CAS Quarterly

portable, over-the-shoulder applications. With the introduction of the 788T and its additional I/O, customers wanted to use it on the cart, and we offered the CL-9. When the Scorpio was first introduced, it offered MCU-control capability, and that works for many customers. Third-party controllers are cost-effective. However, a population of cart-based mixers demanded a dedicated Sound Devices controller for their 8-Series, and the CL-16 was born. It was very much designed for the narrative mixer working from a cart with a bunch of wired-up cast members coming and going. Since other manufacturers offer control surfaces, what was your approach to differentiate features when developing the CL-16? The CL-16 was designed to operate as much like an analog desk as possible, while still providing deep control and quick access to an 8-Series. The immediacy of a smooth fader and a dedicated trim control and big meter mean that, in the heat of the moment, there is no ambiguity what control to grab. That's what most production mixers were asking from us. However, the 8-Series continues to support select third-party MCU fader controllers, some of which have motorized faders, which the 8-Series fully supports. Over the past couple of years, Sound Devices has been expanding its market beyond the initial pro "sound for picture" field. I've read stories of folks using the MixPre, for instance, for music recording and even podcast recording to iPads. It seems like the build quality and feature sets of your products are broadening the company's reach. The latest MixPre models do cover a lot of applications. Many production mixers who have much more comprehensive kits have a small MixPre recording setup when they want to operate as small and light as possible. But as you mentioned, we have seen the MixPre show up in a whole different range of applications. Because they can connect as multi-channel USB audio I/O to computers and mobile devices, the MixPre models get used as high-performance audio interfaces for Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, etc. Many "content creators" are "broadcasting" using the MixPre as their complete mixer and audio interface, as well as using it for "grab and go" recording. The MixPre also shows up in music recording applications, both as an interface and as a stand-alone recorder. We first introduced the analog MixPre in 2000 as a useful utility mixer. The 2021 version of the MixPre continues that heritage of versatility. You may have realized this by counting the awards on your mantle, but I believe this is your 10th CAS Award. That's some successful longevity! It is an incredible honor for our products to be recognized by the members of the CAS, as all of the nominated products over the years have been deserving of recognition. We know that our products are simply tools for our users, though we do know that many of our customers consider them indispensable. For that, we are grateful for contributing a small part to a production's success. www.wbppcs.com

• Cover