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Pitchfork: Track Reviews
Clipse [ft. After sitting idly on the Clipse website for more than four months, "Zen" has finally found its way to the blogiverse. Thank the heavens for that. The current that courses through Clipse songs, like the electro-schizo scrambler that constitutes the anti-melody here, is always an event.
At the Sounding Edge: FreeWheeling
An introduction to audio looping software and a fun program to test drive it.
Hangin with Roy
Roy Head is ready to rock your world. Seeing the venerable Texas music veteran onstage is an experience like no other, the kind of performance gone unseen since Elvis Presley left the scene 28 summers ago.
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Also available is the DI-100X direct box ($), which offers the active functions of the DI-1000 but doesn't contain the Jensen Transformer. BBE Sound; tel. (714) 897-6766 or (800) 233-8346; e-mail ; Web .com.
PLAY BALL
The round Ball ($279) from Blue Microphones is the first dynamic microphone that uses phantom power (48V). Because of that feature, the mic offers the acoustic balance, phase coherence, and low noise of a large-diaphragm condenser mic. Phantom power improves overall output and helps the mic produce a constant 50A3/4 load for a smooth response that's not frequency dependent.
The Ball has a cardioid polar pattern and can withstand high SPLs (up to 146 dB) without distortion. The manufacturers claim the unit's frequency response is 35 Hz to 16 kHz with sensitivity of mV/PA at 1 kHz. The stand mount is built into the mic, eliminating the need for a separate mic clip. Blue Microphones; tel. (805) 370-1599; e-mail ; Web .com.
FREQ OUT
Drummers, save your duct tape. Evans' Min-EMAD ($) is a small, simple damping device that offers control of unwanted drumhead frequencies. EMAD stands for Externally Mounted Adjustable Damping device and consists of a fabric bridge that connects the drumhead with the drum's comparatively inert counterhoop.
Attached by Velcro dots to both head and rim, the Min-EMAD damps the vibrations of the head and removes overtones. Because the device causes minimal interference with the drum head, the result is a focused, unchoked tone. You can attach the Min-EMAD close to the rim for minimal reduction of overtones or further from the rim for increased damping. Extending the Min-EMAD to its full length or using it on both the batter and the resonant heads provides maximum damping.
When not in use, you can get the Min-EMAD out of the way by attaching it to the counterhoop with Velcro. Min-EMADs are available in packages of six, with two each of small, medium, and large sizes. Evans Drumheads; tel. (631) 439-3300; e-mail ; Web .com.
ONE BAD MF
Today's heavy rock often features detuned-6-string, 7-string, and baritone guitars, and those require amps with high gain, expanded headroom, and beefed-up low-end response. In other words, guitarists need amps with louder, clearer, and punchier tone. To meet that demand, Marshall Amplification now offers the 350W Mode Four MF350 ($1,699) amp head. The Mode Four line also includes four different Celestion-loaded 4x12-inch cabinets (prices range from $1,299 to $1,399).
The Mode Four's new look distinguishes it from Marshall's other amps and offers a more intuitive placement for the front-panel controls.
Most significantly, Marshall touts Mode Four's ability to deliver clean tones as well as the overdriven sounds that are the company's hallmark. The MF350 features a two-amplifiers-in-one design. Amp 1 and amp 2 each offer two modes that are accessible with a footswitch, for a total of four modes.
Marshall calls amp 1 the Classic amp, offering Clean and Crunch modes; amp 2 features a high-gain, modern amp with two overdrive modes: OD1 and OD2. Amp 1 and amp 2 each offer independent, valve (tube) preamp sections. Korg USA, Inc. (distributor); tel. (516) 333-9100; Web .com.
SYNTH YOU ASKED
The new 61-key V-Synth ($2,695) from Roland combines the company's expertise in sampling and analog modeling with its VariPhrase technology, and throws in a host of real-time control features to boot. The keyboard has two oscillators that each have a selection of either analog modeling, real-time audio input, or sample playback. The synth's VariPhrase features offer time and pitch compression and expansion, without the characteristic "munchkin" and "Darth Vader" effects that characterize those processes.
The V-Synth ships with roughly 300 sampled sounds, but you can overwrite the factory samples with your own. A built-in USB port allows you to import WAV or AIFF files directly from a computer.
In addition to reverb, chorus, and 41 multi-effects, the V-Synth offers new COSM processors. Notable among them are the Side Band Filter, which can create pitched tones from inharmonic sounds, and vice-versa; a polyphonic guitar-amp modeler; and a Wave Shaper.
Perhaps V-Synth's most interesting feature is its TimeTrip Pad. The pad is a 2-axis touchscreen that lets you play waveforms with backward or forward motions of the fingertips. Front-panel buttons and more than 20 knobs and sliders give instant access to synth parameters. Roland Corporation .; tel. (323) 890-3700; Web .com.
ROAD WARRIOR
The Electro-Voice two-way Gladiator G115 loudspeaker ($698) and the G118 subwoofer ($698) are designed to reproduce modern dance music. The Gladiator system has extended low-frequency response, and EVI's Ring-Mode Decoupling (RMD) feature provides extended high frequencies and clarity in vocal registers.
The Gladiator G115 two-way enclosure features a high-output EV-15FR 15-inch woofer, 60[degrees] by 40[degrees] controlled coverage, and a DH2010 compression driver for extended high-frequency output and reliability. Electro-Voice rates the sensitivity at 99 dB and output at 400W continuous power, with 1,600W peak power handling.
The Gladiator G118 sub features an EV-18S 18-inch woofer with high-power 4-layer voice coil and an extended frequency response to 32 Hz. The subwoofer provides 400W continuous power with a 1,600W peak power rating. The G118's design allows one amplifier channel to drive its built-in crossover. Because that crossover carries the full-range output, no additional crossovers or amps are needed.
The speakers are protected by the company's patented RoadWood enclosures, steel grilles, high-impact corners, and comfortable handles. Electro-Voice (EVI); tel. (952) 884-4051; Web .com.
LANDMARK EVENT
The two-channel Landmark 300 bass amp head ($895) from Tech 21 is a 2-rackspace, 300W version of its older sibling, the Landmark 600. As with the 600, the unit uses the company's SansAmp Tube Amplifier Emulation technology for a variety of vintage and modern tube-amp sounds and overdriven tones.
Channel 1 offers the features of the SansAmp Bass Driver DI, including adjustments for drive, presence, level, and active bass and treble controls. The Blend control lets you mix your instrument's direct signal with the SansAmp processing.
Channel 2 is designed similarly to the SansAmp Acoustic DI. Controls include Drive, Level, and active Bass and Treble. You also get a parametric EQ for boosting or notching out specific frequencies.
You can switch channels manually or use any standard latching footswitch. The optional Tech 21 BFSW footswitch ($) lets you switch between channels, engage both channels simultaneously, or mute the output to tune your bass.
The Landmark 300's SansAmp XLR Direct Output can switch from -10 to 0 dB, letting you plug straight into the mixer of a recorder or . system, eliminating the need to mic your cabinet. Tech 21; tel. (973) 777-6996; ; Web .com.
IN A SILENT WAY
The SLG100S ($899) is Yamaha's steel-string counterpart to its nylon-string Silent Guitar. Because the instrument has no acoustic sound chamber, it gives you privacy during practice sessions and offers live performers acoustic steel-string guitar sounds without feedback issues.
The streamlined instrument has a lightweight composite body, mahogany neck, and rosewood fingerboard. The neck features an adjustable rod.
The SLG100S is equipped with . Baggs piezoelectric pickups. The guitar provides a built-in DSP that reproduces different acoustic spaces. An auxiliary a-inch, ministereo jack on the body of the instrument provides input for an external CD player or tape machine. The instrument sports a a-inch jack for connection to an amplifier or . system for live performances. As with its nylon-string sibling, the SLG100S can be broken down quickly for transportation. The package includes a gig bag, headphones, and an AC adapter. Yamaha Corporation of America; tel. (714) 522-9011; e-mail ; Web: .com.
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