SYNFUL ROLAND

The 9th Annual Synthesizer (sic) Tape Contest, has just been announced by the Roland Corporation. A truly international event, it's a competition of recordings produced with any computer/synthesiser system.

Entry classifications include Class A (for pro players, or those with pro-class abilities and experience) and Class B (for amateurs and beginners). Prizes include a selection of Roland computer-synth gear, a Tascam 246 Portastudio, Fostex speaker systems and various cassette tapes. Entries must be on cassette and must be wholly produced with electronic instruments, lasting three mins, or less (the songs, not the gear, you twerps!).

More details of the 9th Annual Synthesizer Tape Contest, including application forms, can be obtained from Synsounds (Dept. ASTC), (Contact Details).

Potential entrants can also bone up on the overall standard by listening to compilation cassettes of the winners' pieces from the 6th, 7th and 8th comps, which are available at £4.95 each from the same address.

Electro-Drums get Trace Elliot Class

Trace Elliot (masters of Pro-class bass amplification) have now turned their attention to the difficulties of reproducing the sound of electronic drums. The Trace Elliot answer takes the form of the EPAS (Electronic Percussion Amplification System) which comes in two two head models with three new speaker enclosures.

Baby of the range is the EPAS 400, comprising a 400 watt stereo amp head with a pair of 1018 cabs. These provide 18" bass drivers, 1x10" for mid/highs and bullet tweeters for H.F. sounds. RRP (inc. VAT) of the EPAS 400 is £1,672.

Next in line, the EPAS 800 runs in two modes, the first being mono bi-amped. In this form the EPAS 800 delivers 400 watts of mid/highs into a 1024 cab (2x10" 'cross-firing' speakers and a high power slot tweeter) with another 400 watts thundering into the 1824 (2x18") bass bin -sounds meaty, doesn't it? Price for the EPAS 800 in this form is £1,850.

Real luxury stuff comes from employing the EPAS 800 system in full-range stereo mode, with 400 watts a side delivered into four 1018 cabs. That version will set you back some £2,813.

Both Trace Elliot EPAS amps feature mono/stereo switching, high and low Eq, master vol. on both channels, line output and transformer-balanced Direct Inject output, switchable pre- or post-Eq, plus fan cooling and stereo headphone out. Trace Elliot can be reached at Soundwave, (Contact Details).

GUILD, HAMER, DOBRO & ACOUSTIC - THE YANKS HIT BACK!

Who said the American guitar and amp were dead? (Shoot that idiot, will you? -Ed.). Yes, top U.S. makers including Guild (red hot news with their Brian May model), Hamer (used by almost all those H.M. players who don't play Kramer), Dobro (thank you, Mark Knopfler) and Acoustic are all now available in the U.K. once again, via three key importers.

Guild (with their range running through the superlative acoustics, hot new 'H.M.' styles, Jazz models and basses) are being imported by Hessey's of Liverpool, Hamer are being re-introduced by London's Allbang and Strummit, and Dobro's unique resonator metal and wood acoustics are arriving in the U.K. courtesy of Scott-Cooper Marketing Ltd., as are Acoustic amps.

IT readers wanting more details of these products should contact the importers as follow's:
Guild - Hesseys (Music Centre), (Contact Details).
Hamer - Allbang & Strummit, (Contact Details).
Dobro and Acoustic - Scott-Cooper Marketing Ltd., (Contact Details).

Fortunately, all the above ranges will be available from major shops throughout the U.K. as trade distribution of all these lines joins the burgeoning range (already including Kramer, Jim Kelley amps, Groove Tubes, JayDee, Staccato, Kinkade, Floyd Rose, Ice Cubes and a million and one other lines - how does he manage it?) available from Scott Cooper Marketing Ltd. on (Contact Details).

Sabian Sensation

Drummers - fancy the chance of winning a set of Sabian cymbals for free? Fancy a free prize just for entering a simple competition? If you do, then make a beeline for your nearest Sabian retailer, who currently has free competition entry forms for this excellent promotion.

Sabian are giving away three complete sets of their superb cymbals, comprising 14" regular hi hats, 16" thin crash and 20" medium ride types in the competition. All entrants have to do is fill in a short form giving your name and address and the type of drums and cymbals you currently use, and they'll make a a prize draw from among the entrants, with top prizes being one complete set, as detailed above. In addition, entrants to the Sabian competition also qualify for free entry to a draw for Sabian T-shirts, caps and sweatbands - can't be bad, can it?

Incidentally, anyone purchasing a Sabian cymbal during September and October will also receive a free gift.

If you want to find the name and address of your local Sabian stockist, contact Sabian via Sonor (U.K.) Ltd., (Contact Details).

GUITAR SHOW GO-AHEAD

Following months of doubt surrounding the future of this year's British Guitar Show, a new promoter and a new venue have stepped in to organise what looks like being this year's number one event for guitar and bass players - and entry is free, too!

Running on October 25th, 26th and 27th at London's giant Barbican Centre, the British Guitar Show is angled mainly towards the growing ranks of British craftsman-made guitars, although some top overseas producers will have their products on display as well. In addition, a major programme of clinics, shows, teach-ins, demonstrations etc. is being planned. At the time this issue of IN TUNE went to press, organiser Peter Cropley confirmed that the entire exhibition space was already booked - and the list of makers exhibiting certainly looks impressive, including Angel, Ashley Pangborn, Ashworth Transducers, Brynn Hiscox, C.F. Martin, Chris Eccleshall, Chris Larking, Dobro, Egypt, Fernandes, Fingerbone, Greenwood, Guild, Hamer, James How (Superwound, Rotosound), JayDee, Jerry Bix, Kent Armstrong (Rainbow Pickups), Kevin Aram, Kif Wood, Kinkade, Kramer, Manson, Nigel Thornbory, Overwater, Staccato, Steinberger, Tokai, Vigier, WAL and Wilkes. According to Peter, although his original space booking at the Barbican is now filled, he's trying to arrange for more, so there could be some additions - if there are, we'll let you know in next month's IN TUNE 'Guitar Show Special'.

In addition to the opportunity to try (and buy!) guitars from craftsmen makers, a 'retail shop' will also be there, selling guitars, accessories, sheet music, tutors, cassette teaching tapes and so on. The good and great Mr. Robbie Gladwell (of Angel Guitars fame) will, in addition, be running a unique 'guitar repair workshop' to which you can bring your sick guitar for a touch of his magical attention. Moreover, Peter Cropley will also be bringing along his own pickup winding machinery, so that visitors will be able to see for themselves how he winds his UKG pickups.

Now, here's the bit where we get involved! In addition to having our very own IN TUNE stand (where you'll be able to buy back issues, T-Shirts, Binders and the famous IT pens, all at special prices, not to mention meet the IT CAT in person - no kidding!) we'll be organising several special free entry clinics, open to allcomers. Already booked to appear is the outstanding PAUL SAMSON - who'll be demonstrating Rock and H.M. guitar techniques (followed by a question and answer session), and we're also hopefully arranging other top players to give more free IN TUNE playing clinics - about which more next month! Other clinics and demos are also being planned, covering all playing styles from Folk, through Jazz, Classical and Rock; again, we'll have more details next month.

The British Guitar Show is open from 7pm.-10.30pm. on Friday October 25th, 10.30am-10.30pm on Saturday 26th, and 12 noon-10.30pm on Sunday 27th. Admission is free! You can get to the Barbican Centre, London EC2, from both Moorgate and Barbican underground stations (just follow the yellow lines from either station) and there's plenty of car parking in the Barbican's car park. Miss this one and we'll set the IT CAT on yer - and that's a promise!

NEW SAMPLER BREAKS PRICE BARRIER

Logitech's new CSDD1 rack mountable 'Controlled Sampler/Digital Delay Line' looks like proving a winner, with a retail price pitched at £228.85 inc. VAT. plus post and packing.

Offering a 64K memory, the Logitech gives sample/delay times of up to 4 secs, with a bandwidth of up to 16kHz. External and Internal triggers with a manual override are provided, along with direct and delay outputs, enabling stereo panning. Likewise there is a control voltage facility for controlling pitch of sample, operating on the usual 1 volt/octave principle. A full computer interface provides for use with home micros and the Logitech has all the usual controls (feedback, gain, mix etc) on the front panel, with its input/output sockets on the back.

The unit is available direct from Logitech, who are at (Contact Details).

Digidrum & User Group from Syndromic

Newcomers Syndromic Music are taking a fresh approach to the computer music scene with the launch of a brand new product - the Syntron Digidrum - plus an informative, free quarterly newsletter which will be sent to all customers who buy from them.

But first, the Digidrum. Designed to work with Commodore 64/SX-64/C128 computers, the Syntron Digidrum is claimed to provide users with a fully programmable digital drum machine with many useful facilities. Supplied with software on disc and cassette, the Digidrum's initial software package provides a complete drum kit, all sounds being digitally sampled. Armed with this you can write in both step and partial real-time styles. 51 patterns are immediately available, but new ones can be loaded at any stage. Complete, instant editing facilities are also on hand.

New 'own designed' percussive samples can be loaded (either individually or in banks of eight) and new sound software with 40 new samples is imminent. The Digidrum is available by post only, for just £65 plus post and packing.

In addition to the Digidrum, Syndromic are offering a large range of MIDI synths, keyboards, interfaces and software.

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KARAOKE CROCUS KRACKERS

Love 'em or hate 'em, those Japanese-developed Karaoke 'singalong/playalong' machines look like they're beginning to make their mark over here in the U.K. among would-be singers and players. One of the problems with the Karaoke system to date, however, is that so far all of the backing tapes produced for them have come from overseas and are relatively expensive. Enter, then, newcomers Crocus Music, who are producing tapes arranged to sound like 'original hits', minus the vocal tracks.

Crocus claim that the price of their tapes is 'very much lower than that of the competitors' and that the quality is high. First launch in their distinctively packaged series (look for the frog logo) comprises various selections under the following titles: [Content missing due to page damage.] Soft & Gentle, Oddballs and the strangely titled 'That's Life'. Other selections are on the way, including Xmas songs and more Rock-orientated material.

Crocus tapes will soon be available from retailers and direct through the post. More details from Crocus Music at (Contact Details).

Light Fantastic

Great West Lighting (formerly part of Roland U.K.) have recently changed hands and can now be contacted via their new parent company, Scintilla Technology Ltd. The range of lighting equipment produced under the Great West Lighting banner continues and the company plans, we gather, to introduce many new products in the near future. Details from Scintilla Technology Ltd., (Contact Details).

CUB WINNERS GALORE

Yet more IN TUNE readers are rubbing their hands with glee, following the results of Issue 4's £400+ WIN A CUSTOM SOUND CUB Competition! We had a a whole pack of Cubs on offer this time, including the excellent Custom

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Third prize fram our Custom Sound selection (the 15 watt practice Cub) was won by a brand new IT reader, Ben Winfrey of Peterborough, Cambs. Ben's entry arrived along with his registration form - which shows that new readers stand just the same chance as old hands!

Yet another new reader, Nick Watts of Rock in Cornwall, won fourth prize - the versatile 7 watt battery/mains Cub. Just right for those beach parties, Nick!

Answers to IT's Issue 4 Competition were as follows.
1 - The Custom Sound Cub 30 Bass uses a Fane speaker (Answer True).
2 - IT's reviewers described the performance of the Cub 30 guitar combo as being like a Siberian Tiger (Answer B).
3 - Custom Sound are based in Yorkshire (Answer A).
4 - The Cub Bass 30 has a mid frequency control (Answer True).
5 - The 7 watt Cub uses battery and Mains power (Answer True).

Congratulations to our four lucky winners, and thanks to Custom Sound for their help. Keep on trying, IT readers, won't you - it could be your turn next!