Mixdown 279

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#279 — JULY 2017

TIMETABLE & MAP INSIDE

Giveaway!

MAD PROFESSOR 1 OVERDRIVE /REVERB PEDAL, AUDIO-TECHNICA STUDIO RECORDING COMBO SEE PG. 6 FOR DETAILS

INTERVIEWS — Thy Art Is Murder, Batpiss, Jen Cloher, Steven Wilson, New Found Glory, Richie Kotzen

REVIEWED — PRS SE 277 Semi Hollow Zebrawood, Fender American Professional Telecaster, TC-Helicon Talkbox Synth Pedal, Gretsch

Streamliner G2420T, Guild Guitars CE100D Capri, Washburn WLO10SCE Acoustic, Lovepedal Eternity Kanji Build Overdrive Pedal + more

THE ALL-NEW VOX

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The pre-amp circuit in the MV50 features a staggering number of analogue components that effectively reproduce the dynamic character of a traditional tube amp, while an innovative Class D power amp provides enough volume for any environment.

With speaker & line/headphone outputs, the MV50 is perfect for the stage, at home, or in the studio for direct recording.

*The prices set out in this advertisement are recommended retail prices (RRP) only and there is no obligation for Vox dealers to comply with this recommendation. Errors and omissions excepted.

MORE INFORMATION voxamps.com/mv50

WATCH US ON YOUTUBE youtube.com/voxaustralia

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/voxampsaustralia

EVENTS & PROMOTIONS yamahabackstage.com.au

Abraham Laboriel

Contents 06

Giveaways

08

Industry News

09

Music News

10

Product News

14

Cover Story:

Jen Cloher

Batpiss

- PG. 18

- PG. 20

Alice Cooper 16

Thy Art Is Murder New Found Glory

18

Jen Cloher

19

Steven Wilson

20

Foreword Even though it was over two decades ago, I so vividly remember the moment I set my eyes on the cover of Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run, my father’s favourite record of all time. Although simple in its nature, I was so taken away with the image of the Boss hanging out with a beaten up Telecaster hanging off his shoulder. Thus began my obsession with guitars, thanks to my parent’s impeccable taste in music, and me just wanting to look as cool as the Boss someday.

Batpiss Richie Kotzen

22

Softube Console 1 Fican Guitars

23

Integrate Expo

24

Melbourne Guitar Show

26

Melbourne Guitar Show Timetable and Map

28

Advice Columns: Guitar Bass Guitar

29

Percussion

30

Musicology

32

Sound Advice

33

Electronic Music Production

34

Product Reviews

64

Directory

66

Show & Tell

Get Social:

Thy Art Is Murder - PG. 16 for breaking news, new content and more giveaways visit

WWW.MIXDOWNMAG.COM.AU FACEBOOK.COM/MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

This month’s issue is a big one, a really big one. As proud presenters of the Melbourne Guitar Show, we thought it best to dig deep and make sure our July issue was a celebration of all things guitar. We have something for everyone in our reviews section this month. From the most cutting edge, modern shredders to the more traditional jazz and blues players, you’re bound to find something enticing. We chat with Alice Cooper, Steven Wilson, Thy Art Is Murder and more about their exciting new releases and upcoming tours as well as features/columns for all the nerds like me.

I have to say, it’s a pretty damn exciting time to be a musician and a music lover.

Thanks for reading!

NICHOLAS SIMONSEN - EDITOR

@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

MADE BY MUSICIANS, FOR MUSICIANS AUGUST ISSUE #280: STREET AND ONLINE DATE: WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16 AD BOOKING DEADLINE: MONDAY AUGUST 7 EDITORIAL DEADLINE: TUESDAY AUGUST 8 ARTWORK DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY AUGUST 9 For more information on Mixdown Magazine contact us at: (03) 9428 3600 or email mixdown@beat.com.au PUBLISHER Furst Media EDITOR Nicholas Simonsen mixdown@beat.com.au ONLINE EDITOR Alex Watts alex@furstmedia.com.au EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Jessica Over MANAGING DIRECTOR Patrick Carr

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GRAPHIC DESIGN Michael Cusack, Ben Driscoll, Joshua Barclay CONTRIBUTORS Rob Gee, Peter Hodgson, Christie Elizer, Nick Brown, David James Young, Adrian Violi, Michael Cusack, Augustus Welby, Luke Shields, Alex Watts, Tex Miller, Jessica Over, Aaron Streatfeild, James Di Fabrizio

ADVERTISING Patrick Carr patrick@furstmedia.com.au MIXDOWN OFFICE Level 1, No. 3 Newton Street, Richmond VIC 3121.

Phone: (03) 9428 3600

mixdownmag.com.au

Malaysian Blackwood Telecaster® 90 • Alder Body • Malaysian Blackwood Top • JP-90 single-coil pickups • Limited Edition neck plate

ONLY 8 IN AUSTRALIA

MUSOS CORNER • GH MUSIC • PORT MAC GUITARS • ZENITH MUSIC • SKY MUSIC SUPPLIES • DW MUSIC • MUSIC EXPRESS • BETTER MUSIC

©2017 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation. Fender® is a trademark of FMIC. All rights reserved. FENDER.COM.AU

Giveaways Last Month’s Giveaway Winners

Audio-Technica Studio Recording Combo

Mad Professor 1 Overdrive/ Reverb Pedal

Audio-Technica’s Studio Recording Combo is the ultimate starter pack for budding producers and musicians. The box includes a pair of M20x headphones from the critically acclaimed M-Series, an AT2020 condenser, and a downloadable beginner’s guide on microphones and recording.

Thanks to our friends at Technical Audio Group we have one to give away to one lucky reader.

The new 1 pedal from Mad Professor combines distortion and reverb to provide the soughtafter ‘brown sound’ of the late 70’s and early 80’s. With intense drive, high definition and a built-in reverb to add ambience and depth, this truly is the one to deliver one of the most legendary guitar tones to ever come out of an amplifier. Thanks to our friends at Dunphy Imports this month we have one of these incredible pedals to give away.

For your chance to win any of these awesome prizes, head to our giveaways page at www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaway and follow the instructions.

JVB STRINGS DIGITAL GUITAR TUNER

SOFTUBE CONSOLE 1 SOFTWARE MIXER AND HARDWARE CONTROLLER

The JVB-TMT 500 Digital Tuner 3 In 1 Metro Tuner is a chromatic tuner, metronome & tone generator suitable for all types of electric and acoustic instruments, complete with a built in microphone or clip on pick up. Last month JVB were kind enough to give us two of these tuners to give away, and the winners were:

Last month our friends at Sound & Music gave us a Softube’s Console 1 to give away to one lucky reader. As reviewed in our last issue, the Console 1 is a software mixer and hardware controller, designed to become the centerpiece of your DAW based studio. Unsurprisingly we had a lot of interest in this prize, but unfortunately there can be only one winner, and that is:

Abby Lee of Western Australia and Vin Armeni of Victoria

Dave Neumann of Queensland

Congratulations Dave, Abby and Vin and happy music making!

*These giveaways are for Australian residents only and one entry per person. For full terms and conditions visit www.mixdownmag.com.au/terms-and-conditions.

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mixdownmag.com.au

Industry News inaugural IndieCon conference where executives who attend the awards from across the country will be discussing issues regarding the sector. IndieCon is held at Tandanya National Aboriginal Cultural Institute, Adelaide on Thursday July 27 & Friday 28. Based on the UK version, it will look through workshops, panels, presentations and Q&As at the latest innovations and technological advancements in products, services and strategies. It is primarily for AIR members but non-members can buy tickets too. For all the details visit air.org.au/indie-con-australia.

More Funding For Community Radio The Federal Government looks like it will commit itself to more funding for community radio. In the last week before Parliament took a winter break, a motion was tabled by Senator Derryn Hinch to take the Commonwealth’s contribution to $4.5 million per annum in 2018-19, and commit to funding community radio at that level, indexed, on an ongoing basis. The motion was supported by Senators Ludlam, Xenophon and Lambie.

The Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA) has stepped up its campaign with all sides of politics since May when the Turnbull Government announced fresh funding of $6.1 million over two years to support digital radio services and one-off spectrum reorganisation costs for analogue radio services. Of the funding, $1.9 million will be allocated in 2017-18 and $2 million in 2018-19 to assist the community radio sector with the costs of digital radio broadcasting, including for the planned expansion of digital radio to permanent services in Hobart, Canberra, Darwin and the Gold Coast.

CBAA CEO Jon Bisset told us, “It gives us certainty and sustainability in moving forward.” The major media companies push for change in ownership laws means more information and biases are controlled by fewer media decision makers. Hence, community radio becomes more essential in providing diversity and independence enjoyed by its 5 million weekly listeners.

AIR Announces Inaugural IndieCon Conference As part of holding the 11th AIR Awards in Adelaide this year, the Association of Independent Labels (AIR) is holding the

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Qantas Names Fleet After Icehouse Song Icehouse’s ‘Great Southern Land’ was one of eight ‘Australian’ names to adorn Qantas’ eight new long haul Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. Over 45,000 Australians made 60,000 suggestions. Icehouse leader Iva Davies thanked those who voted, saying that in 1981 he “was attempting to write a new song about the country we love and wanted a new name and new way of describing it. I was aware that early European explorers described it as the Great South Land but I wanted something new, something more streamlined and singable.

Over 35 years later I find it remarkable how far that phrase has spread and now it seems set to travel even further.”

Ministry Of Sound Aust.

Changes Name To TMRW After Sony Music UK bought the parent company of Ministry of Sound, it was decided that the Australian company would change its name. It’s now TMRW Music (pronounced Tomorrow). But that’s the only change. The staff remain the same, its CEO for the past 17 years Tim McGee remains in that position, and its Soapbox Events will continue to operate MoS branded tours and events in Australia and run its club nights at the Ivy and Chinese Laundry in Sydney.

NT Song Of Year Gets Set With Finalists Rising Northern Territory acts At The Dakota, Lonely Boys, Saltwater Band and Tom E. Lewis are among the finalists for the NT Song of the Year awards. They are held at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory Amphitheatre on Saturday July 8.

This year drew 350 entries, said Music NT Executive Director, Mark Smith. He added,

“The judges’ comments reflected how much the standard has grown over the last few years and the successful tracks reflect what is so good about the NT music scene.”

Aussie Electronic Music Makes Global Waves Last month, Flume was ranked at #6 on Billboard magazine’s EDM Power Players list.

He actually beat the likes of Martin Garrix, David Guetta and Calvin Harris.

‘Call On Me’ by Melbourne’s Starley has, via its Ryan Riback remix, continued its run, now with notching up 420 million streams and has gone Top 10 in 14 countries. In the meantime, Gold Coast bred JVMIE found that relocating to Los Angeles last year has been a smart career move. Last month, her track ‘Back 2 Love’ reached #2 on the US dance charts.

…While New Book Recalls Its Early Struggle The early days of Australian dance music were filled with lawsuits and dirty tricks from major record companies. Rel Hannah’s book Music Wars – The Sound of The Underground, The Untold Story of Central Station Records tells the story of how a Melbourne dance store developed into the longest running dance label. Because many of the majors weren’t releasing overseas hit dance tracks that they had the rights to here because they figured they wouldn’t sell, CSR founders Jo Palumbo and Morgan Williams defiantly brought them in. The latest shipments of these 12” vinyl records were then grabbed eagerly by DJs and played in nightclubs and warehouse parties, which boomed as a new generation of kids fell in love with the excitement, glamour and subversiveness of the new scene. The book is accompanied by a 3-CD set of the tracks that boosted the whole movement.

New Recording Studio For Canberra Canberra has a new $1 million state of the art recording studio. Alas, it’s not for public use yet. It’s built by the Australian National University for its music students to get hands-on results. It includes a Neve 48 channel control panel, which is one of the world’s largest, as well as custom crafted plywood flexible acoustics, two postproduction rooms and a voice isolation studio. In its second semester, famed Australian record producer Mark Opitz will join the team as school as a visiting fellow.

THINGS WE HEAR Will Midnight Oil play the AFL Grand Final alongside The Killers?

The word is that Sony Music Australia is about to announce a millennial-aimed local talent discovery initiative set to start in August.

By this summer, music fans attending concerts at Melbourne stadiums at the MCG, Etihad Stadium and AAMI Park might have to go through body scanners similar to those in airports, and have their possessions and bags searched separately The cream of Perth’s music community are supporting drummer John ‘Pecko’ Petkovich who has been diagnosed with cancer. A fund raiser is held for him on Saturday July 15 at the Charles Hotel.

17 acts including V Capri, Dave Hole, Bakery, Ice Tiger, Jets and Mod Squad are playing, and studios, production crew and blues clubs are donating time and services.

Performing at the 14th National Indigenous Music Awards on Saturday August 12 in Darwin, are A.B Original with Dan Sultan, Paul Kelly and 2016 NIMA winner Gawurra.

On the eve of a national tour to begin late July with US band ’68, Adelaide’s Grenadiers had $5000 worth of gear stolen from bassist Phil Meakin’s car.

It was in the gated car park of his apartment block in Glenelg South.

Meakin’s particularly upset about the theft of a Fender Telecaster Custom 72, which he’s had for eight years, and written many of the band’s songs on.

Grinspoon had good exposure when they played half time entertainment at Nine’s State of Origin II. It was watched by 3.5 million.

The legendary band X has had nine members pass through the ranks. To mark the limited vinyl edition release of X-Citations: Best of X and Rarities, Steve Lucas and Kim Volkman have tagged a tenth member: Hunters & Collectors’ drummer Doug Falconer joins them at their ‘best of’ gig at the Prince of Wales in Melbourne on Friday July 14.

mixdownmag.com.au

Music News The Melbourne Guitar Show Reveals Full Lineup The Melbourne Guitar Show has revealed its full lineup for 2017, boasting an array of renowned national and international players.

Joining the already announced Steve Hackett (UK) of Genesis fame, Canadian virtuoso Nick Johnston and UK fusion player Alex Hutchings are some of Australia’s best known six string heroes such as Lloyd Spiegel, Shannon Bourne, Brett Kingman and Fiona Boyes.

The entire thing goes down on Saturday August 5 & Sunday 6 at the Caulfield Racecourse.

Queensland Music Festival Reveals Their 2017 Program

Melbourne’s Leaps and Bounds 2017 Adds Festival Closing Parties The Sounds of Winter Program has announced the final addition to Melbourne’s Leaps and Bounds Festival, orchestrating two musical events featuring local acts to close out the festival for 2017. The closing parties are spearheaded by the 11-piece Melbourne outfit Billy Davis and the Good Lords, kicking things off with their groove heavy blend of neo-soul/hip-hop at The Nightcat on Saturday July 22. Joining them will be the Afro-funk grooves of collaborative group Cool Out Sun featuring Sensible J, Jordan Dennis and MzRizk. Also announced is an all-ages showcase of Indigenous Aussie hip-hop at The Melba Spiegeltent on the Sunday. Boasting a lineup featuring Jimblah, Philly and Lady Lash, Hip-Hop Hooray offers punters a small taste of some of the best young Indigenous hip-hop artists today. The 10 day music and cultural event hosted by the Yarra City Council will take place between Thursday July 13 – Sunday 23, opening the door to a plethora of unique bars, clubs, record and music stores throughout the city.

The Queensland Music Festival has announced its 2017 lineup, which will run throughout the month and across the state, kicking off on Friday July 7. One of the highlights from the program is a tribute to The Go-Betweens, with their album 16 Lovers Lane being performed by some of the original members with guests including Steve Kilbey, Dan Kelly, Ron S Peno, Kirin J Calinan as well as members of Cub Sport and Ball Park Music. Other highlights include special performances from Austrian hang soloist Manu Delago, Lior, Montaigne, All Our Exes Live In Texas and more. Elsewhere there will be a street festival in Nambour’s Currie Street showcasing local acts, Kate Ceberano will host an event to highlight issues surrounding domestic violence, and Clare Bowditch will host Songs That Made Me – a mentorship and performance program to aid upcoming female songwriters.

Queens Of The Stone Age To Play Free DJ Show In Sydney You might as well start queuing up now, because it has been announced that members of Queens Of The Stone Age will play a free DJ set at Sydney’s beloved dive bar Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice. The band will be in town to play their Splendour In The Grass sideshow at Hodern Pavilion, but Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman and Dean Fertita Read will take to the decks the night before on Tuesday July 18. Queens Of The Stone Age are touring Australia in July for Splendour In The Grass, as well as playing sideshows in Darwin, Sydney and Melbourne.

TOUR DATES Sunday July 16 – Convention Centre, Darwin, NT Tuesday July 18 – Frankie’s Pizza By The Slice (DJ set), Sydney, NSW

Sigur Rós To Support Marriage Equality At Margaret Court Arena Following Margaret Court’s comments regarding same sex marriage, Sigur Rós have released a statement announcing their plans to make their upcoming show at Margaret Court Arena the venue’s ‘most inclusive night ever’. The Icelandic band is in the midst of a world tour and has taken the time to address the tennis star’s comments with a statement of their own. “Our fans and friends have made us aware of recent comments by Margaret Court regarding her opposition to Qantas’s support of same sex marriage in Australia, and her wider views on race and sexuality,” said the band. “We want to add our voice to the call for marriage equality in Australia – right here on Margaret Court Arena itself.” The band have also designed a t-shirt to sell at their Melbourne and Sydney shows and at Splendour in the Grass with the proceeds going toward the support of Australian Marriage Equality.

TOUR DATES Sunday July 23 – Splendour In The Grass, Byron Bay, NSW Tuesday July 25 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW Thursday July 27 – Marriage Equality Arena, Melbourne, VIC mixdownmag.com.au

Wednesday July 19 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW Thursday July 20 – Festival Hall, Melbourne, VIC

RL Grime To Play Splendour Sideshows In the country for a little thing called Splendour in the Grass, US producer RL Grime will be playing his largest run of shows to date when he plays a string of sideshows with support from Tkay Maidza.

Also joining the tour in each capital city will be Enschway, Twerl, Senor Roar, Blanke and Herzeloyde. Known for both his remixes for the likes of The Weeknd, Shlomo and Rihanna, as well as his original productions, as featured on his albums Void and the upcoming Nova, these DJ shows have already begun to sell out so move quick.

TOUR DATES Saturday July 22 – HBF Stadium, Perth, WA Thursday July 27 – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide, SA Friday July 28 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW Saturday July 29 – Festival Hall, Melbourne, VIC

The Return Of Death Grips Death Grips have announced a series of East Coast tour dates in August, the intimate tour dates will be the cult noise-punk group’s first Australian shows since appearing at Big Day Out in 2013. After seemingly breaking up in 2014, Death Grips returned in full force in 2015 with consecutive releases The Powers That B and 2016’s Bottomless Pit, continuing to push sonic boundaries and securing their status as one of the most unique hip hop acts of the 21st century. With the tour set to take place in a series of intimate venues across the East Coast, expect an unforgettable run of shows from one of hip hop’s most unique acts.

TOUR DATES Wednesday August 2 - Metro Theatre (18+), Sydney, NSW Friday August 4 - Max Watt’s (18+), Brisbane, QLD Saturday August 5 - Prince Bandroom (18+), Melbourne, VIC Sunday August 6 - Prince Bandroom (18+), Melbourne, VIC 9

Product News Madarozzo & Mr. Moda Guitar Cases and Gig Bags Now In Australia EGM Distribution | egm.net.au

EGM Distribution are now importing the New York based Madarozzo gig bags and Mr. Moda bags and cases. The Madarozzo bags boast a well padded and practical design with adjustable backpack straps, a luxury padded carrying handle and filled with quality foam padding. Mr. Moda specialise in high-end gig bags and cases, and boast a super sleek, minimalist design, incorporating a stowaway professional backpack system, a detachable phone pouch and a huge amount of storage. Made from luggage grad 1680D polyester, the range features 40mm thick padding with ABS inserts throughout and soft non-scratch lining.

The Markbass EVO 1 Head - A New Evolution In Bass Amp Technology TC-Electronic Releases Flashback II Delay Pedal Amber Technology | ambertech.com.au

TC-Electronic have released the updated version of their best-selling delay pedal with the TC-Electronic Flashback II. While retaining the aesthetics and original features of the first version of the Flashback, the new version includes the addition of the MASH footswitch, offering users the option for pressure sensitive footswitching technology for greater control over the nuances of the pedal. The Flashback II also introduces Crystal Delay to the pedal, implementing polyphonic octave algorithms derived from the TC-Electronic Sub ‘N’ Up Octaver for earcatching spacey delay effects. The Flashback II also features the welcome addition of three TonePrint slots, allowing players the ability to save and switch between presets via the USB operated TonePrint software. Other new features include selfoscillation via the improved ‘ultra-realistic’ tape and analogue algorithms and a stereo-in jack for a tap-tempo footswitch, as well as all the features that made the original Flashback a staple across pedalboards all over the world.

CMC Music | cmcmusic.com.au

Bass players have always been inspired by the possibility of mixing two different amp tones - perhaps blending clean and distorted sounds like Jaco Pastorius used to. With the Markbass EVO 1 head that’s easily possible, paving the way for you to work with many more sound options and making the experimentation of blending different amp sounds a true sonic adventure. The EVO1 offers a choice of 12 amps tones across two independent channels - six on its clean channel, and six on its distortion channel. Both channels feature classic amp controls, plus one effect each. You can update amp models and effects by downloading your favourites from the DV Mark website. The Evo 1 also offers a MIDI In port, on board tuner, auxiliary input and headphone output, 2 FX loops, XLR Line Outs, and a powerful 500W MPT (Mark Proprietary Technology) power amp.

iZotope Announce Elements Software Bundle Electric Factory | elfa.com.au

Gravity Picks Release The Gold Series EGM Distribution | egm.net.au

Gravity Guitar Picks are a small business from Northern California who specialise in premium guitar picks. Their latest release is the Gold Series, a premium range made with the finest material and craftsmanship available. They are made with high grade thermoplastic, which provides exceptional grip, and are shaped with an extremely precise beveling system. Gravity’s Gold Series helps to provide a sizeable difference in volume compared to most other picks, allowing your playing to cut through the mix.

The Gold Series is available in four thicknesses: 1.0mm, 1.5mm, 2.5mm and 5mm.

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iZotope have combined three award-winning mixing technologies into one powerful package featuring RX Elements, Neutron Elements, and Ozone 7 Elements, providing you with all the tools necessary to polish up your home recordings. Essentially a walletfriendly version of the RX6, RX Elements offers users essential audio repair, specifically tweaked for small home studios with both standalone and spectral audio editing modes, as well as including four essential real-time noise reducing plugins, including the critically acclaimed De-Noise trip, to be used with your preferred DAW. Boasting iZotope’s award-winning audio processors and metering technologies, Neutron Elements offers a smarter way for hobbyists to achieve unprecedented mixing clarity for their projects. Neutron includes a Track Assistant and EQ Learn Features to assist in identifying any issues, using a simplified interface to promote creative control in the studio. Ozone 7 Elements makes mastering easy, giving users all the tools they need to finalise their mixes for radio and streaming services. Including the renowned IRC (Intelligent Release Control) technology loaded in legendary Maximiser module, Ozone 7 provides users with professionally crafted plugin presets and macro-controls to produce radio-ready tracks with a simplified suite for the everyday musician.

The Samson CO1U Pro Podcasting Pack Electric Factory | elfa.com.au

Samson’s C01U Pro Podcasting Pack takes the confusion out of building a functional workstation by providing all the necessary components to get you recording in a single kit that is well-suited for both home and mobile setups. The C01U Pro Podcasting Pack includes Samson’s C01U Pro USB Studio Condenser Microphone, MD2 Desktop Microphone Stand, SR850 Open-Back Studio Headphones, a USB cable and convenient carry case. The microphone features a supercardioid pickup pattern, a flat frequency response of 20Hz-20kHz, a shock mounted mic element, and is UBS powered. The headphones offer a transparent response that is ideal for both recording and monitoring, with a 10Hz-30kHz response, 32Ω impedance, and 50mm drivers with rare earth magnets. mixdownmag.com.au

Product News

Elektron Announce The Octatrack Mk II Innovative Music Australia | innovativemusic.com.au

Swedish electronic instrument manufacturer Elektron announced an updated version of their widely popular 2011 sampler, the Octatrack. Touted as an improved, enhanced and modified sampler and sequencer, the Octatrack Mk II features an OLED designed to be easily read in dimly lit situations, while the other buttons are backlit. Other physical changes are the contactless crossfader, a larger amount of buttons and balanced audio inputs for increased headroom. Elsewhere the model features eight stereo audio and eight MIDI tracks, three LFO’s and two effects inserts per audio track and instant stereo sampling enabled.

Fender Review Pricing In Australia Across All Brands

The Novation Peak Now Available

Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au

Innovative Music Australia | innovativemusic.com.au

Fender Music Australia has implemented a broad-reaching retail price review on all Fender and Squier products, as well as the Gretsch, Jackson, Charvel, and EVH brands.

This extensive review has resulted in many retail price reductions right across the range, from student to professional level instruments.

Fender’s flagship guitar - a typical American Professional Stratocaster - has been reduced from $3399 to $2949, and their longstanding classic amplifier - the 65 Deluxe Reverb - has come down from $2899 to $2499. For the acoustic players, even the recently released high quality entry level CD60S Acoustic has come down from $499 to $449. In specialty brands, a typical Gretsch Electromatic Hollowbody is reduced from $2099 to $1849, a premium Jackson Pro Series SL2M Soloist is down from $2599 to $2099, and a Jackson Student JS11 is down from $449 to just $399.

Novation Peak is the new hybrid analogue polysynth setting the synth world alight. Analogue where it matters, digital where it counts; Peak’s eight-voice, 24 oscillator architecture sounds immense, lush, rich and detailed. Novation have gone all out on this one, with three digital numerically controlled ‘Oxford’ oscillators, and the same analogue filter that featured in the well loved Bass Station II, with some added tweaks for increased resonance and adjustable keytracking. One of the most hotly anticipated new synthesisers of 2017, Peak is now available nationally through Innovative Music Australia.

Sennheiser Release XSW2-Cl1 All-In-One Wireless System Sennheiser Australia | sennheiser.com.au

Sennheiser have released their versatile allin-one XS Wireless 2 system, providing an all-in-one package to put an end to the never-ending war against tangled audio cables. The XS Wireless 2 is designed to offer players ultimate flexibility and performance with an intuitive LCD display and 12 compatible UHF channels, featuring automatic frequency management and synchronisation via remote channels for operational ease, and is built with robust materials to reinvigorate mobility and sound quality amidst tough live stage conditions. The XS Wireless 2 instrument set features a rugged stationary receiver for hassle-free setting up with your amplifier, and includes a compact body-pack transmitter to be hooked up to your live instrument of choice. Complete with external antennas, a metal receiver housing and rack-mount kit and tucked into a convenient pouch for storage and transportation, the Sennheiser XS Wireless 2 all-in-one system is a must have for the modern mobile musician.

Ernie Ball Music Man’s 2017 Finishes Arrive Down Under

Mooer Release The Red Truck Multi-Effects Pedal

CMC Music | cmcmusic.com.au

Jade Australia | jadeaustralia.com.au

Music Man’s new models for 2017 have begun to arrive down under, including stunning finishes like Annie Clark’s St Vincent Signature guitar in Polaris White, the iconic StingRay in Powder Blue and Firemist Purple, and the inimitable Bongo in Firemist Gold. The Cutlass guitar in Charcoal Frost has also arrived, as well as John Petrucci’s signature JP15 in Teal Burst and the Old Smoothie is now available in Mint Green. Check them out at the Melbourne Guitar show on Saturday August 5 & Sunday 6 or at your nearest Music Man dealer.

After it was announced earlier in the year, Mooer have now released their Red Truck multi effects stompbox, which features six type of effects in the one unit. Featuring an all analogue boost, overdrive and distortion effects, the Red Truck also features high quality digital effects including modulation, delay and reverb with the capability for tap touch control, as well as a tuner with a large LCD display. Additionally, a built-in effects loop allows for easy operation with stompboxes or connecting to amplifiers using a simple four cable method.

Stereo outputs and a dedicated mixer output allow for direct connection to an audio interface or sound desk, whilst a handy headphone output allows for using all the features of the Red Truck in a variety of loud and quiet environments. With clearly defined effect banks and various adjustable parameters, the Red Truck allows for the tweaking of sounds on the fly.

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Product News

Introducing Origin Effects Gladesville Guitar Factory | guitarfactory.net

Origin Effects is the brainchild of British audio-designer Simon Keats. The brand and products have come about through a genuine desire to produce highly-musical, superior-quality audio tools.

Whether it’s a ‘60s-style studio compressor, or a JFET ‘Plexi’ Replica, you can rest assured that every aspect of each design has been crafted to replicate that elusive legacy tone, whilst also preserving the soul of your instrument. Their range of premium compressor pedals include the 1176-style Cali76 Compact Design studio-grade FET compressor, which features discreet Class A circuitry and a dedicated parallel compression control. The SlideRIG is a highly specialised pedal that features two chain-connected compression circuits that carefully squeezes and amplifies your guitar signal to create the effect of greatly extended, elongated notes.

Diesel To Host Vox Clinic For Melbourne Guitar Show Yamaha Music Australia | au.yamaha.com

Fender Debuts Brad Paisley Road Worn Telecaster Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au

Fender teamed up with Brad Paisley to create his signature model, the limited edition Brad Paisley Road Worn Telecaster. The Brad Paisley Telecaster is crafted from a paulownia core capped by a spruce top and back, providing a solid, lightweight foundation with acousticlike resonance. The Paisley-approved pickup configuration includes a custom-wound ’64 Tele bridge pickup and a Fender Custom Shop Twisted Tele neck pickup for classic tone with just the right balance of warmth and twang.

Playability is key to Paisley’s fleet-fingered style and the ‘Enhanced V’ neck profile is designed for comfort, filling the hand at the nut for easy chording while flattening out in the upper registers for soloing. The modern 9.5” radius fingerboard and medium-jumbo frets make it easy to play fast and bend big.

This Tele wears a silver sparkle Road Worn lacquer finish and aged hardware. Elegant touches include a custom clear pickguard with black and silver paisleys and a cowboy hat insignia on the headstock.

In celebration of Vox Amplification’s 60th anniversary, Diesel will host an intimate clinic discussing his use of Vox amps including the all-new MV50, plus he will perform some of his amazing songs live and include some Q&A for your chance to chat with one of Australia’s most highly revered musicians. This clinic will be held as part of the Melbourne Guitar Show on Sunday August 6. For more details, visit the website australianmusician.com.au/Melbourne-guitar-show

Sterling By Music Man’s 2017 Finishes Are Arriving In Australia CMC Music | cmcmusic.com.au

Sterling By Music Man is delivering on their promise to bring us the best of Music Man’s premium range of hand crafted instruments at budget friendly prices. This month sees the arrival of the St Vincent and James Valentine signature guitars, the latter in his favourite Trans Buttermilk finish. John Petrucci’s touch appears on several new models that have arrived – including Sterling By Music Man’s own Majesty in Iced Crimson or Stealth Black and the locking trem JP16 rendered in a stunning Pearl White with matte black hardware.

Bowing to overwhelming demand, Sterling By Music Man have also released versions of the John Petrucci JP15, Ray34 and Ray35 in the extremely popular quilted Neptune Blue finish that Music Man offered for a limited four week period not so long ago. mixdownmag.com.au

TC-Electronic Introduce The Hall Of Fame 2 Reverb Pedal Amber Technology | ambertech.com.au

TC-Electronic have released the Hall of Fame 2 reverb pedal, which features the new MASH function for expression, and the popular Shimmer preset complete with polyphonic pitch-shifting from TC’s Sub ‘N’ Up Octaver.

MASH is triggered by a footswitch and allows users to control different parameters for each of the eight reverb types. The feature also enables users to push the reverb effect into self-oscillation by simply shifting their weight on the pedal. The new pedal includes three TonePrint slots – two more than the original Hall of Fame pedal – to cater for custom reverbs and signature TonePrints accessible via the TC Electronic website.

Guild Guitars Continue T-Bird Reissue Series Zenith Music | zenithmusic.com.au

In a move sure to delight offset fans, Guild have announced the highly anticipated reissue of the classic S200 T-Bird, as well as introducing two new models based on the silhouette of the T-Bird.

Returning to the original design of models produced between 1964 and 1968, Guild have created a faithful reissue of their iconic instrument, featuring an asymmetrical design and solid mahogany body. The S200 T-Bird reissue also boasts a unique switching system capable of creating the widest assortment of tones found on any Guild guitar, combining two Guild Little Bucker pickups for tone hunters to zone in on their preferred sound. If the complicated switching system or tremolo arm on the S200 isn’t your cup of tea, you’re in luck. Guild have introduced two brand new models to the T-Bird Series – the T-Bird ST and the T-Bird ST P90. Both have stop-bar bridges and simplified electronics, the T-Bird ST is perfect for players seeking a guitar that combines a modern tone with unique aesthetics. They have cherry red and vintage white finishes, while the cool pelham blue ST P90 is fitted with dual Guild Franz 90 pickups resulting in boosted mid-range output for classic overdriven tones.

Guild Release DeArmond Tone Boss Acoustic Soundhole Pickup Zenith Music | zenithmusic.com.au

Guild have made their entry into the acoustic sound market, recently unveiling the DeArmond Tone Boss Acoustic Soundhole Pickup. Offering a simple, high-fidelity humbucking design, this passive pickup accurately reproduces the tone of your acoustic guitar, resulting in an incredibly responsive and natural sounding amplified tone. Controlled via a solitary on-board volume knob, the DeArmond Tone Boss includes three top trim colours in black, cream and tortoiseshell, allowing players to match the pickup with the aesthetic of any guitar. With the pickup weighing in at a slight 450 grams and also including hardware for installing a permanent endpin output jack, the DeArmond Tone Boss is a premium sounding easily installed soundhole solution for acoustic guitarists of all genres.

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CHANNELLING THE SUPERNATURAL WITH

ALICE COOPER

With any artist who has such a long and storied career – in this case it can be difficult to listen to new material without weighing them up against the earlier landmark releases. Throughout his half-century career Alice Cooper’s never veered too far from his commercially tenable hard rock sound, and he puts this down to the natural instincts of himself and long time producer, Bob Ezrin.

“We’re both hard rock guys, but we really love to decorate that hard rock the way that Alice Cooper would do it,” he says. “We like twisting it, but if you really listen to all the songs, they’re very guitar-driven hard rock. And that’s the one thing that we will never give up.

The new record comes packaged with a bonus disc featuring two brand new recordings made with the original Alice Cooper Band – the group’s first collaboration since 1973’s Muscle of Love LP. Cooper singles out ‘Genuine American Girl’ (from the Paranormal bonus disc) to exemplify how a song gets honed to fit the Alice Cooper brand.

“It was written as ‘I want a genuine American girl’ and then I went ‘no, no, Alice Cooper would say, “I want to be a genuine American girl,”’ because that’s going to twist it a whole different way,” he says. “The trick to this song is that it is a rough, tough, nonfeminine song. It’s a real street rocker and here’s this guy singing, ‘I want to be a genuine American girl,’ and everybody’s going, ‘wow, what is he talking about?’ And that’s pure Alice.”

Ezrin is an integral part of the Alice Cooper story. Cooper and Ezrin have worked together on numerous occasions dating right back to the 1970s, with Ezrin co-writing as well as producing many of Cooper’s most famous releases. The pair were the driving force behind 2011’s Welcome 2 My Nightmare and Cooper says it was a straightforward decision to team up again for Paranormal.

“Bob Ezrin’s always been my George Martin. He’s always been the guy that understood what Alice was and how to put it on tape and how to make these songs so that, as chaotic and subversive as they are, they’re palatable for radio.

“Every single that we’ve ever done has been subversive. ‘I’m Eighteen’, ‘School’s Out’, all of them have had this twist to them that normally wouldn’t get on the radio, but Bob is such a great producer he makes that song sound so good that you want to hear it on the radio. I think that’s where ‘paranormal’ comes in. We’ve never done anything that was normal. Everything we’ve ever done has been paranormal. So he really is my guru.”

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“Rehearsing it is drudgery, but doing it onstage in front of an audience, you could never get bored with those songs. The first second the audience hear the chord and they recognise it, they go crazy and your adrenaline is firing.”

Ezrin was noticeably absent from the credits of many of Cooper’s late-‘80s and 1990s releases, but that doesn’t mean his imprint was lacking.

“If I’m working with Roy Thomas Baker or if I’m working with David Foster or if I’m working with other producers and Bob’s not even on the album, I still send the songs to Bob,” Cooper says. “And Bob sends me the notes back saying, ‘This section isn’t right, this chorus could be better, re-work the lyrics on the verse.’ He’s always been my other half when it comes to writing songs.”

The Paranormal bonus disc also features a set of live recordings with the current Alice Cooper band taken from a show in Columbus, Ohio in May 2016. Many of

Cooper’s all time greatest hits appear, including ‘School’s Out’, ‘No More Mr. Nice Guy’ and ‘Billion Dollar Babies’. They’re all songs he’s performed countless times before, but the bristling delivery shows that the songs remain very significant to Cooper and his band mates.

“Rehearsing it is drudgery,” he says, “but doing it onstage in front of an audience, you could never get bored with those songs. The first second the audience hear the chord and they recognise it, they go crazy and your adrenalin is firing. I never get tired of doing those songs.”

“I mean we have to do ‘Feed My Frankenstein’ because we do the big Frankenstein [stage prop], and we do ‘Ballad of Dwight Fry’ because of the straitjacket, and ‘Only Women Bleed’. That’s all part of the storyline, but every once in a while I’ll throw in a song like ‘The World Needs Guts’ or ‘Department of Youth’ or something that we haven’t done in a while and that keeps the band fresh.

Cooper is bringing the Paranormal tour to Australia in October. By then he’ll already have completed five months of exhaustive global touring. Nevertheless, his commitment to a quality performance refuses to falter.

“What I have learned to do is just not look at the itinerary. I think if you start seeing where you are and how many [shows] you have to go, that’s when you psych out. So I only go maybe two shows in advance – where are we today and where are we tomorrow? And that way you can handle it. If [in July] you start going, ‘Oh man in November we’re going to be in Japan,’ then you start wearing yourself out thinking about it. Just do the show that you’re at that night and make it the best show you’ve ever done.”

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY Alice Cooper’s new album Paranormal is out Friday July 28 through Sony/E.A.R Music. He is touring Australia in October.

mixdownmag.com.au

Music Interviews Marsh says the bands’ growing maturity was a big factor in helping to get through the issues that led to McMahon’s departure, and in managing his return.

“I think that’s my primary skill: navigating difficult situations and coming up with solutions. We’re all committed to each other as friends; to this little institution, to this little conglomerate that is the band,” he says. “As friends, as creators, and then to the fans. Touring is our livelihood, and it is only afforded because fans enjoy the music. And not even buying the music, with the way the industry is now. Many are generous enough to purchase our music and support us that way, but if they enjoy the music it creates the opportunity to tour. It only exists because of that relationship between the creator and the consumer.”

The Continual Desecration of

Thy Art Is Murder It’s never easy when a vocalist leaves a band. When Chris “CJ” McMahon left Thy Art Is Murder towards the end of 2016, the future was uncertain. The only thing that was clear was that the band would carry on and continue to serve up savagely brutal deathcore like only they can.

A number of touring vocalists stepped in to fill the live void, and it looked like eventually the band would settle on a new permanent full-time vocalist and get to work re-establishing their identity with a new voice. Then in January of this year, McMahon rejoined the band at the Unify Festival, confirming his return to the group.

It seems like the best of all possible outcomes, with McMahon returning with renewed commitment, thus saving fans from the agony of a ‘how does the new vocalist stack up’ dread.

“It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster,” says guitarist Andy Marsh of the past two years. “There have been a lot of precautionary measures, a lot of changes to the strategy of touring and whatnot so we can navigate this period and figure everything out.”

The sessions for the new album Dear Desolation were marked by a professional, dedicated approach, with the band both acknowledging and putting aside the turmoil of the past few years. “We’re a band of people who just get on with it,” Marsh says. “Obviously there was some kind of caution and trepidation about how it was going to be, but we were making an album anyway and we would have had another vocalist had it not panned out with CJ. Obviously our preference was for him to return. We’ve said this before: we imagine him as the other guy in our band. We’ve been together for a long time and his is the voice we hear over the music. His voice is the one we imagine when we write. We went in and started writing the record and had been working towards it with CJ to make sure we were willing to accept him back and he was ready to come back and deal with the pressure and responsibility that comes with being in this band. But you never know until you get there. If that hadn’t worked out then Nicholas Arthur, who had been singing for us in Europe, would have done it. But we got together before playing Unify and that was great, like it was meant to be. CJ truly was like a healed man.”

were just getting more popular in the US, and we had just completed the ‘Take Off Your Pants and Jacket’ tour with Blink 182 throughout Canada and the US. Those shows were amphitheatres and big stadium shows.

People knew who we were.”

Brand New

New Found Glory The year is 2002, and off the back of releasing their third studio album, Sticks and Stones, a small time pop punk act from Coral Springs, Florida is included on the 2002 Warped tour alongside such established acts as The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Pennywise. It’s New Found Glory’s first ever tour of Australia and speaking with Mixdown about the upcoming 20th anniversary tour which hits our shores in August, vocalist Jordan Pundik reminisces fondly about that first experience, which was a complete baptism of fire.

“There was a bunch of bands from the US all together on that tour and it wasn’t just us experiencing Australia for ourselves, which I kind of wish we did,” Pundik says. “But then at the same time, I have a lot of great memories of that tour and going over there. We 16

“We get to Australia and no one was singing along. We were the new kids on the block. It was definitely cool, but at the same time it was like we were the younger brothers on tour. All the bands travelled together and we were bussed across the country, where as now, we just fly everywhere.”

In the early days of the band, there were backups on the horizon in case things didn’t work out, yet as the venues got bigger and bigger, Pundik felt that backup plans weren’t necessary. “We just keep touring and leaving and putting records out and then all of a sudden Russia says come play a show, and Singapore says come play a show, and Japan and all these places that I never thought we’d get the opportunity to play. Hopefully we can continue to do it as long as we can.”

In the lead up and to coincide with the ‘20 years of Pop Punk’ tour, NFG hit the studio to lay down their ninth studio album Makes Me Sick. Despite 20 years in the scene, throughout the albums ten tracks, the initial spark and charisma first heard on their debut is still present throughout tracks such as Your Jokes Aren’t Funny and Blurred Vision. Over the course of the album cycle, how has the process changed much?

“I think that we are definitely comfortable in our own skin now, knowing who we are as a band and what we want to talk about,” Pundik says. “We are all on the same page now, when it comes time to make a record.

Before, it was a little trickier because there was so many ideas going around and at the height of our career, there was a lot of pressure put towards us and now I feel we can just do what we do. If people like it,

The primary guitar for the sessions was an Ibanez RGD2127 with an EverTune bridge. “Normally recording rhythm guitars takes forever, simply because of the tuning: when you’re stacking guitars any kind of micro adjustment in the tuning is bad. Often you’re tuning guitars for four hours a day. But the EverTune made a massive difference. We did use our lucky pickup. There’s this honey-yellow Ibanez Prestige seven-string that they only made a few of ten or more years ago, and we used it on Hate and Holy War, but because we were using the 2127 for the extra scale length and EverTune, we had to de-solder that pickup and put it in the RGD. I removed all the other electronics so it was just pickup to amp. For the leads I have a very lucky guitar, an Ibanez JEM BRMR, a mirrored one that the TSA cracked for me. I used that for most of the leads. And I also used my touring guitar, an Ibanez RGD2127 in Lamborghini Yellow that I call the ‘Bumblebee.’ It has a Seymour Duncan Pegasus in the bridge and a Sentient in the neck. I think the Pegasus is a great pickup. The midrange texture is totally different to a traditional metal pickup, and the super high-end is kind of lopped off, which I like because you’re going to take that off for a recording anyway.”

BY PETER HODGSON

The Death Sentence tour starts on Thursday July 27 in Perth. Thy Art Is Murder’s new album Dear Desolation is out Friday August 18 through Human Warfare/Nuclear Blast records.

then great. If they don’t, that’s okay too.”

On the 20th-anniversary tour which is currently weaving its way through the US, the band are giving crowds one unforgettable night of music playing two albums from their discography in full. The idea of which was spawned by the fans. “We wanted this tour to be special. Twenty years is a long time to be doing a pop punk band, and for me personally connecting with the fans is also really important. People were asking what we were going to do for the 20-year anniversary and they said it would be really cool to hear this record in full and that record, so we decided to play two records a night. People wanted to hear those first six records, and that was really cool because they were the ones that made us the band that we are today.”

Last touring Australia in 2015 on the back of their previous album Resurrection, Pundik feels that these shows are going to be extra special due to the fact that every Australian tour is “insane” and despite their being no promise of birthday cake, it will be an unmatched experience to see pivotal albums from the band played in full.

“With this being a 20 anniversary, there is this different energy in the crowd than just a normal regular old show. Granted we are playing smaller venues, we are doing multiple nights and some of the times there is no crowd barrier and that’s insane. I’m hoping the energy that we’ve received from US crowds will be the same in Australia. I’m hoping it’s balls to the wall.”

BY TEX MILLER New Found Glory are touring Australia in August, for more information head to livenation.com.au. Makes Me Sick is out now through Hopeless Records. mixdownmag.com.au

©2017 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.Fender® is a trademark of FMIC. All rights reserved. FENDER.COM.AU

Music Interviews a band they were. It also showed me how great those songs were – while also showing me how much I’ve moved on musically and emotionally. I will say that Dead Wood Falls is an album that’s very much about longing and distance – which is kind of funny, because those are things that are touched on with this record.

It’s in a very different way to that of Dead Wood Falls, though. A lot has changed.”

The Distance and Intimancy of

Jen Cloher With her current standing in Australian music, many younger listeners of Jen Cloher’s probably have no idea that their electric lady was, once upon a time, the great hope of Australian folk-rock. As a part of Jen Cloher and the Endless Sea, Cloher was an ARIA-nominated troubadour with a firm standing in roots and Americana. Last year saw her debut album, 2006’s Dead Wood Falls, arrive at its 10th anniversary. By re-releasing the album – making its debut on vinyl – and playing two shows with her original band, Cloher was able to gain a sense of real perspective on the next chapter – looking back in order to move forward.

“I got a lot out of doing it,” she begins, talking from her home in Melbourne. “First and foremost, it reminded me just how good of

Indeed, the winds of change bristle on Cloher’s eponymous fourth LP – even from the outset and literally on its face value. While Cloher’s previous records all contained vivid imagery in their titles – 2009’s Hidden Hands; 2013’s In Blood Memory – this album is simply Jen Cloher, and nothing more. Artwork was also a big part of Cloher’s last two records; whereas this one features a single photograph of Cloher herself on the cover, playing guitar shirtless with her back to the camera. “I guess having that combination of things does raise interesting points and questions,” says Cloher. “That photo is a very candid shot – it draws you in, but at the same time you’re not really there.”

“That mixture of distance and intimacy is reflective of some of the album’s overarching themes. This is the first time that I’ve spoken more about my view of the world. There’s always been a spiritual element of that in my music, but this is tackling topics that are external and that have an effect on me. I talk about marriage equality, the music industry, feminism, middle-class white suburbia, apathy... I feel like I’ve really developed the confidence to write openly about these things. I wasn’t worried if anyone disagreed.”

Jen Cloher was recorded with Cloher’s backing band of five years – longtime collaborator Jen Sholakis on drums, former Immigrant Union member Andrew ‘Bones’ Sloane on bass and Cloher’s wife, Courtney Barnett, on lead guitar. Cloher previously mentioned not holding back when it came to writing this album – and

that included touching upon her relationship with a forthright honesty at points. This isn’t a Carly Simon situation here – Barnett definitely knows this song is about her. “It’s one of the things about being in a relationship with another writer,” says Cloher.

“Everyone draws from their life, whether they disguise it or not. I touched base with Court as we were putting this record together, and I made sure that she was okay with me sharing this sort of stuff about our relationship and my observations about her within the music industry. She didn’t even flinch – it was just ‘Yeah, fuckin’ go for it!’ At the end of the day, Courtney understands that I want to get as close to my truth as I can. She respects that.”

Cloher went full ‘Judas,’ to borrow a phrase from Bob Dylan’s history, on the In Blood Memory record; abandoning her acoustic guitar and playing an electric that was handmade by Jim Dyson, the father of acclaimed blues guitarist and former Cloher collaborator Mia. For Jen Cloher, however, there’s more of a mix of guitars on the record. “I always start out writing on acoustic guitar,” she says. “For a few of these songs, that’s where they stayed – it just made sense for them.

Other songs got really loud. Sholakis actually brought in one of her own guitars that just had such a great sound to it. I just wish I remember what it’s called.

It’s a Gibson guitar with a man’s name...” A Les Paul?

“A Les Paul!” Cloher exclaims. She laughs: “That could have been embarrassing.”

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG Jen Cloher is out on Friday August 11 through Milk!

Records/Remote Control. She is touring Australia in August, for more information head to jencloher.com

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Music Interviews like Peter Gabriel’s So, Talk Talk’s Colour of Spring, Tears for Fears Seeds of Love, among many. Not as a matter of musical influence – he isn’t trying to revive the musical aspects of these records, more so their format – an album layered with lyrical undertones: reflections of society and our modern reality.

“I had no interest in imitating these records at all,” Wilson says. “There’s something about that era – particularly the mid 80’s – there was a certain kind of record that was very popular. It’s an album that works on more than one level, in the sense that the album itself is very accessible and the songs are very melodic and easy to enjoy. A lot of those albums had very big hits on them, were very big selling records, and crossed over to a mainstream audience. However, they also work on a deeper level.”

In Search of Truth with

Steven Wilson Modern prog pioneer and Porcupine Tree founder, Steven Wilson discusses the themes behind his fifth solo record, To The Bone – a work that serves to bridge the gap between the accessibility of pop and the creativity of the underground.

Musing on our modern era of commercially viable pop music, Wilson feels there has been a recession of what he calls “ambitious progressive pop records”. Musical works that on the surface slot perfectly into the stream of easy listening, chart-lingering mainstream pop, but who’s substance below the sheen shows a depth greater than its digestible exterior.

Wilson has confessed that To The Bone is a nod to mid-80’s records

“I feel like those records are not so common in the 21st century. We have [at the moment] very mainstream pop music, which to me seems very banal and very conservative. Then we have the exciting underground music with lots of creativity, but what we don’t have is albums somewhere in the middle, which tries to be accessible without sacrificing any of that kind of ambition or any of that quirkiness and edge.

That’s what all those records have in common for me.”

To The Bone’s subject matter is nothing new – the problems of modern society, spurred on by recent events: terrorism, the rise of alt-right politics and wielding its post-truth ban hammer. It seemingly is a calling out of the wrongdoer’s, those on the receiving end of an artists pointing finger. But like the albums and artists that have inspired Wilson’s latest offering, it doesn’t fall victim to the aimless accusations of modern mainstream rock or punk music, nor the skin deep tragedies laid out in bubblegum pop music.

There is in fact, a genuine and grounded conversation weaved through To The Bone and there is a common

thread based in the reality of today.

“The main lyrical strand that goes right through the record is this idea of truth and what is truth as a flexible context in this age of fake news, social media and Trump. It’s basically asking the question, ‘is truth ever really achievable?’ Truth for most human beings is actually perception,” he says.

“We all have our own idea of truth, but how can you have a different truth to someone else, because truth is and should be an absolute singular reality shouldn’t it? But in reality it never is. Truth is always something that is filtered through the agenda of each of us: our race, gender, politics, and religious beliefs. In that sense, we all create our own truth. Everything on the album relates to this idea of truth as a kind of singular perception, whether it might be in the smallest sense like a relationship where two people have a completely different ‘truth’ about the relationship, or to much bigger topics like religious fundamentalism, terrorism and the refugee crisis or politicians, all of whom have their own truth.

“You only have to look at the world of religion. I mean there is thousands of different religions all over the world and each one of those religions believe that they have the absolute singular truth. How can that be? A lot of the songs deal with that to a greater or lesser degree.

BY AARON STREATFEILD Steven Wilson’s To The Bone is out on Friday August 18 via Caroline Australia.

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Music Interviews around. Just as a joke, I said ‘You’re gonna produce our next album, aren’t ya Gaz?’ Without missing a beat, he just looks at me and goes ‘Yeah, alright.’

He called me on my bluff – it was like, ‘Fuck, alright – guess we’re making a record!’ He was absolutely fantastic to work with – he had so many great ideas, and he gave us a lot of insight.”

Thomy Sloane on Making the First Studio Album of

Batpiss “It’s Rest in Piss for all our friends that have died. It’s Rest in Piss for the old Batpiss sound. It’s Rest in Piss for the sad times and the dark times. It’s about moving on.” Thomy Sloane – bassist and co-vocalist of Melbourne noise-rockers Batpiss – succinctly describes exactly why the band’s third album takes the moniker Rest in Piss. Arriving two years after their previous LP, Biomass, Rest in Piss sees the band take a substantial step forward in terms of their sonic ambitions and their approach to songwriting. For Sloane, a lot of that has to do with their engineer and producer of choice – the one and only Gareth Liddiard, frontman of The Drones and acclaimed singer-songwriter in his own right.

“We went on tour with The Drones awhile back,” Sloane explains.

“We were hanging out before a show one afternoon, just fucking

Richie Kotzen

Tells Us What To Expect on his Australian Tour Richie Kotzen is one of those rare artists who can continually reinvent themselves while never losing their own voice. Whether as a shred-god in the late 80’s, injecting some serious musical credibility into Poison on their Native Tongue album, playing fusion with Vertu, soul in his Wilson Hawk side project, stepping into Paul Gilbert’s shoes on some seriously great Mr. Big records, blasting out heavy rock with Mike Portnoy and Billy Sheehan in The Winery Dogs or following his muse wherever it may take him as a solo artist, Kotzen always brings the same fire, passion, soul and skill to everything he does.

His latest album Salting Earth is the perfect encapsulation of this variety, with some retro-rockers, some modern rock cuts and some soulful balladry.

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Rest in Piss was recorded at Liddiard’s own studios

by Liddiard himself – which technically makes Rest in Piss Batpiss’ first studio album. “We recorded our first album [2013’s Nuclear Winter] live in the band room of The Tote,” says Sloane. “The whole thing was done in about 10 hours. We did Biomass live at a friend’s home studio in about a day, too. We spent about eight days putting this together, which I think is the longest that we’ve ever worked on anything as musicians.”

“Our goal was to make a weird, cool record. I think, being in a proper studio for the first time, it really allowed us to experiment a lot more. We fucked around with a lot of different tones, amps and pedals.

We weren’t distracted or preconceived in any way with how we were gonna play it live – we were just like, ‘Fuck that. Let’s just do what we want to do.’ We still didn’t wanna waste too much time, though – getting in and out with recording is really how we’ve always done it. If it takes you three months to do your job, you’re probably not doing it right.”

As for Liddiard’s contributions, Sloane notes that the studio was essentially mi casa su casa for him and the rest of the band. “We used all of his shit. He said from the outset, ‘Don’t worry about amps, I’ve got ‘em. All I need you to do is rock up.’ That’s all it took.

Chriso [AKA Christian Strybosch] had a drum-kit set up there, so we used that too. He even took us out to his farm property that he’s got all the way out in the Victorian bush, where we recorded another song – one

The setlist will draw from a good cross-section of Kotzen’s stylistic vibes, and it ties in with the variety found on the new record. “We’re doing something with this record that’s kinda different for me,” he says. “In the past, normally what I would do is I have such an expansive catalogue that songs would work their way into the set by how well they translate into a threepiece or for whatever reason. And when I would make a new record I would pick two or three songs from that to bring in. This time I will tell you we’re doing a lot of songs from the new record. We’re doing almost the entire record, but we also have moments in the set that I haven’t had before. For example, we have an acoustic section where our bass player comes out with an upright bass, and our drummer does percussion. I play acoustic guitar, and then we’ve got another four or five songs where I’m bouncing from electric guitar to electric piano, so in the end it’s kind of a perfect time for me to come to Australia for the first time because as far as all the tours I’ve done go, this one has the most value in it as far as showing all aspects of what I really do.”

“I grew up outside of Philadelphia,” says Kotzen. “And when I was a kid there was a huge soul, R&B thing happening there, and I was exposed to that. But then at the same time you had what is now called classic rock. Bad Company. Led Zeppelin. Jimi Hendrix. That kind of thing. So my pendulum swings between those influences I had as a little kid. Then when I started to learn the guitar, I was drawn towards the power of the rock side of things. But then more and more I found myself drawn towards things like George Benson and Allan Holdsworth, and for better or worse that’s reflected in the music I write.”

Over the years Kotzen has used plenty of different guitars: early on he was an Ibanez guy, and he was then briefly the face of Ibanez’s short-lived Starfield line of more retro-oriented designs. Kotzen’s current

“We fucked around with a lot of different tones, amps and pedals. We weren’t distracted or preconceived in any way with how we were gonna play it live – we were just like, ‘Fuck that. Let’s just do what we want to do.’” called ‘Golden Shower,’ which is on the record – and put some finishing touches on the others. He couldn’t have been more generous.”

While Nuclear Winter and Biomass were both cutthroat, belligerent and fast-paced records, Rest in Piss takes things down a notch as far as the tempo and the musical environment is concerned. It’s no less intense, but it’s certainly a lot more rewarding. It’s also, as Sloane attests to, a deeply-personal record for him and his bandmates. “The lyrical content was very emotional for all of us,” he says. “A lot if it is to do with quite personal stuff – mates dying, missing them, stuff like that. It’s very heartfelt, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do. It’s weird... I feel like we recorded so long ago that I’ve had enough time to heal and think it all over by the time the record’s actually come out.”

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

Rest In Piss is out Friday July 14 on Poison City Records.

Batpiss are touring nationally from Friday August 11.

Fender model is a bound Telecaster with DiMarzio pickups, and the path to its creation took some interesting twists and turns. “I still have a few of those Starfields,” he says. “I gave a few of them to my friend [Shrapnel Records boss] Mike Varney a few years ago, but I do have a few of them. I have one on a stand in my house just because it’s such a pretty guitar. But that is actually what led to my Fender endorsement.

I was making a record in 1991 and the bass player had a Fender deal. They came down to deliver a bass to him and they saw the Starfields and said ‘Eh, we’re not gonna have that, let’s get you some real guitars!’

[Laughs] So they gave me two guitars, a Tele and a Strat, and the brown Tele instantly became my main guitar. The red Strat is the guitar that you see me play on the Mother Head’s Family Reunion record, and that’s what led to the Fender signature models.”

But Kotzen’s main focus is now on his Australian shows. “I’m happy to have all the stars line up, so to speak,” he says. “I’ve been looking to come there for a very long time and we’ve never been able to make it happen. I don’t really know what to expect… I imagine it’s going to be a great run of shows and I know Australia is a beautiful country, but I know that if I have no expectations I’m never disappointed! So I don’t really expect anything beyond getting there safely and having all the gear we need to show up and have a great time and meet a bunch of new people, and hopefully win over some folks!”

BY PETER HODGSON Richie Kotzen is touring Australia in August as well as appearing at the Sydney Guitar Festival. Salting Earth is out now through Headroom-Inc Records. mixdownmag.com.au

WHERE THE LEADERS AND PROFESSIONAL IN VENUE TECHNOLOGY CONVERGE

THE INDUSTRY EVENT FOR EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES

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29-31 AUGUST 2017 MELBOURNE CONVENTION & EXHIBITION CENTRE in association with

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Features

Softube Console 1 Niklas Odelholm is a Swedish musician, producer and studio whiz who’s been in the game for years. Even at his level, however, he’s often found himself making mistakes while editing and mixing recordings in the studio. Noticing a recurring problem and habits forming, he put it to his own company, Softube, to attempt a full-scale rectification of it. “I was frustrated with the fact that I made stupid choices when I mixed music,” he begins. “For example, instead of cutting some lows from the vocals if that was necessary, I spent too much time making decisions on what EQ or other tool to use. In the end, I was trying to fix a lot of stuff that maybe wasn’t even that bad.”

The result is the Softube Console 1, a piece of mixing hardware that is described as a straightforward and intuitive approach to computer-based audio mixing. Odelholm says that the mixer allows one to focus in on the specifics while also keeping the bigger picture of the audio in question in the back of your mind. “Say you hear an issue, like boomy lows on vocals,” he says. “Select vocals and grab the low cut – that’s how it should be. The thing is, you always listen to many things at the same time – so you need to be able to react to many things at the same time. You might be comping the vocals and hear that the compression on the kick is a bit heavy. Select the kick, dial back the compression – done.

No need to change focus or open a lot of plug-ins and click around with the mouse.”

A mixer with a hands-on approach, the Softube Console 1 also allows for engineers to do a proper mix of their audio without even so much as touching their mouse. As Odelholm demonstrates, there is plenty of scope and range to the console’s abilities. “Using only the Console 1 hardware you can select tracks, set the volume, pan, adjust EQs, compress and even select different compressors, EQs, gates or entire consoles on that track,” he says.

“You can load up presets, copy tracks, group tracks, undo stuff... all from the Console 1 hardware. You’re not tied to the included SSL SL 4000E, either – there are several consoles to choose from, and you can use other Softube plug-ins and loads of compatible UAD ones as well.”

By taking the focus away from the computer screen, Odelholm says, the Softube Console 1 allows you to hone in on what you want the music itself to sound like. Put to its full use, he believes the sky is the limit when it comes to the console’s mixing possibilities. “The input method matters,” he says. “By removing the hand-to-eye co-ordination that a mouse pointer requires, you free your brain for the crucial task at hand – the sound. You can close

your eyes and do your mix with Console 1. It’s like a mothership that you can use for 90% of your mix tasks, just like a large format mix console did. When you need a special flavour or special processing you insert those plug-ins, just like you normally do.”

A major mixing device on a much smaller scale, the Console 1 is just one of the many audio enhancers that are on offer by Softube, of which Odelholm is vice president. “We love creativity, and we want to make products for creative people in all parts of the creative process,” he says. “At the end of the day, we make products we would want to use ourselves.”

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG The Softube Console 1 is distributed in Australia through Sound & Music

Stuart Monk of Fican Guitars Fican Guitars offer custom instruments. Shape, woods, colours, design – you name it. Just ask Fican builder Stuart Monk himself. He’s had people round to his workshop for a coffee to discuss their new instrument and next thing they’re picking woods from his collection and drawing out designs. Of course Fican have a line of instruments they typically offer, with great model names, including the Tornado, Gimba, Cardwell and Eroxa. These guitars are all unique shapes and designs with hints of retro ideas and more way out stylings. I recently got to chat with Monk about all things Fican.

How did you get into building guitars?

I had an accident working on a boat and put an angle grinder through a finger. I had an operation and couldn’t bend it very well so ended up learning how to re-play. I needed something with a bigger neck but couldn’t find anything, so I thought I’d try and make one. It wasn’t as easy as I first thought it might be but then I got into it and someone liked the shape I’d made and asked me for one. Next thing you know, here we are today with a factory and I’m pumping them out.

How has your range developed?

I’ve got a range of my standard guitars like the Tornado and Cardwell, they’re going strong. The Gimba was designed as something a bit different. It looked quite big but it’s a nice feel, the way it sits on you and you’ve got plenty of tonal control. It’s somewhat based on the P Bass with a smaller neck and light body. There are plenty of options with a finger rest or finger rail for where they play. That’s how that developed and we’ve gone from there. So there’s our normal range and, of course, custom guitars where we can give people exactly what they want.

And some pretty different timbers?

Yeah, it’s quite difficult sourcing exotic pieces. Honduras Mahogany, Tulip Wood which I really like the tone of; some these are hard to get or cost too much to get. Fijian Mahogany is great to work with and I really want to get great tone by making solid guitars, not using veneers or just pieces. There are still enough people out there that appreciate tone and build quality, which we love. As well as a custom guitar, people get the experience of coming into the factory and chatting about designs and ideas. I can explain the differences 22

in the woods coming from years of research and development from myself. Customers can pick their own wood, and even supply pieces if they wish. Getting that whole experience is very different to going to a shop and buying something off the rack.

Guitar shows seem like a good setting for you to show your wares?

We were in France recently which was great. With a focus on some international guitar shows next year and a number of orders currently being fulfilled, we won’t be at this year’s Melbourne Guitar Show, unfortunately. We’d love to be there again but a number of factors haven’t fallen into place. We’re very much still on scene, though, and appreciate our Melbourne connections.

Anything new on the horizon?

I do have a couple of new models on the way. One called the ‘Maxon’ which I’m hoping to get to you guys in the next little while to check out. Of course, if you’re looking for a complete custom guitar, get in touch with Fican Guitars and we can help you out.

For more information head to ficanguitars.com

mixdownmag.com.au

Features What to Expect from 2017’s Integrate Expo With more than 130 exhibitors, 11 specialist seminars and some of the most influential industry professionals in attendance, Integrate 2017 is pulling out all the stops when it arrives in Melbourne next month to prove it’s Australia’s premiere AV and Integration trade show.

Entering its ninth year, Integrate is showcasing the best in lighting, pro-audio and AV across a three-day program designed for AV enthusiasts of all experience levels. From the Integrate Speaker Series to Integrate LIVE and the new Manufacturer Trading Program, the expo is the place to be if you’re part of the AV industry.

This year, Integrate will focus on four central areas: explore, learn, experience and network.

Each category is intended to provide attendees with the opportunity to witness the latest innovations in AV technology, gain insight from industry experts and interact with those considered to be game-changers in the AV world.

Supporting Integrate’s increased focus on music production and live sound is Integrate LIVE Theatre, returning after a successful debut at last year’s expo in Sydney. This seminar series sees guest speakers known for their innovation and influence in the industry explore live events and behind-the-scenes case studies of some of Australia’s biggest productions, including the Olympics, White Night Melbourne and the Commonwealth Games. “Event Creation – The Secrets to Producing Award-Winning Events” is the first of the eleven seminars and gives audiences the chance to hear Tiny Good of Showtech and Andrew Walsh of Accolade share their advice of how to develop and deliver a successful live event.

For those who want to further increase their industry knowledge, CEDIA training will provide members and industry professionals the opportunity to participate in courses and seminars as part of Integrate covering everything from emerging technology trends to the fundamentals of marketing and branding. The training sessions are run by internationally recognised instructors, ensuring you get the best possible information.

Integrate have also ensured their expo is educational for everyone, whether you’re looking to take part in CEDIA training or attend the speedy InfoComm Flashtrack sessions available free of charge on the show floor. Suitable for AV professionals of all ages and skill levels, the InfoComm Flashtracks offer insight to the most relevant topics in the AV industry today

mixdownmag.com.au

alongside invaluable lessons straight from InfoComm International training courses. Learn how to make the most of social media marketing as an AV professional, gain an understanding of audio networks from an IT perspective and find out why the lighting for your video conference should not be overlooked in sessions of just half-an-hour at Integrate this year.

The Manufacturer Trading Program, new for 2017, is yet another element of Integrate that provides attendees with the chance to gain real knowledge from the expo. Designed to help you master new technologies, the Manufacturer Trading Program features in-depth sessions with the manufacturers themselves to make sure you’re keeping up with the latest products.

Better yet, it’s free to attend.

The 2017 edition of the expo appears to cover just about everything in the AV industry.

Wireless technology experts including Sennheiser, Jands, Shure and Christie will share products and information with audiences, while a panel discussion led by Audio-Technica’s Anthony Russo and other leaders in the live sound industry is sure to be a highlight. The speaker series, seminar program and training sessions cover the educational aspect with help from 2017’s new Manufacturer Trading Program. There are networking opportunities around every corner, new ideas at every event and the chance to find out what’s next for the AV industry in all aspects of Integrate 2017.

BY JESSICA OVER

Integrate will take place at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre from Tuesday August 29 – Thursday August 31.

For more information, visit integrate-expo.com

23

Features

Getting Excited For The Melbourne Guitar Show The Melbourne Guitar Show is returning in 2017, and with over 80 exhibitors it’s a great chance to see a huge range of brands, suppliers, stores and manufacturers under the one roof. Imagine walking past all your favourite brands, being able to check out their gear, perusing some companies you’ve never seen before, actually playing guitars, pedals, effects and more, being entertained by some of Australia’s best known players and a bunch of select international performers and attending workshops, seminars and Q+A sessions…..well, that’s what the 2017 Melbourne Guitar Show will entail.

Billed as ‘Australia’s biggest pop-up guitar shop’ there will be specials and deals on offer and of course you’ll get the opportunity to ask questions from the actual experts. Online shopping has changed the landscape for both buyers and retailers alike so the fact that a punter can chat to a brand rep, dealer, endorsee or indeed the builder or designer is a really great opportunity. And the reverse is true, allowing exhibitors the chance to show off and display their wares in a way that isn’t always possible online. Electric, acoustic, guitar, bass, effects, amps, accessories, educational products and tonnes more – it’ll all be there.

In terms of Aussie guitarists there’ll be the likes of Diesel, Geoff Achison, Doug De Vries, Michael Dolce, Peter Baylor, Fiona Boyes, Shannon Bourne, Brett Kingman, Marcel Yammouni, Jon Delaney, James Ryan, Bob Spencer and Stevic Mackay. Fronting the international guests are Steve Hackett of Genesis fame, Canadian rock/prog tone machine Nick Johnston and the UK’s nimble fusion/ jazz/rock maestro Alex Hutchings. The opportunity to see any of the aforementioned in clinic, performance or in general hanging around the show is a must for guitar fans across a range of genres.

I remember attending the Melbourne Guitar Show back in the late 90s/early 2000s, and as an impressionable young guitarist it was an amazing experience. The fact that I got to see all these brands in one spot, hear guitarists that I’d seen on TV and magazines play live, actually play some gear myself without feeling like a complete idiot and attend a number of very informative clinics was really valuable. I’m sure there are plenty of others guitar geeks out there with similar experiences too. One of the best things is that everyone in attendance is into guitars and there to push that very fact. So whether you’re a beginner or pro, veteran basher or young up and comer (or anywhere in between) get down to Caulfield Racecourse, take it all in, try out gear, talk to exhibitors, performers and other punters, check out the clinics and performances and make the most of an event that is most welcome to be back on the Aussie music calendar.

BY NICK BROWN

STEVE HACKETT

NICK JOHNSTON 24

mixdownmag.com.au

NEW ALBUM 28.07.17

TOURING AUSTRALIA OCTOBER

MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW 2017 PROGRAM SATURDAY 5TH AUGUST Click to website: http://www.australianmusician.com.au/melbourne-guitar-show/

AON WHAMMY BAR

Presented by Australian Musician and Triple M FM Audio by Advanced Audio

10.30am

EXCLUSIVELY ACOUSTIC STAGE Level 1 Escalator East

WEEKEND W WARRIORS SHOWCASE

See two great Weekend Warrior bands open the guitar show.

This program gets lapsed musicians back into playing music and living their rock dream

11.45am

OPA P L OCEAN PA

Opal Ocean is a powerhouse instrumental duo that shifts paradigms of the acoustic guitar.

12.45pm

GEOFF ACHISON & MATT A Y T WALL ATT W

Our electric dedication to the blues, Australian style featuring the perenial Geofffff Achison but presenting some new blood in Perth’s Matty T Wall

1.45pm

NICK JOHNSTON

Our special guest from Canada is one of the rising forces in the guitar universe and displays his mastery courtesy of Schecter guitars. Don’t miss it.

2.45pm

YAMMOUNI & SYL Y LVIO PROJECT

Marcel and Andy have been long-standing sidemen for some you on a journeyfrom the depths of tranquility to a blaze of face-me lting glory.

3.30pm

STEPHEN TARAN T TO

Sydney-based Guitarist who currently plays with the TechT Progressive Metal band ‘The Helix Nebula’, as a Solo Artist, and has performed for many Australian-based Progressive bands.

4.15pm

SIMON GARDNER & THE BIG SKY

Brisbane based musician, Simon Gardner is a rock guitar virtuoso who will playing his original music backed by his 4-piece band The Big Sky

5.15pm

AON MEZZANINE STAGE

WINNERS CIRCLE WORKSHOP ROOM

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

11.OOam

AMEB Rock School Clinic

10.30am

Cafe Corner.

Ground Level

Alex Burns has become very popular in the Australian blues scene having performed countless venues and major festivals. Alex is joined by the incomparable Michael Bright on guitar, with Ken Borlaise on stand up bass.

modern music tuition, Rockschool presents a new and engaging syllabus, as rigorous in content and delivery as any classical instrumental syllabus to date. T Teachers will be able to structure lessons through a goal-directed process using up-to-date, popular material with outcomes that are sure to improve and develop the performance abilities and overall musicality of students. Presented by AMEB

Level 1 Escalator West

UKOLOGY 11.30am

NICK CHARLES

A class act, revered by peers and

and players in the land. 2015 Artist of the Y Year at the Port Fairy Folk Festival

12.30pm

LUCAS MICHAILIDIS Lucas Michailidis has been described as ‘quite simply a guitarplaying phenomenon.... he can pull a rhythm and complexity out of a hat’. Real art and enriching food for the soul is what you get with a Lucas peformance.

1.30pm

TIM O’BRIEN guitar and member of The O’Brien Ensemble, a “Hot Club and Acoustic Swing Band”, Tim O’Brien performs for Sigma Guitars

2.30

TIRI PESTRIVAS V VAS Melbourne, Australia. Presented by Ruben Guitars

12.OO noon

LLOYD SPIEGEL IN CONCERT

Lloyd Spiegel is an artist at the forefront and cutting edge of Australian Blues. It’s that unique experience combined with a relentless touring schedule and stage presence that has seen him become a driving force in Australian blues. Lloyd has just released a new studio album This Time Tomorro T w.

1.OOpm

FIONA A BOYES

Fiona Boyes, an Aussie blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, who has been recording & performing for more than 25 years, building a career that has taken her to major festivals and stages around the world

2.00pm

GUITAR TAR PLA T AYERS SESSION 1

“all-in” jams. Nick Charles hosts Shannon Bourne, Lloyd Spiegel, Fiona Boyes, Phil Manning, Andrew Wrigglesworth & Geoff Achison

3.45pm

Matthew Fagan will put on show some bright new young guitarists in the inaugural performance of the Boss Electric Guitar Orchestra.

Level 1 Escalator West

11.30am

HISTORY RY OF AMERICAN GUITAR RY TAR MAKING T

Presented by Jon Lee, Washburn USA’ A s Chief Designer, and A’ featuring Kirk Lorange with hands on demo. Presented by Washburn guitars W

12.30pm

IBANEZ GUITARS TARS SHOWCASE T Featuring Simon Gardner

1.30pm

BOSS SYNTH & MULTI LTI FX MASTERCLASS L Featuring Alex Huchings from BOSS (UK)

2.30pm

LINE 6 V VARIAX & HELIX GUITAR T TECHNOLOGY Y SHOWCASE Known for his work with acclaimed metal band T Twelve Foot Ninja, Stevic Mackay will be demonstrating his signature range of guitar processors

GYPSY Y FIRE

3.30pm

Celtic and world music group.The lineup features Matthew Fagan on 10 string Spanish and gypsy guitar and Austral,ia’s leading European born gypsy jazz performers Alex Y Yarosh on guitar (Ukraine) and Romana Geermans Violin (Prague)

Featuring Lucas Michalaidis and Stephen Magnusson this session is based on the landmark book The Advancing

4.45pm

ULTRAFOX L LTRAFOX

in the infectious style of Django Reinhardt and The Hot Club of France. Elegant swing , tender jazz ballads, gypsy waltzes and hot rhythm are just a few of the trademark sounds.

BOSS ELECTRIC GUITAR TAR ORCHESTRA T

*PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

THE ADVANCING VANCING GUITARIST V T

since 1987. Approaches to scale and chord voicing will be among the topics covered.

Get up close and personal with the Pros, in this play & chat session. It’s an MGS Q & A where you get to talk to the pros and hear some of their magic too.

12noon PHIL MANNING Phil Manning is an Australian blues legend, who along with his band mates from Chain helped to pioneer an Antipodean form of the blues which carries on today through a new generation of blues last few decades, Phil’s musical tastes have broadened to include folk, celtic and world music 3.00pm KIRK LORANGE Kirk Lorange has played with the Who’s Who of Australian music over many years. He is a renowned slide exponent, author and teacher. His plane talk series of books and videos attest to his work in music education.

Be on hand as Kirk discusses the guitar and his methods.

4.30pm

MICHAEL DOLCE MASTERCLASS

Featuring Michael Dolce (The V Voice houseband) in masterclass. Presented by Cilia Guitars

MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW 2017 PROGRAM SUNDAY 6TH AUGUST Click to website: http://www.australianmusician.com.au/melbourne-guitar-show/

AON WHAMMY BAR

Presented by Triple M and Australian Musician

10.30am

MOVIE: ACOUSTIC UPRISING innovative world of Acoustic FingerStyle guitar featuring interviews with many leading players including Andy McKee, Kaki King, Newton Faulkner and Tommy T Emmanuel. The Acoustic Uprising looks at the rich history of FingerStyle and the fusion of musical ideas the style has become known for. By Roller Coaster Productions.

11.45am

ALEX HUTCHINGS

UK guitar wiz exclusively for MGS017 - a guy who’s accumulated millions of You Y Tube views has got to be something to see. At the MGS2017 for BOSS.

12.30pm

SHANNON BOURNE

Described in 2016 as best on ground at the MGS, Shannon Bourne returns with another vibrant performance, featuring Carl Pannuzzo & Luke Hodgson

1.30pm

THE MERCY Y KILLS

The Mercy Kills are part Sunset Strip trash, part CBGB’s style raw rock and 100% pure oz rock n roll champions.

Formed in 2009 they have a history of hanging with legendary artists such as Courtney Love and the New York Dolls and the vibe has obviously rubbed offf on the Y Melbourne-based quartet. On stage, TMK give it all.

2.30pm

THE OMNIFIC drummer. Announcing themselves in Nov 2016 with their audience with their unique compositions and style.

3.45pm

TRIPLE M FINALE JAM

You’ve spent the weekend watching some of Australia’s Y

bargain, seen a cool demo or two and thinking life couldn’t get any better… BUT ... we’ve saved the best until last! Some of Australia’s slickest pickers will come together on one stage for the Triple M Finale Jam. The line up includes: Bob Spencer, rr, James Ryan, Nick Johnston, Alex Hutchings, Shannon Bourne… and you never know who else might join them!

EXCLUSIVELY ACOUSTIC STAGE Level 1 Escalator East

11.00am

JOSEPH BALFE

Joseph has won numerous instrumental & overall awards in competing in 2013, including Overall Intermediate at the NZ Gold Guitar Awards, Overall at the CCMA’ A A s in T Tamworth AUS, runner-up Aristocrat Entertainer of the Y Year (AUS).

12.00 noon

SERGIO ERCOLE abroad, studying and performing extensively throughout the Mediterranean including Andalusia, Florence, Sienna, and Adriatic Coast. and love for his Italian musical heritage and culture, will provide guitar enthusiasts a real treat.

1.00pm

TIM O’BRIEN guitar and member of The O’Brien Ensemble, a “Hot Club and Acoustic Swing Band”, Tim O’Brien performs for Sigma Guitars

2.00pm

ADAM MILLER ‘it takes an impossibly gifted player to improvise independent melodies, harmonies, and bass lines all at the same time - while maintaining an impeccable groove. Australia’s ’ ’s Adam Miller is one such rare phenomenon’ - Premier Guitar Magazine

The Melbourne Guitar Show acknowledges its sponsors for their support in staging the event

AON MEZZANINE STAGE

Level 1 Escalator West 12.00 noon

STEVE HACKETT ACOUSTIC TRIO

Steve Hackett has had a remarkable musical career and is renowned as one of the most innovative rock musicians of our time, beginning with prog rock legends Genesis. Steve has released more than 30 solo albums as well as the seven albums he recorded with Genesis.

Steve takes time out from his Genesis Revisited theatre shows to play an exclusive trio show for us.

PREMIUM TICKET REQUIRED for trio performance.

1.00pm STEVE HACKETT Q&A

Steve Hackett in conversation with Australian Musician All welcome. Premium ticket not necessary for Q&A

1.45pm

GUITAR TAR PLA T AYERS SESSION 2

The acoustic guitar has left its imprint on many cultures and musical genres across the world. This show will feature some of the diverse styles and sounds of the instrument from Flamenco to Jazz and Contemporary instrumentalists to Djangophiles. Nick Charles hosts and features –Sergio Ercole, Joseph Balfe, Doug Devries & Alex Burns

3.30pm

UKULELE UTOPIA

Featuring Sarah Carroll and The Thin White Ukes Sarah Carroll is an original singer/songwriter, well known for her work with The Junes, The Cartridge Family, The Pirates Of Beer and partner Chris Wilson, and most recently, Aine T Tyrrell and Jackie Marshall. She specialises in country, but loves the bossa nova and has rhythm and blues in her heart! The Thin White Ukes have been performing the songs of David Bowie (and friends) with small strings and big harmonies in their hometown of Melbourne and beyond since 2014. From Space Oddity to Blackstar, their lovingly handcrafted arrangements of the late great Duke’s mercurial songbook have teased the neck hairs of spellbound audiences and attracted a stellar series of guest collaborators including Jen Cloher, Kim Salmon, Emily Lubitz, Steve Kilbey, Ashley Naylor and Angie Hart.

*PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

WINNERS CIRCLE WORKSHOP ROOM

Level 1 Escalator West 10.30am

AMEB CLASSICAL GUITAR TAR SESSION T Session dedicated to the classical guitar presented by AMEB

11.30am

COLE CLARK GUITARS TARS SHOWCASE T Featuring Lloyd Spiegel

12.30pm

TONE DESIGN FOR THE GT-1 T T-1 Featuring Josh Munday

1.30pm

NICK JOHNSTON CLINIC Our special Canadian guest features in a clinic for Schecter Guitars

2.30pm

WHAT’S AT’S NEW FROM FRACTA A T L AUDIO SYSTEMS Featuring Brett Kingman

3.30pm

DIESEL IN CLINIC FOR VOX anniversary, Diesel will host an intimate clinic discussing his use of V Vox amps including the all-new MV50, plus he will perform some of his amazing songs live and include some Q & A for your chance to chat to one of Australia’s most revered musicians.

UP CLOSE & PERSONAL Cafe Corner.

Ground Level

Get up close and personal with the Pros, in this play & chat session. It’s an MGS Q & A where you get to talk to the pros and hear some of their magic too.

12.00 noon MIKE ELRINGTON Mike Elrington is a gifted singer songwriter with incredible guitar skills. Standing at almost two metres tall, delivering his signature, gut-wrenching vocals like an instrument all on its own, very few people forget a performance from this man. Mike offers fffers great music & life lessons in this session 2.00pm BOB SPENCER Bob Spencer is a real force on the guitar in this country. He was a member of the legendary Skyhooks and The Angels and an ARIA A Hall of Fame inductee and can be seen regularly with the wonderful cover quirky personality. In this session Bob offers f ffers invalubale advice for guitarists.

EXHIBITOR LIST MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW 2017 FLOOR PLAN - GROUND FLOOR

MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW 2017 FLOOR PLAN - LEVEL ONE

ELECTRIC FLOOR GROUND LEVEL 1 Rock School 2 Clones Cabinets 3 Wildwood Instruments 4 Tone Revival 5 Owen Ray’s International Music 6 Owen Ray’s International Music 7 & 8 Fine Music 9 Cilia Guitars 10 Holdfast Custom Paint & Guitars 11 Eastman Music 12 – 15 Amber Technology 16 – 18 Muso’s Corner 19 – 20 Galactic Music 21 – Dunphy Imports 22 – 24 Eastgate EGM 25 – 27 Sunburst Music 28 Reverb.com 29 Aon 30 – Headrush 44 The Speaker Factory 45 – 46 Sherlock Amplifiers 47 – 50 Schecter Guitars 51 – 52 GH Music 53 – 55 KC’s Rockshop 56 The Resource Corporation 57- 58 Evolution Music 59 Stage Systems 60 – 62 Australis Music 63 – 65 Line 6 66 George Evans Custom Amplifiers 67 Guitar Buckle Buddy 67 Rainbow Music 69 Melbourne School of Guitar Making 70 Cranbourne Music 72 Hammond Australia 73 – 74 Innovative Music 75 – 76 ET Guitars 77 – 83 Cranbourne Music 84 – 87 Fender Australia 88 D’Addario Australia 89 – 90 Ruben Guitars 91 – 93 Roland Corporation 94 World of Music 95 Independent Music Products 96 Sound and Music 97 Macron Music 98 – 99 CMC Music 100 – 101 Music Junction – Chapman Guitars 102 – 103 Guitar Village 104 – 105 Link audio 106 – 107 Studio 19 Rentals 108 Cole Clark Guitars 109 Clarke & Severn Electronics ACOUSTIC ONLY MEZZANINE A1 Cargill Custom Guitars A2 Jacaranda Music A3 Cole Clark Guitars A4 KC’s Rockshop A5 – A7 Evolution Music A9 High Street Music A10 – Yamaha A11 Admira Guitars A12 – A13 Zenith Music A14 – A15 National Music A16 – A17 Musical Merchandisers A18 – A19 Pats Music A20 – A21 Fender Australia A22 Spread Music Guitars A23 AMEB A24 NCAT A25-26 Special Display The Evolution of the Acoustic Guitar A27 Shoma Guitars A27 Octigan Guitars A28 Leatherartz A28 Double Bass Tattoo *the list is subject to change and will regularly update

Advice Columns GUITAR

BASS GUITAR

Breaking the Patterns

How To Practice

More work on freeing up your hands and creating some extra facility. Trying to break free from some of the standard fingerings and patterns can be tough. Everyone will have their own devices that they always fall back into and call on so remember some of these exercises might be easy for you but not so simple for others.

I’ve had some interesting discussions with musicians lately regarding practicing. What they practice, how they practice, their practice routines as well as the typical and inevitable lack of practice due to time constraints/motivation/general life and the like discussions.

Students are always told to practice and most conscientious developing students do so but it would seem that often they don’t know how to practice and what that should involve.

There is no single approach or method that will suit everyone unfortunately so ideas need to be adapted to each individual. Hopefully this gives you some general thoughts to consider as a starting point though…..

An A Dorian lick, Figure A has three notes per string. Typically most players accent the first note on each string (both when fingering and playing legato). When playing this exercise as written (with semi quavers) that means the new starting note on each string isn’t always on the beat (as you’re playing three notes per string but counting/feeling groups of four). Whilst this can be a cool effect on its own it can also play with your time and feeling of where the one is. I’d suggest playing the lick with alternate picking as a start, really honing in on the feeling of semi quavers and hearing/feeling/counting out loud every beat (1 e + a, 2 e + a etc).

After playing Figure A slowly a few times you might be surprised at which notes are falling where in the bar. Let’s have a look at Figure B which takes the first bar and highlights the counting of semi quavers (with a feeling of four/groups of four) against where the new string starts each time (groups of three).

HAVE A GOOD PRACTICE SPACE WITH MINIMAL DISTRACTIONS This can be limited by your living arrangements, employment and a number of other factors but wherever it is make it somewhere that’s comfortable and puts you in a good mindset.

This might mean having some natural light through a window to make you feel alive or a quiet dark room in the basement away from the rest of the world. Phones, computers, knocks at the front door can all be major distractions too so keeping these at check (as best as possible) is obviously a priority too. Another obvious point is having your instrument readily available. Inspiration can strike at any time so having your bass/trumpet/ zither etc. setup and ready to go means you can get into practicing as opposed to spending 10 minutes getting it out of the case, assembled and tuned up. Sometimes the very thought of that rigmarole is enough to put off practice in the first place.

GOALS/ROUTINE Write a list of things you want to achieve/get better at. This can be as vague as ‘I wanna be able to shred’, ‘I want to get some Latin gigs’ or super specific ‘I don’t know what to play over dominant 7 chords’. Getting these ideas down is a great achievement in itself.

Have a good think about them and keep adding to this list over the next day/week/month/ year. If some topics have priority over others put them into an order, otherwise pick one topic as a starting point.

BREAK IT DOWN AND BE REALISTIC This is not meant in a negative way. It’s great to aim high, but unrealistic goals might do more harm when you don’t achieve them putting you off even further or getting you into a negative mindset. Almost anything can be broken down into smaller chunks, and often these chunks are easier to deal with. Memorising the changes to 30 standards is a great goal but learning them thoroughly for a gig in a week’s time is perhaps unrealistic. Make the goal five standards instead and have the other 25 as tunes that you’ve played through and have charts for the gig and will work on over the following weeks. Being realistic can also help you see progress which in turn spurs you on even more. Any sense of achievement, no matter how small, can be enough to keep you practicing rather than feeling that you’re going nowhere and getting completely discouraged.

BY NICK BROWN

Keeping just the accented notes you end with Figure C. As mentioned this has a cool rhythmic feel to it but it’s also important to be able to use this when needed and play the phrase without accents too – irrespective of what finger you’re using, which string you’re on and whether it’s the start of a new string or not etc

So going back to Figure A you should now try and play the phrase with more of a legato feel. Try picking just the first note and even not picking at all. Focus on hearing the phrase in 4/4, counting all the beats out loud and making them all even and clear. Figure D takes a similar sound (in A Dorian) but starts with the second finger. A similar premise again with keeping a pattern moving across the strings but for many (myself included) this starting on the second finger is much harder to get clean and precise. Try picking as a start and avoid accenting the new string (accent the whole beats – 1, 2, 3, 4 if anything) and get the feeling of the semi quavers as opposed to the string change. Now think how many possibilities and combinations there are. Different scales, arpeggios, chromatic lines, different fingering and groupings and then mixing those up. Don’t be overwhelmed though, start with one small exercise and work on it. Building technique can be very rewarding, it does take time and practice however.

BY NICK BROWN 28

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Advice Columns PERCUSSION

Odd Hand/Feet Combinations I’ve been experimenting with a cool concept that utilises some phrases orchestrated between the hands and the feet. The interesting thing is that the phrases are uneven, which makes for some less predictable phrasing. In theory, the combinations are a simple make up of singles and doubles but lets explore this further.

Most things we play on the drums are combinations of single strokes and double strokes and as mentioned, these fills are just that. The only difference being that the bass drum is replacing one of the hands.

For this column, I’m going to be looking at two specific combinations – a grouping of five notes and a grouping of seven notes, both based on the following hand stickings respectively – RLRLL and RLRLRLL where all the right hand strokes are accented and the left hands are ghosted. If we replace the left hand strokes with bass drums we get Figures A and B. It’s worth noting that you can play the bass drum at any volume as the desired effect can be less subtle than the original hand stickings.

At this point you should practice the stickings carefully and slowly, concentrating on each stroke being even. The bass drum double stroke should ideally be even and the same velocity. The time signature doesn’t need to be a huge factor as you’re purely trying to get comfortable with the figure. As you do, you can then start to orchestrate the right hand around the drums as you see fit – don’t forget to mix the hi-hat in there too as this creates a very unpredictable sound.

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Since the left hand has been chilling out, we can then execute the fill leading with the left or mixing both hands. You can see Figures C and D for some examples of this.

To be honest, getting comfortable with this stage takes a little while, particularly if you want to get it fast. You may find that you need to just have one idea or orchestration to play around with first before randomly improvising around the drums. The bass drum strokes will most likely be a hold up or constriction for getting faster too, so this may take time.

The whole idea of these fills is to use them right? So, practicing them in context of a groove and as a fill is paramount.

However, it may not be always applicable to randomly do a fill in 5/8 or 7/8 if you’re playing in 4/4 so in light of this and given that semiquavers are usually a great go to for fills, we can play the same figures as 16th notes and allow them to cross the beat. For illustration purposes, I’ve just used an orchestration between the snare and floor tom and only the right hand – Figure E shows the 5-note sticking and Figure F, the 7-note sticking. I’ve only gone as far as two bars but you could keep going if you want.

To give context of time for other musicians

in the band or to just keep the groove going, you can attempt to keep a steady hi-hat going with the left hand whilst the figure moves over the beat using the right hand. Check out Figures G (5-note) and H (7-note) for this idea.

playing the ideas in triplets instead of 16th notes. Or mix and match between the 5-note sticking and 7-note stickings in the one phrase. I’ve capped the phrases at two bars as mentioned, but this can easily keep going, the choice is yours.

The concepts covered are really only the start of this idea and there are lots you could do with them. For example, try

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

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Advice Columns Musicology

The History Of Dub Mixing Techniques Part 1 How Creativity & Technology Birthed The Modern Remix And Dance Music Musical history is littered with examples of innovators using technology in creative ways that have had wide reaching and lasting affects. In part one of this article we examine the techniques and equipment used in the creation of dub music, a genre that would grow to birth and influence not only reggae but pop and all types of electronic dance music, including quite notably dubstep, jungle and drum’n’bass, as well as having a major hand in the invention of the remix and hip-hop.

THE BIRTH OF THE REMIX The evolution of dub and the evolution of the remix are two parts of the same story.

One of the key moments in the creation of dub happened in 1968 at Treasure Isle Studio in Kingston, Jamaica. Because very few people had the money to buy records, the main way that people were introduced to new music was either in dancehalls or at street parties. Therefore whoever owned and operated the portable sound systems was in a position of influence when it came to setting musical trends.

Rudolph ‘Ruddy’ Redwood owned one such system and one day he was attending a session produced by Bunny Lee and engineered by Byron Smith and Osbourne Ruddock, otherwise known as King Tubby.

They were cutting a ‘dub plate’ - an acetate copy of the song to be played through the sound systems – and were having trouble getting the vocals to fit in the mix. Redwood insisted that they cut a version of the track without the vocals and consequently this instrumental version was used to extend the original 30

version when played by the dancehall DJ, thus giving birth to the concept of the extended remix. Although Coxsonne Dodd had pioneered the idea of releasing a ‘riddim’ version of a song in the mid’60s by removing some of the melodic elements, such as the horn section, Tubby took this idea even further. This proved to be so popular that by 1970 it had become common practice to issue an instrumental version as the B side of a single.

THE BIRTH OF RAP From there King Tubby took the idea of creating an instrumental version of vocal tracks and quickly began experimenting with techniques that emphasised the song’s rhythm after the main melody had been removed. This also created space in the track for the deejays (or MCs as they became known in the USA) to toast over the records when played live, an important musical evolution that would eventually lead to the birth of rap. Wheras previously the deejay’s job was to entertain the crowd in between songs, U-Roy became a sensation through

toasting over productions by King Tubby, earning himself several charting singles in the early ‘70s.

THE BIRTH OF DUB – THE INTRODUCTION OF DELAY & REVERB Although King Tubby is now known as a producer and musician, his primary occupation up until this point had been providing transformers to stabilise electrical current on the island and building and servicing amplifiers for the local sound systems.

After the success of the instrumental ‘versions’ as they were called,Tubby became inspired and started to improve his own sound setup and experiment with techniques in his sessions with U-Roy. He bought an old MCI mixing console from Dynamic Sounds in 1971 and turned his front room into a remixing studio, crucially adding reverb and delay to his mixes for the first time.

“We introduce a different thing to the sound system world,” said Tubby in 1975.

“This amplifier here have a chrome front and reverb. That is the first time a reverb was introduced in Jamaica is when my sound come out. And it get de people so excited that everywhere we go we have a following.

And then U-Roy come on with a style...”

MUTING The techniques developed during this period saw the engineer/producer begin to use the mixing desk and outboard gear as instruments to orchestrate new versions over the existing track’s rhythms. Such techniques included muting key parts of the arrangements, such as the bass or vocal snippets, and then reintroducing them to the song.

SPACE ECHO/SNARE SHOT Another distinctive technique that became a major part of dub was the practice of introducing delay feedback or echo on certain phrases or drum hits, particularly on the snare.

HI-PASS FILTER Given that Tubby and his team of engineers used the mixing desk as an instrument, one of the defining sounds of the dub records made during that time was the use of the console’s hi-pass filters.

“It was a very unique board because it was custom built for Dynamic Sounds,” remembered King Jammy in Michael Veale’s Dub Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. “It had things that the modern boards nowadays don’t really have, like a high-pass filter that made some squawky sounds when you change the frequency. We would put any instrument through it – drums, bass, riddim, voices. That high-pass filter is what create the unique sound at Tubby’s.”

The ‘sweeping’ sound caused by the filter can heard on many productions from the period.

TURN UP THE BASS The booming bass line more and more became a major component of dub music and foreshadowed one of the many genres that would grow in its wake - drum’n’bass.

BY ALEX WATTS

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STAND 12 TO 15, 5-6 AUGUST 2017

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Advice Columns SOUND ADVICE

True Bypass Pedals Explained

signal still has to pass through the switching logic even in bypass mode and consequently ended up colouring the tone itself.

The Pros And Cons Of Bypassing And Buffering

TRUE True bypass takes from both of these designs, using two switches that operate in parallel, with one at the input stage and the other at the output. When bypass is selected the signal literally bypasses the effect circuit, avoiding any possible impedance to your tone.

To achieve true bypass in a pedal with an LED on/off indicator requires more complicated switch, called a Three-Pole Double-Throw (3PDT). While these switches have just two positions for on and off, both of these make three circuit connections, moving the guitar signal from the effect circuit to the output as well as switching the LED on/off.

These days, most modern guitar pedals offer true bypass. This means that the signal bypasses the effect circuit when the pedal is switched off, passing from input to output.

Pedals that don’t have true bypass merely have a switch that turns the effect circuitry on or off with the signal still running through the circuit.

TONE SUCKING The advantage of this is that it introduces a buffer against signal interference and won’t colour your guitar tone with the circuitry of the effects pedal in use. This colouration is referred to as ‘tone sucking’, and can easily be tested by comparing the tone of your guitar when plugged directly into an amplifier to that when first run through a pedal. If you are running multiple pedals then the affect on your overall tone and power will be cumulative, which is obviously not desirable. The impedance of the guitar pickups vs. that of the pedal will also have a bearing over which factor dominates the signal more.

Types Of Bypass SIMPLE There are three main forms of bypass and the description above describes the most basic end eldest, which uses a single switch to route the input to the effect or to the output. The downside of this is that the effect circuit is always connected to the output, which can result in losses of both high frequencies and dynamic range. Another noticeable drawback is that these types of switches are known to create audible clicks when switched on or off, which is obviously not desirable.

LOGIC Consequently ‘logic bypass’ was developed in the late 1970’s and featured in designs by many major manufacturers, such as Roland and Ibanez, among others. They utilised a transistor-based switch to cut the effect out of the circuit, however this meant that the

THE ALTERNATIVE: BUFFERS One of the problems with true bypass pedals are that while they do not impede your signal per se, they also do not aid it in any way other than not getting in its way. One problem with this is that the signal will lose power the further it moves from the original sound source to its final destination.

To combat this, most mass produced pedals these days come with a standard buffer – a small unity-gain preamp - built into them specifically to tackle this problem. Assuming it is well made, the buffer helps to maintain the tone and volume of your signal as it makes its way across the pedal board and through multiple guitar cables.

However, true bypass pedals do not have a buffer built into them, often resulting by default in a weaker signal. Because of this some guitarists choose to use true bypass pedals and also incorporate a dedicated buffer/preamp into their signal chain.

BY ALEX WATTS

STUDIORECORDINGCOMBO Whether you’re looking for an upgrade or just starting out, the NEW Audio-Technica Studio Recording Combo provides a perfect set of tools for your recording, production and tracking needs.

For more information or to find your local Audio-Technica dealer, go to audio-technica.com.au

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Advice Columns ELECTRONIC MUSIC PRODUCTION

Breaking Down Synthesis A lot of jargon comes with synthesisers and their various types and uses. Oscillators, filters, envelopes, phase distortion, frequency modulation it goes on. It can be difficult to makes heads of tails of any of these terms without an underlying understanding of the types of synthesis they’re in reference to. So I thought I’d break down a few of the main ones.

SUBTRACTIVE SYNTHESIS This is the most popular and easy to comprehend method of synthesis. At its core it basically consists of electronically generating a raw sound and ‘subtracting’ frequencies from it – sculpting it to your taste.

Sound is generated via an oscillator, a module that outputs an oscillating waveform in a shape of your choosing i.e. a saw tooth wave. Traditionally, subtractive synths feature a sawtooth, square and triangle wave, however as synthesisers have matured, waveforms have been added – some manufacturers’ waveforms have even become distinctive characteristics of music genres i.e. Roland’s ‘super-saw’ is synonymous with early rave trance music.

Different waveforms have different sound characteristics; sawtooth waveforms have a thin buzzy sound, square waves have a cleaner hollow sound.

Once you’ve chosen a waveform, you can shape it with filters and modulators like envelopes and low frequency oscillators (LFOs). Modulators act like invisible hands, changing parameters - like the filter frequency and volume - for you over time.

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FM SYNTHESIS A more complex method is frequency modulation or FM synthesis. Rather than starting with a raw, harmonically rich waveform, you generally begin with a pure sine wave coming from an operator (in this instance an operator performs the same function as an oscillator) and route waveforms from other operators through it to create a more harmonically complex and interesting waveform, and thus sound.

Changing the frequency and waveforms of the modulating operators can result in some wild sounds. Many users struggle to predict what the outcome of modifying a parameter in FM synthesis will be, but sticking to even ratios of the modulator to the carrier ie. 2:1 or 1:4 will generally always give you a musical result (as apposed to 1.48670:1 which won’t) and so the results can be learned, and predicted.

The sound can be modified further by using an envelope to change the modulation depth and frequency of the modulating operator.

Characteristically, FM synthesis is known to produce clear and bright sounds. Yamaha’s DX7 introduced FM synthesis to the masses

in 1983 and went onto become one of the best selling synths of all time, it’s electric piano and bell tones are heard all over the records of the 80s. These days, FM synthesis can claim responsibility for some of the gruesome growling basses heard in EDM and dubstep.

WAVETABLE SYNTHESIS Wavetable synths stemmed from the early digital era when the industry was experimenting with the move to digital.

Wavetable refers to the oscillators, which in this case don’t generate a waveform but essentially play it back from a bank of recordings. In fact every instance of a parameter’s settings and the resulting waveform is in the synth’s memory and crossfades from playing back each appropriate waveform as you modify

it. It gets interesting though when manufacturers include the ability to morph from a considerably complex waveform in its ‘wavetable’ to another with a simple modulator like an LFO. In an ordinary subtractive synth, morphing between the two waveforms might require 100 parameter changes in an instant. Wavetable synthesis can be combined with subtractive or FM synthesis features and methods.

That’s three of the main go-tos. There are many more variations and offshoots – additive, phase distortion, granular, sampling and whole heaps of other ones manufacturers make up on the fly. But if you can grasp the ones I’ve mentioned, that’s a great start.

BY MICHAEL CUSACK

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Product Reviews

TRACE ELLIOT Transit A Acoustic Pre-amp and Transit B Bass Preamp Galactic Music | galacticmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $599.99

Sometimes it’s the subtlest of pleasures that are hardest to tame. With buckets of fuzz and searing, high-gain solos spinning around the venue like air-raid sirens, it’s the foundations of sound that all too often get left behind. Bass and acoustic guitar players know this pain all too well and consequently have come to rely on some pretty crafty EQ trickery to carve their niche in a mix. There are already countless bits of kit on the market promising assistance in this endeavour but few with quite the bag of tricks that Trace Elliot have in store with their Transit A and B acoustic and bass friendly preamp systems.

By way of a brief overview, both are housed in a low profile, heavy-duty, black steel chassis about as wide as the five pedals they aim to replace. Both are peppered liberally with the ubiquitous neon green that is the Trace Elliot trademark and are controlled by a row of eleven knobs and five footswitches, across the top and bottom respectively, which double as indicators for the tuner and mute function.

Both have a simple TRS input followed by dry signal out, pre and post XLR outs, aux in, headphone jack, ground lift and

34

two main signal outs which differ slightly according to application; stereo for the acoustic and line versus instrument out for bass. On first glance they look like twins but when slipped seamlessly into your chain they perform vastly different sonic surgeries.

The Transit A is definitely the more hi-fidelity of the pair, as well it should be given the task at hand. Between the input and output gain controls you have a series of effects that in any other situation could prove problematic for the soundhole-bound as well as a broad EQ sweep for dialling in the sweet spot of the whole affair. With one knob each you can let a chiming chorus or a lush hall reverb glisten as well as a tap tempo delay for even wider sounding arrangements. There’s a boost switch if it’s your turn to solo, a pre/ post EQ hump for instant nudge and the all important phase switch for knocking the big, dumb woof on the head. Gain wise, it’s pretty difficult to get this thing to break up. There’s enough headroom in the circuit that any kind of maxed out clip only appears when you’re being particularly irresponsible.

The Transit B on the other hand is a much more concentrated affair. With a stern furrow in its brow it presents you with all the essentials of bass performance hocus-pocus. The five-band EQ here is switchable, as are the blended drive and two-stage compressor, which is great for either setting-and-forgetting your personal tone stack or layering different energies on the fly. There are passive/active and pre/ post comp EQ toggles for extra preference and a super beefy bass enhance button just incase everything else wasn’t quite getting you over the line.

Long story short, the idea here is sound and the execution is exhaustive yet uncomplicated. Too often pre-amp pedals and tone-shaping tools that aim for this type of 360 degree control miss the mark and become overbearing, colouring original blueprint sound too much; some fall over entirely before reaching the finish line at all. Both of these units reach far into the tone cauldron but only pull out exactly the spells you asked for. The EQ sweep in both instances is broad enough for even the pickiest of players and the discerning nature of the tools on offer makes either or

both ultimately useful either on stage or in the studio. No nasty surprises like low bit rate, digital clip or half-arsed engineering, just solid, sonic squire-ship to help you mount your chosen steed.

BY LUKE SHIELDS

HITS • Simplicity and clarity of judgement and execution of engineering • Low profile and heavy duty enough for any situation MISSES • The colour is a bit to someone else’s taste • No option for buffered of true bypass

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THE WORLD’S MOST ADVANCED DIGITAL AMPLIFIER SERIES.

fender.com.au/MustangGT ©2017 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation.Fender® is a trademark of FMIC. All rights reserved. FENDER.COM.AU

Product Reviews DV MARK Evo 1 Modeling Head CMC Music | cmcmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1650

Bass players and guitarists are two completely different animals. Where six stringers are offered every option and opportunity on a silver platter, our four stringed friends are paid much less heed than they deserve. Mark World have consistently painted all of their products liberally with the same brush of innovation so it’s no surprise that their Markbass branded heads are the go-to beef machine for sub-conscious players everywhere.

As with its more treble-heavy counterpart, the Bass Evo 1 has a simple set of bonnet style knobs across its face. Twin three-band EQ and level controls wrangle both dirty and clean channels with familiar grace, while a flexible effects dial rounds out each rail.

Before you hit the master volume there’s a little bit of genius to be had, but we’ll get to that later. Similar again to the guitar version, both channels have six presets to scroll through, populated by a greatest hits collection of bass amps from throughout the ages. You want that brand new SVT stomp?

You got it. Looking for some of that 80’s solid state girth? It’s all yours. Pretty much

anything from the smoothest sustainers of the 60’s to the most modern masters is covered straight out of the box.

One of the simplest and most useful features of the Evo 1 is the mix knob. Anyone who’s ever listened to Converge or recorded bass in a professional studio will know the merits of blending in the clarity and accuracy of a clean, unfettered signal over the mayhem of bucket loads of fuzz. Mark knows this as well as anyone as said mix knob proves. I just about shook my house to its foundations when I found just the right balance between a smooth, compressed, midrange clean tone teetering atop a heaving undercurrent of woof. To add further versatility to proceedings, pair the proprietary fourchannel footswitch with your new rig and you have the option to boost a few decibels in the choruses as well as scroll through the

DV MARK

preset banks should the need arise. This is where the amp becomes one of the most player-friendly in its field. Even with a direct out from the back of the head, the tonal possibilities are almost endless without opening up the Pandora’s box via USB. If you are brave enough to do so, Mark World have been kind enough to curate a pretty tasteful menu of downloadable presets in the low-end wing of the Multiamp Community hall of fame. Again, all the stars are there but it’s the assignable effects knobs that shine here. As standard, Channel One’s effect is a fast attacking, massive reduction compressor while Channel Two swings from chorus to phaser depending upon the bank at play. However, the in-app functionality allows you to chop and change these characteristics according to your needs. Essentially, you could leave all of the

Evo 1 Modeling Head

CMC Music | cmcmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1195

CMC Music | cmcmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1695

n order to find out what’s going on behind the black tolex we must first hit the spec sheet. Weighing in around a modest 13kgs, the closed back of the enclosure hides two of Mark World’s patented neodymium speakers. I’ve reviewed these before and remember being impressed by the distinct absence of abject heft without sacrificing an ounce of power or throw. I carried it in its cardboard box from my car all the way into the house on one shoulder like a case of beer, a feat that no other 2x12 owner would dare attempt lest they stare a lifetime of chiropractic work dead in the face.

Stand back a few paces and it’s a pretty sleek and stylish affair. The landscape profile of the unit is reminiscent of jazz era Fender combos and some of the more obscure Australian builds of the 50’s and 60’s. Leather capped corners, black tolex and black grille cloth set the scene for a humbly sized DV Mark logo at the centre-top of the frame and the vintage style leather handle is the bow-tie that makes the tuxedo pop.

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BY LUKE SHIELDS HITS • Super versatile across both channels in series or parallel • Hefty but easily tamable power profile in a super light enclosure MISSES • Clunky tuner

DV MARK

212 GH Cabinet

With two 12” models mounted side by side in the front, this cab affords more than enough meat for either clef and retains plenty of chiming clarity around 10kHz and above that is particularly useful for single coil pick up addicts, for example. The ports on the back offer a fair amount of flexibility, too. Optional 8 and 16ohm TRS ins couple with a super handy thru jack for those of us who want to push more air than others via a second set of speakers. Not that any more push is necessary; there is so much headroom in this low profile black box that you really have to give your amp a right nudge before any break up comes into play as far as the speakers are concerned. Whatever you can throw at them, they’ll throw right back.

channels on the same amp setting if you wanted to and simply stroll through effects like chorus, reverb, tremolo or whatever tickles your fancy if you wanted to simplify even further and dozens of amp sounds aren’t what you’re here for.

Not only is it a good-looking unit, but also it is as lightweight as it is robust. With a huge range of frequency response and more headroom than Jordan could dunk on, it is the perfect pairing for just about any amp head that’ll sit on top of it, modeling or otherwise.

BY LUKE SHIELDS

HITS • Super lightweight with heaps of throw and broad frequency response MISSES • No Speakon connection, TRS only

As with all of DV Mark’s builds, the walk through of the front face of the Evo 1 is as simple as they come. All of the models contained within this powerful 250-watt steel box are personalised by a simple threeway EQ stage. You have at your behest two independent high and low gain channels coupled with both active and passive input stages and a tuner/mute switch for simple, rack style chromatic tuning. You can drive the front and back end of either channel as hard or as soft as you like with the input and output controls sailing through to a shared master volume holding everything to the same standard and the boost knob will send your solos sailing no matter which side of the road you’re riding on. All in all it is a perfectly usable amp; not unlike the mainstays of the DV Mark catalogue.

The modeling section is where the real fun begins. Each channel has a simple selection of six preset amp models covering everything from low wattage, bluesy classics like vintage Fender builds to the heroes of searing high gain like Hiwatt and Soldano.

While this might seem quite limited relative to the aforementioned everything-all-atonce designs, it actually forces you to think a little harder about what it is you’re looking for. With just about every base covered in the easily malleable starting line up, I can see players plugging in and never needing to touch the accompanying app that DV Mark have designed to further your chance at achieving sonic nirvana.

Said app is another slice of simplified heaven. Plug the Evo 1 into your computer via the USB port on the back and the world is your oyster as far as added extras are concerned. You can load different amp and cab simulations into the six on-board banks as well as effects and routing options, which are all available in the extensive DV Mark Multiamp Community. All of the stars of the Mark World Artists roster have uploaded their settings for you to sample, download and adjust to your heart’s content and if you wander around in there long enough, you start to feel as though you’re a member of a secret club of tone-chasers.

In a live setting, the DV Mark Evo 1 is far and away the least complicated and fastest thinking modeler available. The four-channel footswitch is essential if you’re going to really stretch out the outer reaches of the unit’s functionality but first and foremost, it’s a great sounding and incredibly versatile, not to mention lightweight, unit.

BY LUKE SHIELDS HITS • Usability over possibility • Lightweight and sonically pleasing MISSES • Tuner is a little clunky again • No wireless connectivity to the app

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Š2017 QSC, LLC. All rights reserved. QSC and the QSC logo are registered trademarks of QSC, LLC in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and other countries.

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Product Reviews PAUL REED SMITH SE 277 Semi Hollow Zebrawood Electric Factory | elfa.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1449

The current guitar market seems littered with jet black extended range guitars, sporting the most modern hardware and pickups on offer, as though tuning low is an exclusive right only for players in the heavy music spectrum. With that in mind you can imagine my surprise when I opened up the bag for the Paul Reed Smith SE 277 Semi Hollow to find a gorgeous Zebrawood topped guitar with dual soapbar pickups.

Aesthetically speaking, it is extremely elegant and a true testament to PRS’ long legacy of well made, beautiful guitars.

Named for its 27.7” scale length, the SE 277 is factory setup in B Standard tuning with 14-68 gauge strings. On paper, the longer scale coupled with the beefy string gauge may seem intimidating, but out of the box, it immediately felt comfortable and easy to get around. Sonically, the tone of the guitar is super resonant and even.

The low end is rich thanks to the mahogany back, but retains a glistening high end due to the Zebrawood on top. Without even plugging the guitar into an amp, it has a lot of volume and vibrancy.

In the past I’ve never been a huge fan of soapbar pickups as they just don’t tend to be as dynamic as I want them to be. With that said though, the pickups are so utterly ideal for the warm and rich low end that the guitar produces. For a more funk or jazz style of playing, the cleaner side of the

tonal spectrum is absolutely spot on. When I ramped up the gain on my amp, I found that the tone was perfect for emulating the likes of Arctic Monkeys or perhaps Queens of the Stone Age with their signature brand of fuzz, but probably not the ideal sound for anyone looking for the incredibly saturated and machine tight tone that seems to be common place in heavy music these days.

The most astounding thing about the SE 277 is that you would be forgiven for thinking it was a part of PRS’ core model line. The Zebrawood top and matching headstock are stunning, the inclusion of PRS’ coveted bird inlays give the fretboard a tonne of flair and the tasteful use of

crème binding around the body and neck just wrap the whole thing up into a damn fine guitar for under $1500.

BY NICHOLAS SIMONSEN

Baritone guitars aren’t really that common in the greater scheme of things and, as I noted at the start of this review, they tend to be aimed more towards the modern metal player in both sound and aesthetic.

Paul Reed Smith have done an impeccable job in bringing a well needed alternative to the market, not only in aesthetic, but with a huge sonic difference to what we tend to see nowadays.

HITS • Beautiful craftsmanship • Warm and resonant clean tones MISSES • Soapbar pickups could be sonically limiting

API AUDIO TranZformer GT Guitar Pedal Studio Connections | studioconnections.com.au | Expect To Pay: $825

Many of you will know of API Audio. It’s a name that turns up in the best studio racks all round the world and a brand that has taken 500 Series modules to new realms with their Lunchbox portable rack casing. But when you think of API it’s usually studio preamps, compressors and even classic large format mixing consoles that come to mind. So naturally when I was handed a compact box this month I assumed we would be looking at a new 500 series rack module, which got me a little excited. When I opened the box, I got very excited to see that what was on offer was something very different indeed, yet still maintained so much of the design and class of an API tool. This month I got to use API directly between a guitar and an amplifier in the new TranZformer GT guitar pedal that is going to get a lot of attention from anyone seeking classic studio tone in an almost compact pedal.

You don’t need to see the logo to know what you’re dealing with in this seriously well-built pedal. The classic API knobs that are found on their rack gear and their studio consoles are a dead giveaway as to who designed this unit, and what a unit it is. This is one solid tank of a guitar pedal and with an 18volt power supply, it is ready for some serious signal processing.

What you can expect is a studio quality compressor and EQ circuit in one pedal, with a DI thrown in for good measure.

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When you think about how many hit songs have had API EQ or compression applied in the mixing process, it’s a real treat to know that now you can have this same sound in your signal chain any time you like.

The compressor is pretty simple, and that’s usually a good thing with guitars. It’s taken directly from the API 525 and offers six pre-set threshold levels with greater levels of gain reduction on each. There is an input gain driving this circuit to allow you to control how hard you drive the compressor. It’s kept simple, so it doesn’t have all the control that is found on the original 525, but it has the sound that this classic compressor offers and reins in your dynamics with great care, allowing you to crush the sound for a very aggressive guitar sound if you really want to.

The EQ is taken from the API 553 EQ strip, but has been reworked to offer a more guitar-friendly frequency range. Each of the three pots are subtly indented in the centre position to allow for a neutral sound to be obtained at any frequency without pulling the entire circuit from the mix. You get a shelving filter at 5kHz to allow you to tame those nasty high frequencies at high volume. Next, there is a mid-range peaking EQ at 1.5 kHz that brings out a lot of growl in your guitar, pushing it forward in the mix, so this will be popular with those eternal soloists. Finally, the EQ is rounded out with another peaking EQ at 200Hz which adds some great warmth to your sound, without creating a false bottom end that ends up being too booming.

Really, this is one heck of a brilliant tone box. For those pedal-nuts out there

constantly searching for ‘studio quality’, you really can’t ask for more than a classic studio compressor and EQ squeezed into a pedal. That said, there’s a fair bit going on in the circuit design, so it is a fairly bulky pedal which I am sure some guitarists will whine about. But you just don’t get this sort of quality signal path in a trendy mini pedal. This is studio gear redesigned for the guitarist, so it is actually pretty compact when you consider that. The only gripe I had was with the three buttons for turning on the two circuits and an overall true hardwire bypass. They are a little close for comfort and not ideal for quick engagements with anything other than pointy toed boots. Lucky for me, that’s about all I wear, but some people might find it a bit of a tap dancing effort to engage the right control. Otherwise, what’s to fault? It’s a studio rack at your feet, built like a tank and sounds great.

BY ROB GEE HITS • Incredible warmth and character in the EQ • Compression ranging from smooth to aggressive • Studio quality outboard in a guitar pedal MISSES • Slight space issue with footswitches mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews GRETSCH Electromatic G5622T-CB Gretsch Australia | gretsch.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1849

From the outset of this review, I should make it known that I am above all else a hollow body guy. Even as a fat, gothic teenager I knew that eventually at least one of my guitars would be as empty inside as I was convinced I was. Now, some 20 years later, I’m addicted to the infernal things. There is something about the wild, James-Dean-on-a-motorcycle, maverick pride that they invoke that speaks to me as a player; strange given that there are few things that are further from my fingers than rockabilly pastiche. Even as far back as the 30’s, before rock‘n’roll was stolen from African Americans and proliferated globally

by Brylcreem-ed hip-wigglers, the art deco Gretsch logo was synonymous with a style and grace that so few manage to pull off without looking like a certain Nickelodeon cartoon. Few things make me, and any number of sympathetic riffsters, happier these days than to quake in the presence of the likes of the Electromatic G5622T. While the company as a whole has come a long way since its jazz and blues heyday, they have done well to allow only the choicest cuts of modernity to enter their hallowed designs. Fender has maintained the brand for decades now and has upheld the standard set by its forebears without relegating the designs to history. One of the most notable improvements they have allowed in is the spruce centre block that

provides stability across much of the range.

The biggest problem facing the modern hollow body and acoustic player alike is the omnipresent threat of standing wave feedback. Although born of some pretty brutalist thinking, that humble yet solid lump of timber does an incredible job of not only avoiding the dreaded woof at high volume but leaves intact the delicacy and vitality that keeps you coming back.

The almost infinite sustain that results from essentially turning the guitar into a neck-through design is the cherry on the Electromatic cake.

Enough gushing, I should probably tell you about what it’s like to play. The assumption with a lot of hollow bodies is that they are softer than their solid siblings. The idea that you could cave in the front end of

your axe if you fell does little to dispel this rumor but it couldn’t be further from the truth. The pickups in this particular piece are hotter than your mother’s cooking; Alnico 5s lurk behind the chrome casing of the Patented Super HiLoTron single coils giving you all the simultaneous chime and width of a Les Paul without quite so much muscle-bound beef. Married to the centre block as they are, they chew up high output amps like my 4x10 with enough headroom to go head to head with as many pedals as you can muster. Having said thats, the rub is that they are incredibly sensitive players. If you’re in the mood for squeezing every ounce of pain from your fingers until you have nothing left, the G5622T is there to listen and ready to mood-swing right along with you when you decide you’re At The Drive-In angry.

It can be an intimidating thing strapping on a guitar that has this much personality but ultimately the reward far outweighs anything you’d get from staying within your comfort zone. The voicing is crisp yet discerning, the neck is smooth as silk and the ride is one you’ll never forget.

extra craftsperson-hours.

The neck is made of mahogany with a satin finish, and reinforced with a twoway truss rod. The fingerboard is rosewood with 20 frets and an engraved Washburn ‘W’ on the heel is a nice touch. The nut is Graph Tech NuBone synthetic bone, and there’s a Fishman ISYS+ 301T preamp system with onboard tuner plus controls for volume, bass, treble and phase.

volume, but to get the most out of this guitar you really should mic it up and enjoy its natural sound.

BY LUKE SHIELDS HITS • Centre block stability • Syrupy playability • Attitude in spades MISSES • I don’t own one… yet

WASHBURN WLO10SCE Acoustic Guitar Musical Merchandisers | musicmerch.com.au | Expect To Pay: $699

I dunno about you but I can’t look at a Washburn acoustic without thinking of Nuno Bettencourt. That’s bonkers, of course, because Washburn has a long history of great acoustic instruments, and they’re highly respected in the bluegrass world. The guitar on review here is part of the Woodline 10 Series, which is designed to be both affordable and elegant. Often when a company designs to a price point they tend to strip down the designs to be quite standard and non-flashy, but Washburn knows that we’re visual creatures and the way we feel about an instrument can affect what we play on it. So the Woodline 10 Series maintains the visual flair the company is known for, without sending your wallet screaming for mercy.

The WLO10SCE is an orchestra cutaway model, although to my eyes it seems to skew just a hair closer to a dreadnaught shape than many orchestra guitars. It has a solid Sitka spruce top with mahogany back and sides, and it’s a shame that you can’t play this guitar backwards because that mahogany back looks beautiful.

There’s a depth and shimmer to the grain that really deserves to be seen instead of squished up against your gig-sweaty t-shirt. The internal bracing is a cathedralpeaked advanced scalloped X shape and the rosette is a faux-wood overlay that gives the impression of intricate inlay work without making you pay for all those 40

This is quite a smooth-sounding guitar.

The top end is nicely rounded and very sonorous. The low end rolls off well before the guitar becomes boomy, and the midrange is full but not honky. This all adds up to a guitar that is perfect for fingerstyle players because it almost sounds like it’s been mixed and mastered before leaving the soundhole: individual notes knit together nicely within a chord unless you consciously hit a particular string harder than the rest for emphasis.

If your playing style veers more towards complex Tommy Emmanuel stuff, you’ll find the neck is very comfortable for those extended fretboard excursions. And if you play with a pick, this is a surprisingly powerful guitar even though it doesn’t have the upper-end slice and low-end wallop of a dreadnaught. And that sweet, round treble makes it great for single-note jazz playing, too. The preamp does a good job of capturing the vibrance of the top and the even-ness of the string-to-string

This is a deceptively flexible guitar that sounds great acoustically, pretty darn good electrically and incredible when mic’d up carefully. Washburn has really gone out of their way to make a guitar that’s as playable as possible, and while they’ve cut corners in the cosmetics to keep the price down, they have not sacrificed style and identity to do so.

BY PETER HODGSON HITS • Very comfortable neck • Nice tidy fretwork MISSES • Preamp could use a midrange control

mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews FENDER Acoustic 100 Amplifier Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au | RRP: $949

Nothing is more intimate than the relationship between a guitar player and their favourite, well-worn acoustic. The two are pressed close at the torso, sewn together by the vibration that one coerces from the strings of the other, the former hunched over the latter like a mother cradling her child.

For most of us, this is the image of what it was like to fall in love with the instrument in the first place. Eventually, that romantic entanglement is augmented by the all too human desire to make oneself known, and the idea of performance comes flitting through the window. While there are ways and means of using electric guitar amps for projection purposes, most of which only get you to turd polish territory, the specificity of an acoustic focused amplification system has for a long time been the best option outside of relying on beat up, old house DI boxes.

Many of you may be familiar with Fender’s first successful foray into acoustic amplification territory, the Acoustasonic. Those caramel dream factories have long been the most reliable answer to many performers’ question, ‘How do I make this thing louder?’ Why change the script on something that has worked for so long is the first thing I wondered, but the rub here seems to be not so much improving an existing design but augmenting the wider catalogue. There are several noticeable differences between the two ranges, so much so that they’re barely worth comparing.

mixdownmag.com.au

wooden box. If anything, the thorough, zero tolerance nature of the digital brain at play enhances the EQ and phase cancellation capabilities in a much cleaner way than simple circuitry can. The guitar I gave over to the machine was a parlour sized Takamine that I alternately like and malign for its boxy midrange. Through the Acoustic 100 I was able to tame some of the plonk as well as boost enough of the low end to bring it closer to dreadnought-esque warmth without straying into the arms of imitation. It’s a great toneshaping tool first and foremost in that it is as tasteful as you’ll ever be.

Fender has been one of the biggest tastemakers for the better part of a century. It stands to reason then that they would stand back a minute, stroke their chins and distil the wants and needs of acoustic performers down to their key elements as they have done here.

Pair it with one of the new Paramount range of acoustic guitars and you’ll have your audience forgetting their electrics ever existed.

The Acoustic 100 is a sleeker, much more modern take on the same rubric. There are two identical channels mirroring each other on either side of the top plate. The inputs facilitate both TRS and XLR inputs, pitching the amp directly at the singer/songwriter set, and both sides are in command of a pitch inverter, simple three-band EQ and a digital effects stage. All of this is housed within a super stylish Scandinavian influenced

polished plywood back and sides. Extra flourishes like headphone out, aux in and optional footswitch make the unit not only great to look at but much more versatile than its predecessors.

While it is essentially a digital signal processor, the one thing that I noticed upon plugging in is that it does not reduce the natural colour and charisma of your favourite

BY LUKE SHIELDS HITS • Stylish Scandinavian design coupled with an incredibly helpful EQ stage MISSES • No tube warmth

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Product Reviews MAD PROFESSOR AMPLIFICATION Twimble Overdrive Pedal Dunphy Imports | madprofessor.com.au | Expect To Pay: $350

Of all the guitar amps in history, one goes down as the most elusive of them all.

Lauded across the world for its rarity and exclusivity, an original Dumble amp will set you back tens of thousands of dollars.

But if you’re playing the same gigs I am, chances are you don’t have that kind of coin to drop on a car — let alone an amp.

Luckily for us working musicians, you don’t need to aim that high. Mad Professor’s Twimble — a smart pedal that combines two ODs in one — calls to mind this exact tone.

Some of the world’s most respected players have used Dumble amplifiers, ranging from Robin Ford to Santana. It’s a tone that can be described as rich, thick and bolstered by a distinctively throaty mid-range hump. For the most part, these amps are cherished for their natural sustain that blooms forth. For the most part, the Twimble will get you in that territory — as well as offering some very useful tweak-ability along the way.

Using the level control, you’ll be able to use this pedal to control the drive of your amp. Moreover, it’s useful to think of the controls of this pedal in the same way you would your amp — allowing the colouration of the Twimble to accentuate your base tone with something distinct.

overdrive, things really start to heat up.

The pair work together incredibly well — boosting your guitar’s signal into a killer lead tone that sings. Capping it off, a handy hot and cool control allows you to either reign the effect in or pull it back in depending on how much distortion you’d like to flirt with.

A very responsive pedal, it works particularly well for dynamic players as well as responding nicely to your guitar’s volume. Roll the volume knob back a couple notches and it’ll clean up, with room to move back into those singing leads when you’re ready by rolling your guitar’s volume knob back up. It makes for an organic playing experience, that’ll have you sorted for multiple scenarios.

The Twimble combines two of Mad Professor’s most successful effects; that being the imple overdrive and the Simble pre-drive. Combined into one pedal, you’re offered the ability to choose either or both.

Used on its own, the overdrive function is throaty and rich — think of that classic Dumble tone we discussed earlier — with room to fine tune your frequency with

the contour control to taste. Sensitivity determines the amount of gain on tap, while contour works in tandem to effect the pedal’s output. When set correctly, you’ve got enough room here to nail out a distinctive growl that’ll work well for a plethora of genres and playing styles.

No detail seems to be left untouched with the PBR-D, hence why it carries the ‘Deluxe’ moniker over the other available models. And the finish is worthy of that title. The flame maple top, back and sides are just stunning. Every model will differ slightly, but the timber on the model I played was just lovely to behold. The addition of a curly maple binding is a really nice touch that makes it all the more special, with this capturing the light at different angles to the body’s grain.

maple and ebony saddle and the ebony fretboard finish the instrument off nicely.

The neck is super comfortable too; not at all slim, but very familiar and comforting in the hand. The kind of neck you could just play all day, and I am not generally a fan of gloss finished necks. This one didn’t bother me at all. The overall gloss finish is lovely and smooth with a great shine, bringing out the maple’s character with the vintage sunburst colouring. In short, I haven’t played a resonator guitar as nice as this one for a while; it was just a shame it had to be sent back so soon.

With the pre-drive engaged alongside the

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO HITS • Extremely responsive to your playing dynamics and pick attack MISSES • None

GOLD TONE Paul Beard PBR-D Roundneck Resonator Deluxe Zenith Music | zenithmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $2799

There are some guitars that you come across that just cry out to be played and that is exactly what the PBR-D Paul Beard Roundneck Resonator Deluxe from Gold Tone did straight out of the box. For those of you looking for something special when it comes to resonator guitars, you can mess about with a lot of the cheaper stuff that is found in most shops, or you can start getting serious and that is when you’ll want to look at the PBR-D. It not only sounds great, but the detail and finish is just superb, making it an all-round beautiful instrument. But you’ll have to hear it for yourself to decide.

Of course this couldn’t be a Paul Beard resonator model without a genuine Beard spider and cone. This is where so much of the guitar’s sound comes from and it is in those Beard cones that many players have gained fame in their own sound. Being a Beard cone, it is easily replaceable when the need arises for those of you who really wish to maintain your resonator and keep up with regular servicing for optimum sound quality and volume. The combination of the cone, spider and maple construction all come together to create a very bright and punchy instrument that stands out in the mix. Sure, you’ll enjoy playing it by yourself, but with a group, you’ll most definitely stand out.

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Little details like a removable palm rest on the resonator’s cover plate, bone nut,

BY ROB GEE HITS • Genuine Beard cone and spider • Stunning use of flame and curly maple • Great punchy sound MISSES • No pickup fitted

mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews

VOX AMPLIFIERS MV50 Series Yamaha Music Australia | au.yamaha.com | Expect To Pay: $350

VOX’s new MV50 line of amps is designed to give you a unique voicing in a teeny tiny configuration blasting out 50 watts of power. There are three amplifiers in the line: MV50 AC, which is based on the venerable VOX AC 30, MV50 Clean, which is ‘inspired by classic American amplifiers’, which usually means Bassman or Twin unless indicated otherwise, and MV50 Rock, which is based on ‘more aggressive tones reminiscent of high gain British amplifiers’, often code for ‘a JCM800’.

Each amplifier in the series features the same basic feature set: three knobs, a VU meter and an input jack on the front, a line/phones jack and a speaker out in the back, and an innovative Nutube vacuum tube. What the heck is Nutube, you ask?

It’s similar to a conventional vacuum tube, with an anode grid filament structure, and it operates exactly as a triode vacuum tube.

But by applying their vacuum fluorescent display technology, the designers have devised a structure which achieves substantial power saving, miniaturisation, and quality improvements when compared with a conventional vacuum tube. It actually looks like some kind of weird microchip rather than the vacuum tubes we’re familiar with, and requires less than two percent of the power of conventional tubes.

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MV50 AC’s controls include gain, tone and volume, and as well as the Nutube it’s also packed with analogue components designed to emulate the dynamics and harmonics of a regular tube amp. Sonically, it has exactly the chimey ‘dirty/clean’ vibe you would expect of an amp with ‘AC’ in its name: it maintains the ring and jangle of single coils, and it sounds plenty beefy with humbuckers. It’s also very dynamic: dig in harder with the pick and you’ll most definitely notice more gain and volume.

There’s none of the weird unusable, counter-intuitive compression that plagues many small amps, and it seems like this little beastie is very carefully voiced to emphasise the differences in your guitar’s pickup selection and tone settings, rather than sort of smear those things over a bit.

The MV50 Clean has no need for a gain control, so it instead dedicates its three knobs to treble, bass and volume. The treble knob is very carefully voiced: it gives you a great sense of detail and clarity without hitting those really strident, icepick-like frequencies, and it made my Strat with Seymour Duncan Jimi Hendrix pickups sound almost like an acoustic guitar. But when I plugged in my Les Paul

I found a great jazz tone, and there were some great country tones to be found with my Tele and a tremolo pedal. It’s also a great amp for multi-effect units because it’ll clearly reproduce whatever you plug into it. A great choice for those who need exclusively clean tones or those withtonnes of pedals.

The MV50 Rock is a little scorcher. It can sound very fat-yet-fuzzy - think some of those classic Black Sabbath rhythm tones but it’s also capable of great smooth bluesrock tones in the Gary Moore kind of vibe.

It’s definitely the most high-gain of the series of course, but it also cleans up very nicely from your guitar’s volume control, making it the best all-rounder of the three.

It’s a bummer that it doesn’t have an effects loop or reverb, but all the overtones and harmonics of a classic tube amp are there and they’ll take your mind off the lack of any onboard ambient control.

Each of these amps is great at its own thing, but a case could be made for buying all three (and their matching cabs) and having the cutest damn multi-amp rig ever. They’re incredibly portable, sonically flexible, very affordable and downright adorable.

BY PETER HODGSON HITS • Very affordable • Innovative tube technology that still sounds authentic • Idiot-proof controls MISSES • No reverb or FX loop mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews ZOOM AC-2 Acoustic Creator Dynamic Music | dynamicmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $459

Acoustic guitar can be a tricky one to handle in both live and studio situations.

Capturing the intricacies of an acoustic instrument together with having a constant reliable level, whilst still sounding how you want can be harder than it seems.

And what’s the answer - Mics? DI? Pedals?

Effects? There is no one real solution but Zoom’s latest offering, the AC-2, aims to help with your choices a little.

Billed as ‘your acoustic sound – amplified’, the AC-2 is a DI. Not ‘just’ a DI though; it incorporates a preamp, reverb, EQ, tuner, anti-feedback circuit, boost, a range of input/output options, including balanced and unbalanced, a ground lift and options for pre/post EQ and USB connectivity.

Coming in a slightly larger than standard housing, the focus seems to be on usability live although the AC-2 can sit nicely on a desk or on the floor for studio use. The front of the unit is raised giving you access to mute/tuner and the boost function yet also means a stray foot shouldn’t alter the rest of the controls. The rest of the unit is clearly marked and easy to tweak quickly when needed.

One of the first things you’ll notice is the source guitar dial. Zoom’s premise is to use acoustic remodelling to restore tone that is lost when playing an acoustic guitar plugged in, be it to an amp or

front of house or to an audio interface and the like. With settings from round and slope shoulder through to single cutaway, nylon string, resonator, 12 string and upright bass, Zoom are definitely trying to cover a broad section of the acoustic community. The manual goes into further detail regarding these settings, too, if you need some more info. After selecting your instrument type, you can tweak as needed.

The EQ seems effective and clear and in a lot of cases may only be needed minimally if you’re using the EQ on your instrument as a starting point. From there the volume level and boost feature are handy for balancing levels and giving you access to extra oomph for solos or quieter passages.

The AC-2 is a great little unit. I was a bit sceptical at first of the modelling aspect,

especially in terms of acoustic instruments, but it does seem to sound natural and perhaps add a little body to your tone.

Tuning is clear and accurate, the reverb is usable and subtle at lower settings and the inbuilt boost is super handy. I know plenty of acoustic guitarists that just take a boost pedal to acoustic gigs, so having the added features is a bonus.

BY NICK BROWN HITS • Natural sound • Accurate tuning MISSES • The faux wood look/exterior of the pedal will be a hit for some but not to my taste

LOVEPEDAL Eternity Kanji Build Overdrive Pedal Gladesville Guitar Factory | guitarfactory.net | Expect To Pay: $449

Pedal designer Sean Michael’s Eternity Kanji is indicative of the Lovepedal boutique builds. A less-is-more approach is one way to frame these basic looking stomp boxes, but no bullshit is a little closer to the mark. Judge not its simple aesthetic and minimalist functions, for its versatility is deceiving.

Michael has been fiddling with pedal circuits since the early 90’s, and there is a reason why his range of boutique effects pedals has collected a cult following, and a hefty price tag – they are built tough, simple and able to do wonders with any guitar put before them, and almost any amp after. That is not to say that a little of the work falls on the beholder.

First, a little background on this creamy delight. A custom version of the Eternity, the Kanji is another highly tweak-able and dynamic overdrive pedal from Lovepedal.

With no experience trialling the original Eternity, rendering any attempt at comparison moot, we fall on Lovepedal’s own literature for guidance. In comparison to the Eternity, the Kanji Eternity is said to possess more warmth and a little more low end than its kin.

Straight from the box, all dials at 12 o’clock and into the clean channel of a 46

Fender DeVille, the warmth that this pedal brings to any operation is immediately apparent. Lovepedal’s claim of ‘ it adds a slightly mid-humped, very warm character to your tone’ is on the money. It’s less transparent than other overdrive pedals I’ve had the pleasure of playing, and although varied combinations of any of the three pots - level, glass and drive - result in dramatic tonal shifts, the personality of the Kanji is rife at any setting. This should hardly be seen as a negative; it’s this rich characteristic that justifies its place on your pedal board.

I found the more time spent experimenting with the dial settings, the more I discovered the Kanji’s hidden talents. It is surprising what can be achieved with this pedal with simple addition and subtraction of the controls. Fine-tuning is key to getting the most out of the Kanji, as the answers are not always in the most obvious of places.

The level, the first of the dials, left to right, is a clean boost and where I found a good baseline for shaping tone. With the remaining two set at 10 o’clock, the emitting sound is a low gain overdrive.

In the past I’ve found such a setting on overdrive pedals will mean a more muted tone at lower gain levels, but with the Kanji, the light, gritty output maintains spark and attack. It’s almost like a driven Marshall head – tight and responsive, even at low volume and gain. The main difference being this pedal’s bass response – it’s evenly weighted, giving its tone punch and adding to its warmth. Lead playing screams with soul, and chords are hearty – a highlight that will be difficult to surpass.

Upping the drive setting stacks the grit on to your dialled-in settings without muddying the tone. The glass, the pedal’s middle dial dubbed a treble boost, depends greatly on the positioning of the dials

either side of it. Generally speaking, rolling off the glass setting will darken tone, while the opposite direction will brighten things up a bit. Though it is labeled a ‘treble’ boost, it encourages clarity over pure treble boost. Meaning, pushed to its peak, it doesn’t overdo the treble EQ to a piercing high range level. Instead, it pushes the highs to poke through a little more, adding a well-rounded bit of attack, allowing for rich harmonics without the aid of drive saturation.

The boutique pedal market has seen a surge in the last decade, flooded with so many great takes on staple effects. It’s a great time for pedal enthusiasts, but just because it’s handmade, it doesn’t mean it’s worth the exaggerated price tag. Conversely, the Kanji is legit a grade A boutique pedal. Yes, it’s handmade. Yes, it’s a boutique pedal.

But its worth is contained inside that cream box of joy. It’s versatile and in front of a tube amp, the possibilities are aplenty.

BY AARON STREATFEILD

HITS • A pedal with a character of its own • Rich, soulful and capable of much more than just run-of-the-mill overdrive MISSES • Absence of dial markings makes first time plug and play a little confusing. mixdownmag.com.au

314DI Audio Stix ™

Product Reviews SWITCHCRAFT AudioStix Compact DI Range Clarke & Severn | clarke.com.au Expect To Pay: 341DI - $160.94 370DI – 123.08 318BT - $184.62

370DI AudioStix®

NEW PRODUCT BULLETIN 623

318BT – Bluetooth AudioStix®

AudioStix™….adding to the line An addition has been added to the popular AudioStix line of premium pro audio prod ucts. The 31 DI is a pocket size version of Switchcraft’s standard high uality DI Box series of products.

Converts the unbalanced outputs of guitars, keyboards and other instruments with line out level to balanced, mic level signals that can be connected to audio consoles and mic pre amps.

NEW PRODUCT BULLETIN 626 Plug, Connect, Play The 318BT is a small, in line wireless audio receiver that utilizes the .0 Bluetooth technology to stream audio from any Bluetooth enabled device. This AudioStix is powered by phantom power. If phantom power is not available it is e uipped with a micro SB port for external power source.

NPB 633

It is as simple as plug, connect and play converting any mixer console to be Bluetooth enabled.

FEATURES • Powered by 8 Phantom Power

The name Switchcraft is synonymous with • o cable, battery or software needed • Enhanced Range 50’ 100’ FEATURES & BENEFITS quality connectors. They offer a standard • Durable anodized aluminum housing • ” eed Thru allows for connection to of input and output connectors for • L R audio summing multiple devices such as an amp and a • eaturing Switchcraft’s Balanced Connector professional audio uses as well as guitar • ront LED status indicator tuner two amps and much more. and vocal applications. Many of you will APPLICATIONS • Switchcraft DE Series Locking Male XLR • Background music The 370DI is a durable, pocket size, Direct Box which is a cross between Switchcraft’s SC700CT most likely be using Switchcraft connectors provides balanced, mono, mic level • Presentations output on your guitar leads, or have switches, pots • House f Worship DI Box and 318 Inline Audio Adapter. The 370DI sums and converts the unbalanced stereo • Music rehearsals • Ground Lift Switch and output jacks on your guitar all made by protected. This results in your cabling with a short unbalanced cable to keep the seriously tough and compact casing, ready outputs of cell phones, tablets, laptops and consumer gear to a balanced mono line level for • C20db pad to enable the device to handle 5555 Elston Ave Chicago, IL 0 30 P 773.7 2.2700 773.7 2.212 www.switchcraft.com XALL • 01 E Wildwood • illa Park, IL 0181 • 30 83 750 Switchcraft. They are suchconnecting to audio consoles and house sound systems. a common brand having a sturdy junction between balanced noise down. for the of 773.7 live2.212use, especially Made in in SA. 5555 Elston Ave Chicago, IL 0 30 rigours P 773.7 2.2700 www.switchcraft.com Please visit conxall.com for the most up to date product specifications. Made in SA. If you need to run a good stronger signals without distortion name when it comes to everyday musicians’ and unbalanced cables, but with very little distance to the mixer, the balanced signal situations where they may get used and use that most won’t even realise that getting in the way. will hold up over an XLR cable, with the abused by several different operators in Switchcraft is actually responsible for a FEATURES & BENEFITS stereo signal summed to mono, allowing an evening. They are kitted out with top APPLICATIONS great part of your signal chain, and a very The 314DI is the perfect passive pairing devices to also be connected to single quality Switchcraft connectors so you know 5555 Elston Ave Chicago, IL 0 30 P 773.7 2.2700 773.7 2.212 www.switchcraft.com C XALL • 01 E Wildwood • illa Park, IL 0181 • 30 83 750 5555 Elston Ave Chicago, IL 0 30 P 773.7 2.2700 773.7 2.212 losing www.switchcraft.com SA. signal quality is going to be its best • until Dual RCA inputs • Concert Touring important part, too. It’s not many SA. of to any guitarist looking to get a balanced powered speakers without the right Made in your Please visit conxall.com for the most up to date product specifications. Made in • devices 3.5MM input (1/8” TRS jack) • House of Worship us come across the separate that microphone level signal to the mixing side of the mix. as it passes through any of these devices.

• Presentations we take note of what they• are,Switchcraft DE Series locking male XLR provides so for all of console as well as passing their signal balanced, mono, mic level output • Broadcast facilities you who use Switchcraft every day, perhaps through to the guitar amp without The other device I had to work with this

BY ROB GEE • Ground Lift Switch you might like to apply their devices in affecting the tone at all.

There’s no month was the 318BT which is an almost • 20db pad to enable the device to handle stronger other areas of your signal chain when you circuitry involved to change your signal, wireless device. It acts as a Bluetooth signals without distortion need a dedicated audio solution. just an extension of your guitar lead on HITS receiver, powered via Phantom Power the way to the amp, while the XLR output • Small, yet very tough through the XLR cable or via an optional Given that Switchcraft are so good at converts to a balanced signal with a ground • Great options for a range of audio 5v USB power supply. It couldn’t be simpler SPECIFICATIONS building components that you often don’t lift and 20dB pad should it be needed. applications - plug an XLR cable into a spare channel see, it stands to reason that when they • Quality connectors on your mixer and attach this device to offered their AudioStix range of DI boxes The 370DI is a little different and will the other end. Once paired up, the 318BT for various applications that these, too have plenty of applications for bands, DJs MISSES will receive the signal from up to 100 feet were about as inconspicuous as could and presenters who are often confronted • Not this time away. If you need more distance from the be. Gone is the bulky DI brick getting in with various audio devices needing to be mixer, just run a longer XLR cable to get the way on stage; this range of clever run into the PA system. There is a 3.5mm closer to the Bluetooth source and you’re stereo jack connection as well as a pair of connections are all little more than the in business.

RCA connectors, so you can plug an iPhone, sum total size of the connectors involved CD player, DJ mixer or similar devices in with just enough housing to keep them Each one of these units is built into a

ZOOM Q2n Handy Video Recorder Dynamic Music | dynamicmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $399 VISIT WWW.SWITCHCRAFT.COM

We live in a time where a smart use of social media can be a working musician’s best friend. There’s never been more ways to get your music and your skills out there to the world, yet copious amounts of players resort to a simple iPhone recording — or maybe even pulling a few loan cameras into the mix for good measure.

With Zoom’s ingenious Q2n, musicians are given a one-stop tool to capture pristine audio and video in one easy to use package. For those looking to capture what they do best and share it with the world without breaking the bank, this is for you.

We live in a digital world, and it’s time to make the most of it.

With a high-quality 160° wide-angle lens, the Q2n makes it exceptionally easy to shoot slick looking HD video right off the bat. If you choose to shoot in this format, your videos will already be a cut above the rest of your fellow musicians jostling for attention in crowded newsfeeds the world over.

There’s also options to shoot in 720p, using industry standard frames-per-second rates that are utilised in film.

Similarly, Zoom’s tried and tested built-in X/Y microphones make it a breeze to capture audio with surprising detail and an expansive stereo spread — making it an exceptional tool for setting up on stage and 48

FOR MORE PRODUCTS AND DETAILED SPECIFICATIONS

at home or listening back to rehearsals.

capturing your band during a live set too.

Under the hood, ten presets will get you up and running; designed to suit multiple room and lighting conditions. There’s options to suit concert settings, low-lit rooms, rehearsal studios, bars and outdoor areas without having to go in and fine tune everything to a pedantic degree every time. And while you could make a case for going out and buying the necessary sound and camera equipment to capture these situations in a more traditional manner, there’s a lot to be said about embracing a tool that’s been designed specifically with musicians in mind.

Simple one-button recording makes it easy to set up and go, while it’s small size

makes this a useful tool to keep on hand for whatever live or rehearsal situation you find yourself in. Without a doubt, it beats lugging around a more unwieldy setup. While the tradeoff for portability is a smaller display, it’s still more than manageable to use once you get used to the interface and controls. For those familiar with Zoom’s products already, a lot of the same skillsets apply.

If you’d like to delve a little deeper, external mics can be fitted if you’d like to use your own collection, while a 1/4” stereo output jack means you can listen to mixes with headphones or through the stereo of your choice. In a valuable touch, you can also use the Q2n in ‘audio only’ mode, which is perfect for capturing ideas

There’s no denying the power of video in today’s music landscape. Consider someone like Tash Sultana, who went on to find a legion of fans after one of her homemade clips went viral. Like anything, you need the talent to start with. But with a tool like the Q2n, you’re one step closer to sharing it with the world. At a very justifiable pricepoint, this is a device well looking into for any working musician trying to break through to a wider audience.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO HITS • Portability and pricepoint • Stereo recording and HD video paired in an easy-to-use package MISSES • Portability comes with the trade-off of a smaller display and interface mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews J&D LUTHIERS JD-LS3 Jade Australia | jadeaustralia.com.au | Expect To Pay: $499

J&D Luthiers aren’t shy about explaining the inspiration behind this guitar, with their website quite clearly naming Mr. Les Paul and his namesake instrument. With a price of $499, this is one of the more affordable LP-style guitars out there, and it’s always great to see options beyond the typical Strat copies that proliferate the lower end of the market. So let’s have a look at how this compares to the real deal.

I put the JD-LS3 up against my Les Paul Traditional. Both guitars are designed in the tradition of 1950’s Les Paul Standards but J&D also offer the JD-LC3, which is in the style of a Les Paul Custom. The J&D has a solid mahogany body, though no mention in the specs of a maple top.

It has a maple set neck, as opposed to the mahogany of the originals, but all other specs appear to be in order: 22 fret rosewood fingerboard with crown inlays, tune-o-matic style bridge and stopbar tailpiece, two volume controls, two tone controls, three-way pickup selector switch and a pair of humbucking pickups. The hardware is chrome, and the machine heads are die cast. This guitar feels considerably lighter than my Traditional, in fact, most of the weight seems to be coming from the neck rather than the body. This seems to lend credence to the ‘there’s no maple top’ theory implied by the spec sheet.

As for construction quality, in this price range you can’t expect quite the same level as a hand-selected-from-over-a-dozenTraditionals $3000+ Gibson USA, but it’s quite impressive for the cost. There are a few little giveaways that this isn’t a topshelf instrument though: for instance, on the review guitar one of the 12th fret side dots is badly misaligned, and the finish over the binding on the treble side has a few odd, shimmery spots where the poly seems to have lifted or possibly taken a few fingerprints between sprays. It’s not a huge deal, but you’ll notice it if you’re looking for flaws.

means you’ll get more of a crunchy, chunky, rock-and-metal-approved tone rather than the almost single coil-like singing quality of a true PAF-style pickup. But I get the feeling these hotter pickups are exactly what a lot of players expect when they think of the Les Paul tone: certainly Gibson itself hasn’t been shy about upping the output on their post-50’s buckers. The neck pickup sounds satisfyingly juicy with good sustain and harmonics, and the bridge pickup does everything from percussive chunk to screaming leads easily. They’re not the most characterful pickups ever, but they get the job done very nicely.

The humbucking pickups on this guitar are hotter, more modern-voiced units compared to vintage-style ‘buckers which are typically much lower in output. That

Slight finishing issues aside and there’s no indication that there’s anything iffy going on from a structural point of view and ignoring for a moment a few variations

MISSES • A few visible finishing errors

male vocals. With this in mind, the combo in question comprises two of their most popular units that happen to be perfectly suited for learning the recording ropes.

THE CANS The ATHM20x monitoring headphones are by far Audio-Technica’s most popular and visible product. The familiar circular casing houses a powerful yet subtle 40mm neodymium driver that is as close to completely neutral as you’ll ever get without splashing out on complete, active noise cancellation. They are lively when you drive them hard but tidy enough that you can hear ugly sub and low mid frequencies that need taming even at higher volumes. With frequency response between 15Hz and 20kHz, there’s nothing the mic will pick up that the cans won’t send back which is comforting and great for learning what to notch and what to leave.

affordability and fully usable equipment.

The last thing you want when you’re getting the hang of something as fiddly as recording techniques is to hear in-built obsolescence creeping in and distracting you from the masterwork at hand. The AT Studio Recording Combo is the best way to avoid such a fate.

in materials, this guitar quite accurately captures many of the traits of a real Les Paul. It doesn’t have the weight, which for many players is a good thing, but it has the visual vibe and much of the classic tone. If you’re after a Les on a budget, check it out.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Lightweight and very playable • Usable range of tones

AUDIO-TECHNICA Studio Recording Combo Audio-Technica Australia | audio-technica.com.au | Expect To Pay: $239

Once upon a simpler time, all there was to recording was to put a talented musician in front of a giant horn and a wax cylinder.

If the devil came through with his end of the deal, you could press that groove onto a molten wad of licorice and sell enough copies to make it into The National Archives. Almost a century later, what was once a simple energy transfer concept has evolved into an exact science. Coupled with the idea that the internet age has rendered the handing over of your creative output to a trained expert almost obsolete, you have the strange and intimidating dichotomy that is modern home recording.

Researching what equipment to best start out on can be a boggy mire to say the least so packages like the Studio Recording Combo from Audio-Technica can be the key to the secret garden of sound reproduction.

Audio-Technica occupies a fairly interesting position in the recording equipment market. They sit comfortably between upper echelon manufacturers whose builds are just that little bit above budget and the low-rent knock off merchants who plague them. Their headphones particularly are popular amongst the electronic music set whose penchant for fidelity is a good gauge of the quality of their units. Their mics compete with heavy hitters like RØDE’s NT range and Shure’s SM7 for accurate and nuanced renderings of either female or 50

THE MIC The AT2020 is a truly faithful representation of what a cardioid condenser is designed to do. Its range is lengthy enough for the most energetic of singers with a broader than average pick up around the outer edges of the heart shaped field.

On the one hand there is a healthy amount of attention in the below 100Hz range which is great for bass and warm electric guitar but it really comes to life in some of the humps up around 10kHz. Male vocals receive a nice amount of presence and sparkle while female vocals and distorted guitars sit right in the sweet spot where some really magical frequencies are ripe for the picking.

On the whole the idea of a starter pack is too often synonymous with a lack of quality. Audio-Technica does well to buck this trend with just the right balance of

BY LUKE SHIELDS

HITS • User oriented choices of both mic and headphones • A crispy, realistic mic with lively attention to detail coupled with headphone quality beyond the limits of the price tag MISSES • None mixdownmag.com.au

D E S I G N

M E E T S

I N T U I T I O N

V3.5 WARE FIRM W WITH NO UGAN DAN DMIXER! AUTO

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OFF* *$1,000 trade-in value is off the RRP (Recommended Retail Price).

ANY YAMAHA TF5/3/1 MIXER MODEL

TF5-MIXER

TF3-MIXER

TF1-MIXER

RRP

$5,999

$4,999

$3,999

PROMO RRP

$4,999

$3,999

$2,999

TERMS & CONDITIONS • *$1,000 trade-in value is off the RRP Recommended Retail Price.

• Included TF Series models are TF1-MIXER, TF3-MIXER, and TF5-MIXER. • Promotional offer is part of a national sales program conducted by the distributor, Yamaha Music Australia Pty Ltd and is valid from 1 July 2017 at participating TF Series dealers. The promotion will end on 31 August 2017.

• Final purchase price is determined by the participating dealer.

• Offer is limited to one TF Series mixer per customer.

• The promotional reduced RRP price applies only to included TF Series models when providing your exchange mixer to the participating dealer at the time of purchase.

MORE INFORMATION & PARTICIPATING DEALERS yamahabackstage.com.au/promotions

• Any fully functioning audio mixer is eligible for trade-in to qualify for the promotional price.

• At the time of purchase, the participating dealer will take ownership of your exchange mixer and will be responsible for any associated requirements as pursuant to The Second-Hand Dealers and Pawnbrokers Act 1989.

• The Authorised Yamaha Dealer participating in this promotion may not have sold one of the included TF Series models in the past and where it has sold them, they may have sold them at less than RRP.

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Product Reviews FENDER American Professional Precision Bass Fender Music Australia | fender.com.au | RRP: $3049

The mood in the Fender factory in the year 1951 must’ve been absolutely electric.

With the popularity of Leo and co.’s builds skyrocketing and one of the most profound shifts in popular culture blossoming all around them, I can only imagine what it was like for the people on the tools that gave rise to such mythic instruments as those that we now know to be the gold standard in four and six string design.

If ever the question, ‘What does a bass guitar sound like?’ is asked, more likely than not the beast that springs to mind is that year’s deadliest weapon, the Precision Bass. 60 years and countless technological advancements later and still nothing quite compares to that tough, solid monolith of low-end.

Fender’s latest line of top tier builds is the American Professional range. Ever proud of their immense history, as well they should be, these builds take the time honored reliability of several benchmark years for the company and tweak the designs ever so slightly in order to cater for the hardest working players in the industry. This latest iteration of the revered P Bass is as close as you’ll ever get to an actual ’51 without going back in time. The polished satin finish of the neck counters its hefty 9.5” radius balancing smooth

playability with brick and mortar might. A rosewood fingerboard ices the maple neck’s cake nicely, anchoring the design to the classic body shape we all know and love.

It’s heavier than the previous model and has a fair amount hotter output than the American Standard, but it feels every bit the step up that you expect from an update on a stalwart of music history.

By far the most marked adjustment to the overall design is the complex web of magnets in the split coil pick-ups.

By default, P Bass’ systems are more streamlined than their brother in funk the Jazz Bass. The single, double-sided housing is loaded with a blend of several alnico weights, which, like a good whiskey blend, weaves together seamlessly. It’s

an interesting choice but ultimately one that enhances the simplicity of the tonal fingerprint as opposed to muddying it up with layers of colour. The last thing that Fender should ever do is mess with such a distinctive sound but they’ve managed to pull off this more than moderate update without kicking the hornets’ nest that gave rise to so many musical styles that define generations.

The P Bass is, was and always will be the standard bearer for low down definition; punk and hardcore kids love the fistfuls of energy it wrestles from your fingers, funk guys love the classic punch and clarity when slapping and popping and even feather-weight players sitting in the back of folk bands are addicted to the warmth

and sustain that comes from rolling off the tone pot even a pinch. All of the above are bound to agree that Fender has made a step in the right direction with the American Professional Precision Bass. Its delicate balance of modern flourishes that remain true to the historical significance of the design is very much on point and reflective of a company with a clear and earnest understanding of the reason people continue to love them all these years later.

BY LUKE SHIELDS HITS • True to history reasoning behind pinches of modernity • Smooth and sensitive feel with familiar toughness MISSES • Limited finishes available for the more aesthetically minded

BOGNER Goldfinger 54 Phi Head EGM Distribution | egm.net.au | Enquire For Pricing

With many classics in their range including the Ecstacy, Uberschall and Shiva, Bogner have also received plenty of attention over the last few years with their Goldfinger range of amps. Harmonically rich for cleans and dirty tones, they really are gigging tone monsters capable of sounding juicy and big at usable volume levels. Adding a twist to the Goldfinger design Bogner have released the 54 Phi onto the guitar playing public – let’s see if it keeps up the Goldfinger name.

Taking its name from a Greek letter, the Phi comes in either a head or 1x12 combo with options for 1x12 and 2x12 cabs.

Control-wise the Goldfinger has a lot going on, and couple that with the funky layout and you might be a little overwhelmed at first. Never fear though, looking closer you can also use the 54 Phi as a fairly straight ahead amp but with the added feature set to really tweak. Coming with a pair of both 6V6 and 6L6 tubes you can also run the amp with either type or both for a multitude of combinations. Then add in the ability to run the amp at high or low voltage (low equating to roughly half power) and you’ve got a lot of possibilities.

Standard type controls for presence, loudness, gain, bass, middle and treble are joined on the front panel by Solo and Boost levels plus a BAX EQ and high and low EQ expand switches.

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Plugging in, flicking to Low voltage and aimlessly spinning a few controls I’m greeted with a sensational chimey clean tone. The onboard DSP reverb is lush and tasteful with plenty of scope to suit many tastes. Headroom to burn here also via the balance of the loudness and gain controls.

For dirt you can increase the gain control and work with the solo and boost functions for edgy broken tunes and more saturated singing overdrive. The BAX EQ (designed to completely change the tone stack) radically changes the amp levels and tones and the expand switches really let you hone in on certain sounds – great for the serial amp tweakers out there. A single channel amp by design, the 54 Phi has a lot of in built functionality to operate as more than that if you need. The reverb, FX loop boost

and solo boost can all be controlled with a footswitch adding plenty of options on the fly. This review isn’t enough space to describe the tonal capabilities and features in any detail, you really need to try the Phi 54 for yourself as there’s so much tonal goodness under the hood you need to hear it in person.

I loved the Goldfinger 45 and 90 and the 54 Phi continues on with that theme whilst adding a little of its own flavour to the mix. Bogner make some seriously good gear and the 54 Phi is another killer amp.

The combination of 6L6 and 6V6 tubes is great and the amount of features to tweak is amazing. What I really love though is the fact that it’s got a killer clean tone and then killer dirty tones all the way through

to chunky rock. A seriously good amp for gigging and recording.

BY NICK BROWN HITS • A seriously good amp for gigging and recording.

• Housed in some hip amp cloth and a gold faceplate the Goldfinger Phi 54 also looks damn cool.

MISSES • Nada mas

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Your Acoustic Sound — Amplified.

When you’re on stage with your acoustic, nothing’s more important than delivering sound that’s true to your instrument.

The AC-2 automatically restores tone lost through acoustic pickups and is the ideal performance companion.

Proudly distributed in Australia by Dynamic Music

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Product Reviews GUILD GUITARS CE100D Capri with Bigsby Zenith Music | zenithmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $2799

Guild may not have had an overly strong presence in the Australian market of the last decade, but that doesn’t mean their guitars haven’t continued to deliver in tone, looks and build quality. It is only recently that we have started to see them finding their way back into discerning guitar stores around the country and it is with good reason, too. The range on offer from Guild and the quality at every price point means you can find that special guitar that you might have been struggling to find elsewhere. This month I got to put my hands on the first Guild I’ve come across in a number of years, and I wasn’t in the least bit disappointed. It was worth the wait.

Built in their Korean factory, this instrument embodies everything that modern Korean manufacturing has brought to guitar building in recent years. You know that guitars in this price point come with a certain standard of build, a certain feeling in your hands and a sound to match. You don’t have to go to Japan or America to find a well built guitar these days, as this instrument proves so very well. I am not usually a fan of Florentine cutaways on guitars, but I will make an exception on this model. With the thin body delivering comfort in balance to the size of the instrument, the cutaway is a nice touch

and certainly suits the overall styling of the CE100D. This body offers further comfort with not only an arched top, but back also, allowing some added depth for sound without requiring one to have to reach across too much timber to play it.

I went straight in with a high-gain sound on the amp in a very inappropriate display of what this guitar was capable of doing.

High-gain and Bigsby trems don’t really work a lot of the time. But for those of you looking for a great jazz box or blues machine, this guitar is going to sing for you. There is plenty of acoustic resonance from the body; even before you plug it in you can hear how this guitar sings.

Into the amp, the pair of Guild designed pickups offer a warm clean tone and a good

bite with a bit of drive behind them. The tremolo is perfectly stable, returns quickly and most importantly, it returns to the same position. So, you can go as heavy or as sparingly as you like with it and not be concerned about all the strings returning out of tune.

There are some lovely little touches with this guitar that had me smiling, too. Things like the gentle raised gold bumps next to each of the four pots to mark tone and volume positions with are not only functional but very discrete and styled to suit the instrument. It has a really nice three colour sunburst that fades just the way I like it, so it was certainly pleasing to the eye. Whether played acoustically and plugged in, this is a really great sounding guitar, and that’s what

counts the most at the end of the day.

BY ROB GEE HITS • Great acoustic resonance • Great warm sounding pickups • Includes Guild hard case MISSES • Nothing

MAD PROFESSOR AMPLIFICATION 1 Distortion/Reverb Pedal Dunphy Imports | madprofessor.com.au | Expect To Pay: $275

Distortion and reverb – it’s a tried and tested combination that’s as old as rock itself. For most guitarists, it’s the bread and butter starting point for any strong tone. Mad Professor’s 1 pedal offers up an easy way to get close to Van Halen’s legendary ‘Brown Sound’ the was born from a modified ‘60s-era Marshall stack that became a hallmark of the group’s sound. Brash, full of mid-range grunt and power; it’s undeniably one of the most iconic sounds of the classic rock era. However, unless you’re keen on carting around a 100-watt head and cab to your next gig – logistics might get in the way of you coming close to a full-throttle Halen sound.

And even if you did, how on Earth are you going to get your amp loud enough to start hitting the sweet spot? That, my friends, is where the 1 pedal comes in. Inspired by the group’s legendary first album, you’ll be shredding up a storm in no time.

Although the pedal is wired with Van Halen heads in mind, you’ll be able to use this for relatively decent selection of other genres and styles too. It’ll work well for any hard rock or early metal attempts, or even some heavy blues in a pinch. Moreover, even if you don’t want to sound like Eddie Van Halen — the 1 pedal is still a useful tool for adding a touch of the Marshall sound into your rig without actually owning one.

I’m running it through a clean Fender amp, and the both the grunt, responsiveness and EQ are worlds apart from the amp’s original signal. For gigs where you need to switch to an entirely different sound for a song or two, this is well worth a look in. Moreover, even if you’ve wanted to dabble in harder hitting tones without owning the gear, a pedal like this will let you dip your toes into the water to find out if it’s something worth exploring further.

box. If reverb’s not your bag, you can turn it off completely and just use the pedal for its distortion. This also comes in handy if you’d like to use another reverb pedal of your own choosing, while retaining the overdrive of the 1. Crank the reverb up as high as it goes for an instant stadium-sized sound and you’ll be living some rockstar fantasies within the confines of your own home.

With only four controls, the emphasis here is on keeping it simple while still recreating iconic hard rock tones with minimal knobtwiddling. Think of the ‘Brown’ control as gain essentially. Even at its lowest settings, this pedal still packs an absolute punch.

From the chunky rhythm that runs through ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’, two the gainstacked lead tone of ‘Eruption’ — you’ve essentially got the entire gamut of tones from Van Halen’s early career in one handy pedal.

The reverb circuit is based off the old plate reverbs that became characteristic of not only Van Halen, but many hard rocking bands of the era. It’s a different flavour to the classic splash of a spring reverb, and works exceptionally well with the pedal’s overdrive to add another layer of depth and size into the mix. If you unscrew the lower plate, you’ll also find some useful trimmer pots for both time and decay to refine the sound to your liking. While this a handy option, it sounds perfectly fine out of the

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO

54

For instant Van Halen in a box, you’ve come to the right place. While it’s not going to be the right pedal for everyone, this is a pedal that does one thing exceptionally well and not much else. Perhaps that’s why they call it the 1? Regardless, if you’re looking for a hard hitting Brown sound that’ll have the house rumbling, the 1 is well worth considering.

HITS • The reverb circuit alone is worth experiencing • Huge amount of gain on tap MISSES • Not very versatile mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews SE ELECTRONICS V7 Dynamic Vocal Microphone

it gives those low mid frequencies brought about some much needed clarity to that vintage, rolled off familiarity without feeling too much like an effect.

Sound & Music | sound-music.com | Expect To Pay: $149.99

The pick-up pattern is a subtle point of interest too. There is a noticeable pitch towards the nose of the mic that renders spill negligible to the point of being cancelled out. Anyone who has ever tried the 3x57 technique of drum recording will attest to the trouble to be found in getting a clean read of a snare with as little hi-hat in it as possible. The V7 makes this a breeze with the perfect balance between complete off-axis rejection and untamed, ambient roominess.

Of all the groups and sub groups of musicians that take their gear seriously, the conspicuous absence that always baffles me most are vocalists. They are by far the most ubiquitous across genres; the first and last thing most lay-people listen to and the group with the least amount to carry at shows. Yet for one reason or another they seem to be all too ready to just show up and sing into any old black stick. Thank God for sound engineers, otherwise the divas and divos front and centre wouldn’t have a hope.

Having said that, imagine the chaos that would reign if Johnny or Janey Sing-Song turned up to a show with their grandparent’s vintage ribbon only to complain that the damned thing sounded too ‘hissy or something’. And we thought guitarists were bad.

As mic choices in the live music setting go, the market is pretty much locked down by the omnipresent Shure SM58 dynamic and its squared off partner in crime the SM57.

We’ve all played shows where these two are used on literally everything including the kick drum. Anyone who gives a damn, however, will note that, as magical as they are on 99 percent of sound sources, they are limited in the amount of nuance and variance they offer. Companies like Sennheiser and AKG give them a run for their money but often at a considerably greater cost. What of the budget conscious

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singer who wants something a little more exciting to moan into? The relatively young sE Electronics may have the answer in their chic and charismatic V7 Super-cardioid Dynamic microphone.

‘Does the world really need another dynamic vocal mic?’ I hear you ask. With one that does the job so well as this one, the answer is yes. With its super healthy frequency range brought to life by a proprietary DMC7 aluminium voice coil in front of the capsule

itself and invisibly low handling noise, the V7 takes a well trod path and tidies up the overgrown edges. In a direct shoot out against my 57, I found the response particularly informative down around 100hz without sacrificing any of the excitement and nuance up at 5khz and again at 1215khz. The result is a lively yet controlled characteristic that enhances presence in male vocals and picks up all the chime of single-coil guitar pick ups. I also tried it out on a Rhodes sound and the attention

If the vocalist is the focal point of most bands then the stylish, red windshield behind the grill of the sE Electronics V7 is the perfect choice for your front-person.

Form and function go hand in hand as the impressively nuanced and accurate sound is augmented by some crafty design windfalls, not the least of which is the beveled ‘anti roll’ ring around the mic’s circumference.

Overall it is a heavy duty, stylish and affordable addition to the front of the stage.

BY LUKE SHIELDS HITS • Impressively functional polar pattern • Lively yet controlled characteristics MISSES • None

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Product Reviews TRACE ELLIOT ELF Ultra Compact Bass Amplifier Galactic Music | galacticmusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $499.99

Is this a joke? What is this tiny thing I see before me and how in my right mind am I to expect anything resembling power to come out of such a little box? It’s the size of a greeting card for God’s sake; if I open it up will it play a low bit-rate version of Happy Birthday to me? *Flicks on switch and tentatively punches low E*… Holy hell, what kind of sorcery is this?

The unit in question is easily one of the most successful designs on the age old ‘tiny but mighty’’ adage ever and proof immemorial of just how far solid state technology has come in the last few decades. Sat atop an 8x10 fridge, you’d be forgiven for mistaking the new ELF Bass Amplifier from Trace Elliot for a DI or a box of chocolates. Masterfully and stealthily hidden within the 1.6lb - i.e. less than a kilogram - chassis, however, is 200watts continuous, or 30 RMS, of clarity, headroom, versatility and unadulterated guts to rival pretty much the rest of the bass amp market.

Counter to guitar players’ parochial addiction to power tubes, it’s been interesting to me to watch the compass of favour pitch bass players back towards the tightness and might of weird solid state builds from days gone by. Names like Acoustic and Peavey’s more esoteric PA

builds are gracing stages the world over more and more with people favouring grunt and firepower over the often over-the-top sensitivity of the tube driven sound. Trace Elliot have for a long time been the go-to builder for those with a predilection for the heavy and mean and so it holds that they would look to that end of engineering to deliver on the tiniest of promises and do so in the simplest way possible.

In all honesty I didn’t expect much when I slapped it atop my cab. However, I certainly ate my words when I felt the three-band EQ wrap its fist around the output of a P Bass and deliver a tidy, crystal clear note back to me. Push the front end to its uppermost and it barely breaks up like you would assume. In fact, I tried and tried to get the thing to sound like its size but it just would not falter.

Heat up the output stage and the sustain

of your instrument is delivered unsullied and there is enough flexibility in the circuit to find the honey pot in your pick-ups with no trouble at all. It has an XLR DI out and ground lift for live applications, headphones for when you’re at home and on top of it all, and enough headroom to give Sunn 0)))’s pedal boards some breathing room.

BY LUKE SHIELDS

damn amp-like. It’s especially noticeable when you go from one of the small amp models to one of the big ones: the dynamic squish of the smaller amps gives way to a full-bodied, full-range roar. The great cabinet impulses no doubt play an important role in this but let’s not discount the voicing and resolution of the models. There are plenty of processors with more effects, but HeadRush focuses on quality rather than quantity: the effects here sound great and they respond like the real deal, so you can have all sorts of fun running an overdrive into a JCM800 model and getting exactly the results you rightfully expect.

Electric Factory | elfa.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1799

The market for floorboard-style digital processors is becoming pretty crowded right now. This has always been a competitive field at the lower end, where I’m sure many of us first encountered multi-effects, but in interviewing bands for magazines like Mixdown I hear time and time again that pro players are ditching their amps and running with a pro-level processor instead. There are lots of reasons for this - practicality, low cost of transport compared to a full amp and effects rig, tonal flexibility. While a lot of players are still reticent to do away with physical amps in the recording studio, they’re faced with more and more choices for how to take those tones on the road.

So when we strip that away, what do we have here? The HeadRush Pedalboard houses a finely-tuned quad-core processor and is powered by an exclusive Eleven HD 56

MISSES • Two words: neon green

It may sound trite to say but I felt something akin to pride when I discovered just what the ELF was capable of. It was like a puppy had brought me my 20-up Dr. Martens ready for a walk through the sub-frequency park. Trace Elliot promised the world’s smallest functioning bass amp and have quite honestly delivered and then some.

HEADRUSH HeadRush Pedalboard

I guess we should address the elephant in the room straight away: to the casual observer the HeadRush looks a heck of a lot like a Line 6 Helix. Everything from the size to the colour scheme to the layout seems very Helix-y. Given the development lead times with products like these, it’s entirely possible that it’s just a coincidence. This happens to be where guitar equipment design appears to be heading anyway, and clean lines, colour-changing LEDs and fullcolour touch screens are certainly logical inclusions on a digital processor in 2017.

HITS • Tiny but mighty with all the flexibility and headroom you need from a functional bass amp

Expanded DSP software - Avid’s ElevenRack being a pioneer in hyper-real digital amp models. HeadRush Pedalboard has 33 amp models, with about two thirds dedicated to vintage classics with not-so-subtle names like 66 AC Hi Boost, 59 Tweed Deluxe and 69 Plexiglass 100W. There are also hotter models like 92 Treadplate, SL-100 and RB01B. There are cabinets in configurations from 1X8 all the way up to 8X10, with four 4X12 options, 10 microphone types, six different distortion models including 8-Bit Crush, eight rotary effects, five dynamics/ EQ options, 11 modulations, seven reverbs/ delays and five expression effects including whammy and two wahs. And here’s a cool feature: you can load third-party impulse

response files to the HeadRush Pedalboard for realistic speaker cabinet sounds.

HeadRush teamed up with Celestion to include an exclusive download to get you started, but the HeadRush Pedalboard also supports all common wave formats (wav, aiff), sample rates ofup to 192kHz and bit depths of up to 32-bit. Connections include jacks for an additional expression pedal, an aux in, stereo XLR and 1/4” outs, amp/ line switch, phone jack, stereo FX loop with rack/stomp level switch, MIDI in and out/ thru and USB.

HeadRush PedalBoard is a great option for players who want the full power of digital control but are more concerned with amp-like response and sound than with making their guitar rig sound like R2-D2. Everything’s laid out to be very gig-friendly, and it makes a great recording setup too. It sits very comfortably among the other pro-level floorboards out there.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Well laid out • Extremely versatile array of sounds MISSES • Nothing

Let’s get to the most important stuff though: HeadRush PedalBoard feels pretty mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews AVID Pro Tools Eleven Rack Innovative Music Australia | innovativemusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $1059

This is not the first time I have gotten my hands on the Eleven Rack. My first foray with it was back when it existed only as a plugin for guitar amp modelling within Pro Tools, but since then I have been able to use one a number of times as a recording tool for quality guitar tones. But I haven’t overlooked the treasures this holds as a live guitar tool too. AVID’s Pro Tools Eleven Rack ties it all together to give users not only the flexibility they have demanded, but the quality and stability that they need both in the studio and on stage.

Being that the hardware unit operates without the need for a computer, you can trust the Eleven Rack to be totally stable in a live environment. Weighing less than most compact guitar amp heads, you get the power of a huge range of amp models and effects all ready to run directly into the PA system. There are a range of big name amp sounds within the unit and if you have a listen to their audio samples online, you will hear just how good they are. Adjusting parameters within each patch is quick and easy too, with the knobs beneath the LCD screen relating directly to the functions above giving you control over gain, presence, EQ and volume settings to tweak the sound to just the way you want it.

The Eleven Rack is so much more than just

a touring tool. Off the stage, it becomes a seriously good front end for a Pro Tools recording system that takes a lot of the workload off your computer with the built in DSP processing power that the Eleven Rack offers. You get one microphone and one guitar input on the front of the unit, but with the SP/DIF and AES/EBU digital connections on the rear of the unit, you are able to record eight simultaneous channels of 24-bit/96 kHz audio into the included Pro Tools software. It also includes the Eleven Rack Expansion Pack that gives you even more tones and amp sounds, including a range of great bass amplifiers and some slightly left of centre guitar amp options.

Put simply, this is not just a recording interface, nor is it just an amp modelling effects unit for stage use. No, Eleven Rack with Pro Tools is just about anything you could ever want in a live and studio combination for the guitarist that wants the best possible tones in one complete package. It’s just too much to fully mention here, so go and plug one in for yourself and hear what I am talking about.

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Stable live guitar sounds in a very workable platform • Excellent AD conversion for recording and re-amping guitars • Flexible live and studio tool • Bundled with Pro Tools for a complete studio solution MISSES • It is digital, and tone junkies may have to come to terms with that

TC-HELICON Talkbox Synth Pedal Amber Technology | ambertech.com.au | Expect To Pay: $539

Of all the tools in the modern guitarist’s arsenal – and as we all know, we’ve got heaps – no one has quite cracked the ability to transfer synth tones to our sixstringed instrument of choice. However, TC-Helicon’s Talkbox Synth Pedal gives it a solid effort, and for the most part succeeds.

The Talkbox pedal is designed with singing guitar players in mind, offering the chance for them to get in on the Vocoder action that synth and keys players get to enjoy on the regular. After all, why should they have all the fun? If you’ve ever dreamt of knocking out the Vocoder hook to California Love on a guitar, then you’ve come to the right place. And in this humble reviewer’s opinion, that’s worth the price of admission alone.

More than just a novel effect however, the Talkbox Synth offers the full gamut of classic and new sounds – ranging from that iconic ‘house-in-the-mouth’ sound you’ve heard countless times to chewy, classic sounds that are a hallmark of ‘70s R&B and funk.

There are four Talkbox styles to choose from, along with four synth styles. The classic setting gives you that gritty, honky tone - think Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ On A Prayer’ and you’ll be on the money. The alternate modern setting offers a cleaner iteration of this sound, without the vintage dirt and honk. Both classic+ and modern+ offer the mixdownmag.com.au

same tones, albeit unmuting your guitar so that the effect is only activated when the microphone is used.

Moving through to the synth settings, the effect will track a selection of usable sounds to the guitar – although it works best when you’re playing single-note lines.

From Moog-esque lead tones to glitchy square synth sounds – it’d certainly come in handy for integrating these sounds into a band setting without actually having a keys player on deck.

Capping it off, TC’s Talkbox Synth actually has a bunch of useful features within it that come in handy even when you’re not

using the effect in its primary function.

TC-Helicon is well known for their studio grade reverb sounds, and the Talkbox offers both hall and room sounds alongside EQ, compression and transparent autochromatic pitch correction – nudging your pitch the nearest semitone. Whether you’d like to use these added features or not, they do set this pedal apart as something more than a one trick pony.

While this effect won’t come in handy at every gig you play, there’s more than enough versatility to make it something worth returning to. If you’re looking to add some extra spice to your sound and embrace a little synth in your life, the Talkbox offers a practical way to get

involved without having to learn a new instrument or actually fork out the cash for some keys. Plus, you’ll sound like a shredding robot – which is always a good thing.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO HITS • Versatile selection of Talkbox and Vocoder tones • Tracking of notes is impressive and expressive • Added features make for a more versatile effect than you first think MISSES • Not something you’ll use for every track you play on 57

Product Reviews GRETSCH Streamliner G2420T Gretsch Australia | gretsch.com.au | RRP: $1199

Looking back at the last hundred or so years of popular music, it could very well be said that every era is defined and delineated by a particular make of guitar.

It’s difficult to imagine music in the 60’s and 70’s without a Les Paul or a Strat showing up in your mind’s eye, it is well known that the 90’s was the age of the offset and, for better or worse, the arse end of the last century was littered with seven-strings and shredders. Before all that though, the first hero of guitar catalogues was the regal hollow body whose F-holes and rounded, sonorous quality set the benchmark for fans of jazz and blues alike.

Big bands put the guitar player in the front row thanks to the inimitable talents of Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery who paved way for torchbearers like Pat Metheny and Bill Frisell, all of whom would be unrecognisable without their wide profile, single cutaway guitars. As I mention elsewhere in this issue, Gretsch have been a big name in the hollow body game since Robert Johnson made his infamous pact and it is with the full weight of that history that they present the Streamliner G2420T. Gretsch have really pulled out all the stops on this one. From the closed back, Gotoh style tuners to the licensed Bigsby B60 vibrato tailpiece, there is a balance of modernity and antiquity here that opens up the idea of the jazz guitar to a much

wider audience. The broad 12” radius of the shallow, U-shaped neck is slimmer than many of its predecessors, leaning towards the more fleet fingered player, while the proprietary Broad’Tron pick ups, designed specifically for this build, offer the papery sensitivity and jank that comes with wandering around in 9ths and 13ths like Django taught us all. Sustain is accounted for by the fixed rosewood bridge piece and it is all tied together by a champagneclassy, gold dust veneer.

There is a danger with ‘legacy’ or ‘genre’ builds like this one to venture into one trick pony territory. Some designs do well to match their research exactly but Gretsch have noticed, rather adeptly, that times have changed as much as the players therein. Aside from material and technological advances, there is something

in the design that meets my lack of jazz training head on. It may be the stability of the hardware, the minor tweaks and updates to the wiring and pick up system or just the fact that I like having the thing in my arms, but the G2420T makes me feel and sound like a much better player than I am without beating myself up too much.

Acoustically the body sings with that familiar delicacy, but once plugged in there is so much more variety than expected.

On a whim I ran it through just about every pedal I have and it was only the super high gain ones that beat it to the punch. Everything from post-rock reverb tails to jacked-up, modern tremolo to POG 2 weirdness was taken firmly in stride, all the while retaining a certain dynamism and delicacy that could not be beat.

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HITS • Unmatched style • Unmitigated tonal delicacy • Player friendly feel MISSES • Doesn’t djent but nobody asked it to

some more modern boxes too. This means you can monitor with your standard speaker cabinet, but record with an emulated version of a range of cabinets at the turn of a dial.

EGM Distribution | egm.net.au | Enquire for pricing

The idea of taking a direct signal from your guitar amp for recording or for live use is by no means a new concept. But when you’re running a valve amp head, you want to capture the sound of not only the preamp, but also the power amp stage of that amp. The only way to do this is to get

BY LUKE SHIELDS

On first glance the Gretsch Streamliner

BLUGUITAR BluBOX Speaker Emulator

I have used a speaker emulated output device between heads and cabinets for more than a decade now, having previously chosen a certain red coloured box that came from a German stalwart of valve amplifier design. That said, a lot has changed in ten years and as people move around and form different companies, new ideas develop and greater concepts are created. Without going into it too much, I do know a lot of people have been using the same certain red coloured box as myself with adequate results, as it served a purpose. The ability to get into your powered signal, after the power amp tubes have added to your amp’s tone and take a direct signal for recording or running to the PA in a live environment, is very handy indeed. So it is with great excitement this month that I got to look at this concept with a whole new colour to my eyes. I am of course talking about the BluBOX from BluGuitar. And you guessed it; this is a little blue coloured box that is so much more than just a guitar amp DI.

G2420T looks like a challenge. There are precious few six-stringers who dare to tackle jazz they way they should but if ever there was a build that could bring you permanently into that world, it is this one.

into the signal chain after the power amp.

This rules out linking off the effects loop, a preamp output or many emulated line outputs that a lot of amps offer. To do it, you need a device that takes the amplified signal before it gets to the speakers and converts that into a line level that is usable in a mixing console or recording interface. It’s a simple enough concept when you think it through, but to get it right is another story.

This is exactly what BluGuitar have done with their new BluBOX. But this device doesn’t just offer a signal from the power amp, as the team at BluGuitar know

you want that certain speaker cabinet sound in your DI signal as well. So being the innovators they are, the team at BluGuitar have offered us a choice of 16 different cabinets to choose from. It seems that everyone is talking about Impulse Responses at the moment, but it is one of the latest details being taken into account in amp modelling and profiling.

So BluGuitar are using IRs to change how your signal sounds through the BluBOX to emulate a range of classic speaker cabinets.

You get all the usual suspects with tweed, silver and black faced American speakers, a Jazzy combo, some very British stacks and a few classic Celestion speakers along with

When you’re recording a speaker cabinet in the studio, you usually place a microphone in front of the speakers in a position that best suits the cabinet. The BluGuitar team haven’t discounted that factor either, allowing you to adjust the microphone position to bring it right into the centre of the speaker for a more aggressive punch to your sound, or dragging it out to the edge of the speaker where you get a smoother, more articulated response. You’ll still need to run a speaker cabinet with this unit; it doesn’t act as a load box, so it isn’t going to give you that silent recording option, but it does give you a big range of speaker cabinets without the issue of room noise and phase cancellation from standing waves. This takes the guesswork out of getting a great guitar sound on loud stages too, with a perfect signal getting through to the PA every time. The only decision, is what cabinet do you want the sound from tonight?

BY ROB GEE HITS • Great range of cabinet sounds • Easy to set up and adjust • Solid build, and fairly compact MISSES • Not ideal for use with many combo amps mixdownmag.com.au

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Product Reviews EXPRESSIVE E Touché Expression Controller Innovative Music Australia | innovativemusic.com.au | Expect To Pay: $679

You can be forgiven for not knowing about Expressive E, the brand behind this product, as they are a fairly new company that has been in development of their first product for several years now. Based in France, they have come out guns blazing with their first product release at this year’s NAMM show in January. The product is Touché, a new idea in expressive controllers for synthesisers. The concept was that one should be able to control a digital or analogue synthesiser with the feeling, emotion and expressiveness that one would be able to do with a traditional acoustic instrument. It brings a whole new ‘hands on’ approach to how you control your sound. Forget everything you know about drum pads, pots and faders; this is going to blow your mind.

Although it may look a lot like a volume pedal that has had a Swedish design team give it a makeover, the Touché is in fact a hand controller for your devices. It has MIDI, CV and USB connections, so you are able to integrate it with just about any hardware or software synthesiser you like. With the CV option, it is very easy to assign the controllers to any function on an analogue synthesiser to improve expressiveness in all manner of ways. With the USB and MIDI connections, a handy software application allows you to set up controls to tackle just about any feature you want. Once it’s ready to go, the Touché

then becomes an integral part of how your sounds emanate from your synthesiser. No longer will you just press a key and twist a knob: now you can bring some real feeling into your performance with the range of expressive functions that are simple to control and very intuitive to adapt to.

Touché very quickly becomes part of the total sound and part of your performance.

You can forget about the rigidity of drum pads, the limits of pan pots and the unwieldy behaviour of XY screens. This controller has been designed by a bunch of passionate musicians who wanted more control and more expressiveness in their playing, and that is just what you get. The wooden top panel allows for movements from left to right as well as pressing on the front and back. It seems pretty simple, with just four motions, but it is in the detail and reactiveness that this controller comes

to life. Pressing the rear can slowly bring in one effect, as can pressing the front of the panel. Sliding your pressure along the top from front to back will blend the two functions. Gentle, slow addition of pressure can create swells, whilst sharp tapping can give staccato effects. Combining the two at either end and at the centre of the panel completely changes how just one key press on the keyboard can be heard. Then side to side motions can be brought in as well, adjust LFO depths, filter frequencies, pitch or just about anything you like.

old world bellows pump. But it just wants to be touched and moved, forcing you to create new expressiveness in your playing.

It is only limited to your imagination when it comes to shaping new sounds and performances. To fully understand, you need to get in touch with one yourself, no pun intended. Have a feel of how it responds and you’ll know what all the fuss is about.

It may seem limited, but Touché is really only limited to your imagination in setting up the controller’s parameters. It allows you to bring every key press to life with a combination of the four parameters and variations in touch and pressure. It’s almost like a meeting of a Theremin, an expression pedal, a percussion pad and an

HITS • Real feel added to synth playing • Sleek design • Easy setup

BY ROB GEE

MISSES • Perhaps a little foreign to new users

MATCHLESS AMPLIFIERS Hotbox III Preamp Pedal Gladesville Guitar Factory | guitarfactory.net | Expect To Pay: $759

The Hotbox III is Matchless Amplifiers’ latest incarnation of their popular tube preamp pedal – locked and loaded with two channels and housed in a solid mirrorpolished stainless steel enclosure that looks a treat. Like the British amps the sound is based upon, the controls are set up simply with an emphasis on driving your amp and locking into that sweet spot of cascading gain as opposed to endlessly tweaking the EQ. In an added bonus, the Hotbox III is kitted out with true bypass switching to keep your original signal intact, a detachable power cord, and a reinvigorated enclosure that’d work well on either a pedalboard or as a standalone unit.

The first thing you’ll notice when pulling this badboy out of the box is its weight and size. With dimensions of 8.5” (W) x 5.125” (D) x 3” (H), this isn’t a small unit. It’s quite heavy too, coming in at just over 1.5kgs. Chanel 1 (clean) isn’t the type of Fender clean you might imagine.

Like most British-inspired amps, ‘clean’ is served up with a healthy rattle of mild overdrive. Tonally, think more subtle harmonic overtones as opposed to actual dirt. It is noticable, however, and if you’re wishing to push your amp louder without adding any gain – this probably isn’t the right choice for you. In saying that, the Hotbox III offers up that chimey, biting sound that’s populated countless iconic 60

recordings. Think Brian May’s guitar tone, or the cranked amps of The Kinks or The Beatles. If that’s what you’re looking for, then you’ve come to the right place.

Moving into Channel 2 (overdrive) one thing becomes abundantly clear. The Hotbox III will make any amp you’re playing through sound absolutely huge.

The gain is thick, rich and chunky as hell, albeit complimented by that bell-like chime that we all know and love. It’s a tone that’ll cut through a mix like a knife through butter, but is still anchored by a beefy low-end. Marrying those two aspects is never easy, but in this case Matchless has unreservedly nailed it. Chords ring out

with rich overtones, and single note lines seem to ‘bloom’ and change shape as they ring out. With sustain on tap for days, this is a pre-amp that offers a case in point example of classic rock tones and nails it to the wall in the process. From a mild crunch to a wailing lead tone, the Hotbox has you covered.

Realistically, if you’re playing primarily blues and rock styles – this could be the only effect you’ll need. It gives you more of what you’ve got already, focusing on bringing out the best in whatever guitar your playing and driving whatever amp you’re using to their highest point, all wrapped up in that Matchless quality

and British EQ that’s been a hallmark of quintessential rock tones for years.

For touring bands often using a variable backline, this will allow you to lock down your tone every time without carting around your own amp. Far from just a dirtbox, the Matchless Hotbox III is an investment that keeps on giving.

BY JAMES DI FABRIZIO HITS • Nails iconic British tones • Overdrive is lush and harmonically rich • Delivers the best of your tone – no more, no less MISSES • Some players may find the housing too large or unwieldy for use on a pedalboard mixdownmag.com.au

Product Reviews JACKSON Misha Mansoor Juggernaut HT6 Jackson Guitars | jacksonguitars.com | RRP: $1999

Periphery’s Misha Mansoor is one of those true guitar trendsetters, like Eddie Van Halen and Slash: even if you’re not into their playing, you’ve seen their influence on the gear industry, both in their own signature gear and in the competing products of other manufacturers in their wake. EVH spawned a legion of superstrats.

Slash revived the Les Paul at a time when everyone played, well, superstrats. And Mansoor’s influence on guitars, pickups, amps, processors and effects has reached players in genres far outside of Periphery’s progressive metal.

Mansoor’s USA-made Jackson signature model is a very high-end guitar with a price tag to match. It’s a heck of an aspirational purchase, but not everyone can pony up that kind of cash. So it makes sense that Jackson should offer an Indonesian-made, less blinged-out version that retains the key features that make Mansoor’s models great to begin with. The Juggernaut HT6 has a carved basswood body with a satin finish, and it’s unique among Jackson’s designs. The exaggerated treble-side cutaway gives you incredible upper-fret access, as does the bevelled scoop that lets you angle your fretting hand perfectly to not just reach the 24th fret but to really grab it by the giblets. The neck is a one-piece maple bolt-on with graphite reinforcement and a 16” radius ebony fretboard with jumbo frets. The inlay dots are offset, they’re nudged way to the bass

of a shame that there’s no bridge single coil option to expand the tonal range even further. side until the 12th fret, after which they switch to the treble side, and the side dots are Luminlay, which glows in the dark. The truss rod adjustment is via a wheel at the heel end of the neck, leaving the headstock looking bare apart from the Jackson logo.

As for hardware, we’ve got a Jackson HT6 string-thru hardtail bridge and Jackson die-cast locking tuners. There’s a master volume and a master tone control with push-pull select to remove it from the circuit if you want and a five-way blade switch which gives you full bridge pickup, both inside coils, both full humbuckers, the outer neck single coil or the full neck humbucker. The pickups themselves are Jackson MM1 pickups, developed with Mansoor. It’s interesting that this guitar doesn’t feature his Bare Knuckle Juggernaut pickups - a boutique-level pickup that costs

a pretty penny and would make the guitar much less affordable - but the guitar is purposely designed with the same routing required for Bare Knuckles for those who wish to upgrade down the track. Jackson and Mansoor purposely voiced the MM1 pickups differently to the Juggernauts.

The pickups sound very balanced and yet are dynamic too, with great note separation and punch. Mansoor uses some pretty dang sophisticated chord voicings and it would be a shame to lose that, so they’ve really nailed that kind of sophistication here, even though the tonality itself is different to the Juggernauts. And it handles low tunings like you wouldn’t believe. The neck pickup sounds a little ‘chewy,’ equally great for legato and speed-picking but super well-suited to clean tones. And the pickup options are all incredibly useful. It’s kind

This isn’t just a great choice for Periphery fans: it’s a very adaptable, extremely playable guitar for any player who works in heavier styles. The pickups certainly aren’t voiced for classic rock but they’ll do anything heavier with ease. And the styling, while unique to Mansoor’s line, doesn’t go out of its way to tell everyone you’re playing a signature guitar. Hell, the guy’s name isn’t even on it.

BY PETER HODGSON HITS • Incredible playability, from the fretboard itself to the upper fret access • Handy tone bypass • Five very usable pickup selections MISSES • No bridge single coil mode

SENNHEISER EW 172 G3 Instrument Set Sennheiser Australia | sennheiser.com.au | Expect To Pay: $969

With the excitement over Sennheiser’s new Evolution D1 wireless systems causing a bit of a stir at the moment, it’s easy to overlook the systems that have made the Sennheiser Evolution Wireless series so popular over the years. Clearly, the D1 is worthy of its praise, but there’s still a very real place for the other wireless systems depending on the environment you’re working in.

I recall attending the Australian launch of the G3 Wireless range a number of years ago and was at that time very impressed with the upgrades these systems received.

The G3 technology in both the transmitter and receiver leave no sound unheard and the frequency range delivered to your amp is exceptional. It was difficult to discern the difference between wireless and wired sound.

One of the huge advantages of the EW 172 is the range of channels and frequencies that it can be operated on. This allows for large numbers of wireless systems within an area to operate independently without the fear of crosstalk or interference. This true diversity system ensures your guitar signal is delivered to your amp without a worry. Automatic channel scanning sets the system up to work in the best possible way as the quick setup gets you ready to play in moments. Housed in a sturdy metal 62

casing with the option to house within a rack for touring rigs, this is, and continues to be, the wireless system for the serious live guitar player. When you also take into consideration the added extras that Sennheiser have included like built in EQ, soundcheck mode and tuner, this is really a no-brainer.

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Unsurpassed quality for the price • Extensive channel options • Wireless audio transfer that rivals high quality cables MISSES • Limited geographical capabilities for some frequencies

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Visit us at Stand 109 at the Melbourne Guitar Show Try Switchcraft’s quality Instrument & AV DI Boxes for yourself - Including the new AudioStix™ Pocket Size DI Boxes and Bluetooth® 4.0 wireless Audio Receiver.

Also see samples of Switchcraft Guitar Products and Studio Equipment

314 DI AudioStix™ Pocket Size

StudioPatch® Bantam Patchbays

318BT Bluetooth® 4.0 Audio Receiver

Bantam Patchcords

370DI AudioStix™ Pocket Size A/V DI Box

Guitar Jacks & Plugs

AudioFix™ 303

BUY ONLINE www.cseonline.com.au Or visit your local stockist

Directory EVOLUTION MUSIC

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | P | E | W|

8/2 Northey Rd, Lynbrook VIC (03) 8787 8599 info@evolutionmusic.com.au evolutionmusic.com.au facebook.com/evolutionmusicaus

AA DUPLICATION

(Printing/CD & DVD Duplication) A | P | E | W|

84 Nicholson St, Abbotsford VIC (03) 9416 2133 sales@aaduplication.com.au aaduplication.com.au facebook.com/AADuplicationServices

EASTGATE MUSIC

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | P | E | W|

1131 Burke Rd, Kew VIC (03) 9817 7000 sales@eastgatemusic.com eastgatemusic.com.au facebook.com/Eastgatemusic

JABEN AUDIO

(Headphone Specialist Retailer) A | P | E | W|

Shop 2 398 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC (03) 9670 8231 info@jaben.com.au jaben.com.au facebook.com/jabenau

HYDRA REHEARSAL STUDIOS

(Rehearsal Rooms) A | 18 Duffy Street, Burwood VIC P | (03) 9038 8101 E | hydrastudios@bigpond.com W | hydrastudios.com.au facebook.com/hydra.rehearsal.studios

MELBOURNE MUSIC CENTRE

MUSIC 440

(Music Instruments Retailer)

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 525 North Rd, Ormond, VIC P | (03) 9578 2426 E | info@melbournemusiccentre.com.au W | melbournemusiccentre.com.au facebook.com/melbournemusic.centre

A | P | E | W|

SKY MUSIC

BINARY MUSIC

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | P | E | W|

4/2181 Princes Hwy, Clayton VIC (03) 9546 0188 info@skymusic.com.au skymusic.com.au facebook.com/skymusiconline

FIVE STAR MUSIC

(Music Instruments Retailer & Education) A | 48 Bloomfield St, Cleveland QLD P | (07) 3488 2230 E | sales@binarydesigns.com.au W | binarydesigns.com.au @binarymusic

WILD HORSE GUITARS

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | P | E | W|

1/30 Station Rd, Indooroopilly QLD (07) 3878 4566 info@music440.com.au music440.com.au facebook.com/music440

(Music Instruments Retailer)

102 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood VIC (03) 9870 4143 websales@fivestarmusic.com.au fivestarmusic.com.au facebook.com/fivestarmusicoz

REVOLVER DRUMS

A | P | E | W|

Brumby Street Surry Hills NSW (02) 9690 0800 info@wildhorseguitars.com.au wildhorseguitars.com.au facebook.com/wildhorseguitars

MONA VALE MUSIC

(Drums Specialist Retailer)

(Music Instruments Retailer)

A | 4a Izett St, Prahran 3181 P | (03) 9521 4644 E | sales@revolverdrums.com.au W | revolverdrums.com.au @revolverdrums

A | 55 Bassett Street, Mona Vale NSW P | (02) 9986 0589 E | info@mvmwarehouse.com W | www.monavalemusic.com facebook.com/monavalemusic

HIGH ST MUSIC

DAMIEN GERARD STUDIOS

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 442 High Street, Preston VIC P | (03) 9077 8343 E | highstreetmusic@optusnet.com.au W | highstreetmusic.net.au facebook.com/High-Street-Music

SUNBURST MUSIC

MODERN MUSICIAN

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | P | E | W|

(Recording Studios) A | 230 Crown St, Darlinghurst NSW P | (02) 9331 0666 E | bookings@damiengerard.net W | damiengerard.com.au facebook.com/damiengerardstudios

106 Murray Street, Hobart TAS (03) 6234 5537 nick@modernmusician.com.au modernmusician.com.au facebook.com/modernmusician

(Music Instruments Retailer & Recording Studio) A | 122–124 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee NSW P | (02) 9665 9088 E | sales@sunburstmusic.com.au W | sunburstmusic.com.au facebook.com/SUNBURSTMUSIC. CoogeeAustralia

ARCADE SCREENPRINTING

(Screenprinting & Design Service) A | 15/17 Hutchinson St, St Peters NSW P | (02) 9550 6965 E | info@arcadescreenprinting.com.au W | arcadescreenprinting.com.au facebook.com/arcadescreenprinting

GLADESVILLE GUITAR FACTORY

(Music Instruments Retailer) A | 280 Victoria Rd, Gladesville NSW P | (02) 9817 2173 E | mail@guitarfactory.net W | guitarfactory.net facebook.com/GladesvilleGuitarFactory

TURRAMURRA MUSIC (Music Instruments Retailer) A | P | E | W|

1267 Pacific Hwy, Turramurra NSW (02) 9449 8487 general_sales@turramusic.com.au turramusic.com.au facebook.com/TurramurraMusic

COASTAL MUSIC

(Music Instruments Retailer & Repairs) A | 5/148 Lake Road, Port Macquarie NSW P | (02) 6581 3016 E | sales@coastalmusic.com.au W | coastalmusic.com.au facebook.com/coastalmusic

BIG MUSIC

(Music Instruments Retailer & Recording Studio) A | 85 Alexander Street, Crows Nest NSW P | 1300 55 24 20 W | bigmusicshop.com.au facebook.com/bigmusicshop

SOUNDS EASY PTY LTD (Music Technology & Instruments Retailer)

A | Suite G05, 15 Atchison St, St Leonards NSW P | (02) 8088 1069 W | soundseasy.com.au facebook.com/soundseasy

Not In The Directory?

C O N TA C T

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P A T R I C K @ F U R S T M E D I A . C O M . A U

T O

S E C U R E

Y O U R

P L A C E

mixdownmag.com.au

Raise your voice.

XS Wireless 1 & 2 microphone systems.

As a singer, speaker or instrumentalist, you want to connect with your audience. Focus on your message – not on the equipment. Be confident. To meet those demands, Sennheiser created the XS Wireless microphone system.

Thanks to its intuitive, one-touch scanning and synchronization, XS Wireless 1 combines exceptional ease of use with great sound quality. If you’re ready to take the next step, XS Wireless 2 offers additional control, flexibility and ruggedness to withstand the toughest live conditions. It’s time to raise your voice.

For all microphone options visit sennheiser.com/xs-wireless

Show & Tell Nita Strauss, Guitarist for Alice Cooper What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

I thought I’d tell you about one of my newest acquisitions – my Ibanez LACS guitar.

How did you come across this particular item?

I’ve been an Ibanez artist 9 years now, and last year they approached me about designing my dream guitar in their Los Angeles custom shop. I jumped at the chance, and that’s the main guitar I use on stage now.

What is it that you like about it so much?

It’s pretty amazing to actually have a guitar built to my exact specifications right from the get go. It has Dimarzio Gravity Storm pickups, with cosmo black hardware and a transparent black quilted maple top. Everything from the neck shape, to the pickups, to the inlays is exactly how I always imagined it would be.

How do you use it and how has it shaped the way you write music?

The guitar really feels like an extension of my hands, so it’s incredibly easy to write with. The combination of the neck through construction and mahogany body just sings for days. I love playing this guitar.

Tell us a little about what you have coming up?

I’m currently on a clinic tour for Marshall Amplification, and after this I’ll head back out on the road with Alice Cooper for the rest of 2017. Lots of touring coming up, including Australia and New Zealand towards the end of the year. Can’t wait to come back there!

Nita Strauss will be on tour with Alice Cooper throughout Australia in October thanks to TEG Live.

Nick McLernon, Guitarist for Make Them Suffer Quality Since 1946 GUITAR & STUDIO EQUIPMENT

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today? iPad Cubasis 2.1 This is the brain of Make Them Suffer’s live performance. This is our solution to multi-output playback using limited resources. It is comprised of the latest generation iPad, a Presonus Audiobox 1818vsl audio interface (not pictured), and a bunch of cables loomed together to send signals to the front of house system.

The iPad runs the Cubasis interface, which is used to control and route our audio channels. Our FX samples, click tracks, MIDI controls are all routed through separate channels. The iPad communicates with the audio interface, and then sends a signal for each channel to the front of house system, except the click track which is routed exclusively to the band members In Ear Monitors on stage.

ÊÊÊÊÊPlugsÊ

EHÊSeriesÊ

How did you come across this particular item?

Hours were spent on the internet looking for budget solutions to multi-output playback with next to no result, so we had to go outside the box to make things work.

We’re probably not the first people to be doing this (using an iPad as a brain instead of a laptop PC). I’m sure a lot of people out there have been thinking the same thing.

XLRsÊ

and whenever you want using the iPad interface.

Patchbays,ÊCables,ÊDIÊBoxes/SplittersÊ How do you use it and how has it shaped the way you write music?

use it for everything from tracking guitars and programming AVAILABLE in We AUSTRALIA MIDI in the studio, to live playback during performances.

For your nearest stockist Tell us a little about what you have coming up?

Make Them 1944 Suffer are touring North America, Europe and Australia Phone: 02 9482 over the course of the next six months. The iPad gig rig is being

What is it that you like about it so much?

The gig rig is compact. You can set it up and pack it down in 60 seconds. It weighs less than 10 kilograms. You can wheel it around with you at the airport, all with the convenience of editing tracks on the fly 66

Make Them Suffer’s new album Worlds Apart is out on Friday July 28 through Roadrunner Records. They are touring in support of the record throughout Australia in September.

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