CharlesRandolph wrote:Kaiju wrote:
Yeah. Companies sometimes seem to be very petty with that stuff, or can be legal issues. Anyways I think they can do a better job. Again looking at high end recording equipment companies, seems like they woke up, and are really placing time into product development and actual meaningful relationships with clients, so they know what they need. Stuff I don't necessarily see with companies that sell equipment that isn't as pricey. I'm talking here 24 thousand dollar recording mixing consoles. They are doing amazing stuff with customization and routing, relaxing a bit their legacy or traditions and expanding, professionally, their products to better suit, again, professionally, the users. Of course there are exceptions like always with companies that sell not so expensive products. But some stuff like what you just mentioned about not licensing the protocol leaves us wondering wtf why? lol
Yeah, those companies were forced to change. Software was/is eating them alive. I could buy a rack of Empirical Labs EL8 Distressor for 11K or buy a EL plug for $300 and get 97% there is a no brainier. SSL knew the writing was on the wall, so they made the smart move.
This generation shifted away of having tons of gear. We don't need 500K+ console to make quality recordings anymore. I don't need a separate, sound proof, AC cooled room to run the power supply for my desk. 
The loudest thing in my studio were my MPC 4000 fans and swapped those fans out.
But certain things have become a standard, like surface control, digital i/o, network storage, audio over IP. All of these things, Akai Pro is not using. They updated the software, so an external class compliant usb hack that, @QuickStrike found no longer works.
Definitely. That's exactly what I was trying to say. People can buy a 24 ins 24 out audio interface to mix in the box, best converters there are for 6,000 bucks or so and on top of that get like 50+ high quality plugins plus tons of goodies, Madi, Ethernet Control Surface Ins, practically inexpensive expansion capabilities. all practically latency free, everything working flawlessly, plus a plethora of profesional tools, utilities and capabilities. Why even buy a 14,000 dollar mixing desk? Well, they made it appealing again lol. Because they saw the writing on the wall like you best said. And acted on it.
Me, I'm a gear head. I love to get to know the schematics, how they work, and just have gear and more gear. I use them. I'm saving either for a Fostex, Otari or Tascam Tape Machine. Already downloaded the schematics and learned, in theory, how to calibrate them and do the maintenance, and fix in the spot the things that usually go wrong with them. I like that stuff and like the sound. I'll buy one under 1,200 bucks or so. I have seen those deals, and heard of people buying those machines in full working conditions for that price, or in some instances they had only to recap, which is a walk in the park if you have the manual and the schematics, but I'm still saving up. Recently as you may already know they reissued a ton loads of different tape types, so everyone with a tape machine can even choose which tape for what type of session. I love it. Cannot wait to get the ball rolling.
I created a 8, 16, and 24 track Midi Mapping template, with 8, 16, 24 faders, Pans, Solo, and Mutes for just just tracks. Just to make it easier to mix in the box, without having to constantly touch the machine.