Opinions of the Centerpoint Spacestation V.3

Sixstring said:
"Posted by MesaGuitarGuy View Post
they were on backorder for a few weeks, so I cancelled mine.
I'm going to stick with my Matrix CFR's". Bummer man...
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Yeah, VERY sorry about that...we've been sold out from our first delivery which was September 2014. The only good news is I have been doubling my production every month and with the February shipment to Sweetwater we will finally catch up and actually have stock on the shelves (what a concept).
FYI, the Spacestation v.3 is only available from Sweetwater, or on my site, aspenandassoc.com. The price is the same and includes shipping anywhere in the USA. Also, Sweetwater offers financing and candy in the box...so we can recommend them highly!
I think the demand far outpaced my expectations (and my ability to respond...so far) because of two reasons; 1) I am a small new company and wanted to launch this product (the 3rd bite at the Apple) very cautiously, and 2) the KB players jumped on it because 99% of all KBs are heavily stereo modeled (strings. synth, B3/Leslie and EP patches), while 99% of all KB amps are either mono, or a traditional approach at stereo using 2 spaced speakers. They have been waiting a very long time to hear something that REALLY works for live applications, and actually sounds like a studio monitor.
Conventional stereo systems w/ 2 spaced speakers (L/R) sound great for the player, but the physics of this approach can only produce a very small "sweet spot", and by contrast give you a very large "sour spot".
However, the 3D stereo CPS sweet spot is literally everywhere within earshot, technically it broadcasts 300 degrees, even goes thru open doors into adjacent rooms. It is bigger than anything you have ever heard, and until you hear it you will think I am crazy. But perhaps more importantly, it also has (almost) no sour spots. Don't take my word for this, hope over to the Keyboard Corner thread on the Spacestation and read what the KB Players are saying, they are AT LEAST as picky as my guitar comrades!
In fact, I am just coming in here today (a total rookie so pardon any miscues) because a Keyboard Corner member directed me here. But I have been an admirer of the Fractal systems ever since I watched a Pete Thorn's video demo. On Keyboard Corner we have over 1500 posts, and 115,000+ views, we are on our 51st page....all this for a product on the market less than 4 months. (they tell me that is good, but I am new at this). So as a guitar player for nearly 60 years...I really wanted to expose this to the new wave of wonderful guitar modeling systems such as the AXE FX.
Unfortunately I do not (yet) own a AXE FX, nor do I gig much anymore. These days, really I am focused in other areas such as my studio and my few new products. Therefore sadly, we have not produced a live stereo video demo of one in use (but it's on my bucket list). I have been talking to Pete Thorn about coming out but as yet we have not found a good time for him to come visit...he is a very busy man in the studio!
However, I would love to have any one (or more) of you stop by our APR studio located in SoCal most anytime for a test drive...bring along your AXE FX and give one of my little Spacestation v.3s a spin.
I don't know if this is "kosher" to mention this here, but recently John Huldt who does the live demos at trade shows for Kemper stopped by and was so impressed he asked us if he could come back and shoot a demo video for us. We just posted it a few days ago and we had it running at NAMM recently. You can find this guitar modeler's demo video on the centerpointstereo website, along with a few dozen others using the Spacestation v.3 in various applications.
FYI, I took out a NAMM booth after a 7 year absence, having sold my Groove Tubes company to Fender back in 2008 for heath reasons. I launched a new company; APD, Aspen Pittman Designs, largely to help expose CPS to the guitar world and for small PA applications. BTW, I have already heard from a few AXE FX users now using and loving their SS v.3...so I know this will eventually catch on here too. As one KB Player recently posted; "once you hear the SS v.3, everything else is just a box". (he even changed his signature to this!)
There were other comments and questions on this thread that I would be happy to address, but I think I may have already overstayed my welcome on my first post. I will bookmark this thread and check in daily...and I will be very happy to answer any/all questions you may have.
 
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Hi....I've had an Ultra for several years, and I use it with the Spacestation. I think it is one of the coolest sounds ever, it's more like a 3-d sound rather than stereo. These units love stereo signals, & the ultra is a perfect input source 'cause most (all?) patches have some sweet stereo imaging happening. I go way back with this SFX (former designation) stuff, but the latest version has incredible leaps in sound quality, punchiness etc. Aspen explains it completely at centerpoint stereo.com. I have AB'd the Spacestation with a set of full range HK Audio speakers, and I can never decide which sounds better. When you're in the sweet spot with great speakers, the Ultra sounds amazing, but I run it through the Spacestation and your just immersed in this room filling sense of ambiance. So the difference would be, the sound of the Spacestation CAN be conveyed to a live audience, whereas that conventional sweet spot is pretty limiting live. It's exiting to me to know people in an audience are hearing the same thing I am, which in the case of the Ultra is over the top. There is a big (long) discussion of all the merits of the Spacestation in every conceivable situation at Music Player Network Head's-up: SpaceStation keyboard amp is apparently back - MusicPlayer Forums that would address any questions anyone has. These guys are keyboardists/mega-purists with all this high-end gear that are just lovin' their Spacestations!
 
If you get a chance to hear it, it's really pleasing, it really does the Axe-fx justice. It would be a great addition to your arsenal that's quite unusual in it's approach. I play keyboards through it and they sound great. There's a great video of a guy playing a (gasp....sorry) Profiler through the Spacestation at centerpointstereo.com. The guy is just blown away by it.
 
Moke said:
What happens to the stereo field if you use more than 1??
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One Center Point Stereo Spacestation is actually more effective that two. I know that may seem counter intuitive to what you are used to with conventional stereo speaker systems but CPS is just different than any other system you have ever experienced. In this case, less is more. But that is the second most common question I get once somebody hears a CPS system.

So using two is not recommended, unless they are spaced very far apart or processing different stereo material (as in a 5.1 track, which two can do well).

The simple science behind Center Point Stereo is there is one single point of transmission of two physically "out of phase" sound waves, that do not have ANY common information. The CPS encoder inhales L&R, and exhales "Sum" (all the common, or mono parts of L&R), and "Difference" (all the content that is unique to L&R). We achieve this thru a sum and difference network that put the L&R out of phase...as a few have correctly noted this is like Mid Side recording...in reverse!. We label these encoded signals "Front and Side" and they each have a level control so you can dial in the "width" in various venues (more width for a dead room, less for a very live venue).

Then we reproduce these conditioned signals, that have nothing in common, thru two spealers that are physically out of phase...so they do not "mix' but on they kinda repel each other to enhance dispersion. So they remain prettu much unchanged until they reach your ears...where they "come together". That's why CPS produces a uniform "3D" stereo image no matter where you stand in the room. The farther away you stand, they more they reflect and "bloom"...so the effect actually gets better the farther away you are and will even travels thru doorways into adjacent rooms, and yet the image never collapses. Perhaps more importantly, the stereo image (or that mix) sounds the same no matter where you are because there is a "Center Point" of origin....kinda like time aligned studio monitors have better imaging. You just have to hear it, I know it all sounds crazy, but it works.

The reason conventional spaced L&R speakers do not work in live performance is that by design they are "in phase" and also have different content...of course!. So by design, they can only produce a very small "sweet spot" in the room. But also, that means they will produce a much larger "sour spot" everywhere else! And, no matter where you stand outside the sweet spot, it will sound different from every other spot. Too much L, or too much R...or even worse if too far away...then the result of these in phase signals mix to create a maze of weird cancelled combinations. This is why most FOH sound system, albeit stereo capable, are mixed "mono" so the sound remains uniform and intelligible for the larger part of the audience.

Short answer; one CPS speaker is all you need to produce a uniform stereo image everywhere.
 
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It has potential to be a very handy compact backline system. I have a pair of Euphonic Audio VL110 cabs, which are FRFR and sound amazing. For my backline system, they present a smooth and accurate stereo image. I also have a Xitone 1x12 monitor that I use for small stages, which allows me to still hear myself without having a backline, but I often wind up putting the monitor behind me. I prefer to have my signal coming from behind me (probably just all those years of being accustomed to a conventional guitar setup). I definitely like the idea of a wider sweet spot onstage. I will look forward to hearing how you like this speaker.
 
yeah, me too...

I'm not blown away by the stereo spread that the YT video's have.
I hope it's much better and wider in person.

or, it's going back :)
 
I agree, Aspen has made a valiant attempt to record the SS, but even he's admitted it falls short of hearing it in person. I'm curious how you like it 'cause I haven't spoken with anyone else who uses it with an Axe-fx. Some keyboard patches sound a bit better using a sub w/ the sub out. Most sound great without. I have noticed a minor improvement with some patches on the Ultra using a sub,most sound dynamite without.
 
cosmik said:
I have one winging its way to New Zealand as we speak. Hopefully it lives up to its hype.
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Does it have a selectable 120V/240V power source option ? ....or is a step-down transformer required for use in NZ/AU (240V) ??

[EDIT] Also do any of you know if it is pole-mountable ?
 
Probably not for guitar, a lot of those keyboard guys don't use them. They have bass players, and seem to like the sound as is for most gigs.
 
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