16 bit A/D cables that rock!

Jan 23, 2007 14:48 GMT  ·  By

Today, music is recorded in (almost full) digital while most instruments are analog; and analog they will remain because some of them need the real human touch to sound at their best. Guitar is no exception to this rule: even though on most recent albums all the guitars have been recorded digitally, the sound they've made was produced by human playing and the primary output was a completely full analog signal, later converted into digital form in a soundcard.

I was going to say something like "this is going to change" but I noticed it has already changed as the LightSnake is already here. SoundTech have succeeded in creating a learning curve so short and easy that most of you will be amazed, at least in the first place, as I was. Things are way simpler than what you might have imagined as the LightSnake is actually a very high quality instrument cable but with special "ends": one end is the traditional 1/4" guitar jack while the other end sports a convenient USB plug. In the socket of the 1/4" plug, a miniaturized analog-to-digital conversion unit has been placed: it converts in real-time the analog signal received from the (let's say) guitar in digital output to enter your PC via one USB port.

Thus everything is hassle-free and definitely no interference will cause you headaches while you record; actually, you can literally plug your instrument directly in your PC and start recording in a matter of seconds! Thanks to the positioning of the miniature soundcard in the 1/4" jack, there isn't any "antenna" to catch the atmosphere radio and mess up with the clarity of what you record. Even more, the 16-bit ADC (Analog to Digital Converter) uses 48/44.1 KHz sampling rates so you're sure your digital sound is almost perfect. The USB connection also feeds the LightSnake the electricity it needs for the operation and also powers the lighting system embedded in it: the cable ends light green when correctly inserted in both USB port and instrument jack and as the cable in working in full (meaning there is electrical activity in it) the lights will flash!

The LightSnake comes with a DVD which bundles together all major Sony applications in the field, in the demo version and costs about $99. One may see this as rather high price, but think a bit about the ultimate portability of the gimmick: you'll just carry around your instrument and this cable - no other boxes, small or large, heavy or lighter, no need to find power outlets to power up your gear. Just USB-in and play them notes!

It's obvious for everybody that the not so distant future could very easily bring almost pro-grade soundcards inserted in cables, even direct emulation-modules. What will be then, no one can tell for sure; one thing is sure: miniaturizing will make further steps and I can almost vouch for the oncoming wave of all-in-one pocket-size devices created for almost everything. Even for other pocket-sized gimmicks :)

Photo credits: SoundTech

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