Calrec Sells First Callisto Audio Console to Token Creek

Calrec has sold its first Callisto audio console, a new console making its U.S. debut at AES, to outside broadcast (OB) company Token Creek Mobile Television. The Wisconsin-based OB company also purchased a Calrec Artemis Beam console. The Callisto will be installed in a new truck destined to cover high school and college sports and corporate and entertainment events, among others. The Artemis Beam has been installed in an existing HD unit that covers a wide variety of sports and entertainment events.

“We have two other Calrec desks besides the Artemis Beam and the Callisto, and we’ve always been very happy with them, so when we decided to build new trucks, Calrec was our first choice,” says Brendan Clark, Token Creek’s director of engineering. “Calrec consoles have become widely accepted in our market, so not only do our own operators like them, but freelancers get comfortable using them in a very short time. They also give us the features and flexibility to meet whatever specs our clients require. The Callisto, in particular, will allow us to serve clients who want high production value in a more cost-effective truck.”

Token Creek ordered a Callisto console with 44 faders and a 64 x 64 mic/line, 72 AES, and four MADI I/O configuration, as well as a GPIO control option. The Callisto’s streamlined, efficient design makes it especially suited to the new truck, which Token Creek is building to accommodate clients with smaller budgets who want a high-quality product but don’t need all the resources of Token Creek’s other HD trucks. Each of the console’s channel strips has only the most essential mechanical controls, featuring a fader, two flexible control cells, and a dedicated gain pot. Callisto uses Calrec’s award-winning Bluefin2 networking technology at its core, and the same integral 8192 x 8192 Hydra2 router as Calrec’s Apollo and Artemis consoles. It also has a highly intuitive GUI suitable for a broad range of operator skill levels.

The Artemis Beam console has been installed in Token Creek’s Chippewa HD mobile unit. It is a 64-fader console configured for 256 x 256 MADI, 128 x 128 AES, and 64 x 64 analog I/O, giving Token Creek the flexibility to take in 16 channel sources, mix them efficiently, and distribute them easily in and out of the router. Token Creek uses the console’s many main outputs to generate different program and transmission mixes, and the company finds the Bluefin2 networked I/O and flexibility of the control surface especially helpful.

“By adding two more Calrec consoles to its fleet, Token Creek now has the capability to serve just about any size production or budget,” says Henry Goodman, Calrec’s head of sales and marketing. “The Callisto gives Token Creek a cost-effective console with all the features and reliability it has come to rely on from Calrec. Selling the first Callisto console to a long-time customer such as Token Creek is especially gratifying because it tells us they have the continued confidence to invest in our newest products.”

The Callisto console will make its U.S. debut at AES 2013, where it will be on display with the Artemis Beam and the rest of the Calrec line. Callisto will begin shipping in spring 2014.