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INTERVIEWS — The Amity Affliction, Morcheeba, Kikagaku Moyo + more
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REVIEWED — Fender Lead Series, Pioneer DJ 200 Controller, Solid State Logic SSL 2,
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CONTENTS 8 10 11 12 15 16 17 18 20 25 27 28 29 30 45 46
Foreword
Giveaways Industry News Music News Product News Cover Story: Polaris The Amity Affliction, Between The Buried and Me Sleaford Mods, Kikagaku Moyo Allah - Lahs, Morcheeba NAMM Special Musicology Electronic Guitar, Bass Percussion Product Reviews Directory My Rig: Tim Maxwell
NAMM time is an exciting time around the Mixdown office. It’s a time where innovation and invention are put to the fore, where we catch a quick glimpse of the future while paying homage to the icons of the past. It’s a time where we can start piecing together where music is heading, simply by looking at the tools on offer. Musicians have a particularly close relationship with technology. We have had whole genres birthed by particular pieces of gear, watched playing and composition styles continually evolve (often informed by new equipment and effects) and seen manufacturers clamour to keep up with the rapidly evolving technical demands of their customer base. This issue looks to explore the symbiotic relationship between musicians and tech and the effect this has on the broader musical landscape. I’m having NAMM flashbacks already.
Polaris PG.15
Kikagaku Moyo PG. 17
Enjoy. PAUL FRENCH-EDITOR
/MIXDOWNMAGAZINE @MIXDOWNMAGAZINE @MIXDOWNMAGAZINE MIXDOWNMAG.COM.AU
Morcheeba
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JUNE 2019
APRIL 2019
MAY 2019
MADE BY MUSICIANS, FOR MUSICIANS STREET AND ONLINE DATE: WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 26 AD BOOKING DEADLINE: MONDAY FEBRUARY 17 EDITORIAL DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19 ARTWORK DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 19 For more information on Mixdown Magazine contact us at: (03) 9428 3600 or email paul@furstmedia.com.au
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INTERVIE Beartooth WS — , James Amyl & The Sniff Blake, Frank Iero, ers + more
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EDITOR Paul French paul@furstmedia.com.au
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Jessica Over, Eddy Lim, Lewis NokeEdwards, Josh Martin, Taylor Douglas, Ben Eizenberg, Ciara Allen
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the new album
feat. soak
me in bleach & all my friends are dead
out feb 21
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GIVEAWAYS
Last Month’s Giveaway Winners IK Multimedia UNO Drum
The Amity Affliction Merch Pack Giveaway Australian metalcore sensations The Amity Affliction are set to release their new record Everyone Loves You… Once You Leave Them this month, and to celebrate, they’ve chucked us a massive merch pack to giveaway. Thanks to The Amity Affliction and Warner Music Australia, we’re giving away a copy of the new record on a slime green vinyl, as well as a signed poster from the band –how sick is that!
IK Multimedia’s UNO Drum drum machine might just be the coolest little thing we’ve had our hands on in a long time. It’s packed to the brim with crisp analogue and PCM sounds, while the powerful sequencer, inbuilt effects and other features make it suitable for use both in the studio and on the stage. Courtesy of our good friends at Sound & Music, we had one of these to give away: drum roll please… Congratulations to Luana from Adelaide, South Australia!
JVB Strings Polymer Coated Strings JVB Strings have been a mainstay in Australian music stores for years, providing guitarists of all creed and calibre with high-quality, affordable strings and accessories. Their recently-released Polymer Coated Strings have been celebrated by several prominent guitarists down under for their bright tone and tendency to sound and feel new even after months of living on your fretboard. JVB Strings gave us an entire year’s supply to give away, and the winner is: John from Melbourne, Victoria!
For your chance to win any of these prizes, head to our giveaways page at mixdownmag.com.au/giveaway and follow the instructions. *These giveaways are for Australian residents only and one entry per person. For full terms and conditions visit mixdownmag.com.au/terms-and-conditions
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INDUSTRY NEWS
Troye Sivan & Alex Hope Hit A Billion Streams Troye Sivan and songwriter / producer Alex Hope entered an exclusive club – for Aussies who hit a billion global streams with one song – within their 2015 hit single ‘Youth’. Others on APRA AMCOS’ The 1,000,000,000 List are Nat Dunn (for MARSHMELLO’S ‘Friends’), Dean Lewis (for ‘Be Alright’), Flume (for ‘Never Be Like You’), Jake Mason, Ivan Khatchoyan, and Lance Ferguson (for Cookin’ On 3 Burners ‘This Girl’) and Starley and P-Money (for ‘Call On Me’).
Sydney Lock Out Laws Come To A (Near) End Sydney’s nightlife is slowly but surely getting its mojo back after its dreaded lockout laws were lifted on Tuesday January 14 after five years (except in Kings Cross). It’s far too early to see how the new night time Sydney will pan out after wheels-up. Will the 500,000 under-30s who stopped coming into the city eventually return? Or have they found party destinations outside the city precincts? Will Sydney make back the $16 billion its night time economy lost as a result of the lockouts and the negative publicity surrounding them? A quick ring-around of venue operators showed that no one expects the city to return to what it was in 2014. Venues have reported a shift towards providing entertainment where booze is not the central theme. There’s also the understanding that the live sector needs to collaborate with others to make night time Sydney work. Australian Hotels Association NSW Director of Liquor and Policing John Green said he expected numbers to build over the months, as people realised it was safe again. “The lockout laws were actually a source of conflict and as a result, venues weren’t expecting an increase in patronage straight away,” he noted. Michael Rodrigues, chair of the Night Time Industries Association, called the lifting “a turning point for the city” and “the beginning of Sydney getting its mojo back.” He added, “We need to channel the spirit of Sydney in the late ‘90s as we prepared to showcase ourselves to the world during the 2000 Olympics. That effort saw all stakeholders come together: industry, health, police and transport, collaborating to produce a great result.”
The West Australian Music Industry Association (WAM) was granted $89,361 for its awards, conference, festival, regional recording and touring and audience building programs. Melbourne Electronic Sound Studio will use $75,000.00 for creative development, workshops, concerts, public access & residencies. Other recipients were Evelyn Morris ($18,615.57) to travel to the USA for mentoring & career development and play shows; Leah Flanaghan ($29,650) to develop a live show and tour it; Laura Jean ($19,720.00) to record an LP in London with producer John Parish Hatchie ($23,324) for an 11-date US tour; Melbourne indie Chapter Music ($41,326.00) to release eight Aussie albums this year; and NT all-female alt-rock band The Ripple Effect, who sing in five Aboriginal languages as well as in English ($11,250) to tour Tasmania and Melbourne.
Deadline For Gold Coast Music Awards Nominations for the 2020 Gold Coast Music Awards close on February 28 with finalists being announced on April 2. Categories are: Artist of the Year, Breakout Artist, Best Live Act, Best Musician (instrumentalist/vocalist), Best Release (album or EP), Best Song, Best Venue and Best Video.
U2’s Australian Joshua Tree Tour Earnings Revealed A report by Billboard on the US$390.8 million that U2’s The Joshua Tree tour made globally (3.3 million tickets over 65 shows) noted that its eight Australian shows grossed $35.7 million (A$51.8 million).
Associations + Artists Receive Government Grants
The Rise And Rise Of TikTok
Two major state associations were among those receiving grants from the Federal Government via the Australia Council.
TikTok generates US$40 million a month and now the second most downloaded app *after WhatsApp) in the world. App monitor service Sensor Tower said that TikTok downloads hit a record 220 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, which was a 24% rise over the quarter before. Most downloads were in India, with Brazil second. In the fourth quarter, TikTok revenue was up 540% from the third quarter of 2018.
MusicNT received $100,000 to continue building up Northern Territory’s contemporary music sector. This is via the National Indigenous Music Awards and newly expanded NT Music Awards to skills programs & industry development for indigenous women and remote musicians.
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Number Crunching $50 million unofficial target for the six-city Sound Relief concert for bushfire victims. £7 million made by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape Of You’ in Spotify royalties. 57,000 votes a day for the triple j Hottest 100. £569, retail price of Muse frontman Matt Bellamy’s Manson Meta Series MBM-1 available in Satin Black and Starlight Silver. 65,000 tickets sold for Sydney’s Fire Fight Australia bushfire fundraiser in five hours $1.75 million price tag for the car rap legend Tupac Shakur was assassinated in. 800 pills a teenager at the Epik Festival had in her bra and a further 200 in her body.
Venues Update: Renovations, Closures + More Bowing to the trend of acts offering “their own amazing audio-visual experience”. Metropolis Fremantle (WA) spent $1 million in huge screens around the venue, including one above the dancefloor, and 360-degree lighting.. Adelaide’s LUX nightclub in Hindley Street opened as a women’s-only venue where women can “dance, mingle and enjoy” and “own the night” without the presence of men unless they’ve been accompanied in by women. Adelaide’s HQ nightclub, which started in 2006, is closing, with owners explaining it’s not generating enough money. Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley gets a new live music venue in mid-February. No details at the time of writing, but it replaces the Bowery Bar which closed last month after a 17 year run. Gold Coast nightclub NXT LVL which opened in September 2019 – fitted with a custombuilt Funktion One sound system and an entire LED illuminated ceiling designed and programmed by Madrix Germany – closed suddenly. Karova Lounge in Ballarat in country Victoria, which closed mid-October citing financial reasons, returns this month as Volta Arts & Culture. Aside from gigs, it will also rent out the space for rehearsals, recording and podcasting.
Sydney’s Sly Fox in Enmore pulled the plug after failing to get a 24-hour licence after 30 years, blaming “horrific lies from local residents and arguably unlawful tactics of the Inner West Council.” After a silent two years, Piano Bar in Ballarat, Victoria, is rebooting, this time in the Sturt Street site of the old Sutton’s House of Music.
New Research Into Roadie Welfare CrewCare has enlisted the University Sunshine Coast (USC) to undertake research specific to the welfare of Australian technical and backstage personnel in the Australian live music and entertainment scenes. Scientific data will generate more funding, advocacy and workplace improvements. Consultation starts March/April.
A Few Other Things... Which major star wants to set up a festival in coastal NSW with Elvis Costello headlining? Which music promoter is in talks with the Queensland government to build a 10,000seat stadium with a retractable roof on the Gold Coast? Which music legend has applied to build a $11 million house in the NSW North Coast? Which popular Brisbane bar was shot at, a few weeks after a suspicious fire started there? Lee Kernaghan equalled the late Slim Dusty’s record tally of 38 Golden Guitars after his Backroad Nation was top selling album at the Country Music Awards. Spike Jonze’s Beastie Boys documentary will be screened on AppleTV in April. GangGAJANG are taking an indefinite break. After farewelling the Gold Coast in October, the Buskers by The Creek festival returns, with artist applications going live this month on its website. French DJ Vincent Limas spent four weeks in a Northern Territory jail after pleading guilty in the Supreme Court to possessing cocaine while on a backpacking trip to Katherine. Mastercard has gone into the music business, releasing a single.
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MUSIC NEWS
Tame Impala Announce Huge Australian Tour
Alanis Morissette Locked In For Bluesfest 2020
Thundercat Announces New Record It Is What It Is
Rally your crew – Tame Impala have confirmed that they’ll be touring around the country this April in support of their highly anticipated record The Slow Rush. Kevin Parker and co. are set to take their lucid live spectacle to arenas in all major capital cities, with Texan psych-funk trio Khruangbin locked in to support the group on all dates. It’ll be the first time Tame Impala have embarked on their own tour on local soil since releasing Currents in 2015, so you better expect these shows to be big. Head online for tickets now.
Just when you think Bluesfest is going to wind down with the announcements, this happens: Alanis Morissette has been added to perform on the Friday night of the festival. The Canadian alt-rock legend will be performing her seminal 1995 LP Jagged Little Pill in its entirety, celebrating 25 years since its release in style. Bluesfest have also added Grammy Award winning RnB/Gospel singer Tori Kelly to its massive lineup, making for one hell of a Easter long weekend – don’t sleep on tickets to this one.
Bass wizard Thundercat has finally announced the follow-up to his masterful 2017 release Drunk, titled It Is What It Is, as well as releasing lead single ‘Black Quall’ with Steve Lacy and Steve Arrington. The new record is slated for release via Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder imprint in April, and sees the revered session gun teaming up with an illustrious cast of artists including Childish Gambino, Kamasi Washington, BADBADNOTGOOD, Ty Dolla $ign, Lil B and comedian Zack Fox. Needless to say, we’re super hyped for this one.
The Amity Affliction Detail New Album
Cable Ties Share New Single ‘Sandcastles’
Pearl Jam Are Back With Gigaton
Australian metalcore heroes The Amity Affliction have surprised fans with the news that they’re releasing a new record this month. Everyone Loves You…Once You Leave Them marks what the band call a return to their heavy roots after dabbling with electronic influences on their 2018 effort Misery, saying “We wanted to make a heavier album to back up our most recent releases to let our fans know that we understand what the majority want to hear from us.” Everyone Loves You…Once You Leave Them comes out via Warner Music Australia on Friday February 21.
Red Hot Chili Peppers To Record New LP With John Frusciante After being hit with the shocking news last month that he’d rejoined the group for the third time, Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith revealed in a recent interview that the band have been writing new material with prodigal guitarist John Frusciante. While details on a new record are yet to emerge, Flea has previously said a new album would arrive some time in 2020, however, it’s unknown whether how much material was recorded with former guitarist Josh Klinghoffer. Either way, we’re stoked to see Frusciante back in the fold.
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Melbourne punk rockers Cable Ties have left quite the impression after debuting the punishing first single from their forthcoming record Far Enough. Driven by a relentless rhythm section and embellished with angular, feedbacking guitars, ‘Sandcastles’ sees guitarist and vocalist Jenny McKechnie admonish those apathetic, close-minded groups who sneer at legitimate parties trying to make a positive change in the world. It’s a formidable lead offering, and we can’t wait to hear the record in full when it lands via Poison City/Merge Records in March.
King Krule Teases Man Alive! South London iconoclast Archy Marshall has announced the third record for release under his famous King Krule moniker, Man Alive! Set for release via XL Recordings on Friday February 21, Man Alive! will feature fourteen tracks, and is supported by the bleak lead single ‘(Don’t Let The Dragon) Draag On’. The last time we heard from King Krule was with his genre-defying 2017 LP The Ooz, which was considered by many to be one of the best releases of the year – no pressure Archy. We’re sure it’ll be just as good.
Time to don the plaid again! After months of speculation, grunge legends Pearl Jam have confirmed the release date for their first studio album in seven years. Gigaton will hit shelves around the country on Friday March 27, with guitarist Mike McCready lamenting the recording process in a recent statement. “Making this record was a long journey. It was emotionally dark and confusing at times, but also an exciting and experimental road map to musical redemption. Collaborating with my bandmates on Gigaton ultimately gave me greater love, awareness and knowledge of the need for human connection in these times.”
Code Orange Confirm Release Date For Underneath Celebrated hardcore group Code Orange have plotted a course to follow up on their incendiary 2017 release Forever, debuting the industrial-tinged single ‘Underneath’ and announcing an album of the same name. Underneath features production from the band’s drummer/vocalist Jami Morgan, Nick Raskulinecz and Will Yip, with Morgan staking the claim that the record will be “more relevant than anything that’s coming out in rock and metal this year.” It’s due to drop on Friday March 13 on Roadrunner Records, so I guess we’ll have to wait till then to see if he’s right.
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PRODUCT NEWS Fender Fleshes Out The Player Series FENDER MUSIC AUSTRALIA | FENDER.COM.AU Fender have given the Player Series a colourful facelift for 2020, reintroducing the Mustang, Mustang 90, Duo-Sonic and the short-scale Mustang P/J Bass. Although the specs remain the same, these funky offsets are now available in a range of vibrant finishes, including Tidepool, Seafoam Green, Firemist Gold and Burgundy Mist. They’ve also thrown a bit of a curveball with the relaunch of the long-lost Lead II and III models – more on that later on.
Line 6 Launch The Compact POD Go YAMAHA MUSIC AUSTRALIA | AU.YAMAHA.COM Line 6’s new POD Go aims to combine all the best features and tech from their Helix modelling rig with the portability and price you’d expect from a POD. Packed with over 270 HX amp models, emulations of classic valve and solid state amp models and a wide range of vintage and modern effects, there’s really no sound that you can’t conquer with this new unit. You can even load in third party Impulse Responses to create your own cabinet models. Expect to see these bad boys in stores some time in April.
Two Notes Engineering Debut The Torpedo Captor X
Channel Your Inner Dilla With Akai’s MPC One
INNOVATIVE MUSIC | INNOVATIVEMUSIC.COM.AU
ELECTRIC FACTORY | ELFA.COM.AU
Ever wanted a Swiss Army Knife for your guitar amp? This is probably the closest you’ll get. The Torpedo Captor X from Two Notes Engineering combines a compact reactive load box, a tube amp attenuator, mic’d cab simulator, impulse response loader and stereo expander into one single package, making for one hell of a tool for live or studio work. It’s also loaded with an XLR DI output with three routing options, MIDI capability and the option to be controlled via Two Notes’ mobile app. Welcome to the future everybody.
After the success of the MPC Live, Akai have continued down the standalone path with the launch of the MPC One. Although it lacks the inbuilt battery and wireless connectivity of its older sibling, the MPC One still gives producers a chance to get away from their laptops, with its 7” touchscreen, Q-links, pressure sensitive pads and integrated loop library allowing you to chop up samples and layer sequences with ease. Keep your eyes peeled for it in stores soon!
Meris Team Up With Chase Bliss For The CXM 1978 Reverb STUDIO CONNECTIONS | STUDIOCONNECTIONS.COM.AU
Ernie Ball Ships Flat Ribbon Patch Cables CMC MUSIC | CMCMUSIC.COM.AU Organise your pedalboard in style with Ernie Ball’s new flat ribbon patch cables, which are expected to arrive in stores this month. The flat design of these cables lets you optimise your pedalboard real estate to the umpteenth degree, while their high-quality shielding construction ensures low noise and improved durability, making these a no-brainer for routing your board. It’s a new decade – do away with those shoddy patch leads and treat your pedals to the quality they deserve.
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Meris and Chase Bliss, arguably two of the most forward-thinking pedal manufacturers in the game, have joined forces to create the CXM 1978 Reverb, a futuristic take on the classic Lexicon 224. Featuring moving faders for automated preset and MIDI control and an incredible 32 bit AD/DA conversion rate, the CXM 1978 boasts three classic Hall, Room and Plate algorithms, while a LoFi mode can also be toggled for darker digital tones. We cannot wait for this!
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PRODUCT NEWS
Apogee Aim For The Big Leagues With The Symphony Desktop AMBER TECHNOLOGY | AMBERTECH.COM.AU Apogee have announced the new Symphony Desktop, a highquality 10x14 USB audio interface with a bounty of incredible specs and features. Boasting a touchscreen interface, the Symphony Desktop uses inbuilt DSP processing in unison with analogue circuitry to deliver the hybrid Alloy Mic Preamps, with emulations of British Solid State and US Tube preamps coming with the unit as standard. There’s also native and hardware DSP versions of the Symphony ECS Channel Strip, MIDI over USB, a FET guitar input and more. We’re hyped for it!
Ernie Ball’s VPJR Tuner Is Landing In Stores Soon
Aston Stealth Wins NAMM TEC Award
Framus Detail The Affordable D-Series Stormbender
CMC MUSIC | CMCMUSIC.COM.AU
LINK AUDIO | LINKAUDIO.COM.AU
AMBER TECHNOLOGY | AMEBRTECH.COM.AU
The Ernie Ball VPJR Tuner is the perfect combination of two incredibly underrated pedals, packing a digital tuner into the chassis of a super-functional volume pedal to make sure you save on precious pedalboard real estate. The pedal features a fast and accurate chromatic tuner with graphic volume display that is visually attractive and easy to operate, while the display automatically switches between tuner and volume modes depending on the signal level to let you tune at a low volume – we can’t wait to check it out!
Three cheers for Aston! The boutique British brand's coveted Stealth microphone has snagged the prize for 'Best Microphone - Sound Reinforcement' at NAMM's Technical Excellence and Creative Awards. NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) said: “Aston Microphones has already proved that not only can a British team design some of the best microphones in the world, but they can build them in the UK and make them affordable for everyone too." Wholeheartedly, we agree – these microphones are worth all the hype.
Want Devin Townsend tones that won’t dent the bank? Framus are shipping a D-Series variant of last year’s speccy Stormbender signature guitar, featuring a deluxe AAAA flame maple veneer top, mahogany body, tiger-stripe ebony fretboard and a set maple neck for enhanced sustain. It’s also loaded with Townsend’s Fishman Fluence signature pickups in the neck and bridge position, and is finished in a shadowy high gloss black for a menacing aesthetic. Time to get heavy.
Kemper Debut The High Tech Kone INNOVATIVE MUSIC | INNOVATIVEMUSIC.COM.AU Well, this is big: Kemper have announced the Kone, a 12” full range DSP-driven speaker that lets you mine through tones to digitally imprint a range of speaker characteristics into a single cabinet. Available either as a standalone speaker or inside the Kabinet, the Kone lets you fuse and choose between a wide range of famous guitar speakers, and will receive full support via Kemper’s comprehensive software. No word yet on when these will land, but we reckon it’s got the potential to be a bit of a game changer.
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IK Multimedia Announce The iRig Duo Pro SOUND & MUSIC | SOUND-MUSIC.COM.AU IK Multimedia have released an updated version of the iRig Pro DUO I/O, a super compact recording interface which is compatible with iOS, Android, Mac and Windows. It’s loaded with two new and improved preamps, MIDI compatibility and bus/AA battery power, and features a new rubberized coating and connectivity for USB-C. It looks like a super versatile portable recording solution, and would make for a great addition to any mobile studio setup.
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STRATOCASTER
Learn more at F E N D E R .C OM
©2020 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. FENDER, FENDER in script, TELECASTER & STRATOCASTER and the distinctive headstock commonly found on Fender guitars and basses are registered trademarks of FMIC. Acoustasonic is a trademark of FMIC. Stringed Instrument Resonance System (SIRS) is U.S. Patent Pending. All rights reserved. Fishman is a registered trademark of Fishman Transducers, Inc.
POLARIS'S JOURNEY THROUGH PURGATORY Polaris aren’t here to fuck around. With just one full length album and a couple of cheeky EP’s under their belts, Sydney’s finest metalcore five-piece has been making massive waves in the heavy music scene. Since the release of their first LP, The Mortal Coil back in 2017, they’ve been making the rounds, supporting the likes of Architects and Parkway Drive, as well as embarking on their fair share of sold-out headline shows around the country and headlining Australia’s favourite emo summer camp, Unify Festival, in January. Finding time between their hectic touring schedule, the band has finally finished their heavily anticipated second studio album The Death of Me. “The growth we’ve had over the past two years has been quite surprising, it definitely did catch us off guard,” says lead vocalist Jamie Hails. “The Mortal Coil tour, which was just over two years ago now, the rooms we were playing then we were like, ‘god damn, are we really going to be playing to these size crowds?’ Then next minute that whole tour sold out completely, which blew us away. Since then it’s been every major city headliner since then the crowds have been upped, the venues bigger than we ever thought we would be doing. It’s been a lot to take in, and a lot of it’s been us pinching ourselves being like, ‘is this reality, is this really happening?’” After the mind-blowing success of the first album and the growth of the band, Polaris’ new release The Death of Me is left with a lot to live up to. Pushing the boundaries of their iconic sound and taking every element of their music up a notch, the band are ready to take this album to the next level. “There was a lot of stress and pressure we created for ourselves,” says Hails. “The Mortal Coil did so much more than we expected it to do, so following up an album that did so well set ourselves a standard and a level that we have to maintain and also beat, so it was quite a bit of a task that we had set ourselves. And I feel like we’ve achieved that with The Death of Me. To be on the other side, with the finished product that we have now, I’m very excited for people to hear it.” Polaris instigated the album with the release of singles ‘Masochist’ and ‘Hypermania’, which had fans speculating the direction in which the sound of the band would be heading with their new release.
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"WE’VE GONE THROUGH HELL GETTING THIS RECORD DONE. I’M VERY PROUD OF THE SONGS WE HAVE, AND VERY PROUD OF WHO WE ARE AS PEOPLE" “If you’re a fan of Polaris and especially if you like The Mortal Coil, then you’re going to like The Death of Me,” Hails teases. “There’s stuff in there for what people are expecting, but there are also a lot of different songs and parts that people aren’t expecting and that we push our boundaries on. There’s a slightly different take on some things. “In the lead up to recording the album, what we had achieved with The Mortal Coil it was that no two songs were the exact same. For us personally, the five of us get a bit bored when we listen to bands when it’s a whole album of songs that pretty much sound exactly the same. When we write music, we write for ourselves.” “Obviously, we keep in mind what our fans want, but we write music that we think is awesome and that we want to play. With The Mortal Coil, you had your heavier elements, you had your softer elements, melodic elements and everything in between. Now, it gave us the opportunity to elaborate on that even more – to go heavier than we’ve ever gone before, go softer than we have before,
go a lot more melodic than we have before, go a lot more meaningful than we have before.” While the band were subsequently satisfied with the final product, the recording process of The Death of Me didn’t go to exactly to plan due to their massive touring schedule. “We went to Mollymook, the same holiday house we recorded in last time, when we did The Mortal Coil. We were there for just about two months, which was longer than when we recorded the first album and by the end of it, we only came out of it with half an album. We didn’t have the album finished, and then we had to go on tour. When we were touring, we had to write while we were on the road, which doesn’t necessarily work for us. So we were stressing about that, thinking, how are we going to get this album finished when we only have this short amount of time at home between this tour, and this short amount of time between this tour and this tour, and this album has to be done by then or we won’t have an album coming out when we wanted to. “Because of how extensive our touring schedule was so there was a lot of doubt because the album wasn’t done, and it was looking like it wasn’t going to get done. So because of that, we weren’t in the right mindset to be writing because we had so much stress. Like, how could we let time slip between our hands like it did, and how had it not come together? But all in all, we’re now on the other side of it and we’ve gone through hell getting this record done. I’m very proud of the songs we have, and very proud of who we are as people and how we’ve come through all this.” In 2020, we can expect to see Polaris take The Death of Me as far as they can worldwide, touring to places they’ve never been before and returning to cities they’ve enjoyed playing in the past. “We really want to take our band as far as we can go and just keep pushing and pushing.” “I’m very excited for everyone to hear this because I believe this is the best and truest representation of Polaris musically, lyrically and emotionally and it’s a very raw and real record. The title says it all.” BY CIARA ALLEN
The Death of Me arrives on Friday 21 February via Resist Records. Catch Polaris on their headline tour around Australia this month.
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MUSIC INTERVIEWS Despite an extraordinary touring schedule by a band, hiveminded and rarely apart, the writing process for The Amity Affliction’s latest album begins quite humbly and solitary with guitarist Dan Brown. “I live on a laptop and I do everything with a bunch of plugins…. I use Pro Tools, using predominantly the Prominy V-Metal plugin, it’s a guitar sample bank of sounds, they have the ESP Flying V - it’s got that EMG sound, and I run that through a normal guitar amp software, then I program drums, synths, piano.” The process continues with creating fully realised demos in MIDI (“because I get it down to exactly how I want it”), then for the band to re-track everything over the MIDI bed. “That’s pretty much it start to finish, it sounds simple”, laughs Brown. “That works for us, most of the time. We tour so much, and with children, family’s become so much more important to us, so if we’re not writing on tour it’s just wasting time.”
The Amity Affliction Are Back On Track Australian metal stalwarts The Amity Affliction have no time to waste on uncertainty or selfdoubt. Their latest album, Everyone Loves You… Once You Leave Them, integrates the sonic diversions of 2018’s Misery back into the intense, kinetic Amity-attack they conjure live, 2020 shapes as a big year for the band.
Brown honed his meticulous process via studying an audio engineering degree at SAE Byron Bay. He describes his main marker for great Amity Affliction songs plain and simple. “You want to impress the rest of your band with what you do. That’s our main marker, if the rest of the band like it, we go from there.” Despite not being in the same room, intuition heavily plays a part in their writing process. “Yeah for sure, I know… I’ll write a part, (Ahren’s) gonna love this, I make sure I take a lot of melody out of the instruments. Because I know, he’ll love that part, he wants to sing there. We all trust in each other’s ability, to know it’s not going to be an issue, that the other guys can trust I’m going to do the music and it’s going to be fine. There’s never an issue where we think it’s not up to scratch. After working with Will Putney on the acclaimed one-two punch of 2014’s Let The Ocean Take Me and 2016’s This Could Be Heartbreak, the band dabbled with a new sonic palate on
From humble beginnings writing riffs in an apartment in North Carolina to being one of the most revered and influential bands in heavy music around the world, the band has spent two decades continually pushing themselves and setting the standard for those around them. Vocalist Tommy Rogers says that the band is still as hungry as ever to push their boundaries and avoid the pitfall that is becoming a legacy band. “I think a hungry is the perfect word for it,” he says. “I think a lot of bands turn into legacy bands because they just kind of find a flow that works really well for them and they just kind of do it over and over or they branch away from their sound for a second and the reaction from the fan base is not what they hope. I don’t think we’ve really got caught up in that. I think we all are kind of striving to find something more exciting for us.
Between The Buried and Me, 20 Years and Onwards Things have changed a lot for progressive metal stalwarts Between The Buried and Me over the last 20 years.
“We still really enjoy the writing process and I think a lot of bands begin to not enjoy it. For me, personally that’s still one of my favourite parts and I can’t speak for everyone but I feel like we still haven’t written that record we’re trying to write. I hope that we’ll always have that fire and hopefully we’re always trying to find that album that we want to write that we haven’t yet.” To celebrate their 20th anniversary, Between The Buried and Me are embarking on a very special ‘An Evening With’ tour which sees the band play over two hours of material featuring older tracks that haven’t seen their live show in years and deep cuts that have never been played live before. Rogers admits that building this career spanning set and bringing it to life was quite the daunting task.
their previous album Misery. They’ve re-teamed with eclectic American producer Matt Squire (Ariana Grande, Panic! at the Disco, Underoath), an inspired move after powerhouse performances on new tracks ‘Soak Me in Bleach’ and ‘Born To Lose’. For Brown, opening track ‘Coffin’ set the tone of the album. “(Joel) backed off his screaming for Misery - yet he wanted to return to it with new insight. Hearing Joel’s voice again and watching his confidence with it in the studio helped step up the album this time.” The band aren’t interested anymore in trying to predict what and where the audience will be in mentally reconciling new material. “With each album, when we go into the studio, we’re closer and closer to the final product,” Brown explains. “We’ve learnt what works and what doesn’t. We get the demos pretty close, but once we get in the studio together, all the brains come together. “At the end of the day, we’ve started to just do what we want to do, it’s genuine and that shines through more than any other decision. If you try and adapt to what people will like, and they don’t like it, then you’re in trouble. We’re playing to our strengths.” BY MATT PETHERBRIDGE
Everyone Loves You…Once You Leave Them is out Friday February 21 on Pure Noise/ Warner Music Australia
that was the main thing that took a lot of getting used to.” 20 years is no mean feat for any band and Between The Buried and Me have certainly not taken this milestone lightly in the slightest. Rogers says that staring down the barrel of 20 years as a band has been put a lot of things into perspective and filled the members with excitement and motivation for the future. “When I think back to Paul and I living together, writing riffs in our apartment when we were 18/19 years old for that first record. It’s crazy to revisit it and just kind of think of our mindset and how he approached music then compared to now. "We’re obviously a lot more grown up now and it’s just kind of cool to see how we’ve grown, both musically and in our personal lives. At the end of the day we’re just very lucky that we’re still here and that was the thing that I think we needed when we did the European tour. “It kind of kicked us in the ass a little bit and told us “don’t take us for granted”. We’re lucky that we get to do this. I think that tour really motivated us for the future and just to be excited that we’re still doing this after all these years. I think anybody in a band has moments where they kind of unknowingly start to take things for granted or not treat things as precious as they should be treated. So, I think that was good for us.” BY NICHOLAS SIMONSEN Between The Buried And Me are taking their ‘An Evening With’ shows around Australia this month. Head to Live Nation for tickets today.
“It’s definitely one of those things that you talk about and you get really excited about and then when it comes down to actually doing it, you realise the amount of work that goes into it and just the amount of abuse physically you’re about to put on your body every night. "When you’re used to playing you going an hour, an hour 20 tops, and then pushing that up to two hours plus. I think
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MUSIC INTERVIEWS The English duo of vocalist Jason Williamson and instrumentalist Andrew Fearn has been aggressively yet cleverly ripping apart the ruling classes, societal norms and austerity-era politics across 13 years and 11 albums, but not everything is as simple as it seems, Williamson says. “I’m wary of the fact that I don’t have to struggle any more, so sometimes I feel that I’m not the person to ask about frontline politics,” he says. “I personally don’t want to repeat myself on each album by saying how shit everything is, do you know what I mean? At the same time, I want to talk about how shit it is, but you can’t just talk about things in a clichéd manner, because that’s just fucking rude. These things are serious; they affect people. “You have to talk about things like that in ways that people will feel. I’m not talking about some fucking bolshy, middle-class audience that just wants to hear you say ‘fuck whoever’, but real fucking connection with misery. It’s a bit of a tightrope; you’ve really got to think about it.”
Sleaford Mods’ Deep Discontent At first glance, Sleaford Mods might seem easy to pigeonhole. Scratch just below the surface, however, and there’s a seething mass of contradictions and complexities ripe for discovery.
Embittered rants about unemployment, working life, human rights, pop culture and capitalism layered over punk/hip hop sounds are the duo’s bread and butter. Williamson is hyperaware of the power of words and forthright about his process of getting his lyrics to the right place. “I just make sure I’m checking myself because it’s easy to fall down the cliché trap,” he says. “It’s easy to be lazy. If you’re talking about a situation you’ve experienced or a feeling or somebody you don’t like, it’s important to dress that with something that is as potent as how you feel about that subject. [Writing is] cathartic to a certain degree, but I can be a very resentful person, a very bitter person, or full of self-doubt.
Williamson, who has been teetotal for over three years, and Fearn are making their first visit to Australia to play WOMADelaide and a run of shows, kicking things off in Wollongong with Farmer & The Owl. “It was always something we wanted to do but just weren’t in a position before,” Williamson says. “I don’t want to sound like a complete idiot, but, in the past, we would have been literally paying to come over and we’d have no money to take back. We were a grassroots band and we came up together. We were doing it on our own and didn’t really connect with the proper industry until later. It feels like the time spent in Australia will be put to good use, although I can’t fucking be doing that with wankers on drugs in my face, talking shit.” Wankers aside, Williamson is keen to connect with audiences here, and isn’t worried about his often bleak, UK-centric subject matter resonating with fans in the Southern Hemisphere. “People get the gist, do you know what I mean?,” he says. “The music speaks for itself. It’s kind of a universal feeling you get from listening to it. Yeah, the lyrics are a bit alienating, I guess, but, generally speaking, it’s a sound that’s familiar with people. It carries a lot of aspects of sounds that have gone before, but it’s also got a modern, new approach to it as well. Nobody really sounds or operates like us. We’re kind of on our own.” BY PAUL MCBRIDE Sleaford Mods are playing festivals and shows around Australia this March. Head online for details.
“I’m never fucking happy really,” Williamson professes with a laugh. “You could see me as a successful singer in a successful band, but I’m never content about it. I feel good about myself a lot of the time, but, at the same time, I get pissed off and take things personally when things don’t change. It’s swings and roundabouts, innit?”
The band, whose name translates to ‘geometric patterns’, have toured non-stop, released four albums and two EPs, and spawned a record label in drummer Go Kurasawa’s and guitarist Tomo Katsurada’s co-run Guruguru Brain. Much of that success was down to early push and pull factors that saw them leave their homeland and discover new communities and audiences abroad, Kurasawa explains. “When we started, people were beginning to care more about music outside of where they were,” he says. “At that time in Japan, media would see you as either a Japanese band or a foreign band; different things were expected from domestic and international bands. There was a tendency at the time for Asian bands to be like American bands; to sing in perfect English and those kind of pressures. But we’re not from L.A. and I like being different.
Tripping Out With Kikagaku Moyo From busking outside train stations and having to pay to play in Tokyo’s live music venues to becoming a leading light for Asian music internationally, Japanese psych-rockers Kikagaku Moyo have come a long way since their inception in 2012.
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“Also, in Japan at that time, bands had to pay to play, whereas in Australia we found you could get paid, even if it was gas money or dinner money. So, we thought, ‘let’s go to Australia’. It gave us confidence quickly after our first show in Melbourne.” Guruguru Brain – founded in 2014 – is a major focus for Kurasawa and Katsurada this year, as the label seeks to expand into new territories and make connections internationally; albeit with a focus grounded by a DIY approach and communal aesthetic. “It’s nice to feel that we’re supporting the community,” Kurasawa says. “This is something I see in Australia because, geographically, it’s so hard to tour in America, so the community has to support each other. That’s kind of what we are trying to do for the Asian music community.
over feelings that maybe we grew up listening to the same types of music.” Kikagaku Moyo’s mind-bending sounds range from hardrocking psych to mellow, sitar-drenched folk and much more in between, and every live experience is a very different beast, with about 20 to 30 per cent of the show being improvised. The band will embark on a festival tour of New Zealand and Australia this month, with sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne planned in early March. “Every day we change the setlist and we have songs that can change and become improvs,” Kurasawa says. “We just kind of have to see what we feel, and it depends on how the song is affected by the atmosphere and the audience setting, etc. “This will be our third time touring Australia. The first time we came was in 2013 when we had just started the band, so it’s really nice to come back to where it all started in terms of touring. Last time we played Gizzfest, we connected with lots of audiences and other bands. It’s a very nostalgic and special place for us. I think we are going to stay in Japan after this Australian tour to do some writing. We will record this year and hopefully [a new record] will be finished this year. Since we are self-releasing we can do it any time we want. There is no pressure.” BY PAUL MCBRIDE Catch Kikagaku Moyo live around Australia this March – visit Handsome Touring for all the dates and details.
“This is a big mission for us; even more than the band. The band is nice; hanging out, playing music with friends and touring, but we’re also trying to focus on the label, so we’re meeting new bands from Taiwan and some others. I look for originality and identity in the music. It’s interesting that a garage band from Taiwan can be so original but you can hear influences from, say, New York or Chicago. You can connect
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MUSIC INTERVIEWS They made their debut Down Under back in 2017, playing sold-out shows to rave reviews, and adding additional dates to meet demand. Now, having just wrapped up their West Coast tour leg, the boys are enjoying a quick spell at home before making the long flight across the Pacific Ocean. “We had such a good time last time. Really excited to get back and all looking forward to it,” says drummer and accompanying vocalist Matthew Correia. Since their last Australian adventure, Allah-Las have not only toured the globe, but also released their acclaimed fourth LP in early October. Out via Mexican Summer, LAHS – a play on their own name – was rehearsed and recorded in the boys’ own studio. They set themselves up in their L.A. hometown over the space of a few months, attempting to bring the whole recording process in-house.
Allah-Las’ Sweet Serenade Los Angeles lads Allah-Las have Australia marked on their touring map in 2020, for a long overdue five-stop tour.
“This last one we recorded in our studio, well, in this space that we have in downtown Los Angeles. We recorded some of it on our own, and we brought in a friend Jarvis [Taveniere from the band Woods] to help engineer, and he also produced and mixed. It was a great experience,” Correia explains. “We tried to get that first spark of influence, record that and get it out instead of having multiple layers of ‘Oh, we recorded the first demo here and then went to the studio’ – you always lose something in the second studio recording. It was just a different process and we had a little more time and space and it was comfortable, which worked for this record. I don’t know that we’ll do that again, but I think it worked for this one.” Despite a change in the recording process, Allah-Las did not have a change in their group dynamic. The boys have maintained their collaborative nature inside the band, from their humble beginnings as casual colleagues at Amoeba Records, all the way through to their fourth LP.
Even after their moment of chart success ultimately faded, however, the London-based outfit still continued to tour globally and serve as a key draw at festivals great and small. Even if those encountering them for the first time only knowing that one song, Morcheeba put the work in to ensure passers-by are converted by the time they’ve finished. “We’ve seen it happen, so I know it’s something we’re capable of,” says Skye Richards, the band’s lead singer. “I remember we were booked to play this festival in France, and we’re sandwiched in-between these bands I’ve never heard of and we’re looking out from backstage at a field full of 10,000 teenagers. I’m talking to my husband, Steve [Gordon, Morcheeba bassist], and I’m just thinking, ‘Oh my god. They’re not going to get it at all!’” Despite the worst-case scenario playing out in Edwards’ head, the band made their way onto stage and brought the whole thing home. “They totally loved it!” she continues, a sigh of relief breathing out with her words.
Morcheeba Keep It In The Genes By any other measurement, Morcheeba would be a one-hit wonder. The only time their jazzy, down-tempo and pop-oriented RnB graced the mainstream was at the turn of the century, when “Rome Wasn’t Built in a Day” took to radio and charted around the world as opposed to their native UK.
“They totally got it. By the time I’d gotten off stage and checked my phone, my Instagram was full of messages. We got so much love for what we were doing. I suppose there’s just something about what we do – we’re real people, playing real instruments. You might not know who we are, but you’ll know where we’re coming from when we play.” Morcheeba formed in the mid-90s as a project for Edwards and the Godfrey siblings, Paul and Ross. Although Paul ultimately left the fold in 2014, with Edwards herself taking a sabbatical between 2003 and 2010, the music has carried on and the group’s legacy has remained in-tact. Today, Edwards and Ross Godfrey lead an intimately-familiar version of the band’s lineup, with a mix of both adopted and literal family.
“I think that having four people writing together and trying to make something unified is a really hard thing. I think we did that really well on this record, maybe more so than others,” says Correia. “It’s always been a collaborative record experience [and] I think that everybody has strong ideas of what they want. For everyone to get that across is really important to us – that makes for a stronger project and stronger albums.” Another element the boys have also maintained is their strong lyrical and sonic connection to their environment and the L.A. surrounds. Like Quentin Tarantino and his love letter to L.A. this year with Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood, Allah-Las too depict a romanticised illustration of the cityscape. “Most of his films based in L.A. are little love letters to Los Angeles for the people that really know that area. He puts little details in that only Angelinos would know. There are things that we consider classically L.A., and these are places that influence us. “I think that we have an honest idea of what we think makes Los Angeles a special place compared to other cities and I think he illustrates that really well in his films, and music is for someone else to say that. It’s hard to talk about that ourselves, but we hope that it’s conveyed,” Correia says. “I think we’re a product of our environment and what’s going on in our life and what we’re listening to and where we’re travelling to, and I think this record is a real honest interpretation of how we’re feeling right now.” Hopefully that feeling is well rested and energised for their shows Down Under. BY TAMMY WALTERS Allah-Las are touring Australia this month – head online to grab your tickets today.
husband. He first started playing with us around 2000, and first played on an album when we recorded [2002 album] Charango. Our current drummer is actually our son, Jaeba – he’s 23 now, and he’s been on the road with us since he was 19. “It’s a really tight-knit unit, and it works really well for all of us. Ross has got two young daughters as well, and they’ve just started getting singing lessons. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be next to join Morcheeba.” The band will be bringing a sizzling selection of songs from across their seven Edwards-helmed LPs to Australia this coming April for a series of shows, including a stop at Byron Bay’s own Bluesfest. It was this very festival that first brought the band out back in 2003, and Edwards fondly remembers a moment of tranquillity amidst what was easily the band’s busiest year. “We were everywhere that year,” she recalls. “We played China, we played New Zealand, we even played Trafalgar Square. We had this one beautiful moment, however, on that tour of Australia. Our manager at the time, Brendan, got married on the beach. We just had this perfect setting, and I’ll always have Australia to thank for that.” BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG Morcheeba are touring Australia this April for Bluesfest, and are performing sideshows in Sydney and Melbourne. Head online for all the dates, tickets and details.
“Our keyboardist, Richard [Milner] is the same one Morcheeba has had since probably 1996,” explains Edwards. “He played on Big Calm back in 1998, and he’s stuck it out this whole time. Over on the bass, as you know, is my
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presents
ALDOUS HARDING NZ AS THE WORLD TIPPED UK BILL CALLAHAN USA THE CAT EMPIRE Australia CATRIN FINCH & SECKOU KEITA Wales/Senegal EZRA COLLECTIVE UK HIATUS KAIYOTE Australia JORGE BEN JOR Brazil KATE MILLER-HEIDKE Australia KIKAGAKU MOYO Japan L SUBRAMANIAM India LINIKER E OS CARAMELOWS Brazil ZIGGY MARLEY Jamaica LAURA MARLING UK MAVIS STAPLES USA ODETTE Australia ORQUESTA AKOKÁN Cuba RHIANNON GIDDENS W/ FRANCESCO TURRISI USA/Italy SALIF KEITA Mali SLEAFORD MODS UK SPINIFEX GUM Australia TRIO DA KALI Mali TUULETAR Finland USTAD SAAMI Pakistan + MANY MORE! PLUS: The Planet Talks, Taste The World, Installations, Artists In Conversation, Street Theatre, Global Village, Workshops, KidZone AND MORE!
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THE
REPORT
NAMM is the world’s biggest audio and musical instrument expo, with manufacturers and music nerds from around the world making the annual pilgrimage to present their wares, talk tech and make an impression. With so much on display, Mixdown has done the heavy lifting for you, sifting through the endless stalls and press releases to give you the low-down on the biggest announcements at this years NAMM in our annual NAMM report for 2020.
AMS/NEVE
AUDIENT
Key Announcement: AMS RMX16 Reverb Reissue
Key Announcement: EVO 4 and EVO 8 Interfaces
MIXDOWN REACTION: One of the cooler moments at this years NAMM was AMS/NEVE announcing the return of the beloved RMX16 to their product line (this time in 500 series rack form.)
MIXDOWN REACTION: Audient have been on a tear of late, riding the wave of success that followed the release of the iD4 interface a couple of years back.
For the uninitiated, the RMX16 was the reverb of the eighties, finding its way onto countless records by era defining artists such as Madonna, U2 and Peter Gabriel among others. AMS Neve have assured us that every precaution has been taken to ensure the reissue retains all the original sonic characteristics of its forebear. At a pricepoint far below the going rate of the original, it’s inevitable that we’ll hear the RMX16 pop up on a whole new generation of mixes in the near future.
Where the iD4 took everyone by surprise with its incredible build quality and high quality A/D conversion (especially given the pricepoint), the EVO 4 and EVO 8 look to take this premise to the next level, with significant upgrades to the preamp design and some nifty new features such as Smartgain, which automatically sets the input gain based on the amplitude of the sound source.
Its unique sonic signature and Dr. Who invoking retro aesthetic (peep that payphone style layout!) are sure to whip gear fetishists into an absolute frenzy. OVERALL: Dope as.
The EVO 8 in particular has all the makings of an incredibly adept workhorse for the project studio, with four mic inputs, multiple monitor and headphone outputs
and loopback functionality just a few of the features on offer here. This NAMM release from Audient just oozes class and pro level design nous, and does it all at a super accessible pricepoint! OVERALL: Another world-beater from Audient. Expect to see these all over the studio space.
ERNIE BALL MUSIC MAN
FENDER
Key Announcement: Music Man Sabre
Key Announcement: Tom Morello Signature Stratocaster
As NAMM kept rolling on and the big guitar announcements kept coming, all eyes were on Ernie Ball Music Man and what they could bring to the table for 2020. First off the bat was the new Music Man Sabre, a reimagining of the company’s iconic model from the ‘70s and ‘80s.
MIXDOWN REACTION: While Fender had many big announcements this year (including the re-issue of the Player Lead 2 and gold-plated Yuriy Shishkov ‘Faberge Coronation’ guitar retailing at a whopping US$560k!), perhaps there was no bigger news from the Fender camp than the announcement of the long-awaited ‘Soul Power’ Tom Morello Signature Stratocaster. Featuring a double-locking Floyd Rose Tremolo and a kill-switch for getting freaky, the Morello signature is definitely not your dad’s Strat and looks to be a great fit for anyone ready to take their playing to revolutionary, new places.
These guys have a bit of a Super Strat vibe to them, with a deluxe okoume body and carved maple book-matched top with natural binding. Like most Ernie Ball guitars of recent memory, the neck, which features a slightly wider nut width than usual, is crafted from roasted figured maple, and can be purchased with either a maple or rosewood fretboard. The new Sabre guitars come loaded with custom Ernie Ball Music Man humbuckers and are wired via a five-way selector switch, and also feature Ernie Ball’s sweet tremolo system. There is something about the appearance of Ernie Ball/Music Man guitars that just looks
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so instantly playable and ergonomic and the Sabre is no exception. It is this charming sense of familiarity that makes the Sabre such an endearing prospect to the guitar fanatics at NAMM. Definitely a case of ‘watch this space’, as the new Sabre has all the makings of a modern classic. OVERALL: Like a brand new (old) friend. Keen to get my hands on one ASAP.
At this point, Fender could announce a stubby holder and it would still send shockwaves across the NAMM-scape- so is
the power of their legacy. It’s nice to know that even after all these years, they still keep an ear to the ground and listen to the fans! OVERALL: Has there ever been a more deserving signature model? I think not. Huge news indeed!
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THE NAMM REPORT IBANEZ
LINE 6
Key Announcement: Steve Vai ‘Paradise in Art’ Signature
Key Announcement: POD Go
Mixdown Reaction: Steve Vai is no stranger to NAMM festivities the resident shred-head and longtime Ibanez endorsee has done his fair share of shaking hands and kissing babies. So it was a tactful move from Ibanez to have the man himself on hand to launch the newest Vai Signature guitar-The Paradise in Art (PIA).
MIXDOWN REACTION: Line 6 changed the game with the release of the original POD, back in the early oughts and it’s nice to see the POD series continually reinvent itself with every addition to the product line. The new POD Go looks to carry the torch into the 2020’s with its colour display and POD Go Edit app making it one of the most giggable modellers out there. Line 6 have always been at the cutting edge of modelling DSP and the Go is no exception with amp, cab and effects models all drawn from the award winning HX family of processors. I have no doubt we will be putting these guys through its paces for Mixdown shortly, so keep your eyes peeled!
In textbook Vai style, the Paradise in Art is an ostentatious axe, available in finishes with names like Panther Pink, Envy Green and Stallion White - perfect for unleashing the peacock within. In keeping with the ‘Paradise’ theme, the PIA comes equipped with a unique ‘petal grip’ inlay, in Vai’s words “to signify the bond that two people have when they resonate together, much like a guitar”. The all new DiMarzio HSH pickups make sure there is some beast to go with the beauty.
OVERALL: This looks like the best POD yet (and possibly one of the best modellers out there for the price range it’s in).
Overall: Vibey. Vai-by? They’re pretty cool.
NORD
ORANGE AMPLIFICATION
Key Announcement: Nord Wave 2
Key Announcement: Terror Stamp
MIXDOWN REACTION: Another year, another rock solid announcement from the lovable Swedes. The Nord Wave 2 is exactly the kind of masterful product we have come to expect from the brand.
MIXDOWN REACTION: Portability was definitely the word on everyone’s lips at this years NAMM, as micro-amps, modellers and multi effects units dominated the newsfeed throughout the show window. Perhaps no manufacturer hit the nail on the head quite as hard as British amp powerhouse Orange with their announcement of the ‘Terror Stamp’ for 2020.
With a jaw-dropping feature set and limitless flexibility, the Wave 2 may well be the brand’s most versatile keyboard to date. It’s packed to the brim with awesome sounds, performance features and built-in effects, making it suitable for gigging keyboard players and budget-conscious synth heads alike. With wavetable, FM synthesis and both virtual analogue and sample-based synth sounds on offer, Nord have ensured you’re spoilt for choice here, while the 48 notes of polyphony makes it even more tantalising for keyboard players or the harmonically inclined.
There’s also six different filter types on offer, as well as an arpeggiator with gating capabilities and unison mode for beefy basses and leads. OVERALL: The synth Swiss army knife, to beat all synth Swiss army knives.
Destined to take the mantle of ‘smallest giggable amp of all time’ the Terror Stamp packs 20w of hybrid ECC83 tube / Class AB solid state circuitry into a unit no bigger than your average stomp box, potentially marking an end to the touring van as we know it. Orange says the Terror Stamp has more than enough power to drive a 4x12 to break-up, meaning classic British tones for all. With its 8/16 Ohm speaker output, a fullybuffered FX Loop, a Cab Sim/Headphone output, shape control and a foot switchable
master volume, rest assured the Terror Stamp doesn’t skimp on features either. Perhaps one of the most exciting aspects of the Terror Stamp as that it in no way feels like a compromise. Its hybrid circuitry and ample output, (coupled with Orange’s weighty reputation), give the Terror stamp a legitimacy seldom experienced in the microamp domain. I have no doubt we will see them popping up on pedal boards throughout 2020. OVERALL: How do you fit 20w into that?
PRESONUS
PRS GUITARS
Key Announcement: ioStation 24c
Key announcement: John Mayer Silver Sky Nebula Edition
MIXDOWN REACTION: Another clever, extremely practical release from Presonus. The ioStation 24c is no doubt a sign of where interfaces are headed post NAMM - compact controller/interfaces with simple transport functionality, a couple of preamps and a variable, motorised fader for hands on operation.
MIXDOWN REACTION: Like him or loathe him, there is no denying that John Mayer is one of the most reputable guitar icons of the current era. The occasional comedian/ blues wunderkind has more than earned a seat at the table amongst guitar playing’s elite, and the new PRS John Mayer Silver edition marks the next chapter in Mayer’s ongoing relationship with PRS guitars. Previously only available upon request, 2020 will see the first production ‘Silver Sky’ John Mayer models hitting stores worldwide.
Small enough to fit in a backpack, the ioStation 24c is quite literally a studio in your hand, offering the kind of flexibility rarely experienced in the modern DAW workflow. If you are like me and hate mixing with a mouse or trackpad, it’s an absolute godsend. The presence of Presonus’ Class A XMAX preamps (usually found on the brands more expensive Studio Series) also make the
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ioStation an ideal choice for mix revision work and overdubs after the fact. I feel less stressed just looking at it. OVERALL: Good, clean, fun.
Described as a ‘forward thinking- vintage inspired guitar’ the Silver Skies maintain all the classic hallmarks of a Strat-style bloodline, but with an optional maple neck and series of new finishes, including the limited run Nebula Edition -designed to
reflect hue and light at different angles, depending on the vantage point. Definitely one of the prettiest unveilings at this year’s NAMM. OVERALL: Beautiful.
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THE NAMM REPORT ROLAND
SENNHEISER
Key Announcement: Facet Grand Piano
Key Announcement: HD25 Light Headphones
MIXDOWN REACTION: Based on the winning design of a competition held by Roland back in 2015, the Facet Grand Piano is certainly a sight to behold. Crafted from ‘crystal-like’ polyhedrons and looking like the Piano equivalent of the Tesla Cybertruk, the Facet made one of the biggest splashes at this years NAMM show, with attendees debating the piano’s futuristic aesthetic in a way rarely encountered at a Musical Instrument convention.
MIXDOWN REACTION: The Sennheiser HD25 headphones are iconic within the confines of pro audio. It’s one of only a handful of instantly recognisable headphones out there, casting a familiar silhouette on the head of some of the biggest names in dance music.
Regardless, of where you stand on the Facet’s retro-futurist aesthetic (I personally love it), there is little doubt that the Facet will have a lasting influence on piano design moving forward, as manufacturers become more and more aware of how their products compliment the modern living environment. More than just a pretty face, the Facet also features Roland’s latest piano modelling sound engines, speakers and keybeds to
create a playing experience unlike any other. Its seamless tech integration (via the Android-powered display and Amazon Alexa functionality) allowing for hands free operation and wireless software or firmware update as well as giving users access to various apps and sheet music. OVERALL: The haute couture of the piano world, the Facets influence is sure to extend far beyond this year’s NAMM show and is set to inform the next decade in piano design. A breakthrough product if there ever was one.
With electronic music sitting pretty in the limelight for years now, the legacy of the HD25 only continues to grow with every passing year. The HD25 light manages to reattain the essence of the classic HD25 but comes in at a fraction of the cost. By reducing the iconic headphone to its bare bones, opting for a minimalist headband and simplified wiring set-up, Sennheiser have created a winner here. The egalitarian pricepoint also opens the HD25 Light up to a much broader market civilians, non-music-making people - you
know the type. The HD25 for the every man, these could be the best value headphones on the market right now. Liberating indeed. OVERALL: Read our full review of the HD25 light in the review section of this issue of Mixdown!
SOLID STATE LOGIC
UNIVERSAL AUDIO
Key Announcement: SSL 2 and 2+ Audio Interfaces
Key Announcement: ‘LUNA’ Recording System
MIXDOWN REACTION: You knew the day was coming where one of the big three of the console world (Neve, SSL, API) would have a crack at the budget interface market. It was only a matter of time.
MIXDOWN REACTION: Having heard rumblings of this one in the months prior to NAMM, it was nice to finely get a look at Universal Audio’s first foray into the world of digital workspaces, the new LUNA ‘recording system’.
Interestingly enough it’s SSL who have struck first with the announcement of their SSL 2 and 2+ interfaces for 2020. This makes perfect sense for a number of reasons. For one, SSL have always been the more forward-thinking of the classic studio brands, downsizing their consoles and releasing compact, desktop versions rather than breaking down expensive channel strips into lunchbox style units and selling them off at a few thousand a piece. It’s also important to note that SSL are the preeminent name in audio for the film and post-production industries, areas which are currently experiencing the same kind of home recording renaissance experienced by the music
world in years past. Opening up the brand to the rapidly evolving workflow requirements of the broader audio community makes a tonne of sense both on paper and in practice and for a company with a stellar a reputation as SSL, you can rest assured that the R&D for the guys would have been second to none. OVERALL: Check out our review of the SSL 2 and 2+ in the review section of this very magazine to see for yourself!
Unlike other DAW’s, the LUNA is designed to work solely with UA’s Apollo and Arrow interfaces, which immediately places it at the top of the tree for DSP quality (ie: the kind that requires outboard accelerators to operate). With super realistic hardware/ spacial emulation and one of the best audio engines in existence, there is little doubt that the release of the LUNA system is likely to flick the needle with any number of studio rats and UA obsessives out there. Will it be enough to dethrone ProTools and Ableton as the dominant forces in DAW
software? Hard to say. On paper, the hardware requirements alone would make it a tough prospect for the LUNA software, but with an army of iconic plug-ins and a reputation for exceptional audio quality, I have little doubt that the UA LUNA system will at the very least, find its way into a bunch of high end studios and prosumer rigs in the years to come. OVERALL: New year, New UAD!
WARM AUDIO
YAMAHA
Key Announcement: BUS-COMP VCA Studio Compressor
Key Announcement: YC61 Stage Drawbar Organ
MIXDOWN REACTION: Bus Compression is the secret sauce to so many incredible drum tracks, but true hardware bus compression has often been out of reach for all but the most affluent of aspiring engineers.
MIXDOWN REACTION: Yamaha definitely caught the NAMM crowd sleeping this year, with the shock announcement of the YC61 Organ. With its ultra-modern, synth-like aesthetic and hybrid drawbar/VCM circuitry the YC61 looks to shatter any stuffy, pre-concieved notions anyone may have about stage organs, bringing the classic instrument into a new era. In a move that can only be described as ‘Meta’, the brains trust at Yamaha have opted for an ultrarealistic 61 waterfall keybed and the inclusion of drawbars featuring haptic feedback – which means they’re specifically designed to vibrate and groan with the same sensation as drawbar organs of yesteryear.
The new BUS-COMP from studio gurus Warm Audio looks to rectify this by offering similar VCA style circuitry to that found in the legendary SSL bus compressors of
old, adding glue and thwack to your mixes without breaking the bank. The transient response/harmonic properties of traditional VCA hardware compressors are one of the few areas that plugins are yet to fully conquer, so this release from Warm Audio is particularly enticing to anybody looking to send out there mixes for a bit of old, fashioned hardware goodness. OVERALL: Shut up and take my money!
This coupled with Virtual Circuit Modeling (VCM) sound engine on the YC61 instantly puts the C61 at the top of the class for portable organs. The array of inbuilt concert grands, FM
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electric pianos and synths only further adds to the functionality of the YC61, instantly making it a workhorse of the future. OVERALL: The YC61 was without doubt one of the most suprising (and well considered) unveilings at this year’s NAMM. It was only a matter of time before haptic feedback found it’s way into the design of musical instruments. The idea to incorporate this technology into an instrument as physical (and idiosyncratic) as a stage organ, was an absolute masterstroke from Yamaha.
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MUSICOLOGY:
THE STORY OF THE MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET It’s 1956 in the United States. Black and white portable television sets have hit the market. Rocky Marciano has retired as the undefeated heavyweight champion of the world with a perfect record of 49-0. ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ is sitting at number one on the Billboard Charts. And on an otherwise unremarkable day in December, the greatest jam session of all time is taking place in Memphis, Tennessee. By all accounts, it was by pure chance that Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley found themselves together in a recording booth at Sun Studios that day. The rock and roll haven belonging to music mogul Sam Phillips was already playing an important part in shaping the future of music before playing host to the impromptu quartet. It was the studio where a young Elvis Presley chose to record a few tracks as a present for his mother in 1954. Phillips was the ear that recognised talent when he heard it (with a little push from his assistant Marion Keisker) and called Presley back to record some more. And when four unparalleled musicians sat around the piano at his studio and started to sing, Phillips was smart enough to call the press and document the historic moment. The Million Dollar Quartet has taken on a mythical quality in the years since December 4, 1956. Speculation over voices featured on the recordings, the presence and absence
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of certain musicians, and even the order of arrivals runs rampant in any dialogue surrounding the session. But despite the disagreements over details, the knowledge that this day marks a seminal moment in the history of rock and roll is undisputed. The order of arrivals on December 4, 1956 begins with Perkins and Lewis. Alongside his brothers Clayton and Jay, plus drummer W.S. Holland, Perkins was preparing to record his song ‘Matchbox’. Suspecting the rockabilly set up wouldn’t quite cut it, Phillips had called in Lewis, a newly acquired artist on the Sun rotation, to play piano on the track. The third piece that formed the fortuitous series of events that led to the greatest short-lived quartet in music history is that Johnny Cash just so happened to be at Sun Studios at the same time. The exact reason for his presence isn’t entirely clear, but such minute details are easily glossed over in the light of what happened next. By 1956, Elvis Presley had moved on from Sun Studios. He’d signed a contract with RCA Victor, released his first single ‘Heartbreak Hotel’, and made his film debut in Love Me Tender. His affinity for Sun, however, appeared to have remained strong when he chose to stop by the studio that day with Marilyn Evans, his girlfriend at the time. Before long, Presley, Perkins, Cash and Lewis were in the same room of the famous studios, gathered around a piano and preparing to gift the world with 46 short recordings that would stand the test of time. Jack Clement, the engineer at Perkins’ session, is the unspoken hero of this
moment. He had the foresight to hit record once the musicians started to perform, giving future generations the chance to witness one of the most revered moments in rock and roll history. The session that followed was littered with country standards and gospel favourites, featuring everything from ‘Peace In The Valley’ to ‘Brown Eyed Handsome Man’, performed with everincreasing enthusiasm. The strength of the quartet was found not in their individual abilities, but by their shared energy on ‘When The Saints Go Marchin’ In’, the balance of their talents on ‘Paralyzed’, and the overwhelming care that permeated every note on each gospel song. All things considered, calling them a Million Dollar Quartet was selling them short. Throughout the two hours of recordings, snippets of anecdotes are weaved through the tracks. One story that stands out surrounds Presley’s 1956 hit ‘Don’t Be Cruel’, a track that features not once but three times on The Complete Million Dollar Quartet. We hear Presley tell the story of a young Jackie Wilson, performing as lead vocalist of Billy Ward and His Dominoes, giving a memorable rendition of the track at a show in Las Vegas. “He’d already done ‘Hound Dog’ and another one too and he didn’t do too well, you know,” Presley can be heard explaining on the recording, speaking of his experience watching Wilson on stage. “He was trying too hard. But he done that ‘Don’t Be Cruel’. He was trying so hard, but he got better, boy [laughs] … Four nights straight. I went
back four nights straight and heard that guy do that.” Then one of the most distinctive, admired, and imitated voices in music launched into a rendition of his own song—Elvis Presley singing as Jackie Wilson impersonating Elvis Presley. You couldn’t make it up. Of the 46 tracks recorded that day, there are few anyone would be able to dismiss without comment. But the question remains of whether there are more tracks yet to be uncovered. Three reels were found and released, forming the The Complete Million Dollar Quartet album we now know, but multiple accounts suggest there could be more of this collaboration yet to surface. Some say Presley also sang ‘This Train is Bound for Glory’ and ‘Vacation in Heaven’, others are certain the group took on ‘Tutti Frutti’ and ‘Big Boss Man’. It’s not hard to imagine someone raiding lost archives in years to come, dusting off a reel of tape and discovering the lost recordings of the Million Dollar Quartet. Unfortunately, it’s also not difficult to admit the 46 songs we have may be all there is to hear. Perhaps one day we’ll hear more from that December afternoon in 1956. For now, the fact we were fortunate to hear those recordings at all is more than enough to be thankful for. BY JESSICA OVER
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ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION
Expressivity: The Final Frontier In Electronic Music A major challenge for manufacturers and music makers has been figuring out how to make electronic instruments as musically expressive as their acoustic counterparts - or more so. There’s been some successes, Yamaha’s 1970s CS80 synth featured polyphonic aftertouch (keypress sensitivity), that was famously put to use by Vangelis on the original Blade Runner soundtrack. The Akai MPC enabled beatmakers like J Dilla to record a human-like swinging groove. Imogen Heap took things to the extreme and co-created MiMu Gloves - a set of wearable MIDI controllers. So where to from here? MPE The MIDI Polyphonic Expression protocol isn’t new anymore, but its implementation feels like it’s just starting to find its feet. Rather than being restricted by the original MIDI control standard that has a limited selection of controls for each note hardcoded in, MPE adds a large range of control parameters - usually reserved for controlling a MIDI instrument across all notes at once - to
each individual note. An enormous amount of expressive power for a single note. The challenge is to figure out what to do with it all and how to control it. And is it even needed? A growing number of software companies think so. Logic Pro X, Cubase and Bitwig are three DAWs that have opened up to support MPE enabled controllers, and quite a few software instrument companies have too - including XferRecords’ enormously popular Serum synth. Controlling All That Power So what is the ideal human-to-instrument interface for harnessing all that potential musical expression? Thst’d something the industry is now grappling with. On one hand, a controller that resembles a traditional instrument appeals to a wider audience - but then manufacturers are limited by a centuriesold interface that wasn’t designed to control all the parameters now available. So it’s a difficult spot to be in. But, some companies are giving it a red hot go. Roli are probably the best known MPE controller manufacturer and have been championing MPE since its inception. Their Seaboard range resembles a piano in layout but the surface is made from a kind of soft foam with each note featuring five dimensions of touch control. The downside
though, is that there’s not a lot of tactile feedback, so it’s a divisive design. Expressive E, recently announced their new ‘Osmose’ instrument that is (their words) “A keyboard you already know how to play, but with new expression hidden in every single key”. This hi-tech design looks and plays like an ordinary piano, but with a heck of a lot more expressivity built into how you touch, push and wiggle the keys. This feels like some real progress, and is certainly a look into the future of keyboard controllers. Then there’s designs that do away with tradition and boldly pursue a new direction. Roger Linn (creator of the MPC) came up with the Linnstrument, a 200 pad grid controller that arranges the notes like a string instrument, enabling all sorts of musical expression ordinarily reserved for guitarists and strings players.
What’s Next? Really, there’s not a lot of MPE controllers out there, so there’s still plenty of room for innovation and development here. It feels like we’re still waiting for a company to nail that mix of capabilities, functionality and affordability. And I can’t help but wonder, does virtual reality have a role to play? We’ve seen a number of musical programs like LyraVR pop up that are beginning to explore this area. So maybe the future isn’t hardware based at all? The theremin is quite possibly the most expressive electronic instrument around (and funnily enough, one of the oldest) - a quick YouTube search will demonstrate that there’s absolutely people who’ve mastered waving their hands in the air to create music with it. One thing’s for certain, the next decade’s going to be interesting! BY MICHAEL CUSACK
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ADVICE COLUMNS GUITAR
An Obitube-ary To Values Modelling, profiling and the like have really come to the forefront in the last few years. And I mean REALLY made themselves present. Check on a big touring gig, festival, studio or home enthusiast and there’s a strong chance something from this digital realm will be present. Kemper, Fractal, Helix, Neural, Mooer, Boss, Postivie Grid, Amplitube, Headrush and many more have moved into serious sounding tools that work both live and in the studio. The main knock on modelling and profiling is that “it’s digital, and not the same as a valve amp”. This statement is true and I get the fact that some players still prefer the sound and feel of a tube amp. No problems at all here! It’s then interesting to delve a little deeper… Yes, it isn’t the same as a cranked AC30/Marshall/Deluxe Reverb/5150, but how many players out there get to play their amps seriously cranked though? Probably not a lot. And then for those players that do get to play super loud (which I presume is on big gigs or recording) how much difference is there from an amp to a modeller/profiler? It might be closer than you think... I think the key is getting out of the mindset that it’s going to sound/feel exactly like
the real amp equivalent and to focus on the positives. Here are some possible scenarios and general thoughts. Amp with pedalboard: A classic guitar setup, a combo with plenty of volume saves on space/size and paired with a pedalboard you’ve got plenty of tones to boot. Amp with modeller: For this setup the modeller can be just utilised for effects giving you lots of options and still retaining your ‘valve amp’ sound. Modeller/Power Amp/Cab: The modeller/profiler can handle amp sounds and effects meaning the power amp supplies the grunt and you get the real feeling and sound of a guitar cab to help colour your sound. Of course you can then use a range of cabs for different tones along the lines of pairing an amp with a cab. Modeller with PA Speaker and/or direct to FOH: In this scenario the modeller/profiler is doing it all – amp sound, cab sound and effects. The speaker is typically very flat and just reproducing your sounds without adding colour. Furthermore, many players in this situation will then send their tones direct to FOH without the need for mic’ing amps etc. Firstly the use of a modeller/profiler as a starting point actually gives you
these options. I know lots of players are overwhelmed by the possibilities but I’ve increasingly enjoyed the ‘all in one’ aspect of having everything in single box and then being able to use cabs/power amps to suit as needed. I also love the ability to use these for recording as well as live. Then add the sheer amount of tonal possibilities to mix (tweaking, editing, sharing of profiles, purchasing of profiles and so on) and you can go plug and play preset style or get super involved. So, will I use modelling/profiling for everything? No. I still love taking a guitar, small board and combo to a gig. Do I use modelling/profiling often though? Yes, and
once I’ve learnt how to use it I feel that it makes everything easier and sounds really good. Will modelling/profiling suit everyone? No, there will always be players that don’t need it or don’t want to try it. That’s cool and that’s also the beauty or guitar playing. We never seem to be completely happy with our sound and love to keep searching for that illusive tone. I don’t think vintage gear, modelling/profiling and whatever comes next will make everybody happy but for now I’m super impressed with what’s available – try giving a Fractal, Kemper, Line 6 or the like a spin… you might be surprised! BY NICK BROWN
BASS GUITAR
Future Bass With all the chaos of NAMM comes an ominous anticipation for the impending arrival of all the new gear people have discussed/ogled/lusted over for the last few days/weeks/months. Pedals, instruments, amps, leads, pedalboards, software, cases, new materials and the list goes on – there are always updates, new models, reissues of old favourites and of course wild new ideas that seem completely out of nowhere. How does technology and innovation impact you as a bass player though? Old school vs new school These debates have raged for years with a number of viewpoints. There are those who swear by their vintage bass and rig and dismiss the need for new gear. ‘Fender (or insert a multitude of brand names here) got it right originally, nothing feels/sounds/plays like my whatever blah blah’ is a common theme for these folk. Then there are the tech/latest gear/always on the hunt crew that embrace innovation and love the marketing/whispers/ conjecture/anticipation and then final release of new products. These players seem happy to try new gear and give anything a run. And of course there is somewhere in the middle with players that may own old and new gear, can appreciate everything and have somewhat of an open mind in regards to innovation.
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What’s what then? I can understand all of these three (generalised) viewpoints and the various permutations in between. No matter what your stance, I do personally feel that there should be some openness to technology though, and I really can’t stand the hugely dismissive attitudes, especially when thrusted upon people without much foundation. In no particular order then, here are some general thoughts on how technology helps us as musicians. Tech For The Win! New materials can be great. Sustainable woods that lessen the strain on the environment, stronger/lighter materials that can improve the durability, playability and weight of instruments or parts and even polymers used in coated strings. Computers and computing becoming more powerful has allowed for added features in effects, power supplies, recording devices, general electronics, amplifiers and more. Mini amps and tiny effects boards are all the rage allowing more options for players with reduced size and (sometimes) cost. Don’t forget the learning aspect – there’s more instructional content available today than ever before! Videos, Skype lessons, PDFs, interactive tutorials - the list goes on. What about vintage instruments? I agree that great feeling and sounding older instruments can be quite incredible. There are also plenty that don’t quite cut
it, however, and just being ‘old’ or ‘vintage’ doesn’t mean much in that regard. Modern takes on older specs can really be amazing. Using in depth analysis, years of expertise and fine tuned cutting/assembly equipment many modern basses play beautifully and are super consistent due to the materials and processes used. The same can go for effects. Yeah, there’s loads of super cool vintage pedals and rack effects but there are also many faithful recreations that can cover those sounds too. Whatever your mindset, it’s hard to deny that technology and innovation hasn’t impacted you as a musician in a positive way in some small
way at the very least! We don’t all have to be sporting solar powered amplifiers and lunar dust basses that tune themselves, but next time you baulk at a new piece of gear, maybe give it a chance before going the instant dismissal route. BY NICK BROWN
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PERCUSSION
The Modern Drummer
What a musical world we live in. Every drummer has the potential to realise and create their own specific voice and personality but what a diverse and frankly confusing amount of sonic options to choose from! How does one actually achieve this as a drummer in 2020? Does modern technology and the constant evolution of sound hinder or help modern drummers? Sonic The Drumhog This isn’t an easy one to crack. The very nature of new sonic abilities excites many but for others, it’s a daunting idea – one that can just turn people off trying altogether. Some of us prefer the old way – acoustic, natural, vintage whilst some of us prefer the new way – modern, electronic, hybrid. Neither way is wrong but it’s definitely subjective. Genre plays a part here too. Modern pop is so loaded with electronics that the modern drummer has no choice but to adapt and evolve – regardless of whether they love the music that much. But regardless of personal taste, there’s no doubt that trying to mimic modern electronic sounds is an interesting challenge. But there’s more ways than one to skin a cat/drum.
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Mimic Me, Mimic You Interestingly, for many drummers (in the last decade at least), there’s a strong link back to vintage sounds and older style kits. In the same way fashion has embraced the looks of older generations, drummers are once again seeking the sound of the older recordings. Even vinyl is back in a big way. Perhaps there’s a rawness and an honesty to the sounds of those older drums and recordings that appeals to our ears? For many too, the very nature of shorter, controlled, vintage tones sits better in the mix for a variety of musical applications. Jazz drummers fiercely hold on to the traditions of high tuned toms and small bass drums – yet modern jazz is so un-traditional. Drumkits these days need to be everything to every gig. Whether it’s a wedding, a jazz gig, touring with a known artist, an original band, the drums need to be versatile enough to meet the needs of the music we play. The incorporation of technology and electronics was always going to be a thing. Whether you choose to hybrid this with vintage or modern drums is subjectively interesting and neither is wrong. It’s just interesting how different the results can be. Some
drummers – think Jojo Mayer or Chris ‘Daddy’ Dave – like to mimic electronic sounds on acoustic drums without resorting to electronics at all. Old drumheads on top of snares, splash cymbals gaffa taped to floor toms, stacked cymbals (everyone has tried this one), jingles, sizzles, the list goes on. Small changes can result in big differences and every modern pop tune that comes out presents a new sound or idea that could be tried. Modern electric kits have never been more real feeling or sounding but most drummers haven’t made the change over and the human element is flying strong. DJs have lots of work but for a live concert, there’s no getting around using live musicians. So clever drummers have, for a long time, used the hybrid set up as the way forward. Where the budgets allow, sampling, triggers and use of electronic pads alongside the acoustic drums is a sure win. The hybrid kit still allows for the use of full acoustic sounds where necessary too. Where budgets aren’t as high shows the most innovation though – drummers resorting to their ears to somehow recreate the sounds they’re hearing on the recordings. A simple wedding gig is a really interesting one. So many different styles and artists/songs get a whirl and every one of
them has a different sound to mimic. Most of kit doesn’t change too much but different snare and cymbal sounds can really make the difference. Adding some electronics – claps, 808 style kick sounds – moves the game on again. Applying these things over a vintage style kit too really mixes the old with the new and the result is modern, yet reliably nostalgic for the listeners. The Fresh Prince Regardless of where you’re at, there’s no right or wrong but being open to new sounds and ideas promotes movement and constantly keeps your ears alert. Modern technology – no matter how far you want to go down the rabbit hole – works alongside the modern drummer to present nothing more than options. Whether you use a ‘clap’ sample or mimic the sound using a rim click and rim shot combined, you’re still imitating the sound. Electric kits may be a thing but there’s something more interesting about the hybrid option and using other ways of creating these sounds. The human element remains and our individual personality and voice keeps things fresh. BY ADRIAN VIOLI
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PRODUCT REVIEWS FENDER
Player Series Lead II & III FENDER MUSIC AUSTRALIA | FENDER.COM.AU | RRP: $1,119
Take a look back into Fender’s annals and you’ll eventually find an esoteric collection of guitars entitled the Lead Series. These guitars aesthetically sat somewhere between a Fender Telecaster and a Stratocaster and were primarily created to rival the lower prices and rising build quality of guitars hailing from Japan and Korea.
bodies feature double cuts similar to a Strat, their horns are carved in a more symmetrical and evenly-levelled fashion reminiscent of a Tele. Their body shapes are of a lesser volume than a traditional Stratocaster but still retain their comfortable belly cut-outs, which make these guitars absolutely perfect for players of a smaller stature.
Despite being seen in the hands of prominent artists like St. Vincent, David Byrne and Eric Clapton, these axes never achieved mainstream popularity in their teething years. The guitars were only in production between 1979 and 1982, and were eventually replaced by the venerable Squier JV collection from Fender Japan. The Lead Series consisted of three models – austerely named the Lead I, II, and III (four, if you count the prototype Lead Bass, which never made it to mass production). The first model sported a single ceramic-magnet bridge humbucker bound in a quirky, oversized casing, which was much larger than most conventional humbucking pickups at the time. Mark II sported a pair of single coils, while the third bore a pair of the same rectangular humbuckers.
It’s worth noting that these guitars aren’t a completely faithful reissue – Fender have since incorporated them into their existing Player Series range. As such, the guitars rehash almost all of the materials, components, and electronics of its new family. Both axes are of the hardtail variety, constructed from an alder body and finished with a glossy polyester coat. They bear a 25.5” scale length with an all-maple neck and board for the Lead II, and a maple neck and Pau Ferro fingerboard combo for the Lead III. For neck profiles, it’s pretty standard fare here – a standard 9.5” fretboard radius paired with Fender’s modern ‘C’ shaped neck and 22 medium-jumbo frets.
Fender have often resurrected older models from the past, but surely no one could have expected the second coming of the Lead series. Fresh from NAMM 2020 are modern iterations of the Lead II and III models, although without the inclusion of the Lead I – because the more pickups, the better, right?
The onboard controls consist of a single volume and tone knob, coupled with a pair of peculiar chrome toggle switches that wouldn’t seem out of place on a vintage Hagstrom or Harmony guitar. The first switch acts as a three-way pickup selector, while the second one functions slightly differently per model – a unique phase-reverse mode on the II, while the III features a more conventional coilsplitting option for its dual humbuckers.
The pair that arrived at Mixdown HQ consisted of a Neon Green Lead II (affectionately dubbed “Slime” by staff), and a Purple Metallic Lead III. The axes share the same build quality and parts and differ only in fretboard options, electronics, and wiring. While their
Straight out of the box, both guitars were of decent playability. Fender’s modern ‘C’ neck profile is instantly recognisable with its medium-rounded shoulders and remains a competent middle ground for players with all different hand shapes and sizes. While
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the fingerboard edges might not be as wellrolled as some of Fender’s more recent and extravagant offerings, it didn’t take long to get acquainted with these axes. The ‘70s style F-stamped tuners held their ground fairly well, and the satin-finished necks were an absolute walk in the park to traverse. There were no glaring issues here; another great showing from their quality control department. Let’s talk sound. The Lead II model comes equipped with Alnico 5 neck and bridge single coils from the Player Series Stratocaster, and the tones produced are fairly similar. The neck pickup is pure sonic butter with its glassy chime and slightly scooped midrange, and sounds absolutely fantastic both clean and overdriven. The middle position delivers a slight quack and sneakily hides a wealth of usable tones. With the tone control wide open, you’ve got access to great rhythm tones for funk, blues, and everything in between. Dial it back, and now you’re stepping into the murky depths of neo-soul and jazz. Flicking the second toggle switch enables an interesting phase-reverse mode, which sonically behaves like a Strat’s second pickup position. This works wonders for blending guitar parts into a frequency-heavy mix, or if you’d simply like more quack and pop into your funk scratches. The bridge single coil is about what you’d expect from a Strat – a sharper, more defined top end but without being too shrill or piercing. Add some gain into your signal chain, and this pickup absolutely screams. The Lead III does away with the oversized pickup housing and utilises a more conventional pair of Alnico 2 Player Series humbuckers for its sonic arsenal. According to Fender, these are slightly overwound to provide some extra punch and pizzazz to
your sound. In a nutshell, these pickups are excellent. The neck humbucker is warm and all-encompassing, while the bridge pickup is incredibly well-balanced and sparkles in the mid to high frequencies. Coil-splitting via the second toggle switch is interesting – it’s a three-way switch, allowing you to pick which humbucker to split via the up and down positions, with no splitting in the middle position. This allows you to bring a handful of different tones to the stage; for example, a gentler rhythm tone supplied by a split-coiled neck pickup, and a fiery solo voice churned out by the hot humbucker in the bridge. Overall, the Lead Series models are pretty fantastic, and they’re a nifty choice for an entry-level guitar. You’re getting great bang for your buck here – good build quality, excellent pickups, and even some tonal customisation from the secondary toggle switch. And last but not least, they bear a different silhouette from Fender’s most famously copied body shapes, letting you stand out without even playing a note. BY EDDY LIM
HITS: ∙∙ Great sounding pickups ∙∙ Good build quality ∙∙ Retro silhouette MISSES: ∙∙ Toggle switch aesthetics may not be for everyone
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PRODUCT REVIEWS ASHDOWN
Studio 8 Bass Amplifier PRO MUSIC AUSTRALIA | PROMUSICAUSTRALIA.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: $339 The Ashdown Studio 8 is a 30 watt bass amplifier designed for practice at home, but because we’re all gear aficionados, we’ll find some much more interesting uses for it. The amp is small enough that it could easily be used as an enlarged tweeter for a dirty tone in either a live setting or studio session, or maximised as a fuzzy low-end for guitar or keys. The Studio 8 is the smallest of the Studio range, besides the Studio Jnr which is mostly its own beast. Weighing just 6.1kgs, the Studio 8 can easily be travelled with without breaking your back or the bank. It features one 8” speaker, and the other Studio amps in the range (Studio 10, 12, 15 etc.) have increasing sizes of speaker. At face value, the Studio 8 is a 30 watt amplifier with EQ and a line in. The only Volume is a master volume control, providing an overall master for both bass/instrument input (via a ¼” jack) and line input mix, such as a smartphone or computer for playback of a backing track. The EQ is three bands, high, middle and low, and offers +/- 15dB of gain a pop. For such a small amp and speaker, the Studio 8 provides plenty of low-end for solo or quiet rehearsal to ensure you sit nicely in the pocket of the mix that your bass shines in. This is partly thanks to the rear bass port, featured on the Studio 8 & 15 amps, allowing low end to escape while filling the room and shaking the floor. I can only imagine how much power you could muster from the varying sizes of Studio amps from Ashdown.
The mids in the Studio 8 are present without overwhelming the lows with ‘whomp’ and mess, and the highs add a nice level of attack and articulation for a clear, balanced clean tone. The line-in mix knob allows you to blend in backing track, before finally deciding on an overall master volume. Accompanied by a larger amp, the Ashdown Studio 8 would make a great mid/high frequency amp, usually dedicated to more gain and grit, while the larger amp handles the low mids and cleaner low and sub frequencies. It can prove difficult to capture a bass tone from the one source, and oftentimes, both in the studio and live, multiple tones are captured, re-amped, re-imagined and re-recorded to put together a ‘perfect’ tone. The Studio 8 could be your saving grace by splitting out a signal and using it as a dedicated high end/grit amplifier on a record. If nothing else, it’s a trick up your sleeve. While these would be great uses for the Studio 8, what’s really missing is a dedicated line out/D.I. The addition of this would propel the Studio 8 into a higher league of amplifiers, but without it, it holds the Studio 8 back into the world of practice amps. While separate D.I. boxes aren’t hard to come by, nor expensive, it’s become such an expected feature of bass amps that I really feel it’s missing, even on such a small amplifier. Fear not though, because the Studio 12 and 15 both feature D.I. outs via XLR, coupled with dedicated drive.
Overall, the Studio 8 would be a great buy for entry level bass players and tone-chasers. The whole range of Studio amps from Ashdown provide great sound and plenty of handy features with varying levels of power and size. And in that case - why stop at one? The Studio 8 packs a punch that the Studio 15 can’t quite nail, and vice versa. The Studio 8 is a solid amplifier with solid features to provide a consistent practice amp for home or small bands.
HITS: ∙∙ Small size, big sound, low weight ∙∙ Great EQ section MISSES: ∙∙ No D.I. out.
BY LEWIS NOKE EDWARDS
FAITH GUITARS
Natural Venus Cut/Electro Acoustic Guitar CMC MUSIC | CMCMUSIC.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: $1595 A lot can be said about a guitar with a single strum. With the Faith Venus Electro still ringing in my ears, it’s easy to see why they’ve won the UK’s Best Acoustic Guitar awards from 2012 to 2016. There’s beauty in simplicity – the Venus Electro particularly excels in this – and sincerity in consistency. The quality of construction sings excellence at the highest level, and when combined with the range of gorgeous tones available from the Venus Electro, you know you’ve got a winner. All these and much more awaits when the chrome locks on the brown leather case are snapped open, revealing the absolutely stunning guitar within. The Faith Venus Electro Natural series is part of a diverse range of customisation options that Faith Guitars offers. Being the first ever style available from Faith Guitars, the Natural series utilises a beautiful marriage of spruce and mahogany to produce sweet, honeyed tones with an emphasis on the midrange. A glossy sheet of high quality Engelmann spruce tops the Venus Electro, providing a dreamy contrast to the satinfinished Indonesian mahogany forming its back, sides, and neck. Additionally, the guitar is boldly accented by solid rosewood binding and Macassan ebony for the fingerboard, bridge, headplate and heelcap. A mother of pearl ‘F’ at the 12th fret and a 5mm abalone rosette are the only discernible flourishes present, which
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direct the eyes towards the guitar’s subtle but exquisite wood grain patterns on both its body and fretboard. Quarter-sawn spruce neatly solidifies the infrastructure of the guitar in an X-brace design, and leaves plenty of room for the Fishman INK3 preamp with its under saddle pickup. The Venus Electro resonates wonderfully with good sustain, and delivers a tight low end bundled with crystal clear mids and highs. It responds well to both sweeping campfire strums and light fingerpicking, and is extremely playable out of the box. The neck plays smooth and is hardly noticeable in the hand. The gold Grover Rotomatic machine heads adorned with dark wooden pegs hold tuning stability superbly and more than look their part in the entire package. The Venus Electro’s body shape looks to classic orchestral model guitar shapes for inspiration, and is remarkably comfortable when played sitting down or standing with a strap attached.
The Faith Guitars Venus Electro Natural series is a quality instrument that relies on honest craftsmanship and high quality tonewoods to get its point across. There aren’t any fancy bells and whistles or flashy decals emblazoned onto its body or fretboard; it’s a guitar that takes pride in its countenance with no pretentiousness whatsoever, bringing the hands that play it to the front and centre. BY EDDY LIM
HITS: ∙∙ Excellent build quality ∙∙ Lovely tones both acoustically and plugged in ∙∙ Aesthetically gorgeous MISSES: ∙∙ None
The Fishman INK3 preamp and pickup bundled together with the Venus Electro is incredibly simple and intuitive. Controls include a three-band EQ, volume and backlit tuner, all of which serve to cover every players’ needs when in use. When plugged in, the Venus Electro’s voice is articulate and accurate, and adjusting the onboard controls on the fly is a walk in the park.
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PRODUCT REVIEWS FENDER
American Acoustasonic Stratocaster FENDER MUSIC AUSTRALIA | FENDER.COM.AU | RRP: $3,999 Let’s not beat around the bush here: Fender, while being well-steeped in their rich legacy of classic instruments, are an ambitious company, for better or for worse. Take last year’s Acoustasonic Telecaster for example. While being miles better than the maligned Telecoustic model of yesteryear, it was still derided by many in the guitar community for being a tad too niche to really kick up a worthy fuss, and its steep pricepoint made that niche all the more slim. However, when Fender debuted the Acoustasonic Stratocaster at NAMM – and then shipped one directly to my desk a mere week later – I must profess to being quite curious. Wary, but curious nonetheless. Familiarity is something I tend to crave in a new instrument, so as a lifelong Strat player, I knew I’d be in my comfort zone with the Acoustasonic. Although its body does look a bit awkward, it’s a surprisingly nice feeling guitar, with the breezy weight, meticulous contours and familiar Deep C neck profile making for quite a comfortable playing experience. This is due in part to the Acoustasonic’s classic combination of mahogany, ebony and Sitka spruce, and while the Dakota Red finish initially came across as a little too Wiggle-ish for my tastes, I forced myself to embrace my inner Murray and accept that it was actually kind of cool. I’m going to dive straight in and say this: the Acoustasonic Stratocaster doesn’t deliver a tonne of volume or resonance. It does
project a sweet midrange and sounds crisp when fretting up the neck, and the mahogany construction makes for a pleasantly warm tone, but the quaint soundhole and slimline body definitely hinders the overall projection and dulls the low-end response you’d expect from an acoustic. Unless you’re going for a particularly thin and twangy tone, I can’t imagine this would make for a flattering recording experience when mic’d up. That being said, the Acoustasonic is still an incredibly fun guitar to play unplugged. The neck is ultra-responsive to slick single note runs, bluesy bends and jazzy comping, and there’s a surprising amount of overtones that pop out when strumming barre chords. It’s also a sublime fingerpicker too, particularly if you’re keen on those twangy, rootsy styles that so often beg for a Stratocaster. At times, I even forgot that I was playing an acoustic, which begs the question: who exactly are Fender trying to appeal to here? Plugged in, however, the Acoustasonic Stratocaster is a whole new kettle of fish. Fender have obviously put a lot of work into the electronic design of the Acoustasonic Stratocaster to differentiate it from that of the Telecaster and ensure it’s as practical as can be. There’s a Fishman piezo pickup underneath the bridge saddle, as well as an internal Fishman body sensor pickup and a Fender N4 magnetic noiseless pickup near the bridge position. The impressive Acoustic Engine allows you to flick between five classic acoustic body and wood types via the
selector switch, while the Mod knob lets you select and blend between different voicings from each pickup to unlock a broad spectrum of tones. This sounds a little naff when explained, but in action, it’s actually pretty impressive; whether you’re gunning for a beefy dreadnaught tone, the warmth of an orchestral model or even just a gritty electric sound, it’s all easy to achieve with the Acoustasonic Stratocaster. I tested a whole bunch of tonal combinations through a PA, straight into an amplifier and even through a long and winding pedal chain, and experienced nothing I could say wasn’t applicable to a live or studio setting. Sure I had my doubts about this guitar, but in the end, Fender knocked them all on the head: the Acoustasonic Stratocaster is a guitar that really puts fun to the forefront. It’s a comfortable, super-playable and very
forward-thinking instrument, and while it’s a little underwhelming unplugged, it’s a sheer wonder to hear its sounds when amplified. I guess the old adage is right: never judge a book by its cover. BY WILL BREWSTER
HITS: ∙∙ Incredibly comfortable and ultra playable neck ∙∙ Invigorating hybrid construction ∙∙ So many cool amplified sounds! MISSES: ∙∙ Acoustic projection isn’t great ∙∙ Design will take some getting used to
NUX
Mighty 8 BT PRO MUSIC AUSTRALIA | PROMUSICAUSTRALIA.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: $219.95 Over the past few years NUX (pronounced New Ex) have been building themselves a reputation for making quality, versatile products that are extremely affordable. With the new Mighty8BT they have upped their game even more. The MightyBT seems to pack a punch for quite a few different reasons, so let’s start with the first channel, which is designed for the electric guitar. It has a gain control, three different settings (clean, overdrive and distortion), a tone control, level control and a modulation/delay control. Simple and easy so far. The second channel has a mic input, level and reverb - perfect for practising and busking. You can just about the hear the rattle of coins in the guitar case. Finally, the third channel comes with a tap and volume control (more on that later) with a master reverb. On top of that the amp comes with a headphones output (you’re welcome neighbours), an aux input and USB connectivity. Considering that the amp is just smaller and lighter than a six pack, you’re pretty much off to the races. Now before you run off to your local music store, take a breath because the fun is just beginning. As well as a Bluetooth control the NUX has a free app available on both IOS and Android which kicks up the amp to a whole new level. Let me explain: using
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the app gives you freedom and flexibility for each channel that is previously unheard of. You can program and store virtually every tone from the first channel using the gain, tone and level control to tailor just about any sound you could wish for. This is where it starts to to get really interesting… BUILT IN EFFECTS! The modulation modes available are chorus, phaser, vibrato and tremolo.And not just with speed and depth - the app offers a freedom of controllability of each effect that was unheard of in a small amp and now they come free. The tremolo is particularly impressive, and the other modulation effects are totally usable and quite versatile as well. And it keeps on going - you want reverb? You got it! Four types! Hall, room, spring and plate. The spring reverb is outstanding, while the hall, room and plate settings can also produce stunning results. Why stop there? Who doesn’t love echo? Every since the fifties til the present day echo has been an essential part of just about any guitarist’s rig. The NUX offers three types of echo- tape (for the retro rockers out there), analogue for the warmer tone and digital, which is pristine and modern sounding. You’d think that’s be enough… But nooooo! Not on your Nelly, sunshine!
There’s also a drum machine. Yup, you read that right! A drum machine with totally adjustable tempos and volume levels and musical styles - Pop, Metal, Blues, Country, Rock, Funk, R’n’B and Latin. Between the built in drum machine and the Bluetooth function allowing you to play along with your favourite backing tracks or YouTube, as well as all the inbuilt effects included, the Mighty 8 BT boasts the potential to be the ultimate practise amp, or even a pretty mean busking amp. The NUX comes with a power adapter (it can also be powered by batteries) and shoulder strap - they’ve really thought of everything. On top of that, the colour scheme of black tolex and silver grill cloth does give it the look of a certain Californian amp, if you catch my drift. It’s also super affordable for the cost of a few pedals you get pretty much all you need in a small package. The NUX Mighty 8 BT is easily one of the best new products for beginners I’ve encountered on the market in a long time. Hats right off! BY MATT DWYER
HITS: ∙∙ Quality inbuilt effects ∙∙ Portability ∙∙ Affordability MISSES: ∙∙ You won’t want to put it down
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PRODUCT REVIEWS ERNIE BALL MUSIC MAN
StingRay Special CMC MUSIC | CMCMUSIC.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: FROM $3795 An update to the much loved StingRay – is that playing with fire? The guys at Music Man know how to knock out a quality instrument and have the impeccable track record to go with it, so I’m guessing the answer is no. From funk to rock and pop to country, the StingRay is an iconic instrument that has held down the low end on many a classic (and not so classic) album. Firstly, the new Music Man finishes and colour combos are great. This particular example is Cruz Teal, which is in the Seafoam/Green/Surf realm and really pops out nicely at first glance (and many further reaffirming glances thereafter). The Special features an ash body, roasted maple neck, maple/rosewood/ebony fingerboard depending on body colour (this one has ebony), and stainless steel frets. In the electronics department, you’ll find either a single humbuckers or dual humbuckers. As mentioned, the Cruz Teal looks great and sits nicely against the white scratch plate and darker ebony fretboard. I love the look and feel of roasted maple necks. The slightly darker tinge can bring out the grain and combined with Music Man’s satin oil and wax finish, it feels smooth and slick (but not sticky). Music Man have knocked off some weight with this redesign and it’s noticeable – in a good way. Lighter in weight, a tummy cut on the back of the bass, slight forearm contour and new five-bolt neck joint all add
up to some fresh feels without going over the top. For rock, punk and heavier styles, the StingRay can really punch through. The double buckers can go from round and warm to bright with lots of attack. Funk and groove players will no doubt already know the merits of this particular instrument (used by the likes of Flea, Louis Johnson, etc.) and it really fits the mould; lots of fingerstyle dynamics, you can dig in for some more honkiness and of course, slapping brings out the mid-range punch. Five-way pickup selector, three-band EQ – these add up to lots of tonal variation.
HITS: ∙∙ Feel, range of tones ∙∙ Updated looks and specs MISSES: ∙∙ None
The changes are slight, but do add to the feel and general aesthetic. This means the iconic StingRay has just had a little update, not a full blown makeover, which will keep diehards happy and entice new Music Man users alike. The reduced weight (thanks to the hardware and body changes) increases the appeal, with the colour schemes adding some new flavours to the StingRay line. Many other specs (colours, pickup combo, woods) are available too if you really want to hone in on particulars. BY NICK BROWN
EARTHQUAKER DEVICES
Dispatch Master YAMAHA MUSIC AUSTRALIA | AU.YAMAHA.COM | EXPECT TO PAY: $379 EarthQuaker Devices have made something of a name for themselves in recent years with outrageous yet considered pedal designs. Rising from the basement of Jamie Stillman in 2007 with the Hoof fuzz, they now boast a stable of more than 40 pedals. To EarthQuaker, pedals should be simple and user-friendly with lots of practical and musical sounds and while they push the boundaries of what is sonically possible, they ensure they have one foot firmly planted in this philosophy. To this end, the Dispatch Master offers an elegant all-in-one solution for arguably the two most commonly used effects – reverb and delay. With most pedal manufacturers chasing infinitely adjustable parameters and memory banks, EarthQuaker have taken another direction with the Dispatch Master. It’s all about extremely usable sounds right at your fingertips, with a hi-fidelity digital delay and reverb built into the one pedal. The control layout is simple, making it easy to dive right in. There is a Mix control to allow the user to control the amount of effect vs. original signal, while Reverb is controlled by a single pot with the amount increasing as you turn the pot clockwise. It is a lush, ambient, hall-type algorithm, and it is easy to intuitively create atmosphere on the fly, from a smaller background space to a drenched, cavernous wash and everything in between. The delay section of the pedal features familiar
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controls of Time and Repeats. Delay times range from 0ms to 1500ms (1.5 seconds), while Repeats acts as a feedback control. This is an extreme amount of delay time to be had at your disposal and this range on one pot is both a blessing and a curse, making it is easy to overshoot your desired delay time or bump it out of place. A ‘Range’ control might help overcome this, but then it would be stepping away from the simplistic intentions of the pedal’s design. The delay itself sounds fantastic. As a slap, it is thick and warm. Longer times also show the strength of the algorithm. Even at higher feedback and mix settings it never sounds stuttered or crunchy. The repeats are smooth to the end and offer a crisp yet warm tonality. Build quality is a hallmark of EarthQuaker Devices, every pedal is made by hand in their Akron, Ohio factory and housed in a solid cast case with chassis mounted pots. Their pedals also now feature Flexi-Switch Technology, a true bypass, electronic relay switching system allowing the user to simultaneously operate both latching and momentary operation. With power supplied via a standard 2.1mm, centre negative 9V DC power supply, the Dispatch Master will integrate easily with any pedal setup. Calling upon the primary effects of yesteryear, the Dispatch Master gives players the opportunity to search for the sweet spot
between delay and reverb. In many ways, the simplified user interface allows for greater fine-tuning of the balance between the two. Stripped of endless options, the user can play with subtle variations in delay time, mix and repeats along with lush reverb to manipulate the sense of space around a sound source in the way recording engineers and musicians did in years gone by. If you don’t have the need for extreme tweakability and want to kill two birds with one stone the Dispatch Master is worth a look. It offers high quality sounds in a single pedal housing, and makes dialling in a sound on the fly relatively easy. If the flavour of the delay and reverb on offer are your cup of tea then you would be hard pressed to find a pedal boasting a more concise way of accessing these two essential effects. BY ASH BLAKENEY
HITS: ∙∙ Great sounds ∙∙ Small footprint ∙∙ Solid build quality ∙∙ Ease of operation MISSES: ∙∙ Extreme range of delay times makes it easy to overshoot desired setting
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PRODUCT REVIEWS ZOOM
V6 Vocal Processor DYNAMIC MUSIC | DYNAMICMUSIC.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: $779 Once upon a time the idea of a dedicated vocal processor just… wasn’t there. Occasionally you might spot a singer like Robert Plant (watch the Page & Plant Unledded DVD) or Mike Patton (especially in Mr Bungle) with a few guitar pedals repurposed for live vocal use, wresting control away from the sound engineer and placing it right onstage with the vocalist. Now floor-based vocal processors are much more commonplace and there’s a real push to make each one unique, rather than just ‘Hey bud, here’s your delay and pitch correction, have fun.’ The Zoom V6 is pretty serious about grabbing your attention among the various products competing for your love. One thing that immediately sets the V6 apart from most is its integrated expression pedal, which operates over various formant effects without changing pitch, so you can truly turn your effects use into a part of your performance rather than something that is passively applied to your voice. And when you look at the three main sections of the V6 and what they’re capable of, that means plenty of creative power. Going left to right, the first section is Voice. This is where you can sculpt the basic timbre of your sound, including chromatic and diatonic pitch correction, freaky robot and vocoder effects, octave shifts and more. Next up is a Harmony section which
takes its cues from the key selection knob incorporated into the Voice section, and which gives you options for high and low harmonies easily accessed by simple buttons labelled ‘High,’ ‘Higher,’ ‘Low, ‘Lower’ and ‘Fixed.’ The final section is an Effects block which includes delays, reverbs and chorus plus special effects like Distortion, Beat Box and Telephone. There are 40 preloaded patches or there are 100 user slots so you can create and save your own. The system also includes its own dedicated mic, the SGV-6, which is designed to isolate your voice by suppressing sounds from other instruments on stage so they don’t leak all over your vocal effects. Ah but that’s not all! There’s also a comprehensive looper section with up to 3:30 worth of recording capability, and easily controlled by the three multi-function footswitches that also govern your memory patch selection. There’s also an inbuilt compressor and an Enhancer for optimising stuff like sibilance and EQ. Connections include an XLR Mic input, phantom power switch, control pedal input for adding an extra expression pedal that you can assign to effects parameters, USB output for using the unit as an audio interface in your DAW, a headphone out with its own volume control, and the XLR output
for connecting to a mixing desk. The V6 is powered by an included AC power supply, although it can also run on four AA batteries for around three and a half hours. This unit is definitely designed for creative vocalists who want to build excitement and dynamics into their entire vocal texture, rather than being a product aimed at singers who need a few simple set-and-forget modules like EQ, compressor and ambience. It’s a performance machine by design, and under the feet of the right vocalist it can be a powerful creative tool. The only real bummer is that the expression pedal is dedicated to formant effects and you have to use a separate one if you want to, say, fade in an echo or vary the level of a
harmony. Otherwise this is a feature-packed creative hub that the sonic explorers among us will have a great time with. BY PETER HODGSON
HITS: ∙∙ Included mic ∙∙ 100 user presets ∙∙ Formant expression pedal MISSES: ∙∙ Need separate expression pedal for fx ∙∙ Mono output only
ASHDOWN
Tone Pocket PRO MUSIC AUSTRALIA | PROMUSICAUSTRALIA.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: $369 These guys really have a knack for making useful stuff, hey? Ashdown’s Tone Pocket is a palm-sized preamp/interface with a three band EQ, headphone and line outputs, and a sleek, metal chassis. Designed primarily as a bass headphone amp, the Tone Pocket can help players rehearse silently, EQ a signal before their amp, or push a signal harder into other pedals or another preamp. The Tone Pocket doubles as a recording interface, connecting to your Mac or PC via USB 2.0, though it only offers digital to analogue (D/A) conversion, so the headphone out will remain latency free. The Tone Pocket, as an interface, offers 44.1kHz and 48kHz recording, at 16-bits. Data is transferred via USB 2.0, so it will be compatible with almost everyone. The unit responds from 20Hz all the way up to 20kHz, so you can be sure that whether this unit is coupled with a bass, inserted into a guitar signal, or even incorporated into a synth setup, that you won’t be losing anything along the way. The unit runs on an included 12V adapter and a handy little light signifies that power is connected, as well as when there is an input connected. The unit features an input, line input for jamming to auxiliary tracks, three band EQ with +/- 15dB, and finally an output volume and headphone out. The final master volume controls both the line out and headphone out, so the Tone
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Pocket could be used to subtly EQ your signal before an amplifier head or similar, or to EQ out nastiness introduced by a pedal or effect. Using the master volume, the pedal can also amplify your signal into the red before another preamp, providing subtle or overbearing grit, with the handy addition of an EQ stage before it. On the contrary, the Tone Pocket could also attenuate after a particularly hot guitar or bass, offering a clean signal before whatever else you decide to insert into your signal chain. When using the unit like this, it becomes pretty clear that the unit would benefit from an input gain, allowing instruments to be run wide open without having to dial back the master volume on the Tone Pocket. A dimed input gain would also allow the user to give themselves some grit to accompany an otherwise fairly clean signal when rehearsing alone. To be fair, the Tone Pocket has clearly been left fairly simple to allow users to maximise use of pedals and tones before and after the Tone Pocket, while the unit allows for an extra gain stage, and some cheeky EQ at a very practical and mobile size. The Tone Pocket would be great for travelling, allowing it to be easily stowed away in the included soft case. The Tone Pocket is a home run. Similar to the Phone-Box reviewed elsewhere in this issue, Ashdown aren’t attempting to reinvent the wheel, but just make the wheel
a little smoother to run, or allow users to maximise the use of their wheel. The Tone Pocket is like a preamp with an EQ section, headphone amp and interface all in one tiny unit. It can be used on the go, thanks to its tiny size, or alternatively as a mainstay of your studio or live rig, allowing players to push or pull a little gain from anywhere in their chain, and dial a little more or less of some frequencies for subtle or overt tone-shaping. A little EQ after a delay, or in your effects loop to ensure that only wet effects are EQ’d. A little more gain before a distortion, or a little EQ before a fuzz to ensure your signal is good as the one you hear in your head. You’re really only limited by your imagination.
HITS: ∙∙ Handy size, great layout ∙∙ Line out as well as clear headphone out MISSES: ∙∙ No input gain
BY LEWIS NOKE EDWARDS
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PRODUCT REVIEWS PIONEER DJ
DDJ-200 JANDS | JANDS.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: $249 Aimed at portability and geared towards beginners, the lightweight Pioneer DDJ-200 controller strips back to basics while still retaining functionality. With streaming services taking over digital downloads and physical music purchases as the preferred way to consume media, this controller is Pioneer’s solution for DJs. Boasting connectivity with iTunes, Spotify, Deezer, Beatport Link and Soundcloud Go through apps such as Djay, WeDJ, Edjing and Rekordbox, the DDJ-200 offers vast options to access millions of tracks not only listen to but DJ with. Out of the box, the device is plug and play with the software of your choice. Pioneer have removed all connectors from the DDJ200, bar the USB port. The native software, WeDJ & Rekordbox, utilises the provided mono split cable that connects to the headphone jack of your computer/phone. There are two outputs, one for the main out and the other for the headphone cue. This innovative use of the headphone jack allows for quick setup and compatibility with the speaker system of your choosing. On first impressions, the controller is quite sturdy. The jog wheels are small but responsive, the up faders are a little rigid but definitely usable and the crossfader is relatively smooth. All the buttons feel good
to the touch and the EQ knobs are solid. My only gripe is that the tempo sliders are quite difficult to use. I tended to use the beat sync function to match the tempo and then turn it off to mix. In stripping down, Pioneer has removed the trim knobs from this controller, providing auto-gain within software. During testing, mixing between heavily compressed house tracks and soft '60s soul music was seamless. As this controller is geared towards newcomers, the removal of this feature will likely have little to no impact on their experience. Within a few minutes of messing around with the settings in Rekordbox, the DDJ200 was working in a way that I’m used to playing on the more expensive pieces of Pioneer equipment. Headphone cue and master levels are controlled via software which can be a pain in some instances, but I found once mixing, the absence of these knobs was completely out of mind, especially with the auto-gain feature. Using the WeDJ app on Android or iPhone, the DDJ-200 connects via Bluetooth and powered via the USB port. During testing the controller could be powered with a portable charger, making it suitable for DJing on the go. The delay while using Bluetooth was significant and I found beat
syncing tracks was the only way to achieve a consistent mix. For those just getting started, it’s suitable, especially those mixing dance music but I can’t imagine mixing unquantized tracks over Bluetooth. For newcomers, using the DDJ-200 with Beatport link is definitely the selling point here. For $20 a month, you can stream the entire Beatport catalog of six million tracks directly to WeDJ/Rekordbox. Integration on Rekordbox was better than expected with approximately four second delay to start playing a track and around 10-15 seconds for the track to fully download and analyse. While the audio quality at this price point is quite low, 128kbps AAC, for having a mix at home or at a party it’s a perfect solution for the budding DJ.
Overall the Pioneer DDJ-200 is a welcome addition to a line of market dominating products aimed at the up and coming DJ, and at this pricepoint, it’s easily the best value for money entry level controller currently on the market. BY SAM MCNEICE
HITS: ∙∙ An affordable entry to DJing ∙∙ Intuitive auto-gain feature MISSES: ∙∙ Tempo sliders are a bit of a pain
PRODUCT REVIEWS SOLID STATE LOGIC
SSL 2 and 2+ AMBER TECHNOLOGY | AMBERTECH.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: SSL 2 - $369, SSL 2+ - $469
The entry level audio interface market is currently a densely populated place. Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more choice, along comes SSL with the 2/2+, a USB powered, 24bit/192khz device at a competitive price. But how does it stack up against the rest? Solid State Logic consoles are a mainstay in professional studios around the world. It’s been said that more number one hits have been recorded on SSL consoles than any other console combined. The console of choice for legendary engineer Bob Clearmountain, SSL are renowned for their incredible preamps, eq and bus compressors. With decreasing demand for large scale studios, SSL has started their transition into prosumer products with the SIX desktop mixer released early in 2019. Now, the SSL 2/2+ is designed to take over as the center of a small home/studio setup. Comparing the different models, the SSL 2 is aimed at individuals looking for a quality interface boasting two ins, two outs, a headphone output and the legacy 4k switches while the 2+ is aimed at collaborators adding a second headphone output, MIDI in/out and an unbalanced secondary output pair. The 2/2+ looks like an SSL product. Using the classic blue/red colours from their existing products, the 2/2+ maintains a sleek and professional aesthetic. The angled front panel not only looks good, it provides an ergonomic workflow whilst keeping all the cables out the way via the back panel. The pots feel sturdy and responsive and the large
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monitor level pot goes all the way to 11, one for the Spinal Tap guitarists in all of us. The unique part of this audio interface is the legacy 4K button on the input channels. Modelled after SSL’s 4000 series consoles, this button adds subtle but rich harmonic distortion to the input signal and a high frequency boost around 16khz. It’s an easy way to instantly add that airy, professional quality to any input signal. I was surprised to find out that all the 4K processing is analog, so no, it’s not just a gimmick. During testing, I found that I left 4K on while recording everything that went through the 2/2+. The A/D D/A conversions which are arguably the most used part of an interface are definitely the best in this price range. SSL has utilised AKM technology, to achieve 24bit/192khz conversions that sound about as clean as you can get. Recording guitar, bass, synths and vocals were all a breeze through SSL’s own quality preamps with the instrument, line and hi-Z settings. The noise floor is incredibly low and whilst recording very quiet sounds through a microphone, the noise floor was barely audible. The preamps brought out a quality in sounds I couldn’t get while using other interfaces of the same price range. SSL have also provided a monitor mix pot that gives you zero latency monitoring of the 2 input channels. During testing I found that the input side was always significantly quieter than the USB side and it was necessary to turn up the monitor/headphone output quite loud to compensate. On the
2+ model the ability to route the second headphone output to outputs 3/4 with the flick of a switch is a welcome addition that makes working with other musicians a breeze. The 2+ has two pairs of unbalanced outputs which are marketed as easy connectivity to DJ mixers, but with easy accessibility to 1/4” to RCA cables I would’ve preferred the outputs to be balanced. Another feature that could’ve elevated this interface to the next level would’ve been the ability to switch between both outputs with a button. Although, these are both just minor gripes which most users won’t be affected by.
This alone would be enough to sway an individuals first time foray into purchasing an audio interface. Overall the SSL 2/2+ is a fantastic sounding, well performing audio interface with high quality components. It joins the competitive market of entry level studio gear, placing 40+ years of technology into a product that although is a little more expensive than others, outperforms them all. If you have a little extra money to spend on an interface, this should be the one. BY SAM MCNEICE
The SSL 2/2+ is USB bus powered, meaning you don’t need to use a separate power supply to run it. Usually, this is a trade off between the ability to run at low latency and having a tidier setup, but I was surprised that during testing, latency performed quite well compared to other interfaces that have a dedicated power supply. With a modest home setup, I was able to get latency without glitches to under 5ms, more than suitable for most applications. Along with the physical interface, SSL have bundled in the SSL Production Pack including 2 of their native plugins and a six month licence for the rest of their plugin range. These plugins are the real deal and do a stellar job of emulating the sound of the aforementioned SSL hardware components. Also included are light versions of ProTools, Ableton Live, Native Instrument’s Komplete and a large sample library from Loopcloud.
HITS: ∙∙ Incredible sounding preamps ∙∙ Easy to use plug and play design ∙∙ Low latency ∙∙ Competitive price MISSES: ∙∙ Limited amount of in/outs
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ERIS, REMASTERED. We made sure these monitors maintained the clarity and flat frequency response that Eris has become synonymous with. Eris XT monitors deliver the same smooth, accurate character of their predecessors, and add improved transient response, a wider top-end, and tightly-focused lows. The 100° x 60° elliptical wave guide provides a wider stereo image for a larger sweet spot, while the narrow vertical dispersion reduces reflections from your desk. The silk dome tweeter delivers a smooth, refined sound that accurately reproduces transients and high frequencies. Both the weave and nature of the Eris XT custom-woven composite low-frequency driver deliver a constant dispersion pattern throughout the frequency range. A larger cabinet and improved port deliver deeper bass response. It’s Eris, remastered. Rest assured that your clients and fans are getting what they deserve: your best work. Visit us at www.presonus.com to learn more.
ERIS XT ™
High-Definition Active Studio Monitors
Eris E5 XT
©2019 All Rights Reserved, PreSonus Audio Electronics. PreSonus is a registered trademark of PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. Eris is a trademark of PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Eris E8 XT
PRODUCT REVIEWS SENNHEISER
HD25 Light Closed-Back Professional Monitoring Headphones SENNHEISER AUSTRALIA | EN-AU.SENNHEISER.COM | EXPECT TO PAY: $179.95 There are few items in DJ lore as iconic as Sennheiser’s legendary HD25 headphone. Originally released in 1988 as a monitoring headphone with the professional broadcast crowd in mind, the HD25 found its way into various professional applications, from news reporting to the go-to communications headset for British Airways, but this was only the beginning of what was to be the HD25’s crowning legacy. In one of those perfect moments of cultural serendipity, the initial release of the HD25 just so happened to coincide with the advent of Germany’s underground techno scene and the parallel emergence of Acid House in the UK. It was a match made in heaven. The HD25’s high output and top-notch isolation, features originally conceived to help outside broadcast engineers monitor in particularly noisy environments, made the HD25 a remarkably adept DJ headphone. Its minimalist aesthetic and replaceable components made it an instant classic. Before long, it was commonplace to find HD25s in DJ booths and pirate radio stations all across Europe. Slowly but surely the world caught up, and before long the HD25 was one of the most popular (and recognisable) headphones on the market, its signature U-shaped voicing making it an ideal playback vessel for the many genres and sub-genres of bass-heavy club music that were growing in popularity through the 90’s and 00’s.
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Fast forward to this year’s NAMM show, and the announcement of Sennheiser’s latest addition to the HD25 family tree, the new HD25 Light. Suffice to the say the HD25 Light is a welcome addition to the series, bringing the HD25 to a whole new corner of the market: the average Joe (or Jolene), fixing its sights on the scores of budding bedroom DJ/producers who seem to be multiplying like rabbits at the present juncture. So how does the ‘Light’ version of the HD25 stack up against its very famous predecessor? The answer is remarkably well.
reproduction that has made it a dance music staple for decades. This U-shape voicing might not be for everyone (anyone working in rock or other mid-heavy genres may have a hard time carving out EQ on these guys), but rest assured that for the money, few headphones offer this much bang for your buck. And that seems to be the MO for the HD25 Light: to bring the industry standard for DJ-ing and electronic music production into as many homes as possible, by keeping the pricepoint in check and eschewing all but the most vital features.
Retailing at considerably less than the classic HD25, the HD25 lights are an attempt to trim what little fat there was on the original design and update it for a rapidly evolving customer base. The fact of the matter is that the collapsible construction and various swivel points found on the original HD25s - the very features that made it a must have for gigging DJ’s around the world - aren’t all that applicable in the context of the bedroom DJ/producer, where they are likely to remain connected to their associated DJ controller or interface for the majority of their lifespan.
While I’m still more likely to buy the classic HD25 (being able to mindlessly stuff them into a DJ bag post-gig is still a primary concern of mine), I was suitably impressed by the familiar sound coming from these much cheaper headphones. For someone dipping a toe in the DJ world or looking for a crossover headphone for both creating and casual listening, few budget headphones offer the kind of upside that the HD25 Light has going for it.
Sonically, the HD25 lights have the same Herculean output and robust low-end that has made the series the industry standard that it is today. The infamous U-shape voicing is still apparent, giving the HD25 Light the same defined, chiselled
The absence of the once lauded portability features are, thankfully, one of only a few obvious differences between the HD25 version and its more famous uncle. As for the drivers and sound quality, I’m happy to say that it’s all still there. After all, why stray too far from a classic? BY PAUL FRENCH
HITS: ∙∙ Classic Voicing ∙∙ Great output ∙∙ Handsomely priced MISSES: ∙∙ Not collapsible ∙∙ Not the greatest reference headphone
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AS BIG AS YOU WANT IT: RockBoard® DUO 2.0 320mm x 142mm RockBoard® DUO 2.1 470mm x 142mm RockBoard® TRES 3.1 522mm x 234mm
The first front-loaded pedalboard organiser making daily pedalboarding easier and better.
RockBoard® QUAD 4.1 472mm x 330mm
RockBoard® QUAD 4.2 622mm x 330mm
RockBoard® CINQUE 5.2 622mm x 422mm
RockBoard® CINQUE 5.3 822mm x 422mm
RockBoard® CINQUE 5.4 1002mm x 422mm
All pedalboards come with an option of a Gig Bag, Flight Case or ABS Case with the exception of the DUO 2.0 which only comes with a Gig Bag. Framus & Warwick Music USA, Inc.
LED light option for all 2019 boards
FROM THE STUDIO NO COMPROMISE. The award winning ATH-M50xBT harnesses the legendary M50x studio sound for an exhilarating wireless listening experience, with exceptional clarity and deep, accurate bass response - truly bringing the sound of the studio, to the street.
For more information on the M-Series go to audio-technica.com.au
PRODUCT REVIEWS DPA
2028 Vocal Microphone AMBER TECHNOLOGY | AMBERTECH.COM.AU | EXPECT TO PAY: $989 As much as the legendary Shure SM58 has proven it belongs as live vocals’ top dog, the allure of alternative mic choices never ceases. Every now and again when working a live show, a singer will bring along their own condenser microphone to use. What once seemed like a novelty, now appears to be an essential part of the audio arsenal. Condensers generally get a bad wrap for anything other than drum overheads on a live stage, given their tendency to feed back much easier than their moving-coil counterparts, but the DPA 2028 proves to be an exception to the rule. Opening the generously-foamed travel case, the sleek, black body of the 2028 is rather unassuming. Picking it up however gives a hint of its key differences. The handle is weighty, which gives it a much livelier feeling in the hand. Although I prefer the weight, some performers may find themselves with tired arms faster than with a dynamic mic and as such clipping it onto the stand more often. DPA would seem to prefer this however, given that the specifications for the 2028 on their website includes a wonderfully passive-aggressive chart on how cupping the mic affects the frequency response. Plugging the 2028 into first into a humble two-channel portable mixer, I sought to understand how it performs in a loudspeaker
environment. With nothing but a highpass filter and some bass rolled off, I was immediately serenaded. The sound was the perfect blend of smooth, warm, yet still crisp and defined. The large dynamic range touted as 117dB presents as a wonderfully loud signal, meaning that you won’t have to pump the gain to get those quiet singers up to level. The resistance to feedback too, was thoroughly impressive. The amount of low end present in the 2028 was surprising considering the almost Uluru-shaped frequency response graph. It rolls off at 100Hz and again at 16Hz, but is otherwise very flat with only a small bump at 8-9kHz. There is a permanent highpass filter at 80Hz which is very sensible, considering I ended up ramping the filter up to about 120Hz in a ProTools mix test. Overall, the untreated sound was the perfect blend of warm and crisp. Even under compression the sibilance was controlled and clean, with plenty of consonant definition. The bass response was perfect for capturing the lows of a baritone singer and would surely give the much-needed oomph for higher registers. One does need to be aware of the potential for pops that comes with a condenser however. It seems that the inbuilt filter does a decent job, but in about six minutes of recording I had two fairly nasty pops come
through. I might have just been unlucky but the mic was about 15cm away from the mouth at time of recording, so I wouldn’t blame proximity. In a live scenario however, pops are more or less ever-present with more common dynamic microphones and usually slip under the radar when performing alongside noisy enembles or backing tracks.
HITS: ∙∙ Sweet, natural tone ∙∙ Good noise rejection ∙∙ Loud MISSES: ∙∙ Watch out for plosives
For a live band or a studio recording, I wouldn’t hesitate to grab the DPA 2028. For the price range, there really is nothing it could be performing better other than with pop shielding, which can be easily remedied with a second filter in studio environments. BY FERGUS NASH
ZOOM
LiveTrak L-8 DYNAMIC MUSIC | DYNAMICMUSIC.COM.AU| EXPECT TO PAY: $939 Not too long ago I had an idea to record a podcast with some friends. It was a bit of an ordeal, first grabbing an iPad-controlled Behringer X32, powering it up, then plugging it into my laptop via USB which also required power. Hitting record on ProTools, praying it didn’t crash, we were ready to go. Learning that Zoom now produces a product which doesn’t need wall-wart power and can record multitrack 24bit/96kHz audio straight onto an SD card (without costing many thousands of dollars, to boot) was truly astounding. When I first opened it up, I must admit I was a little disappointed with the build quality. Although you can’t expect studiolevel components when this whole console costs only a couple hundred more than the Zoom H6 handheld recorder, the faders and knobs especially left a lot to be desired. The knobs have a concerning level of wobble to them, initially making me nervous that they could just snap off if they caught my sleeve the wrong way. Sliding the faders too, felt as though there was sand in the track and it was scraping away at the insides. The plastic chassis makes the whole thing feel like an old Nintendo NES, but it does significantly cut the weight down. As portability is another one of this machine’s key selling points, the lack of aluminum or even steel is more than forgivable. On the topic of portability, perhaps the most impressive thing about the L-8 is
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its ability to be entirely powered off of a laptop. When considering the capabilities as a DAW interface, the fact that it can be ran off of five volts amazes me, let alone AA batteries. Even ignoring the fact that you can record six separate tracks of 24bit/96kHz audio concurrently onto an SD card, the Livetrak L-8 would not at all be a bad choice if looking for a six-channel interface for recording a small drum kit or otherwise. Going into ProTools, there’s not much to say about the audio quality other than it’s what you would expect from a digital interface. The signal is clean, and importantly, lowlatency. Even running into a MacBook Pro with the latest hexa-core processor, other dedicated interfaces such as the Tascam US16x08 have struggled more with this area. Another standout feature of the Livetrak L-8 is how instantly interactive it is. One setback of the current digital era is a lack of tactility, with plugin knobs and VU meters lacking the connection which can make high-end audio equipment so enthralling to work with. As wobbly as the knobs are, turning them still feels better than clicking and dragging with a mouse, and the fast-reacting LED meters on each channel can’t help but excite whoever happens to be looking at it. The effects provided aren’t of the best quality and are a little limiting when it comes to altering them, but the novelty of
playing around with live reverb and delay is really what they’re there for. For anyone new to recording audio, whether it be for podcasting or relatively small music projects, the Zoom Livetrak L-8 is easily one of the best options available. If the components were of higher quality, I’d dare to say it could rival consoles more than double its cost.
HITS: ∙∙ Clean preamps ∙∙ Great interactivity, joyous LEDs ∙∙ Versatile processing and effects ∙∙ Ultimate portability MISSES: ∙∙ Build quality, such as scratchy faders and wiggly knobs
BY FERGUS NASH
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PRODUCT REVIEWS VOX
VX50GTV Amplifier YAMAHA MUSIC AUSTRALIA | AU.YAMAHA.COM | EXPECT TO PAY: $450 Vox Amplifiers are clean amp royalty. The Vox AC30 is hailed, imitated, profiled, gigged and loved endlessly, which is why the Vox VX50GTV is such an interesting product. The VX50GTV is a 50 watt amp modeller with built-in effects, tuner and 8” speaker. It sits in its own spot in the market between all-out profiling amps and multi-FX pedals, but is by no means an entry-level product. While it is an affordable one-stop shop for someone who needs one product for everything they do, it can also be a secret weapon in the studio. I wouldn’t gig with it but I’d definitely record with it as providing fresh sounds is where this amp shines. As if we’d expect anything less from Vox? The Vox VX50GTV is primarily a profiling amplifier, featuring 11 different amps and sounds ranging from clean to dirty and tipping their hat to Fender cleans, the AC30 and Marshall style amps, all the way to Mesa drive and finally a line only option. Much like Line 6’s Helix, a Kemper or Fractal’s AxeFX, profiling amps will never completely replace amplifier heads, nor will they ever sound specifically like the amp they’re trying to recreate. What they do do, however, is create new sounds whether they nail what they’re trying to replicate or not. The VX50GTV won’t replace your Fender Twin, nor your Mesa Dual Rec, but it’s not trying to. You can pull tones out of this small amp that are great in their own right, and that’s what it’s trying to do.
While this amp is the perfect one-stop shop for the bedroom or occasional guitarist, it’s also a great addition to a collection of any size. The effects, ranging from modulating choruses, flanges, tremolos and phasers to bouncy reverbs, metallic plates and grand halls with tap-tempo, are enough to sell this amp. Some different flavours blended however you want them, either together or solo, and the right amp choice can build a tone that can nail the sound in anyone’s head. The VX50GTV’s amp models are all workable. Beginning with a Fender Deluxe-style clean and building to the Vox cleans, the amp modelling becomes dirtier as you dial past the Brit 1959 and 800 settings, before landing on the SL-OD and finally Double Rec. There’s a universal gain control that changes with each amp selection on the stepped knob, and universal bass, treble and volume controls above the NuTube technology knob that dials the amp’s power from 0-50 watts. As if the amp modelling wasn’t enough for noodling at home or creating in the studio, you can dial the power all the way back and run the amp hard, delivering the breakup made famous by clean and dirty tube amps alike. Effects respond differently when driven, so you’ve effectively got double or triple the sounds, depending how hard you run the amp. The ‘Org Phase’ effect gets super gritty in the most pleasing way, and when you find a setting you like, you can save it!
The Vox VX50GTV is a one-stop amp for guitarists of any calibre. There’s also bass, keyboard and acoustic versions in the VX50BA, VX50KB and VX50AG respectively. Dial in your amp with the amp modeller, set the gain, tweak the EQ and save the settings if you want. Add some grit, size and heat with the modulation effects and then give your tone some space with a nice reverb or delay. Triple check your tuning and get on your way at either 1 watt or 50 watts depending on how much you like your neighbours. BY LEWIS NOKE EDWARDS
HITS: ∙∙ Great selection of amps ∙∙ Great, usable effects MISSES: ∙∙ No mid control in EQ section
Staz Lindes of
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DIRECTORY
EVOLUTION MUSIC
SKY MUSIC
KOALA MUSIC
DAMIEN GERARD STUDIOS
(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 4/2181 Princes Hwy, Clayton VIC P | (03) 9546 0188 E | info@skymusic.com.au W | skymusic.com.au /skymusiconline
(Audio Products Distribution) A | Brookvale, NSW P | (02) 8090 6508 E | koalaaudio@outlook.com W | koalaaudio.com.au / koalaaudio
KEYNOTE STUDIOS
FIVE STAR MUSIC
THE AUDIO EXPERTS
MAKE MERCHANDISE
EASTGATE MUSIC
NEWMARKET STUDIOS
(Music Production Studio) A | 87-91 Arden Street, Melbourne VIC P | (03) 9329 2877 E | callum@newmarketstudios.com.au W | newmarketstudios.com.au /newmarketstudios
LEARN MUSIC
(Music Education) A | 311 High Street, Kew VIC P | (03) 9853 8318 E | learnmusic@bigpond.com W | learnmusic.com.au /kewlearnmusic
SOUNDS EASY PTY LTD
JABEN AUDIO
VINYL REVIVAL
BINARY MUSIC
(Music Instruments Retailer & Education) A | 48 Bloomfield St, Cleveland QLD P | (07) 3488 2230 E | sales@binarymusic.com.au W | binarymusic.com.au /binarymusic
SOUNDS ESPRESSO
A | Shop 2 398 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC P | (03) 9670 8231 E | info@jaben.com.au W | jaben.com.au /jabenau
(Vinyl and Record Specialist) A | 405 Brunswick St, Fitzroy VIC P | (03) 9419 5070 A | 128 Sydney Rd, Brunswick VIC P | (03) 9448 8635 E | info@vinylrevival.com.au W | vinylrevival.com.au /vinylrevivalmelbourne
(Record Store & Café) A | 268 Victoria Road, Marrickville, NSW P | (02) 9572 6959 E | soundsespresso@hotmail.com W | soundsespresso.com.au /soundsespresso
HYDRA REHEARSAL STUDIOS
MELBOURNE MUSIC CENTRE
CONWAY CUSTOM GUITARS
GLADESVILLE GUITAR FACTORY
EASTERN SUBURBS SCHOOL OF MUSIC
DEX AUDIO
STONEHOUSE MUSIC SUPPLY
TURRAMURRA MUSIC
(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 8/2 Northey Rd, Lynbrook VIC P | (03) 8787 8599 E | info@evolutionmusic.com.au W | evolutionmusic.com.au /evolutionmusicaus
(Rehearsal & Recording Studio) A | 3/3 Melissa St, Auburn NSW P | (04) 1160 5554 E | keynotestudio6@gmail.com W | keynotestudios.com.au /keynote1
(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 1131 Burke Rd, Kew VIC P | (03) 9817 7000 E | sales@eastgatemusic.com W | eastgatemusic.com.au /Eastgatemusic
(Headphone Specialist Retailer)
(Rehearsal Rooms) A | 18 Duffy Street, Burwood VIC P | (03) 9038 8101 E | hydrastudios@bigpond.com W | hydrastudios.com.au /hydra.rehearsal.studios
(Music Lessons) A | 10 Floriston Road, Boronia VIC 7 Sahra Grove, Carrum Downs VIC P | 0421 705 150 E | essm@essm.net.au W | essm.net.au /easternsuburbsschoolofmusic
(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 102 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood VIC P | (03) 9870 4143 E | websales@fivestarmusic.com.au W | fivestarmusic.com.au /fivestarmusicoz
(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 525 North Rd, Ormond, VIC P | (03) 9578 2426 E | info@melbournemusiccentre. com.au W | melbournemusiccentre.com.au /melbournemusic.centre
(Audio Visual Retailer) A | 393-399 Macaulay Rd, Melbourne VIC P | (03) 8378 2266 E | mail@dexaudio.com.au W | dexaudio.com.au /dexaudioaustralia
(Audio Visual Retailer) A | 2065 Dandenong Road, Clayton VIC P | (03) 9545 5152 E | sales@theaudioexperts.com.au W | theaudioexperts.com.au /TheAudioExpertsAus
(Luthier) A | Wynnum, QLD P | 0408 338 181 E | info@conwaycustom.com.au W | conwaycustom.com.au /conwaycustomguitars
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MY RIG: TIM MAXWELL (LOSER) Loser are road warriors of the highest order. Featuring current and ex-members of Grim Rhythm, The Smith Street Band and The Bennies, few can boast the kind of accumulated kilometres and frequent flyer points as these boys, something that is only too evident in the rugged nature of lead singer/guitarist Tim Maxwell’s rig. Utilitarian to the core, Tim’s setup is about as convenient of a touring guitar rig as you are likely to find in the modern era, a testament to how far multi-effects units and amp modelling have come in recent times. We recently caught up with Tim, who was again on the road, this time in the lead up to the release of Loser’s much anticipated debut album Mindless Joy, to shoot the shit on modelling, multi-effects and the gear that made Mindless Joy.
Jetstream 390. I pretty much use it for every song live but when I’m in the studio I tend to alternate between a few other guitars such as a Les Paul, Epiphone Sheraton, Jazzmaster, Strats etc.” QUILTER Overdrive 200 Solid State Amp: “My go to amp at the moment is a Quilter Overdrive 200 solid state. It fits in my backpack and packs a punch. All I need is a great clean sound so I can pair it with effects to blend accordingly.” LINE 6 Helix LT Guitar Modeller: “I recently ditched the pedal board for a Line 6 Helix LT and I can’t see myself ever going back. It has endless options for any sound you want. I tend to use the amp modelling a lot for my distortion, that being
a Marshall Plexi head emulation which is incredible. It is just incredible how far digital emulation has progressed in the last few years. I used to be completely against multi-effects pedals but now I can’t fault anything. Other than the amp distortion, I’ll mess with a DM2, LA-2A Compressor, OCD and a Blue Sky. I like to keep it fairly simple.” RODE NT-2: “Most of the time I am not too fussed about what mic I use live at this point, 58s frequent almost every venue I’ve played so that’s the go to. However in the studio I love my Rode NT 2, it does the job and has real nice air.” MELLOTRON M4000D:
“We used a Mellotron on the track ‘Erase Me’ on the new album, we are all huge fans of The Beatles, Zeppelin and Pumpkins so I always wanted to feature the instrument at one point. It is a digital emulation of a real Mellotron but still it has the right feel. During the recording process I was heavily influenced by the album Fantastic Planet by Failure.”
Mindless Joy, the new album from Loser, is out Friday February 14 on Domestic La La.
REVEREND JetStream 390: “The main guitar I use is a Reverend
LINE 6 Helix LT Guitar Modeller
MELLOTRON M4000D
RODE NT-2
QUILTER Overdrive 200 Solid State Amp
REVEREND JetStream 390
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