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Release Roland SH-32 Synthesizer Press Release The SH-32 Synthesizer is a nod to Roland's past with a look toward the future. This 4-part multitimbral synth uses new Wave Acceleration Synthesis to deliver up to 32 voices of fat synth waves and entirely new waveforms. There's also a full complement of knobs and sliders-plus analog-style drums, DSP effects and a killer arpeggiator-giving musicians desktop access to a range of stunning synth sounds at an unbelievable low price. Features: Powerful desktop synthesizer with massive realtime control New Wave Acceleration synthesis creates a variety of synth waves-67 total Includes standard synth waves plus new waveforms like Spectrum and Noise Up to 32-note/4-part multitimbral operation 2 main oscillators and 2 suboscillators with ultra-thick Subsonic mode Pulse width modulation and oscillator "hard" sync capability* Insert and Loop effects processors with 10 types of reverb/delay and 35 multi-effects Programmable arpeggiator for creating synth lines or drum patterns *Patches using oscillator sync will be monophonic. Review Mackie C300 Loudspeakers Review Chris Bereznay Last year we reviewed the new 808S PPM (Professional Powered Mixer) from Mackie and found it to be one of the best investments you could make for your band. It even made a great dual purpose tool to use as a mixing front end to our project studio. At the time, we had a pair of Optimus PA cabinets in our review rig that housed a horn and a 15 in each. These cabs would only take 150RMS and 300 Watts peak, I believe, but they sounded great and the dynamic power that the 808S put out into two channels seemed to be a good match. We thought they sounded great with new life being breathed into them after our Acoustic 4 channel powered PA died. Fast forward almost 9 months later and on the doorstep of Music Gear Review arrive a pair of C300 loudspeakers from Mackie. These loudspeakers are designed specifically for the PPM series professional powered mixers and are designed to handle 300 Watts RMS each. You could use these loudspeakers with any powered mixer, however, we just don't know why you'd want to.. 8-) The first thing we always like to do before getting into instruments or vocals when testing amp or pa gear is crank up some tunes with the equipment. After all, you want your rig to sound as good between sets as it does when you're up there putting on a show. The C300s have a wonderful, balanced sound across the whole frequency range with a nice tight bass response that would make them a decent choice for a smaller DJ rig as well as for performing musicians. The tonal characteristics are more reminiscent of a pair of quality stereo speakers than your average PA cab. When it was time to perform, our vocals and especially the acoustic electrics were much more crisp and clean than you might expect with other cabinets in this price range. As far as portability, the units aren't terribly heavy and lugging them to an acoustic gig was a piece of cake. The cabs are also well balanced, which makes them less awkward than some of the other units you've strained your back with before. However, when it comes to sound pressure level, size doesn't necessarily always matter. These cabs can crank and will take every ounce of balls-out power the 808S or any other matched amplifier can deliver. Some of the more interesting things you can do with these loudspeakers may not be evident to you when you first look at them. Due to the asymmetrical shape, you might think that their applications are limited. However, the C300s can actually double as floor monitors in a pinch and with the optional feet that provide improved stability, you can even stack the C300s into a wall of intense sound fury. Depending on your application, you might find other speaker cabs and arrangements more suitable though. For instance, for bands with a lot of bottom end, such as heavy metal, rap or dance we would recommend a good set of subwoofers on either side of the stage with some intense amplifier power behind them. The C300s, though, will outperform just about anything in their price range for most other types of music. Here at Music Gear Review we don't always get into the minutia of product or technical specifications but there are certain things you should know when you're shopping around for products of this type. First off, the C300s will take 300 Watts RMS into an 8 ohm impedance. They're built around a 12" long throw woofer with a 3" voice coil. The C300s have 1/4" speaker jacks and "Speakon" jacks on the back of each unit for your flexibility and convenience. In addition, inserts are built in for stands so setting these up at your gig is a piece of cake. The drivers are of a high output titanium compression variety and the horns are wide dispersion studio quality units. Low impedance compensated cross-overs with full driver protection round off the impressive list of features. Bottom Line: In need of a robust, high quality, reliable sound system with great output and audiophile like reproduction? The C300s paired with an 808S PPM are designed to combine as the perfect system for budget-minded performers, from rock to jazz and/or acoustic solo performers and duos, as well as DJ's, and anyone else prioritizing sound quality over saving a few bucks. When you factor in that Mackie has one of the best extended warranties of any manufacturer in the USA, well all I have to say is, "Buy the best. You'll never be disappointed." Release Roland SH-32 Synthesizer Press Release The SH-32 Synthesizer is a nod to Roland's past with a look toward the future. This 4-part multitimbral synth uses new Wave Acceleration Synthesis to deliver up to 32 voices of fat synth waves and entirely new waveforms. There's also a full complement of knobs and sliders-plus analog-style drums, DSP effects and a killer arpeggiator-giving musicians desktop access to a range of stunning synth sounds at an unbelievable low price. Features: Powerful desktop synthesizer with massive realtime control New Wave Acceleration synthesis creates a variety of synth waves-67 total Includes standard synth waves plus new waveforms like Spectrum and Noise Up to 32-note/4-part multitimbral operation 2 main oscillators and 2 suboscillators with ultra-thick Subsonic mode Pulse width modulation and oscillator "hard" sync capability* Insert and Loop effects processors with 10 types of reverb/delay and 35 multi-effects Programmable arpeggiator for creating synth lines or drum patterns *Patches using oscillator sync will be monophonic. Release New Clavia ddrum4 SE ! Chris Bereznay Hot off the presses is a shot of this awesome upgraded percussion system. We were very impressed with the ddrum units at the NAMM show and now they've been improved! What's NEW you ask? All the same great stuff about ddrum plus...
Make plans to get down to your dealer and check them out this fall! Review Review: Jay Turser JT-200 Serpent Chris Bereznay A few weeks ago a brand new shiny Jay Turser JT-200 Serpent appeared on the MGR doorstep. While we had heard of the Turser brand, we did not have the pleasure of laying our paws on one of their fine guitars until now. There are many brands out there offering decent quality guitars in the sub $1000 price range, so we were interested to see if the Serpent had what it takes to stand out in the crowd. After un-boxing our “Serpent”, we stood in awe at the beautiful purple sunburst top and the shiny gold hardware. Also quite impressive was the cream colored binding found around the body’s edge which is usually not available on guitars in this price range. Nothing, though, prepared us for the exquisite multi-piece Abalone and Mother-of-Pearl, 17 fret-long Serpent inlay. For what was an already stunning guitar, this was the icing on the cake! The JT-200 Serpent is based on a classic design and although there was no question that this axe epitomizes the phrase “eye candy”, we needed to take it for a long, long ride before we determined if it had the “goods”. More often than not we’ve come across one sweet looking guitar after another, only to find when we fire up the tubes that they sound flat, dull or lifeless. From the factory, the Serpent was set up a little too high for our liking. This, of course, is a matter of personal choice. This guitar screams heavy metal and although we could articulate notes and chords beautifully with the higher action, we like the strings “down in the dirt” where we can blaze through our favorite licks and solos. Adjustment was a piece of cake with the Tune-O-Matic style bridge. We had the strings awful close without buzzing and the guitar managed to maintain near-perfect intonation after this adjustment. Soon we were on our way through the workout. We started with our Line 6 POD 2.0 running through a Mackie 808S PA. At ear popping volume levels, we worked this axe through every lick we know utilizing every setting on the POD that we could find. Probably the most fun we had was blasting through the licks in “Still Of The Night” by Whitesnake. With the POD on the Rectifier setting, this rig was reminiscent of Adrian Vandenburg’s signature tone on that album. This guitar offers that classic Paul tone so many have come to know and love. Visions of the hair band days danced in our heads. Next up was our Yamaha DG80-210A, which also provided a nice range of modeled tones to work this Turser guitar through. The Yamaha offers a less overdriven set of modeled tones that are more appropriate for different styles of music such as blues and country. The covered dual humbucker pickups have the sweetest tone when given a little distortion or gain, and although they sounded pretty good on most of the 210’s settings, the true test still remained. Finally, we flicked the toggle switch and lit up the tubes on our Fender Bassman 50. This awesome 1969 model is running into a Fender DT412 cabinet loaded with Celestions. The true test, in my opinion, is when you’ve got a guitar that can burn up the fretboard when overdriven, but still sparkle when a clean tone is required. The result? Not too shabby! Although the humbucker configuration sometimes leads to a muddied clean tone that’s better suited for single coil equipped Strat-style guitars, the Serpent performed just fine in this test. So fine, in fact, that we have no hesitation recommending this guitar for those who like to play the blues or even country once in a while. The tone was very full bodied and darn clean for a set of covered high-gain humbuckers – our recommendation is to simply turn down the pickup volume a tad for the cleanest tone possible. Bottom Line: The $699 price tag puts the Jay Turser JT-200 Serpent in a very competitive category of guitars that are almost all manufactured overseas. The Serpent is no different from that standpoint and holds it’s own in playability and tone for this range. It’s well built, sounds fantastic and plays very nice, but the features that push it over the edge in our opinion are the stunning visual appointments. If you know a dealer in your area that offers the Jay Turser line, you owe it to yourself to get down there and take one of these babies for a spin. Methinks you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Music Gear ReviewsYamaha S70A Acoustic Guitars I recieved this guitar as an inheritance from my late grandfather in June of 2000. The guitar itself is very light, which makes busking pretty easy, if you're into that kinda thing. It takes punishment quite well, as it's been kicking around my grandmother's basement for almost 6 years. Perhaps the best thing is that this guitar will stay properly tuned even after some pretty intense (for an acoustic, anyway) playing. On the other hand, tone seems to be sacrificed for less weight, as the material this guitar is constructed of (not sure what it is though) is a very light material, and the body is fairly thin, sacrificing that "sonourous" quality of the Deans and Gibsons. Also, the neck seems to be almost twice as thick as normal, which makes chording somewhat difficult at times. The guitar is of average quality and is nothing too special. It seems to be able to handle alot of punishment, as the scratches and small dings can attest to, because it plays as well is it ever did, so although the material is somewhat cheaper than normal, it seems to be well put together. This guitar is a decent guitar, well constructed, tough, perfect for a busker or a travelling musician needing a cheap back-up. Although nothing special, this guitar has alot of sentimental value though, and even if it isn't John Lennons Epiphone, I love it. 3 Estarrecido Fender DG14S Acoustic Guitars I brought this guitar from the best music store in Newcastle, Australia - Musos Corner. I paid $400 AUD (although I think it had $499 on the sticker).I brought it as I wanted an Acoustic guitar so I could get that special acoustic sound from it, A sound that you can't quite get, even with an effects pedal on the electric. I have an Electric, but there is nothing like playing an acoustic. I think I like this guitar more then my electric! It's a great sounding guitar. Very light construction and a great finish. Gives me a very crisp and nice clean sound. While Fender dont go all out providing an exciting finish on the guitar, they do go all out to make sure the construction is great, which of course provides for great sound. Plus of course you have a "Fender" sitting on the guitar stand! Well, as it sits here right beside me on it's stand, I can see nothing that I dont like about it... Nothing. It plays really well, sounds great & looks good. I was supprised at the price - I played and seen many guitars which were a whole lot more expensive then this one, yet didn't really appeal to me and what I like in a guitar (Basicly a nice sound, with a good feel and easy to play). It's a very light guitar, and I'm scared if I bump it I will break it... But I'd also be scared if i were driving an expensive car! Nothing to worry about though, I have bumped it a few times, and I can't see any dents or scratches on it. If you take care of your equipment you'll be fine. If you're looking at a new acoustic guitar, this could be the one for you. When I were looking for an Acoustic, it had to be a solid top, very nice sounding, good strings, nice construction and reasonably priced. Well this guitar has all that. It's really worth playing this guitar to compare before you buy one. Even if your budget is a little higher then what this guitar is priced. You'll be supprised! You can see more details on the specifications of the guitar, along with a picture of what it looks like at this web site address: http://www.fender.com/acoustics/acoustic/dg14s.html 5 Jason Hicks Larrivee D-02-12 12 String Acoustic Guitars I purchased this remarkable guitar at the North Chicago Guitar Center for $650. MSRP is about $800. I needed a good sounding acoustic twelve for recording. As a 12-string specialist for 30 years, I went to the store expecting to choose a basic model Martin, Guild or Taylor in the $1000-$1500 range (I've owned all of them at times previous). But I just wasn't happy with the tone or intonation of any of the big names. What a surprise when the salesman brought me this simple-looking dreadnought twelve from Canada. I'm telling you, this guitar stood out immediately from any of the big name models I mentioned. The tone was immediately warm and loud. The bass notes had that satisfying thump you expect from a dreadnought body. And the the treble strings rang nicely with just enough "steel" sound. Most surprising was the lack of the irritatingly loud G or A resonance you often get from dreads. The action was close to perfect, and the notes were so close to being in tune all the way up the neck, I won't have to have a compensated saddle made, like I have done for my twelves in the past. At this price, there are only these nits to pick: It would have been nicer if it came with more information about the specific model I bought. And this supplication to all manufacturers: Please put a strap button near the butt of the neck. Do they really expect us to tie the strap with to the headstock with shoelaces? The D-02-12 is the most basic model dreadnought twelve from Larivee. It has mahogany sides and back, and a solid spruce top. The guitar feels surprisingly light in weight for a twelve. It has an extremely light satin finish and an elegant, transparent pick-guard you can't see from across the room. I found this quote from Larivee's website to be absolutely true: "The guitar's symmetrical bracing eliminates the low-midrange boominess that makes dreadnaughts difficult to amplify and record. It creates focused sound with impressive low-mid clarity when compared with any other dreadnaughts on the market today." Money's worth? In spades. After I bought a case and new Elixir strings I'm still $600 under budget! That's more than I need for the Fishman electronics I will add when I can stand to have the guitar in the shop for a week.Jean Larivee deserves all the success he can get. I can't wait to try his other instruments. 5 Kevin Allan Matson |
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