New range from Simmons

Just when you thought the competition had finally caught up with Simmons they've introduced an outstanding new range of electronic drum products.

First off there's the SDS9, designed to give the player "all of the facilities and control of the conventional instrument plus the creative possibilities opened up by the application of modern technology".

The SDS9 is a five drum kit — bass, snare and three toms — and is the first to feature Simmons' new injection moulded pads. The new pads feature a rubber covered, moulded surface which floats on a foam damper in the moulded rim. They look the same as the old pads but offer great sensitivity and control, facilities to mount multiple pickup configurations and increased durability.

The brain is similar in design to the SDS 8 but packed with multiplicity of features. The bass drum is a software generated replica of a sample and rumour has it that it's just about the finest bass drum sample you're likely to hear. There is full programme control of pitch and length of click and thump components of the sound and click level.

The snare features three independent samples of a snare hit, rim shot and cross stick held in EPROM. Again there is full program control over filter pitch and sweep, drum pitch and pitch bend, rim pitch and pitch bend, drum and rim decay, balance between rim and snare, filter resonance and noise level. The pad is set up with a choice of rim shot or cross stick sounds triggered by a second pick up in the rim, and replacement snare ROMs are available with ambient sounds and special effects.

The toms are analogue synthesized with a "second skin" feature that modulates the drum pitch to emulate the harmonics of two interacting drum heads. Again there is full programme control.

But it doesn't stop there. Apart from increased dynamics and an auto trigger facility to aid the setting up of drum sounds without actually having to hit the pads, Simmons have come up with another first; full programmable, onboard digital delay. This can be applied to any of the drums during programming to give slap back or long repeat echo when played.

Once you've used all these facilities to create your individual kit sounds you'll find room to store 20 kits in its internal memory, alongside the 20 preprogrammed kits you'll already find in it. These programmes can be operated remotely in any sequence you choose and they can be dumped onto cassette. Finally the kit offers a fully assignable MIDI interface so you can play the voices of other MIDI instruments from the pads.

Perhaps the biggest shock of all is the price of the SDS9; £1199.99. Place your orders today.

Simmons have also introduced the 800 series, a collection of mainly add-ons for the increasing number of drummers wanting to integrate the Simmons sounds into their acoustic kits. The SDS 200 features just two of the new Simmons pads, a stand and leads and a two channel brain. The brain features the new "second skin" control and headphone jackas well as fully flexible sound programming.

The SDS 400 has four tom channels, four new pads, etc but with the addition of a fully programmable run generator as previously featured on the SDS 1. The SDS 800 also has four channels, this time for bass, snare and two toms, and the same features as the 400. Prices are £629.99 for the 800, £549.99 for the 400 and £359.99 for the 200.

But before you get really fed up because you've just bought an SDS 7, Simmons will soon be launching a range of accessories to be used with that kit. These will include a new bass module with twin samples, a new snare package with the dual pickup feature and a trigger-MIDI-trigger converter. Also coming is a large library of EPROM sounds.

All being well, expect a full review of the SDS9 in next month's IM&RW.

Big Boss Bass Boost

Two new bass pickups claiming to give you better transient response, more harmonics and a broader frequency response have arrived in the four-string arena from UKG, a Dorset-based pickup firm rapidly attaining a serious reputation for quality. The PLC2 and PLC3 are single-coil units looking not unlike overgrown Strat pickups and using huge polepieces and super-strong magnets to give a punchy, powerful sound, with the PLC2 deeper and richer in sound than its 'clangy' brother. The two can, of course, be wired together in any number of configurations to taste. They're £25 each and can be ordered (and indeed the rest of UKG's range explained) from bossman Peter Cropley at (Contact Details).

The Show Must Go On

This year's APRS Show has been set for June 12th to 14th inclusive, so studio bosses, buyers and boffins should leave those dates in their diaries free and beetle in down to the Kensington Exhibition Centre which is, once again, the venue. And talking of the APRS, their 12th International Course for Studio Engineers is set for September this year at the University of Surrey, Guildford. This will consist of both hands-on and lecture instruction in all the basics of recording right up to the very latest digital technology. It's not cheap; non-members pay £494.50 (plus £23 for the optional basic revision course) and members save £40 on that, and numbers are limited to 45, but it's renowned as the state of the art in recording tuition.

For more details on either the show or the course, contact APRS Secretary EL Masek at (Contact Details).

Marvellous Marcus

Big updates have been going on at Marcus Music studios, including a Sony digital multitrack tape machine and a Solid State Logic desk to bring the machinery up to state-of-the-art standards. And with Eastlake Audio's redesign of Control Room One — now the first in the world to install the firm's new monitors — the place looks like attracting even more of the high-flying clientele. Marcus is at (Contact Details).

Activate the Stratocaster, Mr Sulu

Since Tim De Whalley made the mag a family affair by getting his handmade guitars reviewed in the same pages that his brother Chas usually defaces with his inimitable prose, the business has come on by leaps and bounds.

And we're sure it won't be hindered by the latest development in the De Whalley line; known as the Ampro Activator, it's a series of easy-to-install circuits to make Fenders active. It's supposed to provide 'sensible' Eq, using the same control layout and compensating for some of the irregularities Fender owners have come to know and dislike. For instance, the Strat models balance the output of the pickups, making volume consistent at all five pickup switch positions, it buffers the circuit to prevent treble loss and boosts the gain. The Activator series is available for Stratocaster, Telecaster, Jazz and Precision bass and future modifications to the system are to includea programmable tone control unit. And at £73 each, they seem like a worthwhile addition to the Fenderist's armoury. For orders, praise, queries, etc, contact agents Touchstone Tonewoods at (Contact Details).

The Totnes Monster

Word has reached us from darkest Devon of a school of guitar making in action down there which is teaching pupils to a very high standard indeed. The Totnes School of Guitar Making was founded by luthier Norman Reed who, for a course fee of £895 including all tuition and materials, takes up to six pupils under his wing for a thorough grounding in the art of the guitar craftsman for a period of 12 weeks.

Norman, a guitar and lute maker of 12 years standing, teaches everything from tool preparation to the most complex bits of assembly and decoration. And he offers an advanced course for those with more experience in woodworking or luthiery.

Interested in becoming a craftsman of the Orville Gibson type? Contact the school at (Contact Details).

Ziggy Goes Pro

The ever-expanding empire of Ziggy's Promotions has notched up another service — this time it's a register of professional musicians for session work, deputising and so on. This, claims Ziggy's boss Jon Townend, will be circulated round studios and possible clients for pro musicians, saving the hard-working musician from the job of advertising himself. More details from Jon on (Contact Details).

Don's Over The Road Again

APRS showgoers will be pleased to know that yet again the usual alternative will be available in the shape of Don Larking's Over The Road Show. On the same dates as the main show (12th, 13th and 14th of June) it'll take place this year at the Tara Hotel, Scarsdale Place, Kensington. loads of big names will be represented with most equipment plugged in and able to be fiddled with, and the bar will be open throughout the show. They're obviously not Larking about. More facts from Don's boys at (Contact Details).

Musiberger

Steinberger, headless and fancy-free as they are, have chosen Musimex as the sole distributors of their products in the British Isles. Both the posh and the new semi-pro series will be covered under the deal, so watch out for them appearing in the shops fairly soon. Details from Tony or Pam Morris at Musimex, (Contact Details).

Court In The Act

News from Court Acoustics, posh PA purveyors, is that not only have their specifications improved, but their prices have dropped as well — at least on some components. The all-in-one TRM 3 cabinets, Proflex 100 cabinets and System 7 bass bins have lost a few pounds, as have the GE1515 and 1515 equalisers.

They've also brought out a large and all-encompassing brochure of their range, so for one of these or any other info they can be contacted at Theatre Projects Sales, (Contact Details).

Mags, MIDI and Moog

Watch out for our sister magazine Electronic Soundmaker's June issue when it hits your shelves at any moment. Yes,that's the one with the tape on the front. And taking full advantage of it they've got a MIDI sequencer programme for your Spectrum computer on their cassette this month, plus Blancmange's views on Casios, Kurzweils and their computer sequencer, the UMI-2B; a revolutionary device by all accounts. And elsewhere they've got Robert Moog giving his ideas on everything synthish under the sun plus more reviews than you could shake a digital. If you're the sort who thinks in bytes give it a read (and listen). As well, mind you...

While My Gittler Gently Weeps

This month's weird-looking instrument aware must surely got to the Gittler guitar, a strange skeletal beast which is made in Israel by its founder, Allan Gittler. It's got no body (sob) and very little of anything else except 30 frets, a sort of stripped-down Steinbergerish bridge/tuner assembly and six pickups, one for each string, giving excellent separation for chords and so on. Six-stringed Copper Andy Summers has used one, and the New York Museum of Modern Art liked it so much they put it on display, so the Gittler seems to have more to it than lean looks. Contact Sue Haas at the British Israel Public Affairs Committee, (Contact Details).

Pirate Keelhauled

The British Phonographic Industry, the record business' watchdog, has helped another of the bootleg barons come to grief. The High Court gave a judgement against Luke Scarbrow of Walthamstow totalling £14,750 damages and costs after the Channel 4 documentary '4 What It's Worth' had spotted the pirate dealing in dodgy tapes including Bob Marley and many more megastars. This was the last action of 1984 for the BPI's Anti-Piracy Unit, a year in which they confiscated about 24,000 illicit cassettes plus three-quarters of a million inlay cards and 16 high-speed duplicators. And altogether the confiscations add up to an awesome figure of between £1.5m and £2m street value. Bootlegging is big business these days.

Fender Tender Winner

Musical instrument industry veterans Arbiter have taken over the CBS/Fender UK operation, including distribution rights for the UK, Ireland and Benelux. The news comes in the aftermath of a huge shake-up for the Fender name, which has now been acquired by the firm's President, Bill Shultz.

The operation will continue to be based at Fender House, Jeffreys Road, Enfield, Middlesex — (Contact Details) — and the personnel are still the same, including chief executive Martin Fredman. However, rumour has it that the big worldwide reshuffle will result in some exciting new models. Watch this Strat.

Hat Trick

If your amp is suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous roadies what you need is a Hard Hat. That's the message from Sound Investments, ((Contact Details)) who have produced the aforementioned article to take care of your amp if you're not willing to go the whole flightcase hog. It's a vulcanised fibre case looking a little like a drummer's traps case which is made to fit your amp and costs between £19.95 and £29.95. And if you ramp isn't of vast weight it'll also double as a stand. Get ahead, get a Hard Hat.