Music Man's six-string Sabre

NEW to the Music Man range of guitars are the Sabre I and Sabre II six-strings. The body shape is similar to the Stingray guitar, but is smaller and contoured. They are available with 12in radius neck and jumbo-frets (Sabre I), or 7½in radius and standard frets (Sabre II).

The other major departure from the Stingray design is the inclusion of a new patent truss-rod. It's a flat rectangular type, which allows the neck to be faired thinner without compromising any strength. A 25½in scale of 22 frets on a solid rock maple neck, six individual stainless steel bridge saddles, and the familiar Music Man pre-amp and separate treble and bass controls are all included in a guitar which could easily be mistaken for a Strat at first glance.

Rrp for both Sabre I and II is £354.67. Music Man Division, Strings and Things Ltd, (Contact Details).
Music Man Inc, (Contact Details).

Stand Up For The Foot

THE insipid march of 'progress' towards a totally metricated world moves on apace. Mainland Europe has long since fallen to the arch-enemies of common sense, and the evil arbitrary units, totally unrelated to people, being constructed as an arbitrary fraction of an arbitrary arc of an arbitrary circle through an arbitrary meridian passing through Paris of all places, march on. That is what the metre set out to be: and it's inaccurate even by its own definition. Now the British Government is going to have a mini-referendum to see if the British Public want to drink litres or pints of beer, and drive miles or kilometres. 'London? That's kilometres away...' Doesn't sound right, does it? So when they ask you, say No to Metrication. Keep this evil scourge from the land. Metric is OK for science, but no good for Real People. If Britain falls, so too will the last remaining bastion of Imperial Units, the US. So Stand Up Eor The Foot... Support your local Anti-Metrication Board. You Know It Makes Sense.

Peavey UK move

THE British distributors of Peavey sound equipment and ARP instruments have moved to: (Contact Details).

New Goodies From MM & PA:CE

THE MM Electronics/PA:CE stable is coming up with a lot of goodies at the moment, all worthy of a look. The point of interest here is that their gear is often very cheap, yet is always built to the highest standards. Very often their equipment can be expected to produce the same kind of performance as top-price gear, at a fraction of the cost.

Such it is with the new PA:CE SR271 21-way graphic. The thing sounds as impressive as it looks: very cleanly finished, easy to operate, sturdy, without being flash or gimmicky. The SR271 features +12dB variation at each of the 27-ISO frequencies, and has a LED above each fader to indicate the operating status and levels. We'll be looking at this unit in greater detail, but suffice to say at this point that the machine provides up to +16dBm output level, and up to 40dB gain. Input impedance is switchable 10K/600 ohms and the frequency response (±1dB) with controls set flat is 20-20K Hz. Noise level is quoted as better than -73dBm, but we understand that production models will be nearer the -80 mark.

MM Electronics now market a whole range of stereo and multitrack consoles, from the original MP175 16/2 with 4-band eq, echo and foldback sends, right up to a 16/8 studio desk with full monitoring facilities, metering, overload lights, and everything else you'd expect from a good audio console, all for under £1000. All power to your elbows, sirs.

PA:CE/MM Electronics, (Contact Details).

Graphic art...

LATEST addition to the range from Custom Sound (SST) Ltd is the model 708 Graphic Monitor Amp, together with the 7PSM Stage Monitors. The system is designed primarily to overcome problems that have arisen in other types of monitors with built in amps — the system may be coupled with any other suitable pieces of equipment desired in monitoring applications.

The 708 delivers 150 Watts (rms) into 4ohms and incorporates a 5-band graphic equaliser, marked Lo, Lo-mid, Mid, Mid-hi and Hi, or, to be more accurate at 50, 200, 800, 3K and 13K Hz. This greater control over tonal response should prove helpful when coping with feedback and the usual monitoring setbacks — the more obvious one being actually able to hear the things.

The 7PSM wedge monitors each handle 65 Watts, and feature a 12in full range driver along with a wide-dispersion HF horn, the level of which can be individually controlled, as can the overall sound level of each wedge.

More information from: Custom Sound (SST) Ltd, (Contact Details).

Soundcraft crossover

SOUNDCRAFT have announced the first of what promises to be a fine range of 19in rackmounting accessory units: the EX4S 4-way electronic crossover unit. Soundcraft are renowned for their desks, and this unit carries over the obvious and desirable sturdiness that is a characteristic of their equipment.

The EX4S provides two channels of up to three crossover points at 24dB/octave. The unit can be used two, three or four-way, and the exact frequencies are determined by plug-in boards. The unit is aimed at the PA market, but it is fully up to studio quality requirements. An illuminated display with peak-reading and status LEDs is fitted on the front panel above the simple and straightforward level controls which are grouped in pairs for each of the four bands. Ingeniously, the top of the case includes a diagram giving layout, circuit and adjustment details: score several points, Soundcraft. You may have to peer at the box in a dark hall one night but at least you won't suddenly find you can't adjust a thing because you've lost the information.

Inputs and outputs are XLRs or D-range multiways; inputs are balanced and offer 0 or +10dB gain. Outputs are unbalanced with a transformer balancing option available on plugins. UK price: £450.

Soundcraft Electronics Ltd, (Contact Details).
Soundcraft North America, (Contact Details).