Several new products this month from Suzuki, the manufacturers of the Omnichord. They're branching out into a wide range of fields, with a promise of further expansion to come.

Firstly, a range of eight dynamic microphones, the PDM 5810, 5820 and so on. Prices range from £34.95 to £59.95 and we've pictured here the 5810, the 5850 (£49.95) and the top-of-the-range 5880. Designed for stage or studio applications, they produce exceptionally crisp vocal sounds and feature low impedance, uni-directional characteristics, 6m connector cords detachable except on the 5810, and an optional impedance transformer. Stated frequency response ranges from 70—16 kHz for the 5810 to 50—18 kHz for the 5880. Details from Craftmaster UK, (Contact Details).

Also from Suzuki, the Eelectriks range of connector cables. Each cable features heavy-duty ⅜inch neoprene coated cord, double shielding and solid brass fittings. Male jack plugs have special 'power-eyes' construction, consisting of a plexiglass tube screwed to a one-piece brass barrel, thus making any problem with the soldered joint immediately visible. Leads available include 10 or 20 foot connectors, 10 or 20 foot coil cables, a 20 foot half straight and half coiled cable, a choice of 3 Y cord splitters with female jacks, 20 or 40 foot low impedance microphone cords with 3 pin connectors and an optional impedance transformer, and a short patch lead and range of adaptors. Prices range from £6.99 for the straight 10 foot guitar cord to £16.99 for the 40 foot microphone cord. Details from Craftmaster UK, (Contact Details).

Personal tape players can be turned into a miniature hi-fi using the Suzuki MX-100 powered speakers. Retailing at £37.95 per pair, they come complete with a splitter cord which connects to a 2.5 mm stereo headphone socket. Each speaker uses 4 penlite-type batteries, or an external 6 volt power supply. The design features two units in each speaker for added clarity and better bass, and output level is comparable to small radio/cassette players. Details from Craftmaster UK, (Contact Details).

Buchla and Associates have introduced the 406 electronic musical instrument, latest in the 400 range, it has a five-octave weighted keyboard, real time score editor, high resolution graphic display and SMPTE timecode capabilities.

As a performance instrument it offers dynamic waveshaping, multiple complex envelope generation, variable scale, tuning and force or pressure sensitivity. Pressure sensitive joysticks and analogue modifiers are available, and two music languages, MIDAS and PATCH V, provide conventional or more general programming possibilities. Introductory price is $10,500 and further details are available from Buchla, (Contact Details).

From Steinberger, the long awaited Steinberger guitar. Like the famous bass, it features fibre-reinforced epoxy construction and headless design, with active low impedance EMG pickups with 3-way selector, volume and tone controls, ball-end strings and micrometer tuners and 25½-inch scale length. Details Steinberger, (Contact Details).

Ibanez introduce new effects units during June. The HD 1000 is a rackmounting Harmoniser/Delay with ful LCD readout of function. Pitch can be shifted more than one octave with almost glitch-free quality, and the delay gives 126 mS at 8 kHz or 504 mS at 2 KHz. Flanging, chorus, doubling, slapback, hard reverb and discrete echo can be produced. The pitch shift can be interrupted to create arpeggios, controlled externally or by a computer and tuned to an accuracy of 10 cents. Modulation is controlled by touch-sensitive buttons and the LCD display also shows optimum input level. Also available, the UE 303B Multi-Effects system, offering an interconnected Auto Filter, Compressor/Limiter and Stereo Flanger/Chorus. Other 303 series models have different effects, but in each case the system features external effects loop, silent switching, AC power, LED status indicators and multiple outputs.

Price details on the HD 1000 and UE 303 systems from Summerfields, (Contact Details).