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Article from In Tune, January 1985


Keyboard Power from Peavey



Latest newcomer from Peavey is a keyboard mixer/power amp, the KB400. Delivering 220 watts RMS into 4 Ohms, the KB400 offers four channels, each with pre-Eq send and return, level, four band Eq and twin effects/reverb sends. Obviously aimed to suit the multi-keyboard owner, the new Peavey has a master patch panel, with comprehensive effects routing and Eq patching, along with facilities for bi-amping, the latter using a built-in variable compressor. On a 'master' control panel a 9 band graphic is fitted, along with master FX return, level and reverb controls. A final selling point is likely to be Peavey's patented 'DDT' compression circuitry, which has been developed on this model to suit the percussive performance of electronic keyboards.

The price of the KB400 is a suggested £510.60 inc. VAT., which seems attractive for so many facilities.

Shipments of the KB400 have just arrived and should be with Peavey dealers very soon. More details can be had by contacting Peavey Electronics (U.K.) Ltd. direct, at (Contact Details).



EMG get Pickup by Rhino



No, it's not a zoo-time headline, but a concise way of saying that American low-impedance pickup specialists EMG have just appointed Rhino Music Spares Ltd. as their British distributors. So what? Well, it does mean that the EMG range should now be more widely available than before, which could well be good news.

EMGs have some handy users, including ZZ Top, the Stones, and Police (we gather) and can be fitted to most guitars, with the battery power needed coming from a cell which can be carried beneath a scratchplate, requiring no routing at all. Batteries should last a year.

Advantages claimed for low-impedance EMGs are low noise, string separation and 'natural' sustain.

Details from Rhino Music Spares, (Contact Details).



THORNLESS CACTUS CULTIVATED



No, the headline didn't slip into IT from 'Gardening World', because it refers to the recent takeover of Cactus - the electronic drum kit people - by transducer specialists C-Tape Developments.

Despite getting off to an exciting start, the Cactus electronic drum system had begun to show some teething problems, mostly with constructional strength when used hard and on a regular gigging basis: These flaws, C-tape tell us, have now been resolved, along with any electronic glitches and, even better, there are new Latin percussion modular 'voices' on the way very soon.

You can expect to see Cactus kits being widely distributed again over the next few weeks, and more info can be obtained from C-tape who have (by the way) just changed address. They're now at C-tape Developments Ltd., (Contact Details).




SOUNDTRACS' 'TOTAL SOLUTION'



Claimed to provide the 'total solution' for P.A. and 8-track recording users looking for a new mixer, U.K.-based Soundtracs have just announced the birth of their 'M' Series modular mixers.

Available in 16, 24 or 32 input formats, with 8 sub-groups plus masters, the M series features 4-band input channel Eq with individual sweep on two mid-ranges. Six aux. busses, 100 mm faders and master routing are standard on the new mixers, and basic 2-band Eq on group returns can be switched to operate on the group outputs. The stereo master return has mon/mix selectors enabling the 2T tape returns to be either monitored or utilised as an effects return onto the left and right masters. Additionally, there is a x4 matrix on the sub-groups.

Readers wanting more details on Soundtracs products can get them by contacting Don Larking Audio Sales, (Contact Details).



AC30 Gets 25-Year Update & New Big Brother



1985, and the legendary Vox AC30 still soldiers on, some 25 years since it first saw the light of day - but, according to Vox, it's time for an update, so 1985's AC30s are in for some changes. Previous revisions of this long-time favourite haven't always been successful so Vox have been quick to lay claim to having improved the old stager, 'without in any way affecting the sound and playing qualities...'. The changes lie, we gather, in the internal components, which have been improved from a reliability point of view. We hope to be able to test a sample in the not too distant future.

At the same time. Vox are on the verge of launching a new 50 watt all-valve, single 12" speakered combo, which they're calling the Vox Concert 501. With channel switching and LED indication, the Concert drops the time-honoured diamond grille-cloth and will sport black and gold livery. No price details have been released for either the re-vamped AC30 nor the new Concert 501, but IT will be reporting back on these as soon as possible.

More info, meanwhile, from Vox Ltd., (Contact Details).



STEINBERGER WHAM BAR PLAYS DA CAPO



The latest guitar maker to develop an advanced tremolo system is Steinberger, whose 'Transposing Tremolo', or 'Trans-Trem', is scheduled to be in Britain's music shops during February. Not just another 'locking trem' system, the Steinberger system also functions in a capo-like way, allowing the player to raise his or her instrument's pitch to two capo positions - F# or G. More importantly, though, the new system allows the guitarist to try playing around with C and D below normal E tuning! All this, apparently, is achievable by adjusting a straightforward transposing arm and pin arrangement, before, after or even during chording. What's more, the pitch relationship between strings can be controlled evenly during tremolo arm actions, Steinberger claim. The new Steinberger 'Transposing Tremolo' will be fitted to the Steinberger guitar as standard, IT gathers, although plans may well be afoot to offer the system as an add-on unit.

More details on all Steinberger products from Soundwave Ltd., (Contact Details).



NEW SCHOOL OFFERS AUDIO YEAR



Just what the (flying) doctor ordered! A fully-fledged school for would-be studio engineers is about to open two branches in Britain, following the hugely succesful pattern established by its parent organisation in Australia.

The Australian-based 'School of Audio Engineering' (which first started life back in 1977 and now runs studios and courses in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth) has been an internationally followed success story, which ITs staff has been watching (with some envy) for a while now - hoping that something similar would eventually be opened in the U.K., to give British musicians and would-be audio engineers the same chance their Aussie cousins have had to learn studio techniques at first hand from qualified staff on a full-time course in a permanent studio environment.

Now it's happened, and the two branches shortly to be opened (one in Manchester, the other in London) look full of promise, if the Australian pattern is repeated here.

Two courses are offered: a 'Certificate' course - lasting 40 weeks - and the 'Diploma' course, the latter running for 50 weeks. Maximum enrolment per class is around 20 students, with groups of no more than 2 or 3 students being in the studio at any one time. In addition to fulltime qualified staff lecturers, guest producers and engineers are destined to be part of all courses.

Tuition fees are reasonable, with Certificate level at £720 and Diploma level at £890, although the fees can be paid weekly at £17 per week if this is easier for students. The Certificate course entails lectures totalling 225 hours, the Diploma course lasting some 260 hours of lectures - but 'hands-on' studio experience (apparently on an 'unlimited basis') is also a vital part of both courses.

The range of subjects covered in a whole year are, as you can imagine, vast, but a comprehensive sample list is contained in a prospectus issued by the U.K. branches of the school. As a brief example, the fundamentals of the courses include Basic Audio Engineering (conducted in both classroom and studio), Sound Reinforcement, The Music Business, Acoustics, Psycho-Acoustics and Electronics - each subject being sub-divided into very many individual elements.

For prospective students who feel that their needs would be better suited by short courses on specific subjects, an extremely useful feature of the School is that students can enrol for individual sections of the whole course, by arrangement with the organisers. For small commercial studio owners and musicians who can't spare a whole year, this could be the perfect way of handling 'tuition while you work'; likewise for many manufacturers' sales staff, retailers, engineers etc.

Eventually, IN TUNE hopes to be able to send one of our team on a sample course at the school, so that we can report back on its activities from personal experience. Meanwhile IT readers can get more details on the courses from The School Of Audio Engineering at either (Contact Details) or (Contact Details). Alternatively, just tick the box on this month's free enquiry coupon and we'll do the rest!



QUART IN PINT POT FROM MB?



Still a relatively new name over here, West Germany's MB Electronics have just announced a new compact monitor speaker design, suited for small studio and broadcast uses, to add to their range of mikes and headphones.

Called the Quart, the new monitor comes in two versions - the 280 and 390, both models featuring a newly developed titanium metal compound 1" dome tweeter.

According to MB, the ultra light but rigid qualities of the dome tweeter endow the Quarts with a smooth, extended low distortion response. A diffuser is fitted in front of the dome to disperse frequencies evenly.

The Quart 280 is a 2-way unit in a 28 litre sealed enclosure wherein the tweeter is combined with an 8" long-throw bass unit - the two drivers being quoted as capable of handling 'programme' inputs in excess of 100 watts. Frequency range is quoted as 40Hz-32kHz (!) with sensitivity giving 96dB = 1 metre for 6.25 watts input - all this from an enclosure measuring 26.6 x 44 x 26.4 cm.

The larger Quart 390s (measuring 31 x 50.5 x 27.9 cm) - 39 litres gross - are 3-way types and house a 10" bass driver alongside a 4" mid-range unit. Power handling is raised, MB claim, to 150 watts 'programme', frequency response remains the same as on the 280, but the sensitivity is said to deliver 96dB = 1 metre for 5 watts input.

More info on all MB Electronics products (mikes, speakers and headphones) from Libra Electronics Ltd., (Contact Details).



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Premier Royale APK Kit

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Free Entry Competition


Publisher: In Tune - Moving Music Ltd.

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In Tune - Jan 1985

Donated by: Gordon Reid

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> Premier Royale APK Kit

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