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| March 2009 Jazz Instrument News |
| Friday, 27 February 2009 12:19 | |||||||
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Shire King 60 Acoustic Amplifier Finding an amplifier that will faithfully reproduce the sonic characteristics of an instrument without in some way tainting or colouring the sound, is almost akin to finding the holy grail. OK, it’s great to have the option of room/hall/chorus/delay etc – and the Shire King will offer you no less than 16 FX programmes on its high quality Alesis digital effects chip. But critically, should you want your amplified instrument to sound identical to it’s unamplified form, this particular 60 watt combo has been built to deliver a clean, neutral and unadulterated sound – and does it deliver! The 68w RMS continuous output power is fed into an 8 ohms, 8” cast frame enlarged magnetic loudspeaker and a 3” moving diaphragm tweeter placed in the small birch ported cabinet ( 17 Litre volume), it’s truncated wedge shape having been finely tuned to offer exceptional tonal evenness, whilst also maximising the projection of the acoustic guitar range. The control panel is recessed into the rear of the top of the cabinet where there are two channels. The first of these comes with a 3 band interactive EQ and carries two high impedance inputs – one of which is an extra high > 20 meg ohms and is uniquely optimsed for ultra high impedance passive pick ups. The second channel has a high impedance input that will take active as well as undersaddle pick ups and a balanced locking XLR microphone socket, which can accept both dynamic and phanthom powered mics, the latter being activated by means of an accompanying switch. There is also a balanced XLR D.I. output, a line out, tuner out, FX loop send and return and a jack socket for phones. However, perhaps the most useful addition to this combo is the 230V to 115V voltage selector switch, which means that you can happily plug in and play whether you’re in London, Lisbon, Lusaka or L.A. Go to www.headwayelectronics.com Bossa Nova Guitar Instruction Bossa Nova has become firmly entrenched in the jazz style and this new offering from the Hal Leonard stable provides an interesting introduction to the genre through easy to access basic styles, while also offering a few valuable indicators and pathways for the more advanced player. As you would expect, rhythmic patterns are discussed in both simple and more complex forms, as is composer Joao Gilberto’s unique and individual approach to harmonic vocabulary. A full two pages of chord charts show the fingering positions for seemingly every possible chord voicing that you’re ever likely to need in a Bossa ensemble, from the relatively straightforward minor 11 to the more involved o7b13. Coming with the now obligatory CD of ‘this is how it should sound’ and backing tracks, this is a volume that no Bossa enthusiast, or musician looking to expand their repertoire should be without. Go to www.musicsales.com Solea Electro Classical Guitar The Solea hails from a small independent Lutherie in Kremona, Bulgaria. Handbuilt, with highly figured solid Cocobolo (S.American hardwood) back and sides and a solid red cedar top sourced from the same forests as were the Stradavari instruments, the Solea has a clean, clear tone with exceptional separation and articulation. The smooth Honduras cedar neck and the black marble-like ebony fingerboard make playing a pleasure and on our particular sample, the setup was perfect – somewhere between the classical and flamenco. The electric side of the instrument is however the most interesting. Fitted in the UK by distributors Sandarac, the beauty of the active Mi-Si Acoustic Trio system is that it is battery free. No 9 volt . No hassle. And comes with a pre-amp designed specifically to work with the LR Baggs undersaddle acoustic guitar pickup. The marketing blurb tells me that the preamp uses Mi-Si’s custom piezo linearization scheme, to produce the most truthful and accurate sound from the pickup. Amen! In many years of listening, I have rarely heard such a faithful reproduction of the acoustic sound of an instrument. And powering up the preamp is a piece of cake: place the jack end of the Mi-Si Power Charger into the end pin and switch on for 60 seconds. You’re fully charged, with an incredible 16 hours playing time! For more go to Sandarac.co.uk
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