxes'.....! This can be viewed at VDC Trading - and not much music, live or recorded, can be made without cables and connectors!

It is always nice when a specially designed item turns into a production version - which happened to the Contact Microphone System - to be be used with one or two attached microphones on such instruments as concertinas, accordians and violins, amongst others. Unlike some competing products, our design is Phantom powered from the mixer - so no batteries are required - a considerable advantage for live music, surely?

Similarly, there was demand for a 2 channel, or stereo version, of our popular Transformer Isolator - as it was discovered that this product was totally effective in removing power supply noise when using lap top computers for music replay. So this new product - is now widely used by DJ's, in schools and churches and for conference presentations:Dual Channel Isolator.

A special version of our Pink Noise Generator was made for use by a major PA supply and hire Company - for fast warehouse testing of speaker systems - all of the drive units checked with one signal. This can be either battery or Phantom powered and is shown on the Custom Products page.

If you need to mute a balanced microphone signal - without noise or loud clicks - this can be extremely difficult, especially if your microphone is Phantom powered. However, do not worry, as we have a solution to this problem! Have a look at our Microphone Mute Pedal if you need to do this - it also has outputs for a tuner and an on stage amplifier. Useful if you have a very high quality microphone mounted on an instrument.

We are often asked to build replacement power supplies for older mixing desks - it is amazing how often the PSU becomes separated from the mixer during a Studio move, or a sale - or lost in storage. As many manufacturers are no longer trading - or simply cannot make a new PSU, the task falls to us! The supply shown on our Custom Products page was made for a big Soundtracs PA mixer, but was also provided with an additional cable to enable its use with an Allen & Heath mixer for use as a back up if required. Please ask if you might need anything like this.

Several rack mounting versions of our Acoustic Pre-amp have been made - including one with very comprehensive tone controls for a customer with 'difficult' instruments. It is still Phantom powered from the mixer and the output can be muted from the front panel, or with a foot switch.Acoustic Pre-amp with Super EQ.

If you might like one of the above products, or have any ideas of your own we could explore - pleased don't hesitate to get in touch!

Meanwhile - wishing you all a very Happy and successful 2008.

Another busy year!

It has been a very busy 2006 for Orchid Electronics - and our Customers, with the Summer Festival Season being a great success. It is always exciting to see and hear your equipment being used to great effect on a BIG stage to a vast audience! We have added a lot of new artists to the numbers using our products - some of whom are listed on our 'Links' page. It is always fantastic to see our artists enjoying continued acclaim - with new talent emerging all the time. The Radio 2 Folk Awards are an important event every year - with Seth Lakeman and Show Of Hands being nominated in 6 categories. In addition Karine Polwart and Dave Swarbrick are each nominated in 2 categories. The actual awards will be announced and presented at the glittering BBC Folk Awards event to be held at The Brewery, London on Monday February 5th 2007. They are all enthusiastic users of Orchid gear!

On Sunday April 8th 2007 Show Of Hands will again play at the Albert Hall - for the third time! On each occasion our equipment has been used - so we are looking forward to joining the sell out audience for an unmissable experience! Congratulations to Steve and Phil.

The Microphone Splitter has sold in good quantities and being of modular construction has been supplied in sizes ranging from a single channel to an order of 3 x 24 channels for an important PA Company in Europe. These were fitted with multipin connectors for fast setting up and breaking down. They have been supplied to studios, PA Companies and TV - for a variety of purposes, including live recording and permitting the use of 2 mixing desks in concert situations.

The Acoustic Pre-amp has been supplied in different versions, with a floor mounting type being popular with Double Bass players. Every musician uses different combinations of pickups and microphones - so we have developed our silent muting facility to enable balanced microphones, including Phantom powered types, to be muted without any clicks or noise. This important development will find its way into many products and designs, including one for a highly respected microphone manufacturer. We are always pleased to advise on any aspects of our speciality - from simple advice to product design and small scale production.

Times continue to change for recording studios, with many in London and elsewhere closing their doors. There are many reasons for this of course - recording and computer technology now being inexpensive and allowing very high quality results to be obtained at home. However - sometimes it will be necessary to record in a real studio environment - for that special project perhaps. As well as the latest equipment - the expertise and experience gained over many years by the studio engineer will be available - and will prove to be invaluable. In the SW of England - look at the studios listed on our 'Links' page.

We are pleased to be able to sell new Allen & Heath mixers directly to our Customers, with many supplied in 2006 - especially the fantastic Mix Wizard models. These are perfect for most gigs and have been well received - with very well thought out facilities. They are more expensive than some of the competition - but are of far better design and can be repaired if necessary in our A&H Service Centre. Regard them as a long term buy - not a 'throw away when it goes wrong' type! Usually works out to be a far better investment over years - and much nicer to use in the meantime. If you are based within a reasonable distance of Exeter consider buying through us - with continued support for the product throughout its service life.

Earlier in 2006 we were asked to come up with a bomb proof version of the popular contact microphone system widely used with violins, flutes and accordions. This was a great success - with the Pre-amp/PSU being powered from Phantom from the mixing desk and having a balanced output, so no additional DI Box was required, or internal batteries. This might be further developed to incorporate a balance control for the 2 microphone inputs and a master volume control. If you use this type of equipment - your comments would be most welcome. Photo on Custom Products page.

Our simplest product is the Transformer Isolator - which is just a high quality audio transformer in a box! It is, however, a really useful item - and a general interface 'problem solver'. Dual channel versions are also available - these have been supplied for computer laptop connection to mixing desks - as used by DJ's and for recording and replay purposes. All PA Companies need a couple in the tool box to solve those intractable hum loop problems!

Most manufacturers of Studio mixing desks have now ceased production - but most of their products are still in use, despite being older than the user in many instances! Spares tend to be available from various sources and support, often from individuals closely associated with the original companies, is usually available. One item that sometimes causes a problem though is the power supply - on occasions these have simply been lost or even stolen. We have built several of these supplies - but might try to come up with a generic type suitable, with appropriate connectors, for use with mixers of many different makes. Let us know if we can help in this area.

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!