Reviews
Compact mixer Offering 24 inputs, four subgroups and onboard effects, all in a highly compact package, this console really does represent a lot of mixer for your money.
Guitar effects pedal The latest low-end generator pedal from Boss offers some useful improvements over its predecessor.
Analogue keyboard synthesizer The first Prophet synth, launched in 1977, set the standard by which other polysynths were judged. Does the first model bearing that name for 20 years live up to the heritage of the marque?
Electric guitars Canadian company Eastwood specialise in reviving wacky axes of yesteryear, incorporating some practical performance updates into Korean-made re-creations.
Single-coil and humbucking pickups for acoustic guitar Amid the seemingly endless acoustic guitar pickup options available today, Fishman look set to remain one of the most popular choices with the introduction of their redesigned Rare Earth magnetic models.
Combo bass amp Gallien-Krueger continue to provide high-quality compact bass amplification for the gigging musician with their MicroBass Series III amps, offering a sound that belies their diminutive appearance.
String bending system String benders allow you to pull off 'impossible' licks, but fitting them usually requires major surgery to your guitar. Hipshot's inexpensive alternative simply bolts to the front of the instrument, with no routing required.
All-valve guitar combo Part of the up-market Classic series, the hand-made Custom 50 revisits a classic 1 x 12 combo from one of the UK's best-known amp brands.
Hand-made cymbals Up on the cymbal stands this month I have a selection of hand-made Turkish cymbals from legendary manufacturers, Istanbul Agop.
Signature electric guitar Signature guitars can often be seen as little more than an attempt to lure gullible guitarists into believing that the purchase of a particular model will somehow imbue their playing with the magical tone and musicality of their idol. Steve Hughes's signature Custom Artist from Melancon, however, clearly has something special to offer.
Drum microphone kit Shure have put together a complete drum mic package based on some of their individual PG-series microphones, specifically three PG56 dynamic snare/tom microphones, one PG52 kick drum microphone and two PG81 instrument microphones for use as overheads.
Vocal processing pedals Vocal processor specialists TC-Helicon have come up with a range of easy-to-use pedals that really do exactly what it says on the tin...
Bass guitar A new take on the P-J bass formula, this John Hornby Skewes hybrid incorporates some clever reworking from Trevor Wilkinson.
Passive PA speakers Wharfedale's Titan series packs a lot of performance into a range of highly affordable, compact enclosures. This passive unit, based on an eight-inch cone driver and 1.2-inch compression driver and offering 150W RMS power handling, proves to be something of a star performer.
Sound Advice
Tech Notes Performers rather tend to take cardioid mics for granted these days, but it's not so long ago that they didn't exist. So just how do these microphones achieve their directional characteristics?
| | People + Opinion
Tech That Brian Kehew is by no means your average tech. When he's not on the road teching with the Who, he plies his trade as a record producer, mix engineer, successful author and book publisher. And if that wasn't enough, he can now add Who keyboard player to that impressive and varied CV, after playing 25 dates on the band's last tour.
Unsigned + Signed Another diary entry from our anonymous Signed and Unsigned musicians.
Babies of the breed Babies of the breed
Allen + Heath Probably the best column in the world... Transcribed by Gary Cooper.
World music instrumentalist Ross Daly has dedicated most of his life to ensuring that the musical past has a future. His unique vision has breathed new life into the traditional music of the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond, to such an extent that he is now among the most virtuoso lyra players in Greece, despite the fact that he was born almost 2500km away.
Figurines Our regular brief look at what instruments and gear is being used live by this up-and-coming band.
Guitar legend Steve Lukather may well be the world's most recorded guitarist. Since first carving out a career as a studio session supremo back in the mid-1970s, he has appeared on more than 3000 album recordings spanning just about every musical genre, as well as performing with the band Toto.
Technique
Memory boards Last month, we discussed how simple preset lighting consoles enable you to control the levels of lights. The next upgrade in lighting control consoles is the memory board, where much of the burden of operation is placed under the direction of computer intelligence.
Sound Advice Even if you don't write music, the ability to scribble down some rough notes to guide you through rehearsals and performances is an important one to have, and could save you a lot of time and stress, enabling you to focus on delivering an effective performance.
From '70s tours to FOH sound for the 2007 reunion concert The now-famous reunion show for hard rock's patron saints, Led Zeppelin, at the O2 Arena showed that while the song remains the same, the sound gets a lot better.
An American tour diary No tour bus. No big rig. Just one man and his guitar, in a rental car, making his way across America from motel to motel. Welcome to the realities of touring as a solo act.
Music Business
Sound Advice Keeping up with the changes taking place in the modern music industry is almost a full-time occupation, and certainly one that requires good contacts and strategic planning. If you're wondering how on earth to begin negotiating your way to musical prominence, perhaps it's time to consider the pros and cons of signing up with a manager.
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