New amp set for major launch

U.K. — that's the name of a complete new line of amplification products about to be launched in a major assault on the established British amplification market. The U.K. line comes from a Sunderland-based company — Harmonic Communications (U.K.).

Despite appearing as a new name on the British scene, Harmonic Communications have already enjoyed a successful year's trading with their products in overseas markets, especially in Denmark, where they beat rival bids from two major companies (one American and one Japanese) to establish a major distribution outlet.

The new products about to be launched are: the GENEVA 50 watt 1x12 guitar amp, offering Eq control, parametric mid, overdrive and input gain, overdrive/sustain level, overdrive footswitch and a host of other up-to-the-minute features. A matching 50 watt bass combo (the Geneva B50) is also on offer. Other U.K. products will include the SANTIAGO 300 slave amp (a 19" rack-mounting unit offering 150+150 watts RMS into 4 ohms) a 500 watt SANTIAGO slave (all Santiagos working from MOS-FET technology), a Santiago 800 19" slave amp (rack mounted, again) and the VIENNA Series of mixers, offering 8 channel functioning as standard with add-on 4 channel banks up to 24/2. Onboard, adjustable illumination is also provided on the Vienna series.

MUSIC U.K. will be running an exclusive review of one of these new products soon. Plans are already afoot for Harmonic Communications to have full in-house production facilities, including woodworking, circuit board manufacture and screen printing, placing this new maker on a level with a bare few similarly equipped makers in Britain.

Further details available from Harmonic Communications on (Contact Details), or from the distributor: Keith Hand Musical Supplies, on (Contact Details).

NEW PLUG SPELLS JACK PLUG DEATH?

Few musicians (and even fewer road crews) actually like the standard ¼" but it's cheap — traditionally far cheaper than the infinitely preferable switchcraft-type locking three pin plug-and socket. Now a British manufacturer, Key Technology, looks like they might well have come up with a cost effective solution to the problem — a glass filled nylon moulded XLR-type plug or socket. Glass filled nylon, a tremendously tough plastic developed by ICI, is widely used in harsh engineering situations due to its extreme temperature resistance and its strength.

The new plugs and sockets, whilst being extremely tough, Key Technology tell us, are far cheaper than normal metal types and, being moulded, can be colour-coded — ideal for mixers and patch-bays, of course. Several leading manufacturers have already looked closely at these new plugs and it seems likely that they'll become a common sight on new equipment in the future. Hopefully, guitar makers might adopt these new sockets and plugs soon — it should mean the end to lead breakdown problems if they do! Further details from Key Technology at (Contact Details).

NEW LIGHTS FROM MULTIFORM

Band lighting, as regular MUSIC U.K. readers will know, is one of our hobby horses. We reckon that it's ignored far too much by bands in the U.K. so watch out for a new lighting control unit from Multiform Lighting called the Multiphase 425.

This is a newly developed 4-channel control unit, capable of handling up to 8kw of lighting. Each channel has a pre-set fader and flash key, and the whole package looks very attractive at an RRP of £340.00 + VAT for the controller, plus £64.00 + VAT for an optional remote control foot switch.

The faders on the 425 are controlled by a master which also provides a variable auto-fade facility of up to 30 secs duration. A dimmable effects section gives variable speed cross-fades plus flash which can be triggered from the bass beat of the music input, if desired. A blackout switch is fitted which overrides all other controls to offer an 'instant kill' effect.

The real key to this new unit for bands is that, using the optional footswitch, your lighting can be controlled from the stage. Further details from Multiform Lighting, (Contact Details).

Clinical Zildjian

Zildjian have announced a series of twenty drum and cymbal clinics to be held throughout Britain during September. Arranged jointly with Premier Percussion — Zildjian's newly appointed U.K. distributors — the clinics will feature top session drummer Pete York, who'll be talking technique and answering questions and problems.

Many MUSIC U.K. readers will remember the highly successful Zildjian clinic, with Pete York & Simon Phillips, held at the Venue in London last November — if you didn't make it to that one, it'll be well worth your while to grab the opportunity this time round!

Dates are yet to be finalised, but all you drummers out there who'd like to go along to a clinic in your area can get further details from Roger Horrobin of Premier (Contact Details), or Dayne Marshall of Zildjian (Contact Details).

ABBEY RD. OPENS DOORS FOR BEATLES FANS

Fancy a guided tour round what is probably the world's most famous recording studio? Well, EMI's Abbey Rd Studios are going to be open to the public until September 11th for what looks like being a fascinating exhibition, The Beatles at Abbey Road.

There is an audio-visual presentation featuring film clips and promotional videos containing some previously unreleased recordings of the Beatles, as well as photos and interviews. The hour long show is coupled with an exhibition of recording equipment used by the band, plus an 'opportunity' (as EMI coyly put it) to buy souvenirs, records and books.

The really interesting bit follows, with a visit to the Number 2 Studio (currently being refurbished in the control room). The studio itself, however, remains much as it was when the Fab Four ruled the roost. It provides a golden opportunity to muse over how George Martin and the group managed to get such amazingly sophisticated sounds as per Sgt Pepper and Revolver in those pre-24 track (not to mention digital!) days.

Tickets will cost a very reasonable £4.50 each and can be obtained from EMI Records Ltd (Contact Details). Postal Orders should be made payable to EMI Records Ltd and a stamped addressed envelope should be enclosed with each application as well as 2nd and 3rd choice of dates.

Don't forget — the last date for visiting Abbey Rd is September 11th, so don't hang about! The exhibition runs seven days a week till then with three shows daily, at 10.30 am, 3.30 pm and 7.30 pm.

Overwater on the move

Overwater guitars, one of the U.K.'s leading manufacturers, have just moved to the market town of Haltwhistle, situated on the main A69 between Carlisle and Newcastle-upon-Tyne, just 15 miles from the M6. New for Overwater at their premises will be a display and demo section for players who want to talk about custom models.

Production models remain, however, the majority of Overwater's output and there have recently been some significant changes to these. Re-designed electronics (the guitar remains passive, but the bass is now fitted with active tone filters) are just a part of the story.

For further details of Overwater's models, contact them at The Overwater Guitar Co, (Contact Details).

ALLEN & HEATH MERGER

Leading mixer manufacturers Allen & Heath Brenell have announced that they are joining forces with Maldwyn Bowden International and, at the same time, are on the move. The new address for A.H.B. is (Contact Details).

C-DUCER SAXMAN GIVES HORNS A BLAST

Believe me, writing a headline for this story was as big a temptation as you can get! What on earth do you say when a firm with a product called the C—Ducer introduces a unit called the Saxman — intended for use with horns! Ah well, we'll leave that up to your fevered imaginations!

The C-Ducer system uses a phenomenally clever transducer contained inside a piece of tape. We've reviewed them for guitar use (way back in issue No 2, for heaven's sake) and have since fitted C—Ducers to mandolins, countless acoustic guitars, dulcimers - you name it, we've used C—Ducers on it and have never failed to be convinced by the sound we got with them.

Anyway, the latest unit from the C—Ducer people is the result of 12 months of field trials, the C—Ducer Saxman. This features an easily fitted reed transducer requiring no modifications to the instrument or change in playing technique. You simply fix the Saxman either to a sax or clarinet (it works on them too), link the lead to the battery-powered pre-amp and plug it all into an amp or your P.A. The result? According to C—Tape Developments, a perfect brass sound. You can even fit the C—Tape's transducer on your belt (if you like to hop around). Following the Saxman will be a system of newly designed effects for sax and clarinet players — more news in MUSIC U.K. about this system as we receive it from the makers, C—Tape Developments Ltd of (Contact Details). And that's the address you should contact for further details, too.

Thin Cut Orange Slice London Band Competition

Winners of the Young London Band '83 competition sponsored by London's LBC commercial radio station, ORACLE — ITV's Teletext Service, STIFF Records and Julian Newby are Epsom-based THIN CUT ORANGE.

The band, started just under a year ago by 24 year old Richard Veal, entered a tape of Richard's song Paranoid Cornflake which was selected by the judging panel: singer Jona Lewie, Brian Hayes of LBC Clare Hirst of the Belle Stars, Roger Bannister of Stiff Reocrds and Julian Newby from Oracle.

Eight finalists were in the running in a special hour long programme on Clive Bull's Jellybone show broadcast on Saturday 25th June, and THIN CUT ORANGE'S tape was selected as the winner.

Prizes won by THIN CUT ORANGE included £1,000 worth of equipment in the form of a CUSTOM SOUND 725 COMBO, KORG PROGRAMMABLE DRUM MACHINE, CASIO PT30 SYNTHESISER and an AUDIO TECHNICA MIKE. These were presented at the reception held for the announcement of the winners where Richard also received a certificate offering his band a recording test with Stiff Records.

Bands were asked to submit tapes of their music to Clive Bull's Saturday morning Jellybone programme on LBC and some 500 entries were received. The idea behind the scheme (originally instigated by Blue Sueue Views, the London Oracle programme) was to give more exposure to young London bands. They certainly got exposure as Clive broadcast many of the tapes received during the 3 months in which the competition was run.

MUSIC U.K. sends its thanks to LBC, Oracle, Stiff Records and the manufacturers and distributors of the prizes (Custom Sound from Audio Fidelity Ltd, Korg from Rose-Morris and Co, Casio from Casio and Audio Technica from John Hornby Skewes and Co) and wishes THIN CUT ORANGE the best of luck in the future!

Monkey business no nuts

A new music shop in Romford called Monkey Business opened on July 23rd. The partners in the business, Phill Straker and Trevor Holliday have had considerable experience in the music business, Phill having previously worked with CBS (Fender to you. guv) and for the past 7½ years with Honky Tonk Music in Hadleigh, Essex. Trevor has been a pro musician for the past 10 years, his latest success being with the Pinkees who had a No. 8 in the charts. The new shop is open Monday-Saturday from 9.30 am till 6 pm with a late night burst on Fridays till 7.30 pm. Private parking facilities are offered too. Full repair facilities, gear hire, home recording equipment and mixers will be on offer. And if you can't get MUSIC U.K. there just let us know and we'll do something horrible to them!

DOBRO FROM DOWNES

One of the world's most unusual guitars, the Dobro, is available again in the U.K. The Dobro, for readers who aren't familiar with it, is more a concept than an individual guitar in that it uses a metal resonator plate on an acoustic body to give a considerable increase in volume over normal guitars, coupled with what must be the most distinctive acoustic guitar sound of all.

Dobros began life back in 1925, when American instrument repairer John Dopyera developed the first guitar of this type for one of his customers who'd asked for a louder Hawaiian Steel guitar. The result was the first ever National TriPlate Resophonic. Due to various interpersonality wranglings, there developed two distinct instrument types from this basic idea: the National metal-bodies guitar and the Dobro wooden type with metal plate resonators. This rivalry ended back in 1932 when the companies merged forming National Dobro. The full story of Dobro reads like something out of the history of the British car industry — names and companies coming and going with astonishing rapidity — but by 1970 the US Patent and Trademark Office granted the rights to the name Dobro back to the remnants of the original team and Dobros began to appear again.

Why all this fuss? Well, the Dobro had become the guitar for Blues and American Folk guitarists (great for street players on account of its volume, of course) and old ones are worth a bomb today! They've been hard to get in recent years in this country but now, thanks to acoustic specialists Warwick Downes Music in Brighton, both wooden bodied, metal resonator types and the fabulous all metal ones are obtainable.

The range has some real oddities in it too: square-necked 8-string all-metal models for steel/slide work, 10 string, square-necked types (also for steel), 12-string regular necked, mandolins, guitars made from bell brass (with replaceable necks) — the list goes on and, as our photos show, some of the models bear most attractive patterning. Prices seem very reasonable (although they do fluctuate according to the US$ against the £). A plated brass Model 33, for example, costs just £431 inc VAT at the time of writing — a wooden Model 27 being just £325. Not bad for such beauties, eh?

We've reproduced some shots, kindly loaned by Warwick Downes, of these remarkable guitars and hope to be trying one soon. In the meantime, you can get further details direct from Warwick Downes Music at (Contact Details). Congratulations to them on having such inspired taste!