Mixdown #259

M A D E B Y M U S I C I A N S F O R M U S I C I A N S

NOVEMB2ER59 2015 #

!

RECORD PRODUCER STEVE JAMES

THE DARKNESS

RYAN VAN POEDEROOYEN

PLUS: H A U S C H K A , M A R T I N C O U R T N E Y , P A L M S , S U M M E R F L A K E , Y E O , O P E N L I V E ROAD TESTS: LEWITT MICROPHONES, KAWAI ES8 DIGITAL PIANO, VISUAL SOUND ROUTE 66, SWITCHCRAFT GUITAR COMPONENTS, LANEY

M LEWITT TP 250DM

FREE

WAY IG VEA

LIONHEART L5T-112 GUITAR AMP, JHS PEDALS, HAMMOND SK1-88 DIGITAL ORGAN, CASIO PORTABLE PRIVIA PRO RANGE + MORE

MUSIC

SALE ON NOW See pages 2-3 for details. Full catalogue + dealers at livingmusicyamaha.com.au

Full catalogue + dealers at livingmusicyamaha.com.au

MUSIC

SALE YAMAHA GUITARS

KEYS

yamaha PSRE253

$219

GET STARTED

The ideal portable keyboard to get you started with 61 keys, 385 voices and 100 auto accompaniment styles.

GIGMAKER310 Pack $229

EVERYTHING TO GET YOU STARTED Amazingly affordable, the GIGMAKER310 pack includes an F310 guitar, Korg digital tuner, instructional DVD, gig bag, picks, strings, capo, string winder and strap.

BONUS

HPH50 VALUED AT $49.99*

yamaha PSRE353

$299

GET SERIOUS Serious step up — 573 voices, 158 accompaniment styles, 61 touch sensitive keys and a melody suppressor.

GIGMAKER10 Electric Guitar Pack

gigmakerc40 guitar pack $189 FULL SIZE PLUS ACCESSORIES

Recommended by teachers this Yamaha C40 classical guitar comes with a Korg digital tuner and instructional DVD.

$349

NEW

READY TO ROCK Includes a Yamaha PAC012 guitar with bridge humbucker and two single coil pickups, Vox PATHFINDER10 amplifier as well as a Vox cable, Korg tuner, strings, picks, strap, string winder and learn-to-play DVD. Available in Black, Dark Blue Metallic and Red Metallic.

livingmusicyamaha.com.au

YAMAHA P45B PORTABLE DIGITAL PIANO

$589

FOR ASPIRING PLAYERS With an 88 key weighted and graded action with authentic piano sound the P45 is the perfect balance of quality and affordability. Optional L85 wooden stand available, RRP $149.99.

P115 also available for $849.

YAMAHA FACEBOOK facebook.com/ yamahabackstagepass

VOX FACEBOOK facebook.com/ voxampsaustralia

YAMAHA TWITTER twitter.com/ yamahabackstage

YAMAHA INSTAGRAM instagram.com/ yamahabackstage

YAMAHA YOUTUBE youtube.com/ yamahaaustralia

VOX YOUTUBE youtube.com/ voxaustralia

BE REWARDED

Metal

YAMAHA DRUMS

LOUD OR SILENT,IT’S YOUR CHOICE!

DTX400K is an easy to use electronic drum kit. Includes built in training functions, 10 professional drum sounds and kick and hi-hat controller pedals making for an ideal practice partner.

THR10

Classic Rock

The first 250 people to buy a Living Music product through one of our authorised dealers and register it online will be rewarded with a $20 iTunes voucher*. Head to our website to redeem: livingmusicyamaha.com.au. Terms & conditions apply.

DTX400K electronic drum kit $649

AMPS AC30

REGISTER YOUR LIVING MUSIC PRODUCT FOR YOUR CHANCE TO BE REWARDED WITH AN ITUNES GIFT CARD!

Bass

vox amplug2 $59

yamaha THR Guitar Amps

TRUE TONE ANYWHERE

$299–$389

The easiest way to enjoy true analogue amplifier sound in your headphones. 4 models offering the most sought after sounds. Guitar models feature built-in effects, bass model features built-in rhythms.

Limited stock.

THE AWARD WINNING DESKTOP AMP Micro desktop amplifiers with 10 watts of power through two hi-fi stereo speakers. Featuring Virtual Circuitry Modelling (VCM) for authentic tones across the range in a metal chassis, plus USB connectivity and Cubase AI software. Works with free THR Session app, available on the App Store.

USE THE RANGE OF DTX APPS FOR MORE FUN AND FEATURES! Gigmaker Drum Kit

DTX Lessons Learn from the pros

Song Beats Play with your favourite songs

DTX502 Touch Customise your DTX502 series kit

DTX400 Touch Customise your DTX400 series kit

$899

DRUMMING BEGINS AND ENDS WITH YAMAHA The Yamaha Gigmaker is your perfect first acoustic drum kit.

Available in Rock or Fusion configurations it includes bass drum, 2 rack toms, floor tom, snare, quality double braced hardware, Paiste 14” hi-hats and 18” crash/ride. Limited stock.

SIZES Rock: 22”x16”B / 12”x19”T / 13”x9.5”T / 16”x16”F / 14”x5.5”S Fusion: 20”x16”B / 10”x8”T / 12”x9”T / 14”x14”F / 14”x5.5”S

THR5 $299, THR5A $299, THR10 $389, THR10C $389, and THR10X $389.

vox VXI Guitar Amp

paiste PST3 cymbal pack $279

$169

THE EVOLUTION OF PRACTICE With 15 watts of power and a full set of classic amps and effects, the VXI is the best practice amp for players who want flexibility and quality. VXII also available for $259.

PRO AUDIO

Incredibly affordable cymbal set including 14” hi-hats, 16” crash and 20” ride made from Brass.

yamaha MX49 Synthesizer

paiste PST5 cymbal pack

$699

COMPLETE PRODUCTION SOLUTION At the core of the MX are sounds taken from the world famous Motif series synthesizers. With extensive controller functions, the advantages of a hardware synth, MX bridges the gap between traditional and software based music production. Includes Cubase AI software. MX61 also available for $849.

steinberg UR12 audio Interface

$449 Highly musical cymbal set including 14” hi-hats, 16” crash and 20” ride made from Bronze.

$139

Compact 2 in 2 out USB audio interface with iPad connectivity, one instrument input and an outstanding D-PRE mic preamp. Includes Cubase AI software.

YAMAHA HS SERIES monitors

The HS-series offers a full range of accurate monitoring and listening solutions. HS5 $299, HS7 $369, HS8 $469 and HS8S subwoofer $549. HS5, HS7 and HS8 now available in White.

yamaha Stagepas400i

$1,099

PORTABLE PA POWERHOUSE

A complete all in one sound solution that is extremely portable and easy to set up. Comprised of two speakers and a detachable powered mixer featuring SPX digital reverb, on board feedback suppressor, versatile EQ and comprehensive connectivity. STAGEPAS600i also available, $1,599.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS. All offers and discounted prices in this advertisement are part of a national sales program conducted by Yamaha Music Australia Pty Ltd and are valid only between 1st November 2015 and 31st December 2015 at participating Yamaha dealers which can be found at livingmusicyamaha.com.au. Not all products listed in this advertisement are available at all Yamaha dealers. While stocks last. The discounted prices displayed in this advertisement are only intended as a guide. The prices as set out or referred to in this advertisement apply for the duration of the program and may be sold at this price or lower. The Yamaha dealer participating in this promotion may not have sold these products in the past and where it has sold these products it may have sold them at more or less than the advertised price. Errors and omissions excepted. Only stands, stools and accessories outlined in the product description are included. Participating dealers may charge freight. Lifestyle images are for illustration purposes only. iPhone, iPod, iTunes, are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. * Apple is not a participant in or sponsor of this promotion. The “value” specified for the bonus offer is Yamaha Music Australia’s recommended retail price of these products. The Yamaha dealer participating in this promotion may not have sold these products in the past and where it has sold these products it may have sold them at less than RRP.

CONTENTS CONTENTS

6

GIVEAWAY

8

NEWS AND TOURS

10

INDUSTRIALIST

12

PRODUCT NEWS

14

YOU AM I

24

PALMS, SUMMER FLAKE

26

MARTIN COURTNEY

27

FACE THE MUSIC FEATURE WITH

28

YEO HAUSCHKA

29

RYAN VAN POEDROOYEN,

30

FORE WORD SUMMER FLAKE PAGE 26 OPENLIVE PAGE 30

OPENLIVE RECORD PRODUCER STEVE JAMES,

32

THE DARKNESS UNLEASH, ON THE DOWNLOW

34

HOME STUDIO HINTS,

36

WHAT’S THAT SOUND DIGITAL JOCKEY, BANGIN

38

THE TUBS AMP DOCTOR

40

LEWITT MICROPHONES

41

SWITCHCRAFT

42

ROAD TESTS

44

FOR BREAKING NEWS, NEW CONTENT AND MORE GIVEAWAYS VISIT

SHOW AND TELL

68

DIRECTORY

70

WWW.MIXDOWNMAG.COM.AU

GET SOCIAL:

YEO PAGE 28

FACEBOOK.COM/MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

This is the biggest issue of Mixdown that I’ve ever been involved with, as either editor or assistant editor. It’s also one of the most diverse issues I’ve seen.

In this month’s Mixdown we had the good fortune of being able to speak with acclaimed record producer Steve James about his upcoming masterclass and about some of the issues facing budding producers. We also got to chat with Yeo ahead of his talk on digital production at Face The Music in Melbourne later this month. We sat down with Ryan Van Poedrooyen, drummer of the Devin Townsend Project, to talk about his drumming workshops around the country.

On top of that, we have features from some great local and international acts.

In terms of gear, this month we delve into the history of Lewitt Microphones and Switchcraft guitar components in two unique company profiles. We also take a look at some great gear, with a particular emphasis on keyboards, electric pianos and synths. We’re also delighted to return for a second consecutive month with our show and tell section, highlighting the importance of having the piece of gear that’s right for you.

Enjoy.

KEATS MULLIGAN EDITOR

@MIXDOWNMAGAZINE

MADE BY MUSICIANS, FOR MUSICIANS NOVEMBER ISSUE #260 DEADLINE AND STREET DATES: STREET AND ONLINE DATE: WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 2 AD BOOKING DEADLINE: MONDAY NOVEMBER 23 EDITORIAL DEADLINE: MONDAY NOVEMBER 24 ARTWORK DEADLINE: WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 25 For more information on Mixdown Magazine contact us at: (03) 9428 3600 or email mixdown@beat.com.au

PUBLISHER Furst Media

Scott, Lachy Forbes and Kate Eardley

EDITOR Keats Mulligan mixdown@beat.com.au

MANAGING DIRECTOR Patrick Carr

CONTRIBUTORS Augustus Welby, Rob Gee, Peter Hodgson, Christie Elizer, Nick Brown, Adam Norris, Michael Edney, David James Young, Daniel Prior and James Di Fabrizio.

ART DIRECTOR Michael Cusack

COVER ART Michael Cusack

GRAPHIC DESIGN Andrew Rozen, Michael Cusack

COVER PHOTO: Philip Martins

EDITORIAL COORDINATOR Michael Edney EDITORIAL ASSISTANTS Elijah Hawkins, Phoebe Robertson, Chris

PG.6 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

ADVERTISING Patrick Carr patrick@furstmedia.com.au Phone: (03) 9428 3600 MIXDOWN OFFICE Level 1, No. 3 Newton Street, Richmond VIC 3121.

Phone: (03) 9428 3600

www.mixdownmag.com.au

SAT 12 DEC – SYDNEY QANTAS CREDIT UNION ARENA MON 14 DEC – PERTH ARENA WED 16 DEC – ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE THU 17 DEC – MELBOURNE ROD LAVER ARENA D OUTDEC & SUN 20 DEC – BRISBANE RIVERSTAGE SATSOL19

LD OUT 30 & TUE DEC 1 MONSONOV

BRISBANE QPAC CONCERT HALL

THU DEC 3

CANBERRA LLEWELLYN HALL LD OUT 4 & SAT DEC 5 FRISODEC

MELBOURNE PALAIS THEATRE

MON DEC 7

ADELAIDE FESTIVAL THEATRE LD OUT 8 & WED DEC 9 TUESODEC

PERTH CONCERT HALL

LD OUT 12 & SUN DEC 13 FRI DEC 11, SATSODEC T SOLD OU

SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE

The Tour Majestic 2016

Wednesday Feb 10 Rosemount Hotel Perth Friday Feb 12 The Gov Adelaide Saturday Feb 13 The Triffid Brisbane Monday Feb 15 Max Watts Sydney Tuesday Feb 16 170 Russell Melbourne

ON SALE NOW

GO TO LIVENATION.COM.AU

Monday January 4 Sydney Opera House

Thursday January 7 Melbourne The Forum

GIVEAWAYS LEWITT MTP 250DM MICROPHONE

Last Month’s Comeptition

TAKAMINE PRO SERIES P1M ACOUSTIC GUITAR

GIVEAWAY

Another month, another giveaway. In this November we’ve discussed, at length, the emergence of Lewitt Microphones.

We’ve also reviewed a couple of their most popular models. So we’re absolutely thrilled to be able to be give away one of these awesome microphones for November. That’s right, one lucky reader will be fortunate enough to walk away with a Lewitt MTP 250DM dynamic microphone, courtesy of our friends over at Electric Factory. We got to take a closer look at this beauty in this month’s Road Test section, and it certainly stood up to the challenge. A great product from one of the most talked about companies to enter the microphone market in a hell of a long time.

So if you want to be the lucky son of a gun who takes this great prize home, all you have to do is visit our giveaways page at www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaways and follow the instructions. It’s stupidly easy, it couldn’t be any easier!

For full terms and conditions visit www.mixdownmag.com.au/terms-and-conditions.

*This giveaway is for Australian residents only and one entry per person.

For more awesome monthly Mixdown Giveaways, be sure to LIKE our Mixdown Magazine facebook page at www.facebook.com/mixdownmagazine and regularly check our Giveaways page on www.mixdownmag.com.au/giveaways for your chance to win.

Last issue we brought you the amazing Takamine Pro Series Acoustic Guitar Competition. If you’ve entered, good luck! If you haven’t, the good news is that you can still enter! The competition will be closing at 5pm of December 11, so you still have plenty of time to get down to your local Takamine dealer and take part in one of the best competitions we’ve ever had at Mixdown. For more info head to mixdownmag.com.au

DIXON’S NEW

JET SET PLUS THE ULTIMATE ALL-IN-ONE TRAVELLER DRUM KIT

FREE

STAND UP COCKTAIL KIT

HALF-BRICK

VERSATILE 4PC OR 5PC SET UPS

With every JET SET PLUS kit purchased in NOV 2015 (RRP $119.70)

PG.8 // MIXDOWN #254 // JUNE 2015 Proudly distributed by Dynamic Music • www.dynamicmusic.com.au • www.facebook.com/DixonAustralia

www.mixdownmag.com.au

CONVENTIONAL PLAY OR MESH PRACTICE KIT

"Designed to sound just the way I like it.

You can set it to turn on when you touch it with your foot and turn o when you remove your foot which makes it easy to control while singing."

1800 251 367

|

www.ambertech.com.au

OFFICIAL GLAB DISTRIBUTOR

NEWS & TOURS Darts To Support Dz Deathrays

Melbourne rockers Darts will support DZ Deathrays at the former Royal Women’s Hospital, the flagship venue for the 2015 Melbourne Music Week. It all goes down on November 15, and will be an evening of high octane entertainment. The other acts on the bill are New War, dubbed one of Australia’s most exciting acts, and DJs including Goldfields, DJ Tranter and I OH YOU DJs. Darts won Triple J Unearthed in 2008, bursting on to the scene with their brand of indie rock. Since then they have gone from strength to strength, and earlier this year released their album Below Empty & Westward Bound.

They will be supporting DZ Deathrays, arguably the best two-piece outfit around at the moment (sorry Peking Duk), who, with songs like ‘Gina Works At Hearts’ and ‘Black Rat’, are sending punters everywhere into a frenzy. From humble beginnings, forming to play at a house party, the band have now become ARIA award winners and have toured around Australia and internationally. This is one of the many events on the Melbourne Music Week program worth checking out.

TOUR DATES November 15 – Melbourne music week hub

Dan Sultan

Future Islands

Jesse Davidson

Three-time ARIA award winner Dan Sultan is back on the road, this time travelling solo around the country supporting the new music platform OpenLIVE and road-testing new material. The result of this collaboration is the upcoming OpenLIVE tour, which will hit select metropolitan and regional cities across the east coast in November and December.

The shows will be a rare opportunity for audiences to see Sultan up-close and personal, performing in an intimate environment.

To make use of this pioneering technology on the OpenLIVE tour, a limited edition physical CD of Dan Sultans’ sold-out National Theatre concert from earlier in the year will be available for sale exclusively at these up-coming shows. The album will also be available digitally from November 13.

Capturing the raw power and emotion of Dan Sultan live, the album is unlike anything else he has released before and features tracks from across his recording career along with his unique and entertaining commentary.

With a reputation for an epic live performance and an ability to command the attention of the crowd, Baltimore synth pop group Future Islands have just announced dates for a Brisbane and Adelaide show.

As if joining Mumford and Sons in Melbourne and Sydney wasn’t enough, Future Islands will be heading off on a string of shows later this year and will be hitting Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide.

Future Islands have been developing their on-stage presence, playing epic live shows across the globe. Renowned for their front man, Samuel T Herring’s unique vocals and hypnotic dance moves, Future Islands seems to be jazzing everyone up. After receiving critical acclaim worldwide for their fourth studio LP Singles, everyone is waiting to see what these guys will do next.

South Australian indie pop charmer Jesse Davidson is set to tour in support of his new EP. Lizard Boy will be released on October 19 and Davidson will play album launch shows in Sydney and Brisbane, as well as making appearances at Gorgeous Music Festival and NYE on the Hill.

The EP was recorded at Lightship 95 recording studios, inside a 550 tonne ship permanently docked in East London. It was produced by Jake Miller and mastered

by Brian Lucey, who has worked with the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Chet Faker and The Black Keys in the past.

The tour closes out a big year for Davidson, having played Laneway Festival, Grooving the Moo, The Great Escape and BIGSOUND, as well as supporting Dustin Tebbutt on his national album tour. He was also invited to perform on Like A Version on Triple J, where his cover of Childish Gambino’s ‘Sober’ impressed enough to be included on their compilation CD for this year.

TOUR DATES NOV 13 - Theatre Royal, Castlemaine VIC NOV 18 - Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC NOV 20 - Montrose Town Centre, Montrose VIC NOV 21 - Montrose Town Centre, Montrose VIC NOV 22 - Boyd Education Centre, South Coast NSW NOV 23 - Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW NOV 24 - Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW NOV 26 - Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba NSW NOV 27 - Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba NSW DEC 1 - Newtown Social Club, Sydney NSW DEC 11 - Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan VIC

TOUR DATES Nov 12 – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, MelbOURNE VIC Nov 13 – The Gov, Adelaide SA Nov 14 – The Domain, Sydney NSW Nov 16 – The Triffid, Brisbane QLD

TOUR DATES Nov 28 – Gorgeous Music Festival, SA Dec 10 – The Brightside, Brisbane QLD Dec 11 – The World Bar, Sydney NSW Dec 31 – NYE on the Hill, Kernot VIC

Slum Sociable

The D.O.C

The Preatures

Frank Yamma

Following the release of tracks ‘Anyway’ and ‘All Night’, Slum Sociable has released TQ, their debut EP in the studio. Slum Sociable is the pairing of long-time friends Edward Quinn and Miller Upchurch, but they expand to a four-piece outfit for live performances, which will hit venues in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Sydney and Fremantle, as well as Disconnect Festival in WA. The new EP was co-produced by Tom Iansek of Big Scary and #1 Dads, and most of the instrumentation on the record was done by Quinn and Upchurch. Slum Sociable just played at CMJ in New York, a festival with a distinctly Australian flavour, with many Aussie acts making the trip over including Fraser A. Gorman and Methyl Ethel.

After the success of Straight Out Of Compton, rap and hip-hop artist, The D.O.C, has announced his first ever speaking tour that will be coming to Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney’s JMC campuses.

Hosted by the former CEO of Death Row Records, John Payne, the show featuring The D.O.C will unveil stories about his life, N.W.A and the rise of hip hop and rap in the 1980’s as well as tips about song writing, performing and producing. The D.O.C was both a performer and songwriter for the group, however, in the late 1980’s following a near fatal car crash, The D.O.C was forced to leave N.W.A as damage to his vocal cords left him unable to continue working. With rumours stirring about him returning to the stage, anxious fans are waiting to hear what The D.O.C has in store for them. For an exclusive look into the world of N.W.A and the music scene that took over the world, get to one of these limited shows held at JMC Academy campuses in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.

Still running high from the recent success of their ‘Cruel’ national tour, The Preatures are hitting the road again for a 20-date run of free acoustic shows across the country.

The Sydney five-piece entered the national conversation with their 2013 single ‘Is This How You Feel?’ which climbed to #9 on triple j’s Hottest 100, and after releasing two EP’s in 2014, their debut full-length Blue Planet Eyes ensured The Preatures became a household name.

With past shows including sets at Splendour In The Grass, Glastonbury, Coachella and Bonnaroo, this acoustic tour promises to feature the band dishing out their high-octane festival energy, with the added intimacy of a local show.

The one-month-long tour is supported

by Corona Extra and will see them play in some of Corona’s favourite bars across Australia to kick off the summer ahead.

Indigenous soulster Yamma recieved a warm welcome home with a full house performance at the Darwin Festival, followed by a performance at the 2015 National Indigenous Music Awards, where he was nominated for best album with his new Uncle release. Frank Yamma has now announced a long awaited East Coast tour with shows booked in Brisbane, Coulandra, Katoomba, Sydney and Melbourne.

Accompanying Yamma in the Sydney and Melbourne shows will be fellow Australian pianist David Bridie. These two friends have been recording and performing together for twenty years, and their chemistry resonates on stage. Yamma’s unmistakable sense of rhythm and timing is complimented by his honest voice that profoundly connects to all in a stripped back raw manner.

TOUR DATES Nov 14 – Northcote Social Club,

Melbourne VIC Nov 28 – Black Bear Lodge, Brisbane QLD Dec 4 – Rocket Bar, Adelaide SA Dec 5 – Newtown Social Club, Sydney NSW Dec 11 – Disconnect Festival, WA Dec 12 – The Odd Fellow, Fremantle WA

TOUR DATES Nov16 – Game Sports Bar, Perth WA Nov 17 – JMC Academy, Brisbane QLD Nov 18 – JMC Academy, Melbourne VIC Nov 19 – JMC Academy, Sydney NSW

PG.10 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

TOUR DATES For a full list of tour dates, visit www.mixdown.com.au

TOUR DATES SepT 30 - Black Bear Lodge, Fortitude Valley QLD Oct 2 - Caloundra Music Festival, QLD Nov 13 - CAFS Survival International Film Festival, VIC Nov 20 - Paragon Cafe, Katoomba NSW Nov 22 - The Vanguard, Sydney NSW Dec 11 - The Melbourne Recital Centre, Melbourne VIC

www.mixdownmag.com.au

INDUSTRIALIST APRA AMCOS COLLECTS RECORD $300 MILLION

APRA AMCOS collected a record $300 million for members in the 2014/5 year. This was due predominantly to a 26% rise (representing $26million) in foreign revenue, most of it from US radio and British TV playing music from APRA licensees. There was an increase in domestic performing revenue to the tune of 5.6% to $195 million, while reproduction revenue grew 2% to $68 million. Monies from downloads dropped by one third as Aussie and NZ consumers switched to streaming, expected to rise in the next year. APRA has 85,987 members and AMCOS 15,148.

MORE STATIONS FOR IHEARTRADIO

Australian Radio Network (ARN) has launched six new genre stations on iHeartRadio Australia.

These include iHeartRadio Dance (features Pete Tong’s Evolution Beatport and shows by EDM acts Stafford Brothers, Feenixpawl, Nervo, Steve Aoki and Tenzin), Old Skool (hip hop from the golden era), Asia Pop 40 and Melbourne’s Favourite 1000 (golden oldies). Fans of hip hop, country and RNB will get their own stations soon.

ROCK NAMES FOR SCREEN MUSIC AWARDS

The South Australian Music Awards are held on November 11 at Adelaide’s Mercury Cinema, followed by a ticketed afterparty event open to the public at Fowler’s Live. Expect rapper Tkay Maizda to make numerous trips to the winner’s podium throughout the night. She’s up for seven of the 14 categories, including Best Release, Best Female, Best Song and Best Live Act.

The Screen Music Awards are held at the Melbourne Recital Centre on Thursday November 12 covering achievements in film, TV and jingles. A number of rock names were nominated. See the APRA AMCOS website for full list, but among them are Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, The Mess Hall’s Jed Kurzel, Archie Roach & Shane Howard, Josh Abrahams, Georgi Kay, guitarist Nathan Cavaleri and former rock keyboard players Roger Mason (The Models), David Hirschfelder (John Farnham) and Chris Harriott (Scandal).

MOSHTIX LAUNCHES STREETIX

DAVID GUETTA FOR MELBOURNE CUP

SA MUSIC AWARDS THIS MONTH

Australian ticketing company Moshitix has launched a new ticketing portal Streetix. It was designed with input from festival, venue and events promoters.

Essentially it tries to solve the problem of manually administering “hard tickets” (the paper kind) and chasing cash. It’s also a social ticketing portal, whereby super-fans sell tickets to mates and contacts are paid commission in cash, points or prizes

MORE CATEGORIES FOR QLD MUSIC AWARDS

Next March’s Queensland Music Awards expands with new categories. A set of new People’s Choice Awards for early career songwriters include Most Promising Male Songwriter ($1000), Female Songwriter ($1000) and Songwriting Team ($2000). Also new, to be judged by a panel of music industry execs, are Highest-selling album, Highestselling single and the Export Achievement award which recognises international success across touring and publishing. For more info visit www.queenslandmusicawards.com.au.

Also open for nominations is the Billy Thorpe Scholarship, which provides $10,000 for an emerging artist to record with an established producer, and receive career-planning advice from a Chugg Entertainment rep.

Applicants apply online through QMusic’s website.

HMV RETURNING TO AUSTRALIA

British music retailer HMV is in talks to re-enter the Australian market, according to its Londonbased CEO Paul McGowan. It went into administration two years ago, but its new owners Hilco Capital have re-opened stores in the UK, opened up in the Middle East and are also looking to enter India and China.

David Guetta will attend the Melbourne Cup Carnival as guest of his sponsor, French champagne house Maison Mumm.

Guetta is at the Maison Mumm marquee at Flemington Racecourse on Emirates Melbourne Cup Day, Tues Nov 3. The DJ superstar also co-designed the new limited edition Mumm Cordon Rouge bottle to symbolise “celebration”, which is adorned in platinum and creates a mirror effect in nightclubs. The DJ superstar plays his only Australian show for 2015, One Night Only in Melbourne, at Hisense Arena on Cup Eve (Nov 2).

AGE MUSIC VICTORIA ANNOUNCES GENRE AWARDS FINALISTS

The Age Music Victoria Genre Awards has announced the finalists for each category.

Specially selected expert panels voted on the best music spanning across 11 different genre categories, nominating the top five releases and acts of 2015 in each one. Joining Total Giovanni are electronic nominees Andras & Oscar, I’lls, Roland Tings, and Wabz, while the heavily contested country section also features acts Ben Mastwyk, Jemma & The Clifton Hillbillies, Mustered Courage and Raised

By Eagles. The award ceremony acknowledges and celebrates the exceptional quality of Australian musicians across a wide range of genres, with all nominees receiving a generous rehearsal package at Bakehouse Studios. It wouldn’t be a music event, however, without live performances, with small sets from Marlon Williams, Courtney Barnett and Harts also taking place. For a full list of nominees visit www. musicvictoria.com.au.

PG.12 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

F or c on t en t su bmi ssi ons t o this c olu mn p leas e email to c elizer@net sp ace .net.au

ALBERTS STUDIO TO BE DEMOLISHED

The globally famous Alberts Studios in Sydney’s Rangers Road – where The Easybeats, Billy Thorpe, AC/DC etc shaped out the “Aussie rock sound” – is to be knocked down in early 2016 by developer Helm to make way for a $80 million luxury apartment and retail block.

GURRUMUL DOCO

A documentary on the life and music of Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu is in development for a 2016 cinematic release through Madman Entertainment.

It is co-produced by his Darwinbased Skinnyfish Music label owner Mark Grose and Michael Hohnen, and film maker Shannon Swan, and directed by Paul Williams. It looks at his career through the Yolngu belief system that has shaped Gurrumul as a man and a musician.

OPEN DAY FOR GROVE STUDIOS

Following the success of the inaugural Diploma of Sound Production, The Grove Studios will hold another Open Day on Saturday November 7 from 10am2pm. It is for prospective 2016 students wanting a career in sound, who may consider undertaking the course or the brand new Advanced Diploma of Sound Production. Register at http:// rmi.edu.au/.

HAS NETFLIX REDUCED AUSSIE MOVIE PIRACY?

This year’s arrival of Netflix (1 million Australian subscribers) and Australian legal streaming services Stan (153,000) and Presto (80,000) has dipped the use of movie piracy in Australia from 29% to 25%, said the Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation. But 40% of seasoned illegal downloaders continue at a greater rate.

Consumers using streaming services grew to 32% from 26% last year. Of these, 33% took advantage of a free trial while 66% intended to keep subscribing. Piracy rate in the18 to 24 age group is down to 46% from 54%, and 40% from 48% for 25 to 34 years olds. The 35 to 49 rate stayed steady. One third cited availability of legal services, 16% were too scared of getting caught or getting hit by a computer virus.

WARNINGS ABOUT “MYSTERY PARTIES”

As the party season approaches, the NSW Fair Trading Commissioner has issued a warning about “mystery parties” which could sound excitingly exclusive but are just scams. He said, “while a mystery party may sound spontaneous and exclusive, consumers should be very wary of buying tickets to mystery events where the promoter’s details and event locations cannot be readily identified.”

On NYE’s, one advertised party in a mansion overlooking Sydney Harbour costing $99 to $199 entry gained a lot of interest.

Punters arrived to find the event was over-sold to 700 people, it was not held in the venue adver-

tised, pre-sold drinks vouchers were not honoured, security was insufficient and the dance floor was not safe. The promoter later closed his business and went overseas.

FTC recommends that you don’t buy on social media. Only purchase from reputable ticketing outlets. Also, use credit cards so you can take advantage of bank security measures.

FIRST FOUR AUSSIE ACTS NAMED FOR SXSW

Showcasing at SXSW in Austin, Texas, next month can lead to global record, booking, publishing and management deals.

The competition is tough with thousands of applications from around the world, and SXSW says the 2016 event has had more applications than ever before.

The first four Australian-based acts to be invited to play are Melbourne’s Marlon Williams & The Yarra Benders, Gold Class and Demi Louise, and Perth’s Methyl Ethel.

NEW NATIONAL SONG CONTEST FOR YOUNG WRITERS

Queensland’s Fretfest, which claims kudos for unearthing Pete Murray, Kate Miller-Heidke and Tom Busby, has launched an Australia-wide song contest aimed at 12 to 25 year olds.

They need to upload an original song on YouTube and send a link to www.fretfest.com/regionalsong-contest.

“Recognising young talent is the first step towards helping them succeed, and from little things, big things grow,” points out Fretfest director Al Buchan.

Winners announced at the inaugural Best of Fretfest Concert on December 12.

SA GOVERNMENT GETS FEEDBACK ON MUSIC VENUES

Buoyed by the success of its recent legislation to make it easier and cheaper for smaller venues to start up, the SA Government is living up to its promise to have its first review of the live music sector in almost 20 years.

It’s launched a liquor licensing discussion paper for public feedback to find out “whether other reforms may be overdue and may have similarly positive outcomes,” said acting Premier John Rau. The focus is on whether these changes will lead to a safer drinking culture, less red tape and night-time vibrancy.

Among topics for consultation on the Attorney General’s website are reducing red tape to start music venues and encouraging entrepreneurs to try new business models. Should closing times, lock-out times or last drinks be set for particular areas?

Should Adelaide’s small bar licence be extended throughout the state? At what point of a venue’s application can a member of the public complain? To ensure responsible people work in the live music sector, should they be given drink and drugs tests when on duty? Submissions close at 5pm on Friday January 29.

THINGS WE HEAR • Is a well known Australian resort looking at running a music festival?

• Just before the first of two Parkway Drive shows in Byron Bay, drummer Ben Gordon went out on a kayak with a mate. Two whales leaped from the water metres away to say hello initially scaring the hell out of them.

• Jack White produced a Courtney Barnett track ‘Boxing Day Blues Revisited’ as part of his Third Man Record’ Blue Series of singles. White said she was at his Nashville studios “over a long weekend this summer to record a couple tracks and damn did she ever deliver.”

• Lanie Lane, who announced her retirement in February, is back on the road. She got her mojo back after an outback trip with her dog Dingo. It led to her “reassessing my approach to life and music.

I’ve filled myself up again and have lots of love, stories and even some new songs to share.”

• Michael Crafter, a noted figure in Australian metalcore (I Killed The Prom Queen, now Confession) has decided on a sea change. He’s breaking up Confession after seven years and leaving the music industry.

• Tyler The Creator calls Australia’s visa laws “racist” in new song ‘Fuck It’ asking why he was banned for violent and homophobic lyrics but not Eminem.

• The Perth dude accused of masterminding a fake Mark Ronson DJ set at Matisse Beach Club in Scarborough faces court on November 16.

Peter Jing Zu Lessnau, 34, currently on bail, faces three counts of fraud totalling $4250.

• In other court news, Gold Coast nightclub operator Ivan Tesic is to face committal in mid-December over his alleged involvement in a nightclub drug syndicate … Darwin rapper Ezra Austral faces court on November 3 on a number of charges including car theft.

• Aussie punk band Cuntz had their Seattle show cancelled over their name after protests from college students.

• Club DJ Nina Las Vegas left triple j last month after ten years to concentrate on her international career and to launch her label NLV Records. First signings are house proponent Lewis Cancut, genre-bending DJ/ producer Swick, “oblique club” pioneer Air Max ’97, and industrial grime purveyor Strict Face.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

)NCLUDES POWER ADAPTOR

LANEY LA10

LA Series acoustic amp r 10w 1 x 5� spk

0 HEMINGWAY HK10 board

JIM DUNLOP

61 Note Key

CBM95

Cry Baby Mini Wah

EACH

LANEY LX10B

s amp LX Series Bas r 10W 1 x 5� spk

LANEY LX10

ar amp LX series Guitr 10W 1 x 5� spk

australia’s r le largest dea network100

Vint ar Electric Guit

$

ColourS Also Available:

huge

VALENCIA TC4Kssical

4/4 Size Cla Guitar PACK

More thanonwide stores nati

SX VES62LPB le age Sty

e also availabl k LEFT HAND blac

dal tiny pseound

: ALSO AVAILABLE 3/4 size 1/2 size 1/4 size

INCLUDES

BAG

INCLUDES

BAG

1 REDDING RGC5 ar ustic guit

Aco

30 CARLSBRO CSD1 nic

tro 5 Piece elec Dru mk it es

• 250 Voic I/O • USB & Midi Snare • Tri-Zone

Natural e also availabl cco LEFT HAND toba sunburst

$

Colours Also

Available:

VIC FIRTH VFN5A

Nova 5A Drumsticks

SNARK WSN2

chromatic er Clip -On tun

M MAHALO U60S

Art Series Soprano Ukulele

G ZILDJIAN ZASD ks ature Stic

Sign Dave Grohl

0 REMO ET-0212-1

Ocean Drum

PK ZILDJIAN PLZ4

Planet Z k Cymbal Pac

00 REMO BA-0114-

14� Coated r Ambassado Drum Head

ler at a e d t s e r a e Find your n ic.com.au

us m e d i s n i . w ww

14� Hi-Hats 16� Crash 20� Ride

PRODUCT NEWS

Audiofly teams up with X-Factor Australia Audiofly | www.audiofly.com

Laney Audiohub Multi Instrument Amplifiers Australasian Music Supplies | (03) 9549 1500 | www.austmusic.com.au

With a history spanning nearly fifty years of instrument amplifier design and manufacture, Laney’s Audiohub multi-instrument amplifiers have limitless applications. They have distilled this heritage and their philosophy into an intelligent range of solutions to accommodate a vast range of musical instruments and amplification settings.

From battery-powered busking amps through to beefy 300W, 15” two-way systems, Audiohub can take you all the way from the street to the club. Each model has a variety of input options via their integrated, on-board mixers. As they increase in size, so too does the mixer, with every model including microphone, line and auxiliary inputs along with a built in effects engine.

The range starts with the Freestyle – a versatile, battery-powered amplifier perfect for taking your music to the streets. From there, power handling, mixer functionality and driver size increase through to the AH40 (40W), AH80 (80W), AH150 (150W) and AH300 (300W). Each model is designed with the musician in mind, giving you exactly what you need and nothing you don’t. Perfect for musicians at all levels and in all environments, the application of Audiohub amplifiers is limited only by your imagination.

Perth headphone company Audiofly has been selected to supply in-ear monitors to this year’s contestants on Channel Seven’s music reality television show The X Factor Australia. The contestants will be using Audiofly’s AF180 flagship quad driver in-ear monitor for their live performances. This technology delivers the most accurate sound reproduction for the artists during their live performances. Boasting a team of musicians, technicians and designers, Audiofly has been operating since 2011, designing and building headphones with high quality materials for durability and unique speaker drivers for authentic sound reproduction. Built from the best technology available, the AF180 in-ear monitor produces authentic sound and is built to withstand a heavy touring schedule. The AF180 in-ear monitor is an essential for any artist who wants to deliver their best performance.

Ernie Ball Pick Buddy CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au

When is the last time you picked up your guitar to play, only to find your pick was missing – again. Thanks to the folks at Ernie Ball, those days are a thing of the past.

Introducing Ernie Ball’s Pick Buddy.

Pick Buddy’s patented adhesive-free compact thermoplastic holder keeps your pick close at hand at all times. It’s also great for musicians who combine various finger-style / plectrum techniques on bass or guitar. Using Ernie Ball’s innovative self-adhesive suction technology simply press Pick Buddy onto your pickguard or nearly any surface of your guitar (or smooth surface for that matter) for instant access to your pick. Never lose your pick again.

dbx goRack Jands | (02) 9582 0909 | www.jands.com.au

Yamaha TRBX204 Bass Guitar Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com

The new TRBX204 completes the TRBX bass guitar range and is positioned between the first entry-level model TRBX174 (passive), and step-up TRBX304 model (active). An affordable bass featuring a powerful pickup configuration and narrow neck (40mm nut), this new Yamaha TRBX204 provides both great playability and fabulous dynamics thanks to its formidable active electronics. The 4-control circuit includes controls for master volume, balance, and a 2-band equalizer for creating a more aggressive tone. This bass has much to offer aesthetically and sonically.

PG.14 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

The goRack is an easy to use loudspeaker management processor that enables a portable PA system to be optimized for the best-possible sound quality. The goRack incorporates the best of dbx’s acclaimed DriveRack series processing simplified down to its purest form, in a sleek and compact unit that fits into the palm of the hand.

The goRack offers processing including EQ, compression, AFS Automatic Feedback Suppression, Subharmonic Synthesis for enhanced low-frequency response and more.

Five buttons offer access to the most commonly used processing effects, and a large data wheel lets users quickly dial in any of the goRack’s processing sound-enhancement effects including 16 musical genre-based 31-band graphic EQ settings. The goRack’s compressor is based on the design of the original and highly acclaimed dbx 163X. The goRack also includes dual dbx mic preamps, selectable mic/line input settings, and AUX input and left and right channel volume controls.

The dbx goRack connects between a mixer and an amplifier via its stereo inputs and outputs. It offers combination XLR and 1/4-inch (Mic/Line) inputs and XLR outputs. It can also be used as a stand-alone performance processor/mixer for a solo artist.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

The Lewitt LCT 550 is the perfect studio mic. It is incredibly quiet, transparent and sounds great on everything. To be blunt it’s a killer mic and my #1 choice for a FET condenser. // Warren Huart Multiplatinum producer/mixer for artists like Aerosmith, The Fray, Daniel Powter, James Blunt, Augustana, Josh Radin, Marc Broussard, Korn, Emerson Drive, Matisyahu, Secondhand Serenade, Pitbull ...

SHHH ...

0 dB (A) SELF-NOISE // LCT 550

SUPER-LOW SELF-NOISE LARGE-DIAPHRAGM STUDIO CONDENSER MICROPHONE

MORE INFO

Lewitt Audio is distributed in Australia by Electric Factory Pty Ltd visit us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube

// 0 dB (A) self-noise from electronics and circuitry // Highly precise calibration of capsule and electronics any two LCT 550s will always form a matched pair // 1-inch true condenser cardioid recording mic // 3-micron-thin, gold-layered, low-mass Mylar diaphragm for precise transient response // Extraordinary sensitive: 36 mV / Pa (-29 dBV) // 140 dB dynamic range // 3-step attenuation, 3-position low-cut

elfa.com.au lewitt-audio.com

PRODUCT NEWS Laney Audiohub Venue range now available in Australia Australasian Music Supplies | (03) 9549 1500 www.austmusic.com.au

Offering great performance and a feature set that belies their price, the Laney Audiohub Venue range is now available for the first time in Australia. The line-up comprises of three self-powered, 2-way speaker models and the AH210 complete PA system, providing a solution for almost any sound reinforcement application.

The three active models feature an integrated mini mixer built into the back of the speaker complete with microphone inputs and Media Player capable of connecting to any Bluetooth-equipped device. They are available in 200 watts with 10” low frequency driver (AH110), and 400 watts with 12” (AH112) or 15” (AH115) low frequency driver. The AH210 presents a complete PA system in one compact and affordable package. The 400W powered mixer features four mic/line channels, built-in echo and the same Bluetooth-equipped Media Player found in the self-powered models and clips conveniently into place on the rear of the speaker for convenient transport. With lightweight, rugged moulded enclosures and plenty of bang for the buck, Laney Audiohub Venue PA speakers are an excellent solution wherever a great-sounding, portable PA solution is required.

Kawai MP Series Professional Stage Pianos Kawai Australia | (02) 9882 2000 | www.kawai.net.au

Kawai’s MP Series pro stage pianos have a fearsome reputation as the boards of choice for some of the world’s most demanding artists. The new MP7 and MP11 models feature solid steel and timber chasses, best-in-class touch and tone, powerful audio, MIDI and pedal connectivity options, and a suite of digital features designed to make tweaking and perfecting your piano experience as intuitive as it is exhilarating.

Each model boasts a variety of superb concert, jazz, and pop grand pianos and full bodied traditional uprights, appropriately voiced and miked for a broad range of musical styles. A treasure trove of authentic tine, reed, and modern electric pianos, crunchy clavs, and a striking electric grand have been freshly sampled to preserve their unique tonal characteristics and imperfections. Play them clean, or plug into over 100 different effects, each with a variety of fully tweakable parameters. Inspiring subsidiary sounds include strings, basses and pads all adjustable with comprehensive ADSR envelopes and the global three-band parametric EQ.

Kawai ES8 Portable Piano Kawai Australia | (02) 9882 2000 | www.kawai.net.au

The new ES8 portable digital piano combines Kawai’s flagship sound technology, classleading keyboard action, and high fidelity speaker system to deliver a professional instrument suitable for the home, classroom, studio, or stage.

The rich, expressive sound of Kawai’s celebrated grand pianos are at the heart of the new ES8, with no fewer than three world-class grand pianos lovingly recorded and faithfully produced using full 88-key stereo sampling: the flagship hand-built, limited edition Shigeru Kawai SK-EX concert grand, the mid-sized SK-5 studio grand, and the acclaimed Kawai EX concert grand.

The ES8 features Kawai’s powerful Virtual Technician technology that invites discerning players to shape various aspects of the selected piano’s character to suit their unique personal preferences. With 19 adjustable parameters, including a selection of new adjustments such as per-note voicing, volume, and tuning inherited from the leading Concert Artist instruments, the ES8’s Virtual Technician provides an unrivalled level of piano customisation. ES8 is available now in black and white finishes.

Guitar Laboratory GSC-4 Guitar System Controller Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au

The G-Lab GSC-4 Guitar System Controller is a MIDI guitar controller footswitch that leaves you in control with one simple move. The programmable footcontroller allows, with one move, to switch effects connected to the GSC-4 loops, set channel and other amp function through the amps’ footswitch input, and send MIDI commands. A graphic LCD TFT 4.3” display features a sharp high quality image with bank and preset names.

This footswitch also features two sections, 2x500mA with 9V DC outputs for powering stompboxes, and also allows to control 10 MIDI devices with PC and CC commands simultaneously. Also with an expression pedal input, the GSC-4 is very helpful on the stage and in the studio.

Markbass Little Mark Ninja Amplifier CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au

Both bassist Richard Bona and Markbass CEO Marco De Virgiliis accept no compromise, and that passion shows in the Little Mark Ninja Richard Bona signature head, which first and foremost prioritises the tone that has driven the international success of Markbass’ Little Mark heads, while upgrading that tone with their astounding new 1000W power amp. This new power stage delivers a massive amount of power and headroom, maintaining exceptionally clear and dynamic sound while performing flawlessly thanks to the on-board cutting-edge Mark Proprietary Technology (MPT). Many Class D bass amps on the market, even though from different manufacturers, use a common power amp design, which is not specifically engineered for bass. Markbass invested significant R&D developing proprietary power amp technology (MPT), specifically designed to respect and deliver the tone of your instrument.This high-power head is the result of years of experience. It features the Little Mark’s simple, intuitive and effective controls but boasts large supply of power and serious headroom in an ultra-compact size, and lightweight. Put the ultimate in dynamics under your fingers at any volume.

PG.16 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

Guild Guitars T-50 Slim Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com

Guild’s T-50 is based on a mid-1960s T-50 model and features an arched maple back, maple sides, and a sleek Vintage Sunburst finish. With beautiful vintage details like the Guild harp tailpiece, iconic center-raised headstock and ivoroid binding, the T-50 harkens back to the classic Guild vibe of the 1950s and ‘60s. Low output single-coil pickups and an easy-to-amplify 1 3/4” body depth complete this guitar, which promises to offer another generation of guitarists the distinctive Guild styling and voice.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

PRODUCT NEWS

Sebatron Four-eyes and VAMP Four

Sennheiser AVX Wireless Microphone Systems for Video Cameras

Sebatron | (03) 9484 3789 | www.sebatron.com

Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au

Audio specialist Sennheiser has introduced its AVX wireless microphone systems for video cameras, which ensure totally stress-free audio capture. The amazingly compact AVX receiver plugs directly into the XLR of a camera, where it automatically pairs with the microphone and switches on when the camera does. The system adjusts the correct audio levels and transmits using a specially protected link in the license-free 1.9 GHz range. Setting up and recording high-quality audio for video has never been faster or more convenient. AVX comes in ready-to-use systems that contain everything required to immediately go live. Alternatively, tailor-made systems can be put together from a wide choice of individual components.

Sebatron has announced the release of two new units that are now part of the Sebatron Audio production creating kit. Four-eyes and the VAMP four are two very practical designs that are almost imperative for any pro or home recording arsenal.

Four-eyes is a dedicated four channel metering unit that displays analog VU metering from peak through to average response. The model features full-scale backlit VU meters allowing four channels of simultaneous VU display. The VAMP four is a four-channel Valve Direct Input unit that extends the tone of any electric/electronic musical instrument by utilising the harmonic attributes of the valve. The amount of colour is completely variable (from transparent to quite coloured) with the pad/gain control and there is also some passive EQ for further signal sweetening. The EQ amounts interact with the pad/gain control to provide a very characterful sound manipulation tool.

Mooer GE100 Guitar Multi-Effects Processor Jade Australia | 1800 144 120 | www.musocity.com.au

GE100 Guitar Multi-Effects Processor is a brand new release in Mooer’s Multi-Effects Processor product line. By using a completely new digital platform, GE100 will provide you with the most authentic, modern and rich tones. No matter whether it is stompbox simulation or amp simulation, or other effects which carry Mooer’s legacy, this Guitar Multi-Effects Processor will present all. GE100 has its unique and rich tones. From light overdrive, to smooth sustain Crunch, and to stormy crazy metal distortion, you will find the answer to your distortion issues in the GE100. After careful modelling and testing, the end result is that 23 distortion sounds and 7 amp simulations are finally put into GE100, which can satisfy all your ambitions about distortion. With easy operation and versatile function, it can definitely help you find your own unique sound.

FRI 6 NOV FRI 13 NOV WED 18 NOV FRI 20 NOV SAT 21 NOV SUN 22 NOV MON 23 NOV TUES 24 NOV FRI 27 NOV TUES 1 DEC FRI 11 DEC

(SOLD OUT) Suttons House of Music, Ballarat VIC

Theatre Royal, Castlemaine VIC (SOLD OUT) Northcote Social Club, Melbourne VIC (NEW SHOW) Montrose Town Centre, Montrose VIC (SOLD OUT) Montrose Town Centre, Montrose VIC Boyd Education Centre, South Coast NSW Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW Brass Monkey, Cronulla NSW Clarendon Guest House, Katoomba NSW Newtown Social Club, Sydney NSW (SOLD OUT) Meeniyan Town Hall, Meeniyan VIC

AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD IN HI-RES FROM 6 NOVEMBER

www.mixdownmag.com.au MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.17 With over 2m Hi-Res audio tracks, OpenLIVE is Australia’s first Hi-Res Music Download Store www.openlive.co

PRODUCT NEWS

Supro Launches Three New Reverb Amps Global Vintage | 02 9569 7009 | www.globalvintage.com.au

Sennheiser Evolution Wireless D1 Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au

Sennheiser has launched Evolution Wireless D1, a range of digital wireless microphone systems that lets bands go wireless the easy way. With systems for vocals or for instruments, a band’s life is made simpler: transmitters and receivers automatically pair and select suitable transmission frequencies, while multiple D1 systems can automatically coordinate themselves. Evolution Wireless D1 employs the industry-leading aptX Live® codec that ensures excellent audio quality and wide dynamics for vocals, speech and instruments over the entire audio frequency range. Overall latency is a low 3.9 milliseconds, which is ideal if wireless monitors are to be used. To ensure optimum levels, Ew D1 automatically sets the correct microphone sensitivity. Evolution Wireless D1 operates in the 2.4 GHz range, which is license-free worldwide.

Following on from their triumphant return to the guitar gear scene, Supro USA has released another trio of vintage-inspired amp models with reverb and tremolo.

The 1622RT Tremo-Verb is a feature-rich update to the coveted late-60’s Supro 1×10 combo platform. This compact, Class-A, 6973-powered bruiser pushes a LOUD 25 watts through our custom-made 10” speaker to capture the old-school Supro magic in an amp you can easily haul around to gigs. Tremo-verb is, without a doubt, pound-for-pound the most potent tube amp in the Supro line.

The 1648RT Saturn Reverb amplifier is a future-retro amplifier designed for the working player who needs a lightweight, vintage-flavoured amp with world-class tube reverb.

This 15-Watt, Class-A 1×12 luxury combo is powered by a pair of 6973 tubes with a 5U4 tube rectifier—giving you the ultimate in tactile response and signature Supro breakup at manageable gigging volume. The 1650RT Royal Reverb is the flagship tube amplifier of the Supro line. This retro-modern masterpiece updates the mid 60’s classic with an all-tube feature set designed to deliver superior sonic flexibility and ample headroom along with enough stage volume to handle any gig.

OpenLIVE Launch Revolutionary Live Music Platform OpenLIVE | www.openlive.co

Ernie Ball PolyLock Strap CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au

Prefer not to snap the neck of your guitar at your next gig? Want to spin your guitar or bass without having to search through the audience for guitar pieces? Don’t want to modify your favourite instrument with chunky hardware or drill holes into it? Ernie Ball’s new patent pending PolyLock strap has your problems sorted.

Based on their super comfortable, super long Polypro webbing strap, the PolyLock’s locking strap design makes it easy to securely attach the strap to your electric guitar or bass, without the need for any modification or bulky hardware. Simply fasten your Ernie Ball PolyLock Strap to the existing strap buttons on virtually any electric guitar or bass and you’re set!

OpenLIVE is a hi-resolution music platform, offering releases from both established and emerging artists at the highest available sonic quality. What separates OpenLIVE from the rest is their commitment to delivering artist’s work intact and without lossy compression – just the way it was originally intended. Hi-resolution means your music retains everything the artist put into the original master. If it’s available in hi-resolution (CD quality and above) then OpenLIVE will either have it available for download, or will be working hard to make it available.

The most exciting part about OpenLIVE’s emergence is their groundbreaking MasterBuilder recording infrastructure. Currently in its BETA testing stage, MasterBuilder has been rolled out in live venues across Australia and the UK, giving artists a simple way of capturing and owning recordings of their live performances and making them available for download. For music fans, this also means the chance to experience the raw power and energy of live shows in hi-resolution audio.

Gold Tone BG250F 5-String Banjo Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net

The BG-250 was one of the first instruments ever introduced to the Gold Tone line and it’s the remarkable features that keep this great player around. Its convertible resonator feature allows for an easy conversion between a bluegrass (resonator) banjo and a genuine old time (openback) banjo by simply removing the 13” resonator and mounting brackets. Like many old time banjos, this model features an openback pot assembly design utilising 24 shoe lugs instead of a one-piece flange. This cuts down on the weight by about 3lbs while still being able to deliver a powerful and punchy tone. This convertible feature is great for players wanting to play in both popular styles. Other features include a bound rosewood fingerboard, a 12” bound mahogany resonator, the new GT Master planetary tuners, flat-top 20-hole bell brass tone ring, and a complete setup at the Gold Tone Factory in Florida which is then double checked after landing in Australia at Gladesville Guitar Factory.

PG.18 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

Etymotic Earplugs Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au

Hearing damage as a result of persistent and prolonged exposure to loud noise is a fact of life. It’s one of the cruelties of life. Those who require the sense most are the ones most at risk of losing it. It’s a big enough issue as a punter going to see bands week in, week out, but it’s an even bigger issue rehearsing in tight, rigid spaces. Plenty of us have tried putting those stock standard dollar-a-pop earplugs in, only to find the sound so muffled that even your own thoughts seem louder than your playing. Fortunately there are products out there put together to remedy this exact issue. Etymotic Earplugs are purpose built to protect musician’s ears, while retaining some of the high frequencies that are so important to comprehending your own performance. They’re tough enough to withstand the rigours of rehearsal and performance alike, and come at a very reasonable cost. What’s the point in dropping thousands of dollars on a new guitar or amp if you can’t even hear it?

www.mixdownmag.com.au

PRODUCT NEWS

A Sharp Recording Studio A Sharp Recording Studio | (02) 9153 9988 | www.asharp.com.au

Situated in the heart of the Sydney, A Sharp Recording Studio is the oldest independent recording studio in the harbour town. Recently, new owner Richard Lake has completely transformed A Sharp Studios with a major renovation, whose vision with the team of audio engineers is to make this recording studio one of the best in terms of results, working living environment, equipment and rates.

At A Sharp Recording Studio, the team have integrated Analogue with the Digital.

With a Solid State Logic AWS 948 console with super analogue pre-amps in line with 48 channels of AVID HD I/O convertors and Pro Tools HDX running PT 11 or 10, the engineers are able to find the best of both worlds. At any stage of the recording process, tracking, playback or audio mixing the console adds it’s analogue sonic imprint to the music.

A Sharp today represents acoustics that you can trust, a ton of equipment, efficiency, confidence and a wealth of experience. With a brand new control room, mixing / editing room and 4 isolated areas in which to record, A Sharp is easily now one of the most sophisticated recording studios in Sydney.

More Takamine Models Reach Our Shores Pro Music Australia | www.promusicaustralia.com

It feels like we’ve been living and breathing Takamine over the past month. After road testing two of their awesome guitars in our last issue, and seeing all the great entries into the Takamine Pro Series P1M competition, we feel we’re starting to get fairly well acquainted with these instruments. But, just when you think you’ve got it all covered, a couple more new models pop up again. The guitars from the Takamine GD11 series are two of Takamine’s entry models, and they’re both just about ready to be picked up by Aussie punters. They feature a natural satin finish, laminated mahogany top, back and sides and a rosewood fretboard. There is an acoustic-electric incarnation, with the other being a standard acoustic. These two come in at a very affordable price, and are worth taking a good look at for any prospective Takamine players out there.

KRK Rokit 4 and Rokit 10-3 Studio Monitors Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com

Free Los Cabos Sticks with Dixon Jet Set Drumkit Dynamic Music | (02) 9939 1299 | www.dynamicmusic.com.au

We’ve covered the Dixon Jet Set Drum kit pretty thoroughly in the past few issues of Mixdown, and as if it didn’t already present good enough value for money, Dynamic Music have further sweetened the deal by offering a half brick (six pairs) of Los Cabos drumsticks to anyone who purchases one of these awesome traveller drum kits throughout November. Los Cabos sticks are well made and reliable sticks, made to go the distance and continuously give you penetrating precision We road tested this kit a couple of issues back and were impressed with what we could make this awesome little kit do.We’re you’re you’ll be just as impressed.

For more information about the Los Cabos bonus sticks, and for terms and conditions, head to www.mixdownmag.com.au

PG.20 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

KRK has added to their arsenal of studio reference monitors, adding two new models to their best-selling Rokit line. Introducing to the prestigious line: Rokit 4 G3 (Generation 3) powered studio monitor and Rokit 10-3 G3 powered studio monitor.

The Rokit 4 offers professional performance and accuracy for recording, mixing, mastering and playback. The system consists of a 1” soft dome tweeter and 4” glass-Aramid composite woofer. It delivers high frequencies up to 35kHz, vocal clarity and extended bass response.

The proprietary bi-amped, class A/B amplifier grants SPL up to 100dB. Multiple input connections ensure the ROKIT 4 G3 will easily integrate in any system configuration. The Rokit 4 is the most compact solution of the KRK Rokit series. KRK’s Rokit 10-3 powered studio monitor consists of a 1” soft dome tweeter, a 4” midrange driver and 10” glass-Aramid composite woofer. It delivers high frequencies up to 30kHz, vocal clarity and extended bass response. The proprietary tri-amped, class A/B amplifier grants SPL up to 110dB. The Rokit waveguide is designed to ensure detailed imaging in the listening position. It also features updated voicing for more punch and control, and overall a more balanced sound. The largest Monitor of the Rokit Family, the KRK Rokit 10-3 G3 will deliver every detail of performance thru its ample headroom and tight bass tuning.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

PRODUCT NEWS

Pedaltrain Release 11 New Pedal Board Models EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au

Pedaltrain, the world’s most popular pedal board brand, has reinvented its product line for 2015 and beyond. New models include the Nano+, the three-model Metro Series, the three-model Novo Series, the refined Classic Series and its new large-format flagship pedal board, Terra 42. Pedaltrain has revealed unique design improvements like its new modified rail system, which improves the stability of smaller-sized pedals. The company also announced its portable grab-and-go Metro series and the true-bypass-switchingfriendly Novo Series.

The latest redesigns have also seen a change in materials used to construct Pedaltrain pedal board frames. The company has shifted to an all-new featherweight, aircraft grade aluminium, which ensures a light, yet heavy-duty pedal board that is capable of withstanding the roughest travelling conditions. The company’s vastly improved soft cases and new strength-weight optimized tour cases are set to be a big hit, especially with it’s new professional-grade cases now weigh up to 35% less than previous models.

Celestion Cream Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 www.elfa.com.au

With a 90-watt power rating, the Celestion Cream is purpose-built for vintage tones, whatever kind of amp you use. By applying new technologies and manufacturing methods developed during the creation of our Creamback speakers, we’ve been able to deliver a higher power rating while preserving the very essence of an alnico guitar speaker.

Delivering a glorious, laid-back attack, the Cream exudes warm lows and a brilliant bell-like chime. It has smooth and organic mids, further characterised by a fine-grained detail that adds a high-definition quality to the vocal range.The Cream has been specially created to bring alnico class to all kinds of amps from 1-watt to 90-watts. It conveys a satisfying warmth, detailed expressiveness and exceptional musicality, even at low power levels. The Celestion Cream is available in 8 or 16 Ohm.

Soultone NOA Cymbal Pack Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au

By now, you may have heard the name of the fresh new company named Soultone. They just celebrated their 10th birthday and continue to make great quality Turkish made cymbals at an affordable price. The latest addition to their range is the NOA cymbal pack, which offers the incredible, signature Soultone Cymbals sound to drummers of all levels. The cymbals are made out of the same B20 alloy that all of our cymbals are made from, and we’re giving it to you at an affordable price. The NOA pack is compliant with the latest airline standards making it the first cymbals designed to be carry-on size compatible for air travel. They are also perfect for drummers who have limited space in any vehicle or on smaller stages. Available sizes: Ride: 19”, Crash: 16”, Hi Hats: 13”. The NOA Cymbal pack also comes with a free cymbal bag.

Hammond Organs Bernie’s Music Land | (03) 9872 5122 | www.musicland.com.au

Guild Guitars Starfire IV ST Maple Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com

The Starfire IV ST Maple puts a modern twist on a highly popular semi-hollow Guild classic. With its graceful double cutaway and thinline body, many guitarists from the mid-1960s prized the original Starfire IV for its incomparable tone and feel. Premium features include an all maple body, a solid spruce center block, rosewood fingerboard, and Guild’s hallmark mahogany neck with maple center seam. This model features a Tune-O-Matic bridge, with a stopbar tailpiece for increased sustain and stability. The Starfire IV ST Maple includes dual LB-1 “Little Bucker” pickups, replicas of Guild’s original smaller size humbucking pickups. It is available in Emerald Green or Vintage Sunburst, and includes a hardshell case.

PG.22 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

For over 75 years, The Hammond Organ has been the true “King of Instruments”. The Hammond Organ is heard in Churches of every denomination, Concert Halls of every genre, and Recording Studios worldwide. In the 21st century, The Hammond Organ is alive and well, its tradition preserved by a company whose employees, from the top executives to the newest recruits share the passion this legend inspires. The Modern Hammond Organ Company is privy to the secrets that made those classic organs play and sound that way. Hammond’s engineers have harnessed modern technology to express a 77-year-old tone, allowing the organist to have the same experience that vintage Hammonds offer.

From the entry-level Sk1 to their flagship B3mk2, each of Hammond’s instruments possesses the five elements that define the Hammond Sound. These are: Harmonic Drawbars-allowing countless variations of tone, virtual ToneWheels – the digital representation of the classic electro-mechanical generator, Touch-Response Percussion – adds a distinctive highlight that enhances any tone created, Chorus Vibrato – provides the satiny texture found only on a Hammond Organ and a Digital Leslie™ speaker-providing the unique moving sound when a Leslie Speaker cabinet is not available.

Hammond Organs are now available from Bernie’s Music Land.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

GET SET-UP Dave Lombardo (Slayer, Philm, Fantômas, Grip Inc., Testament)

WITH A LIMITED EDITION BOXED SET FROM PAISTE

CLASSIC SET Unleash the power of the ultimate cymbals for Rock, Metal, and Punk with the Paiste RUDE Classic Set.

• 14" Hi-hats • 16" Crash/Ride • 18" Crash/Ride • 20" Power Ride

STRICTLY LIMITED OFFER SEE THEM TODAY AT THESE PREMIUM DRUM STORES STORE Better Music The Drum Shop Newcastle The Drum Factory Just Percussion Arties Music Townsville Cranbourne Drums Superstore GH Music Mega Music

SUBURB Phillip Newcastle West Parramatta Newstead Mundingburra Cranbourne Travancore Myaree

STATE ACT NSW NSW QLD QLD VIC VIC WA

WEB bettermusic.com.au thedrumshopnewcastle.com.au guitarfactory.com.au justpercussion.com.au artiesmusiconline.com.au cranbournemusic.com.au ghmusic.com.au megamusiconline.com.au

PHONE 02 6282 3199 02 4925 3155 02 9635 5552 1300 576 874 07 4779 1300 03 5995 5933 03 9372 6664 08 9330 2777

Yamaha Music Australia proudly distributes Paiste

paiste.com

C O V E R

S T O R Y

Y O U

A M

You Am I’s tenth album, Porridge & Hotsauce, contains a range of stylistic reference points. There are hints of Big Star in ‘Bon Vivants’, and a touch of Sonic Youth or Nirvana in ‘No, A Minor Blue’. Elsewhere, ‘Two Hands’ recalls Exileera Stones, and ‘One Drink At A Time’ has a Mercury Rev orchestral density. All up, however, it’s inarguably the work of You Am I. The album was recorded in two stints – the band tracked it at the famed Daptone Studios in Brooklyn, New York before returning to Melbourne to add vocals and a variety of instrumental overdubs. On the cusp of the album’s release and a major national tour, Mixdown speaks to guitarist Davey Lane to find out all the nitty gritty recording details.

From a sonic point of view, Porridge & Hotsauce is a bit rawer and looser than its two predecessors, 2008’s Dilettantes and 2010’s You Am I. Even though there are additional textural elements, including strings, horns, backing vocals and keys, it’s not a slick sounding affair.

I think despite the embellishments, which all came later on when we got back to Melbourne, I was hoping it would come across sounding like a band in a room. We were actually learning the songs on the fly. Leading up to recording we all had respective projects on, so we maybe had two days before we left to jump into a room. Tim sent through a bunch of his songs and I sent through a few of mine – but basically really rough acoustic guitar demos with a guide vocal. I think when we got in there we played the songs through about three times – we were getting things down within two to three takes. There are certainly raw and rough edges on there, and nothing to click track. It’s quite obvious on some songs, in terms of tempo, that they start somewhere and finish somewhere completely different.

It seems unusual that You Am I would ever utilise a click track.

One of Rusty’s (drummer Russell Hopkinson) major assets is that he’s all feel, and not particularly cautious with tempo.

We have recorded stuff to click before. I think the last record there were a couple of songs that were built up around loops and things that Tim had put together, so things like that were naturally more grid-based. This is the first time that we’ve gone into the studio and were playing as a band. There wasn’t any, “OK, we’ll go back and fix stuff up later on.” Everything had to go down live.

The recording kicked off at Daptone where you were tracking directly to tape. The Daptone label is renowned for producing authentic-sounding funk and soul music in the 21st century.

What was it like recording there?

The studio at Daptone is really small. It’s a pretty unassuming room – it’s just like an old lounge room that’s been converted into a recording space. Acoustically there’s not that much to it. One of the things that we learnt recording in there is that those Daptone records sound the way they do because of the guys playing on it. I don’t think our record has a Daptone stamp on it, but it was certainly a cool experience, and it was the first time I’d had the opportunity to make a record with the band overseas.

Let’s have a look at the guitars you used, and the pedal and amp setup. ‘Good Advices’ and ‘Out To The Never, Now’ have very distinct lead lines. Is there a certain guitar you always look to for that style of playing?

I took three guitars over with me and I ended up overdubbing a

PG.24 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

This is the first time that we’ve gone into the studio and were playing as a band.

There wasn’t any, “OK, we’ll go back and fix stuff up later on.” Everything had to go down live.

I

few little bits and pieces when I came home. But for the most part the tracks that are on the record are what went down to tape over there. I took over my SG, which I hadn’t used for years. I picked it up for a gig about a year ago and had forgotten what a great fucking guitar it was. I bought it about 12 years ago, it’s a Pete Townshend signature model. I used that one on ‘Good Advices’.

There wasn’t that much in the way of pedals. It was all pretty straight-up dry guitar. In terms of amps, we had an old Ampeg Gemini – I think it was a ‘70s Ampeg. Tim would be using that for the most part. We had that and an old [Fender] Princeton.

Depending on the song and depending on who needed the thicker, soupier guitar tone we’d swap around. The Princeton is a bit more thin and cutting, which was good for ‘Good Advices’ and those songs where we needed something a bit more jagged and bitey.

‘No, A Minor Blue’ is one of the chunkiest sounding things You Am I have ever done. How’d you generate that castle of guitar noise?

I ended up doing a little bit of stuff back at home on that.

Leading into the chorus there are a lot of backwards swells, so I put down a guide track for that while we were in New York but I really wanted to come home and dig into it. The nature of having those backwards swells, that was where digital technology came in handy. There’s a fair bit of digital manipulation there, just on Pro Tools, with flipping stuff backwards and throwing it into place.

The guitar solo section, it’s sort of an anti solo. I just wanted something that was pretty noisy and chaotic, so I ended up doing a couple of things and chopping and flipping stuff into reverse. I just wanted something unnerving and chaotic.

On this record Tim’s guitars are pretty much all tuned down a step, so his guitars are probably a little thicker and soupier for that reason. I was thinking about using a baritone guitar, but I ended up using my Electro-Harmonix POG, which is a handy little pedal to have. There’s not really any other octave pedal you can play chords on.

Despite the additional production elements, the record’s still very immediate and you can imagine four guys in a room bashing it out. Do you have any uncertainties about being able to execute this stuff live?

I’m certain we could play the record from start to finish. It’s all pretty up, as opposed to the previous two which had some of those great slopey, dreamy ballads. I think it was a conscious thing to make this record a lot poppier and there’s nothing over three-anda-half minutes and everything’s got a pretty definitive chorus.

‘Beehive’, that’s a slower one. The chorus on that song is one of my favourites. ‘Minor Blue’ is a pretty massive chorus. I think Tim’s written some of his best on this record. ‘Daemons’ is just Tim on his own with strings. We didn’t do that overseas, he recorded that back in Melbourne. I think that’s one of the most beautiful things he’s written. It’s a nice halfway dip in the record. When I first heard it I thought, “Fuck this is like McCartney but with better lyrics.” I’m not saying McCartney’s a shit lyricist. I mean, he has written some shit lyrics.

BY AUGUSTUS WELBY You Am I are touring nationally now through until December 4.

For a full list of dates visit www.mixdownmag.com.au. Porridge and Hotsauce is out now via Inertia.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

I N T E R V I E W S

PALMS We enter the scene with an old school vdub convertible cruising the suburban streets of Sydney. It’s packed to the rafters with the four members of Palms—Al Grigg, Brendan Walsh, Tom Wallace and Dion Ford—each one looking more proverbially chill and sun-baked than the next. The clip for single ‘Bad Apple’ flips the iconic ‘90s skate video genre on its head – instead of the extreme stunts and bone rattling falls, nonchalant rollerblading and a total lack of skill reign supreme.

Their sophomore album, Crazy Rack, throws up slices of thrash pop and droves of fuzz imbued with this same irreverent larrikinism. It’s why I’m intrigued by the lyrics of guitarist and vocalist Al, which belie the effervescent nature of the music.

“I sort of need to care about wanting to play the song night after night to be able to draw from something to perform it all the time,” he says. “It needs to come from somewhere sort of real, or at least honest. And it’s also cathartic for me I guess, to like get these things off my chest or work through my thoughts.” Al explains that his writing process begins in a secluded and contemplative environment, fuelled by an organic drive. “Because when I start writing the song anyway I’m on my own in my room usually playing acoustic

SUMMER FLAKE

After a couple of comparatively quiet years, Melbourne-via-Adelaide’s Summer Flake has returned to the fold with a batch of songs that may well be their strongest to date. Time Rolls By is the fourth EP to feature the Summer Flake name; a collection of five songs that reflect the project’s sweetly lo-fi and gently-harmonic tendencies, matched up with some hazy, washed-out guitar work. Although some songs stretch awhile back – single “The Sun Won’t Shine” has been around in one way or another for the better part of five years – it’s also a release that features songs that arrived practically fully-formed.

“This one had a couple of songs that came to me really quickly,” says Steph Crase, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind the Summer Flake moniker. “The chords kind of presented themselves to me, and I had even written lyrics for one song, ‘Number One,’ that I just thought were going to be placeholders. After a while, I realised the song was done – the lyrics were exactly what they needed to be.

To be honest, I have guitar parts that float around for years. At some point, they have to stick with me or I have to let them drift off.

That’s the hard part – it doesn’t always come that straightforward.

Because it’s all my project, I have to know where to add in lyrics,

PG.26 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

guitar, so even the more punk-ier songs or the more sort of energetic songs all start out just on acoustic guitar,” he says. “So it’s a very kind of, I guess isolated, personal, and probably kind of introspective sort of place a lot of the songs come from.”

Palms’ music is inherently instinctive. Every wail of the wah pedal and landing blow of a bulleting rhythm section is the product of an uplifting collaboration shared with close mates. “It’s like me going and I’m playing with my friends and you put the drumming behind everything and it lifts it up.

I guess the music is this really joyous thing, an exciting thing and a happy thing,” he says. It’s a component of the new album that, as Al suggests, allows fans to connect with the music on different levels. “So if you want to find the intensity and you want to have this sort of emotional response to the album then it’s there and you can find it, but if you just want to like tap your foot or sing along or jump around then you can do that as well.

It’s all kind of there.”

For Crazy Rack Palms once again recorded with good friend Owen Penglis (Royal Headache, Straight Arrows), splitting time between Linear Studios for live tracking, and Owen’s basement studio where they pieced together overdubs, vocals and other bits and pieces. It’s the fervent energy of the band and Owen’s natural feel for production that has engrained these new tracks with a propulsive immediacy. “Owen is definitely a less is more kind of guy, so if you can take something away he will.

Instead of having like a distortion pedal, let’s just drive the amp harder or just sort of keep everything very simple,” says Al. “If you let a band just sound like themselves you get a better chance of that band having something sounding idiosyncratic, you know like having something that another band’s not going to have.”

Beyond the familiarity and conceptual clarity offered by Owen’s recording method, his impressive arsenal of quality vintage gear—everything from

reverb units, to classic microphones and a hefty reel-to-reel eight track—helped shape the album’s sonic fabric. “Owen has this amp, it’s an old Australian brand called Golden Tone and he’s got an amp that sounds like, fucking magic. It’s all over our record, because Owen just did a bunch of stuff on the Royal Headache album, I’m pretty sure it got a run on that album too,” says Al. “Everyone that plays it is just blown away. I know when Ty Segall was in the country he played through it … he was just like, “oh my god man I’ve got to get one of these amps.” They’re like an Australian ‘60s kind of thing and feel like people just totally fetishize [over them], and rightly so, they sound incredible.”

As Al gleefully recounts shooting the perpetually funny and good-natured clip for ‘Bad Apple’ at Sydney University, it’s easy to see how the band makes light of the day to day. Directed and produced by Brent Griffin (aka SPOD), it’s all wrapped up in humour. “So it was just sort of us foolin’ around and it was actually really fun and probably the easiest I’ve ever made, it was just like hang out with your friends do stupid tricks and Brent just followed us around with a GoPro,” he says. It’s the same sentiment behind Crazy Rack – it comes from a genuine place, both relatable and eclectic. “Because I wouldn’t want it to just be like vacuous… you know on the other hand too, who wants it to just be like this vacuous song of like just garage-y nothingness, where people are like, ok once they’ve kind of heard the chorus three or four times it’s over, you know there’s nothing more you can get from it,” he says. “It’s a funny balance I guess, in between the fun and also the depth.”

what the right tone is for the song... it all factors in. It takes a little longer than I’d like it to, but at least it means I’m satisfied with the songs themselves.”

Time Rolls By arrives roughly two years after the release of Summer Flake’s debut album, You Can Have It All. Although Crase remains quite proud of what she achieved on that record, she knew that certain rules had to be implemented in order to not repeat herself – as well as not give in to previous indulgences. “I must have done hundreds of overdubs on the last album,” she says. “I’d add in, like, a single note over the top of one of the songs and think I’d done a great job – ‘That really added to the song! I might just do a few more of those!’

A few hours later, there’d be an orchestra of guitars over every single track. I gave myself some more limitations for this EP. I only had a small amount of time to actually produce and record the EP – I wanted it to be a more spontaneous burst of songs.

It’s a lot more restrained in that respect, but I think it works in its favour.”

The Summer Flake sound is one that incorporates a myriad of guitar sounds, from layered distortion to ringing, shaken reverb. When queried on what Crase’s secret is behind getting the right tones and effects on her playing, she points to knowing her set-up a lot better and not constantly seeking out new toys as she has previously done. “I’ve gone gear-mad in the past,” Crase confesses. “I’ve always had new pedals and other bits and bobs coming in and out of my set-up. For the most part, though, I’m pretty solid with what I’ve got right now. I’ve been playing the same Fender Jaguar for a long time, I’ve got the same distortion pedals.

I feel like I’ve got a great sound going with what I have. There was one new bit that I hadn’t tried before on the EP, though. When I play live, I have a Dunlop Tremolo pedal – one that has a lock-in wah that you can use for the speed of the tremolo

sound. I love using it live, just as something to have in the background, but I’d never had the chance to use it on a recording before this EP. I used it on the song ‘Makes Me Wanna Cry’ and it sounded awesome.”

Talk turns to the aforementioned Fender Jaguar, which Crase has played since before she had even begun performing as Summer Flake. She counts it as her signature guitar – it has featured on every release she has recorded on; including her forthcoming second studio album, which she is projecting for release in the first quarter of 2016 following a brief tour in support of Time Rolls By. “I got it in about 2003, when I was about 21,” she says of it.

“I bought it for myself as a birthday present. I’d been looking around for a guitar for years at that point. I use to frequent all the music shops in my area, and they all got to know me pretty well. One day, one of the clerks took me aside and said to me that he had a friend that was selling one of his guitars and knew I’d be interested. This guy was a collector of Telecasters – he already had about 50 at that point, God knows how many he’s got now. At that point, he was selling his Jaguars and his other models that weren’t really his cup of tea anymore. The Jaguar he showed me came along at the exact right time for me – it still feels right now. Every now and then, I’ll play a different guitar and it’ll be fun for a little while. I always go back to that Jaguar, though – it’s the right neck, the right weight; and it’s pretty, which helps.”

BY CHRIS SCOTT

Crazy Rack is out now via Ivy League Records

BY DAVID JAMES YOUNG

Time Rolls By is out now via Rice is Nice.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

I N T E R V I E W S

MARTIN COURTNEY As most of my road trips throughout the past five years have been soundtracked by the dream-pop rockers Real Estate, I found it super fitting that I was interviewing lead singer Martin Courtney as I drove through traffic to work in my Daihatsu Pyzar.

It’s a great family car. Lots of boot space and a great turning circle. His relaxed vibe made it easy to navigate the phone lag and gave me an opportunity to congratulate him on his first solo record.

Courtney’s venture, Many Moons, is a gentle collection of driven acoustic tracks developed over a year-and-a-half. A reflection of time spent as a touring musician and the feelings of separation that it brings.

Many Moons contains a rich, bright clarity relative to the sound of Courtney’s washed-out band Real Estate, particularly those early recordings. The production continuously evolved through the Many Moons sessions. Moving from studio to studio, over the year and a half it took to record the album, made it difficult to keep a consistent sound. However, Courtney expressed a starting point was getting the drums right, reminiscent of the warmth in early Rolling Stones and 70’s Motown, and achievable with the aid from producer Jarvis Tarveniere of Woods.

The method of writing songs with acoustic guitar can be a direct

way of creating and conveying a message. Endless touring, new found fatherhood and maintaining relationships back home have laid the bedding for the lyrical content in Many Moons.

Quizzing Courtney on his songwriting process, whether he’s been tempted by the buzz of Ableton, he simply replies “I write on acoustic, basically because it’s what sounds good in your house while you’re strumming.” In wanting to be able to play the songs live and have it sonically succeed, Courtney believed “It was a good goal to have in my head”. Although the skeleton of his music is born on the acoustic, the use of Logic in order to flesh out and arrange parts isn’t foreign to this consummate songwriter.

Many Moons holds a delightful peppering of orchestral arrangements. Take the single ‘Vestiges’.

Strings swim in and out of the music, creating tension and releasing it appropriately. Courtney called upon his brother-in-law Harrison Joyce, an orchestra librarian (there is such a job!), to morph his ideas into a soundscape with players on cello, viola, violin and flute. Courtney’s original ideas, mapped out on Logic, were punched out on a tiny MIDI-keyboard lugged around on Real Estate’s tours.

In regards to the rhythm section, Traveniere and Courtney would switch around on bass and drums in order to find the best flow for the song.

Afterwards, a drummer would enter, Aaron Neveu from Woods, to practice for around an hour and then they’d hit record.

With the rise of Real Estate came their signature reverb-drenched, phased-out sound. Potentially every musician experiences, over time, a stagnation or rather a comfort in the tone, colour, inflection and so on. I imagine it’d be difficult for Billy Corgan to shy away from the fuzz of the Big Muff or for Tame Impala to ditch the flanger. The purity of playing acoustically can be a type of reset.

Courtney admitted that it was kind of refreshing

not to have effect pedals. “We’ve played one show so far. I have my tuner and I have my delay pedal.

It’s simple. It’s easy to wrap my head around.

We discussed the length of time it took to record the album, a year and half, and how it affected the recording process.” Courtney’s first session for Many Moons began in November 2013. “When you sit on a song for that long, you always find stuff you’d want to change”. Listening to the beautiful ‘Before We Begin’ and its sublime string parts, you wouldn’t believe it was originally a 7-minute jam. Courtney insisted it took a lot of work to get that song to what it is. “It’s nothing like it was at first. We edited the shit out of that song”.

Understandable, as time goes on, what may seem like a great idea one moment can appear cringe worthy the next. And a year and a half can play tricks on the mind. Still, the vibe in Many Moons is strong, consistent and no part sounds out of place.

Even the flute jam in the title track, ‘Many Moons’!

Was this lengthy style of recording new to Courtney? Apparently not! As his experiences with Real Estate have prepared him for variety of approaches. The self-titled Real Estate record was a bunch of demos recorded over a year. The second record, Days, was a sporadic six month studio caper with intense rehearsal prior. Regarding Atlas, Real Estate recorded the album in two weeks. Courtney professes that Many Moons is the opposite of that, “At first, we were unsure if we were even recording an album. It came into focus all the time”.

Many Moons is a gem. It may not garner the popularity that Real Estate generates. However, it does hold an honesty that can sometimes be amiss in the indie-pop world. Oh, and it’s another great road-trip album!

BY WILL CAREY Many Moons is out now via Domino.

For more information visit:

www.hola.jandspromo.com.au

LEGENDARY SOUND, RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX. BLX Wireless Systems The Next Generation Wireless For performers who wish to unplug from the wire, BLX Wireless Systems deliver wireless condence with trusted Shure microphones and world-class design and construction. Featuring one-touch QuickScan frequency selection to locate the best open frequency, BLX Wireless Systems are also available in Premium and Installed versions, offering a variety of receivers and bodypack / handheld congurations with PG to Beta microphones options.

Distributed by

www.jands.com.au www.mixdownmag.com.au

BLX_MD_HalfPage_PrintAd.indd 1

Receiver options:

BLX4 Receiver

BLX88 Dual ReceiverM I X D O W N

# 2 5 9 / / N O V E M BBLX4R E R 2Rack 0 1 5 Mount / / PReceiver G.27

27/10/2015 1:37 pm

I N T E R V I E W S

YEO

Evolution of Digital Music Production Face The Music is a Music Industry Conference held in Melbourne. Now in its eighth year, it’s covering more genres, topics, styles, issues and processes more than ever before. With production, digital music and electronics more and more becoming part of the musical landscape’s norm, it’s fitting that one of their seminars is titled ‘The Evolution of Digital Music Production’. And who better to have on the panel than M-Phazes, Dub-Fx and Yeo. With a heap of experience under his belt, and a knack for keeping things vibing whatever the style, we got to chat with the electro pop funk man himself Yeo. How has technology helped your creative process?

When I started I was kinda working with programs like Fruity Loops and acid pro. I was just working with loop based sequencers. And as my song writing has developed, I’ve kind of moved on from those type of programs to bigger DAWS like Cubase, Protools and Ableton. Alongside that, the technology such as arrangement tools have really helped facilitate my growth.

What’s your approach to drum programming? It can often make

PG.28 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

or a break a track.

Every song I work on – the drum programming starts from scratch. After I get past a selection of sounds I like to play them live and then loop that as it brings a slightly more human feel.

And that steps away again from step based programming like Fruity Loops. Ableton and Protools just let you plug in a MIDI Controller and play your section until you’re happy with it.

I then dump it and start to move things a little bit left or right and push and pull to give it those little nuances. So the main idea comes first and then you work with it.

to learn the basics of sound I had to learn the software and all that myself in my own time in my own bedroom essentially. Or more so a shed these days. It’s not properly sound treated, it doesn’t have the best monitors money can buy and it’s still a bit rickety but in saying that if you know what you’re doing in post you can pretty much get away with producing a profession product in that kind of environment – you just need to harness the technology.

Speaking for myself I’d like to think that’s one of my strengths cos I can do a top line for Hermitude or do a remix for an artist.

So we know that digital mediums are evolving.

You also play live instruments too (keys, sing, bass) – how did that all start?

I started piano when I was 7, keys is my main instrument. When you first dive into software there’s always some kind of a synth built in, and then all of a sudden your library explodes and you have endless opportunities. On that note – I do work a lot in software. It’s mostly a cost thing I suppose. I love hardware synths too, and every time I go into a shop that has cool hardware stuff I can get lost for hours but when it comes to having to get a record done or remix something at home – that’s real world work.

Someone might say ‘hey I need this remix done, can you do it?’ I’ll be like ‘yes I can’ and I’m not going to go and drop 4 grand on a prophet keyboard.

BY NICK BROWN

The term producer has changed quite significantly with the evolution of technology.

What do you see as the role of a producer?

There are some guys that are great in the studio and some that are great in their bedroom – I probably lean towards the latter. I’ve always been pretty DIY and besides from going to uni

The Evolution of Digital Music Production is being presented at Face The Music by Yamaha and Steinberg at the Arts Centre in Melbourne on November 13 and 14. For more information visit www.facethemusic.com.au.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

I N T E R V I E W S

HAUSCHKA No word of a lie, talking with German electronic/ prepared piano maestro Hauschka is one of the most interesting conversations I’ve had in a long time.

His odd phrasing is one thing – both formal and abstract – but the depth of his observations on craft and composition is fascinating. Here is a man who has evidently spent a great deal of time trying to determine exactly what makes him tick. Ahead of his Australian debut, the composer talks me through his motivations, and just how fine the line is between his real self, and the performing persona.

“In a way you’re talking with both right now,” he explains. “I’m using Hauschka as a way to do all sorts of different things. I started out thinking, should I use my own name? Should I just be a solo pianist as Volker Bertelmann, or should I be Hauschka? I’d been leaning towards a band name, something kind of like Aphex Twin. A name you don’t know what to expect from. Is it female, male, is it a group of ten people? So sometimes when I’m coming to a place, I see announcements that the band Hauschka is coming to town, which I like. I think it’s very interesting to have this name where I can do whatever I want. Volker is a band member within my own band, so yes, when you’re talking to me, you’re talking to both.”

I must admit that when I first heard the name Hauschka, I drew a blank. I had not even heard of such a thing as prepared piano, and

www.mixdownmag.com.au

imagined it to be something akin to a pianola.

The reality is far more inventive. Prepared pianos are those that have random objects inserted on or between the strings to produce a range of bewildering effects. For an introduction, there is no finer place to start than Hauschka.

“Before I started prepared piano, I was really interested in more sculptural music, more abstract.

I was really into noisy bits and pieces. I had the feeling that this music somehow clears my mind, away from preoccupations from other music. I have a feeling that a lot of music was already classified within myself, and I was getting a little bored of a lot of music because it is so repeated. Millions and millions of variations, but in a way you listen to it and you still just put it on the same shelf inside of you. But there was music suddenly that I couldn’t put on the shelf, that was in a way erasing all my memory of music and touching me very deeply.

I was hoping at that time I could find a way of creating this kind of atmosphere in my own music, and that’s why in the first place I worked with very small materials on the strings, and then I added more and more. I felt it was a very joyful process, to search. It’s a little like a lost and found thing.”

A recent, and rather topical instance of this unanchored evocation is Hauschka’s rendition of “Waltzing Matilda”, devised as a sort of introductory greeting card to Australia. The aluminium cases of tea-light candles are scattered across the strings, and the effect is much like sheets of rain. Ordinarily, however, Hauschka prefers to avoid established compositions, and instead embrace the challenge of shaping something afresh.

“I’m very much trying to find atmospheres by myself, and not repeating other melodies. I’m a big fan of obstacles,” he laughs. “I’m not avoiding tradition, and I’m not avoiding the memory of something that is working greatly. The candles, for example, are something I’m using at the moment because I found them in the backstage area of

a festival. There were bags and bags of candles, so I took them out of the foil, because I thought aluminium might be a nice element, it’s very light and can jump on the strings. But they’re getting less and less. I start removing one or two, and suddenly the period of candles is over, and maybe something else can come in. Later on perhaps I’ll remember candles again, there’s maybe a lexicon of sound in myself now in connection with the piano.”

Having not visited before, Hauschka is keen to showcase his explorations to new audiences, but is also intrigued by the potential of Australia itself to affect some influence on his music. It is not something that can be forced; in the world of Hauschka, spontaneity is king, and can be uncovered almost everywhere you look.

“I’m here in Moscow, watching a street crossing.

If I open the window the sound there would be similarly inspiring, and is maybe much closer to my music than a single instrument. You have the traffic, the sirens, you have the wind, people talking, machines rumbling. These levels of different sound, distant and close, quiet and loud, this is already an arrangement. Sometimes they even have syncopated rhythms, the wheels of the cars and lorries, sometimes birds. I sat in a cafe and there was music from the speakers, and suddenly a bird started singing in nearly the same rhythm, but of course accidentally. It’s something that is really inspiring to see it happen randomly.”

BY ADAM NORRIS

TOUR DATES NOV 17 – MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE, MELBOURNE VIC NOV 19 – THE BASEMENT, SYDNEY NSW NOV 20 – OLD MUSEUM, BRISBANE QLD NOV 21 & 22 – MULLUMBIMBY MUSIC FESTIVAL, MULLUMBIMBY NSW

MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.29

I N T E R V I E W S

SIMON TAIT

Co Founder & Audio Technology Director At OpenLIVE If you haven’t heard of OpenLIVE before, you’re likely to soon become very familiar with the revolutionary HiResolution music platform. Built by audio engineers hell bent on sound quality, OpenLIVE is doing something in Australia that no one else has ever done before: produce autonomous live recordings with next to no effort and minimal costs at the highest quality. So far, OpenLIVE’s groundbreaking project is a huge hit amongst the music community, and only being in its beta testing stages, is already receiving praise from musicians around Australia.

We sat down with Co-Founder and Audio Technology Director Simon Tait to find out more about OpenLIVE. Tell us a little bit about OpenLIVE. OpenLIVE is a Hi-Resolution music platform, offering releases from both established and emerging Artists at the highest available sonic quality. We have developed an end-to-end system that allows artists, who have performed in venues equipped with our MasterBuilder hardware, to harvest mixed, mastered and ready to release recordings from their live show. We achieve this by the artist simply establishing an account and scheduling the recording.

What makes OpenLIVE different to other online music stores?

No one in the world has done what we are currently doing. We do have a retail store that is dedicated to hi-resolution, so there is no MP3 or nothing less than CD quality available. We’re the first in Australia to have a dedicated CD quality download store with licensing from the major

RYAN VAN POEDEROOYEN As the drummer for the Devin Townsend Project, Ryan Van Poederooyen has toured the world, played some of the heaviest tracks known to mankind and made a lot of friends on the way. Seriously, you’ll never hear anything bad about the guy. He’s known as a reliable, solid, professional drummer who does whatever it takes to get the job done. Whether you’re a drummer or not, you’ll be able to learn plenty from Van Poederooyen’s Australian masterclass clinic tour in November.

Van Poederooyen is staying on after the October Devin Townsend Project/Periphery tour to present clinics in Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth in association with Thump Music (who have previously presented tours by Townsend, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Paul Gilbert, Guthrie Govan and more). The clinics aren’t just about drumming: they’ll be a masterclass on music and life within the music industry, with anecdotes and musical tips as well as observations and strategies that can help anyone to achieve their goals, whatever they may be. “You have to visualise it and you have to believe it,” Van Poederooyen says. “A lot of people saw the movie and read the book The Secret. I thought it was well done and everything but I think they focused too much on ‘Just visualise it!

It’s going to happen!’ No, man. You definitely should visualise, you

PG.30 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

record labels. That was our original scheme, to get this store up and running. Parallel to that, we started building MasterBuilder and the components of our artist dashboard.

What is High-Resolution audio, and why do you think it is important to listen to music at the highest available sonic quality?

We nominate CD quality as the minimum benchmark for our audio store. With the recordings we make with MasterBuilder, they are made above CD quality. The founders of this company are audio engineers, so we are fanatical about not enjoying music with sub-par sound quality. MP3 can be convenient, but when you are making a subjective comparison to the studio quality master, there is a gaping difference. Because of the fact that Internet speeds and bandwidth allocation are a lot more generous today than what they were when MP3s were first introduced in the early 2000s, it allows for us to distribute Hi-Res audio. It makes sense to be able to distribute music at a higher resolution so that if you have a decent system, you should be able to enjoy the full breath of the sound quality available.

What is the idea behind MasterBuilder and what equipment is used for the set ups?

MasterBuilder was created as a way to, without compromising any sound quality, remotely record completely unmanned, harvest live recordings from venues. So we essentially plant the hardware in as many venues as we like, and the artists who perform at these venues only need to register their set details online for it to record their performance. It’s as simple as booking a plane ticket. It doesn’t cost them anything at the moment, whilst we are in beta testing.

We have developed a platform at the moment though that is working extremely well, and is harvesting hundreds of recordings a week.

What venues is MasterBuilder being rolled out into?

We have been very fortunate that the proprietors of local venues have seen the value in our product.

Currently, we have installed quite a few in Melbourne.

MasterBuilder is installed at The Evelyn, The

Reverence, Northcote Social Club, Shebeen, Max Watt’s and The Corner Hotel. We also have MasterBuilder at Oxford Arts Factory (Sydney), The Triffid (Brisbane) and The Astor Theatre (Perth). We will be pushing out overseas in the next couple of months, with a venue in New York jumping on board, as well as continuing to work on our roll out in the UK. With technological advancements in recent years resulting in higher storage devices and faster Internet speeds, do you believe that audience’s should be looking for higher quality recordings?

What we have noticed is that musicians are absolutely bent towards sound quality. For anyone that has been in a studio and completed a recording, and have heard just how good it all sounds after you have spent months tweaking and mastering it, its hard to be satisfied with a compressed version. To have is smashed down to a MP3 file is always a kick in the guts as a musician.

Whether the average consumer is motivated to go to the extra length to source and find the hi-resolution material is another question. We initially thought that we were venturing into a niche market, and a market that would need a lot of stimulation in order to receive traction on our product. The market research that we have seen however suggests that there is a fairly large group of people out there who care about sound quality. If you look at the 1970s, the hi-fi marketing was all about sound quality. You had big speakers, huge hi-fi components etc. and sound quality was the real selling point. These days, trends have shifted and convenience seems to be a bigger sell factor. Anyone who compares a compressed sound recording with budget headphones to a decent hi-fi recording is going to understand the difference, and go looking for it.

definitely think about it and believe in yourself but holy crap, you’ve gotta bust your ass. You’ve got to open as many doors as you can, and never quit.”

So what can we expect from Van Poederooyen’s masterclass? “I’ve done clinics in the past and they were a lot more geared towards drummers, right?

You go to a drum clinic and you expect to learn about drums. And I’ve been to so many clinics now and there’s nothing wrong with doing it that way. But I want to reach out to any musician never mind musician but music lover. So I’ll play drums and talk about drums, but how I’m going to approach this clinic is to show them, for example, touring and health. Thirteen years ago I had a back accident. Couldn’t work out, started eating really bad compared to how I’d always eat healthy. I got unhealthy and long story short, I’d go out on the road and man, I’d be gassed halfway through the set and my focus wasn’t there. Even though I could still play the show alright, I’d get offstage and I’d feel terrible. This is something that can apply to a broad spectrum of people, not just a drummer.”

“The other thing is my positive approach to anything I do,” he continues. “How I succeeded in the music industry, which can be applicable to anyone in whatever they want to try and do and accomplish in life. These are the types of things that I want to share in the clinic, but at the same time I’ll play songs from various bands - Devin Townsend Project, Terror Syndrome, stuff like that - that will tie into the clinic. I don’t want to give away everything that I want to do but it’s not just going to be geared towards drumming: it’s going to be about life in the music industry, drumming and life in general.

Van Poederooyen will also discuss musical equipment endorsements - how they work, what the artist can expect from the company and what the company can expect from the artist, or, more accurately, what they can do for each other and how they can work together. “I”m endorsed with

Zoom Electronics because I use them for all my drum cams. As far as the drums go, there’s Pearl Drums, Sabian Cymbals, Evans drum heads, Regal Tip drum sticks, Alesis Electronics, Trick pedals, Audio Technica microphones, and a company called DrumDial which is a great tool for helping to speed up the process of tuning. Every single one of those endorsements I use in every single gig and I’m extremely grateful to have them. A lot of people have gone in with the thought ‘Oh endorsements, they’re going to give me stuff.’ But it’s not like that. It’s about give and take, and the reason I have such a good relationship with my endorsements is because I’m constantly on my Facebook page advertising them, letting people know why I use them. That is huge for them.

There are a tonne of artists who never think of doing that. Those are the guys who end up getting dropped. You just can’t expect to get endorsed and think you’re doing them a favour. It’s a two-way road.”

“I’m excited to just be coming to Australia,” Van Poederooyen concludes. “This’ll be the first time I try this new format of making it applicable to any music lover. And there’s a meet-and-greet for everyone. We tossed the VIP idea and if I’ve got to stay there for five hours to meet everyone, I will.

There’ll be tonnes of great giveaways as well but the bottom line is I want everyone to be educated, motivated and inspired.”

BY MICHAEL EDNEY For more information about OPENlive, Masterbuilder or some of the releases they’ve put together visit www.openlive.co.

BY PETER HODGSON

TOUR DATES NOV 2 - THE GOV, ADELAIDE SA NOV 3 - WESLEY CONFERENCE CENTRE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW NOV 4 - PRINCESS THEATRE, BRISBANE QLD NOV 6 - GASWORKS THEATRE, MELBOURNE VIC NOV 8 - JOHN INVERARITY THEATRE, PERTH WA

www.mixdownmag.com.au

N O

A M P

I S

B E T T E R

M A D E .

O R

P L AY E D .

Specialising in the supply of some of the world’s finest instruments and equipment to the Australian market.

EGM.NET.AU | PH. (03) 9817 7222 | INFO@EGM.NET.AU

I N T E R V I E W S

STEVE JAMES Steve James is one decorated record producer. His experience working with some of the biggest names in music has left him with a deep reservoir of knowledge – knowledge that he’ll be passing on in an upcoming masterclass at Sydney’s A Sharp Studios in January next year. As Steve explains to us, the knowledge base required of contemporary producers is vast, and understanding the nuances of the work are pivotal to your long-term success.

We spoke with Steve about his experience working in the music industry, and some of the hurdles that aspiring producers are likely to encounter throughout their journey.

How did you come to be involved with music, and how long have you been working in the industry?

I was born into a show business family and grew up surrounded by music, it’s “in the blood” if you like. Both my parents were musicians, so I started playing the piano at age 6 but got bored with that quite quickly and moved onto other instruments including the drums. Later I was the projectionist of sound at both prep school and high school where I was in charge of all tape machines, school plays and sound effects. So it all started at a really early age and hasn’t stopped since. Being born in the 50s and being in the UK, it was the musical explosion, and then we ended up showing the Americans how to do it. Listening to pirate radio and the like.

I started working in the music industry in 1969 when I left school and worked at EMI as quality control for the production of cassettes and 8 track cartridges. This was an amazing musical and sonic education; from Beethoven to The Beatles, I had to listen to everything from drop-outs to general quality. I stayed at EMI for 3 years until my first break when I applied for an apprentice tape-op position at the famous London Studio, Chappell Studios. Positioning microphones during the day for Orchestra’s

THE DARKNESS When The Darkness exposed themselves to the world of rock and roll, anyone who saw their tight pants and heard their instruments climactic sounds couldn’t help but think they’d found the lost kings of rock. “I wasn’t surprised to be honest. I kind of expected to be amazing and loved, just because I’m that kind of asshole. We tell people what to expect. I was amazing them. I knew we’d have people worshipping us, not in the biblical sense mind you, but close. Expect and ye shall receive.”

For the past 15 years Justin Hawkins, lead singer and lead guitarist, has been gyrating his tight pants on stage and driving fans wild with the band’s tongue-in-cheek brand of rock and roll. But Justin reveals that the pants hold more than just his junk.

“It’s a special trick we use in the studio. Whenever we’ve got to record a chorus I get a more generous cut, where if we’re working on a verse I pack everything in to get those high notes. It’s absolutely true.

If you condense anything you get more out of it, so I do it for the music.” Even after all this time squeezing into those pants and hitting those notes, The Darkness continues to hold the world in their loving embrace and refuse to let go. Justin believes the reason behind the band’s continued success is due to their own lofty expectations to always outdo themselves.

“The pressure is more from within the band. We’re all trying to be the best. That first album was our benchmark. It was such a strong

PG.32 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

with a 45-piece string section and then recording The Jam’s new single in the evening – very diverse but what an experience. So to answer your question, 46 years.

Tell us about some of the greatest projects you’ve worked on and why you loved them?

The Rutles and Monty Python’s Life of Brian were my first big breaks where I worked with talented funny lunatics and some of the best musicians in the UK at the time. I was 22 and The Rutles album went top 5 on the charts and was nominated for a Grammy. ‘Always Look on the Bright Side’ from the Life of Brian has sold 60 million units and is apparently the most played song at funerals.

Toyah Wilcox was a major breakthrough artist in the 70s in the UK and I was lucky enough to do her first 3 Albums. This was also a major time for punk rock and music generally in the UK. In those days I worked with many great bands including The Jam, The Saints and The Sex Pistols. I don’t remember too much about those days but apparently I was there! Finding The Screaming Jets at their managers engagement party was also quite an eye opener. Watching Michael Gudinski and Chris Murphy, at either sides of the gig we organised, haggling was great fun let alone the recording of the first album in a week!

What is it about this occupation that you enjoy so much? What motivates you to work in the music industry?

I have a profound love for music and a natural respect for the artists’ integrity. I love to inspire and help create and realise their dream. There is nothing more satisfying than to see an entire audience singing a song that you have recorded.

What can people expect to gain from coming to this Masterclass?

During my career I have recorded full orchestras, TV concerts, Film soundtracks, live concerts and all genres of music from pop, rock, jazz, country and classical. I aim to show and discuss those analogue techniques that I learned and have developed over the years that have won me a Grammy Nomination and ARIA Producer

and Engineer of the year. It’s not just about recording acoustic and electric instruments and choosing the right microphones for the right instrument and understanding acoustic space. It’s also important to understand the vision of the music that you have to record and have the insight to understanding the process of bringing the best out of the artist and musicians. In the Masterclass we’ll be taking a great group of musicians through the entire art of achieving a great record. From recording to mastering, and discussing each process along the way.

What are the main issues facing budding producers today?

Finding good material is always the first issue when it comes to the production process because “it’s all about the song”. It is not always as easy as it seems, therefore pre-production before even thinking about entering a studio is incredibly important so not to waste expensive studio time. Being allowed the time to do this is not always possible and can have a negative impact on the recording result.

Are there any main errors you find being made consistently by young producers?

In many respects it is actually easier for young producers these days, but only up to a point. I’m finding many of the new productions are lacking the clarity and quality required to attract media attention and recognition. The landscape of music also changes daily, therefore a sound knowledge of production and recording techniques, and a respectful understanding of artist communication will always be the key to longevity in this business. Credibility and knowing ones job is key.

album straight out of the gate. I mean, bands go their whole career without turning out something that good. So we push ourselves to keep up at our own levels. I don’t think it’s in us just to churn out something that’s less than absolutely awesome.”

Each success only further emboldens the band, and drives them to greater things.

“When you get a little bit of success, it’s easy to keep going then. I mean hell, I could be working at Starbucks or something, but instead I’m making incredible music. Success is our only propulsion. Our albums sell, people come to our shows, and with that success we get all the energy we need to keep doing it.”

But 15 years is a long time, and to maintain the same passion and energy for music is one of the greatest challenges awaiting musicians. But Justin believes that, while you may not feel the same way you did when you first made music, your levels of enthusiasm will always remain the same.

“It’s hard to remember how it used to feel. It’s still exciting; otherwise we wouldn’t be doing it. Whether it feels the same is hard to say. All sensations change, something of the original must be there.

I know I still get excited whenever we play, I don’t know if it’s the same excitement I felt at the beginning, but it’s still just as exciting.”

Throughout their career, the band have released four albums and have had awards thrown at them like panties from a crowd, all the while in the background people continue to yell rock is dead. Justin laughed at a review that claimed The Darkness was just a big time 70’s rock tribute band.

“I think our sound keeps changing. I wouldn’t say that our sound is a tribute to the 70s, but more inspired by the rock of the 70s, 80s, and 90s simply because music from that time was almost always brilliant. If we felt the same about more modern stuff we’d be inspired by that too, but I find the sound of the 2000s is shit, mostly because people are trying to find something new instead of something good.”

As bands go on in years, they begin to explore new sounds, even dabbling in other genres, in an effort

to keep things fresh and new creatively. Justin explains that, while the band has explored new musical territory, the focus has been to keep things interesting, whatever that might entail.

“We haven’t consciously changed anything. There’s a good cross section of rock within our sound. It’s been straightforward, two guitars, drums, and bass. Other times it’s more exploring and adventuring rather than purposefully looking to change everything. I mean, I like synths, I think they’re an excellent instrument for rock and roll. But I find electronic music boring, and synths in that sense are boring too, which is why we’ve never branched out into other genres. If it isn’t interesting to us, why should we ever bother playing it?”

With the band about to launch a new tour, performing in Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney; Justin looks forward to travelling across Australia once again.

“It’s been long overdue. All of Australia is brilliant.

Perth is beautiful; I remember doing a show there and being startled by the noise of the crowd, shouting directly at me. You wouldn’t expect such an idyllic place to have such a mad group of people, and I say that with the utmost appreciation and admiration. A lot of people are saying that Melbourne’s where it’s at, but we’re just really excited to get to Australia and get the tour going. It’s going to be brilliant.”

While not wanting to spoil the surprise awaiting his Australian audience, Justin does have a message for those hungry for the return of The Darkness: “Put the kettle on love, I’m coming home. Get ready for a bit of mischief!”

BY KEATS MULLIGAN Steve James will be hosting a Masterclass at Sydney’s A Sharp Studios from January 22 to January 24, 2016. To enquire about the masterclass contact A Sharp Studios at masterclass@asharp.com.au, or head to www.asharp.com.au.

BY DAN PRIOR

TOUR DATES NOV 6 – HQ, ADELAIDE SA NOV 7 – METROPOLIS, FREMANTLE WA NOV 8 – TIVOLI, BRISBANE QLD NOV 11 – THE FORUM, MELBOURNE VIC NOV 13 – ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW

www.mixdownmag.com.au

5.1 Surround Sound from 2 channel sound capture

How much more impressive and emotional are sports broadcasts that also convey the spirit and atmosphere of the venue.

The solution is Sennheiser’s ESFERA, the surround microphone system that enables you to generate and broadcast 5.1 surround sound using two standard audio channels.

ESFERA - contact us for further details www.sennheiser.com.au/esfera

THE LEGEND Legendary gutsy sound… like no other keyboard The lightest weight ever · Robust build quality · Huge extra sound library · Easy performance features Four options: SK1 compact keyboard (just 7kg), SK1-73, the two-tier SK-2 and full piano length SK1-88.

SK-2 SK-1

A V A I L A B L E

F R O M

SK1-88

Melbourne: Bernies Music Land (03) 9872 5122 · Sydney: Carlingford Music (02) 9873 2333 Adelaide: Derringers Music (08) 8371 1884 · Perth: Kosmic Sound (08) 9204 7577 · Brisbane: Ellaways Music (07) 3359 8266

C O L U M N S

Unleash Your Inner Rock God A Beginner’s Guide to Metal Guitar

ON THE DOWNLOW

Devin Townsend Talks Bass

Metal is one of the most difficult and rewarding guitar styles to play in. This lesson is for those who have figured out how to tune the guitar, and who know how to press down on the string well enough to sound a firm note, and understand how to read tablature, but no other playing knowledge is assumed. So whether you’re a beginning dabbler or you’ve been playing for a while but have yet to dip your toe into the molten world of metal, this one’s for you.

Devin Townsend is known as many things - songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, producer, heavy metal puppeteer. From his debut major release as vocalist for Steve Vai’s Vai band project to extreme metal with Strapping Young Lad, acoustic space folk with Casualties of Cool and progressive rock and metal with the Devin Townsend Project, he’s covered a huge amount of musical ground. I’ve interviewed Devin many times over the years, and something that’s always stood out to me is his passion for the bass. Devin is always professing his love for the instrument and has said many times that he’d be perfectly happy playing bass in a band. I asked him about his relationship to the guitar and bass, and how the two instruments complement each other in his mind.

The Power Chord

The most fundamental element of metal guitar is the power chord. It’s pretty simple to play and to move around the neck, which means you can make some pretty listenable music very soon after learning it. The Power Chord is typically played with its lowest note on either the bottom string (E) or the next one up from that (A). It’s an easy shape to remember too. Observe. The only exception is if you play a power chord that contains an open (unfretted) string as its lowest note. Then you only need to fret the higher note.

Before we go any further, a quick music theory lesson. Figure 1 is the name of all the notes on the lowest string, and Figure 2 is the major scale. In this case we’ll learn the scale in the key of A because it’s easier to play there, but you can move this shape anywhere on the neck and whichever note is the lowest, that’s the key you’re playing in. Start the pattern at the third fret and you’re playing in the key of G. Start at the 10th and you’re in D. It’s that easy.

Power Chord Riffage

Okay. Figure 3 is a simple power chord riff designed to sound suitably metal. It uses both open and fully-fretted power chords starting on both the E and A strings. It’s quite easy to play, since each chord is the same exact shape, just played at a different point on the neck. The chord

names (A5, C5, F5, D5) are included so you can see how they relate to the notes from Figure 1.

Palm Muting

Now that we know what to play, let’s look at how to play it. One reason that metal sounds so punchy and heavy is the palm mute. This is where you use the edge of your palm to partially deaden the note, cutting off its decay while simultaneously putting more impact on its attack.

Figure 4 is a riff which combines power chords and palm-muted low notes.

Metal Scales

Here are some handy scales to use as the blueprint for writing metal riffs and solos.

Some scales sound intrinsically happy.

Some sound downright evil. Learn as many of them as you can. Learning a new scale can unlock a whole world of musical exploration, and as long as you stick within the scale you can usually randomly play a few different notes and find a way to make them all fit together. Each of these scales are presented in the key of A, and although there are plenty more, these are the most brutal and metalworthy. The most important thing to remember is that scales aren’t just some lame practice thing to be rehearsed up and down. They’re particular families of notes that work well together and create their own moods.

By Peter Hodgson

PG.34 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

“I’ll start by saying this: all I do right now is play bass,” Devin said. “I don’t play guitar at all. All I do is play bass, all day! Like, really, my fingers are shot. I play bass all day. And I think that leads me to, what do I see guitar as? Well I see it as a bunch of things. I see it as a tool. I see it as a weapon. I see it as a bunch of blocks. I see it as a bunch of patterns. I see it as a bunch of baggage as well. And because I’ve been in this weird tuning for so long (CGCGCE), I see it as almost exclusively a writing tool as opposed to anything else. Inevitably someone will put a guitar in your hands and be like, “Well, play something.” But I use it to write songs, y’know? I’m a guitar player, of course. I saw an interview with Steven Wilson where he’s like, “I’m not a guitar player,’ but I mean, he is a guitar player! I’m a guitar player. I love the guitar. But I agree with him in the sense that I’m not a guitar player in the way of my identity being invested in my ability to do things on it. I’ve got a certain capacity for technique that allows me to articulate pretty much anything that comes into my head, and a lot of the things that come into my head are rarely the types of things that require acrobatics. But when people put a guitar in my hand and they’re like, “Solo!,” what am I supposed to do? So I’ve got a reservoir of ten or twelve shapes that I’ve been playing for 30 years that I’ll pull out. But the reason why I have those in a place technically that allows me to perform them marginally well is that those shapes I can apply to almost any idea that I have, whether it’s the sweeping or the tapping or the string skipping or the riffing, those shapes allow me to play any thought that I have. And that’s what I do!

So when I sit down to record I’m always in shape, guitar-wise. Whether I’m playing

bass or guitar, regardless, I’m in shape.

It’s been years since I’ve not played. So in that sense, yeah, I’m a guitar player in the same way that Steven Wilson or anybody is. But it is truly a vehicle for me to articulate my emotional or artistic process, and that’s where it ends.”

“So for me, bass is much more interesting because there’s something about it that’s just really, really soul-satisfying to me. The lack of need for it to be in the spotlight, and there’s a certain zen in being able to be disciplined enough to play the same thing for five minutes. I’m into Massive Attack, y’know, being able to play an awesome riff without it deviating for five minutes, I love that! And now, guitars… I’m infatuated with the actual physicality of it. And I’ve been fortunate to work with these brilliant companies recently, like Framus and Sadowsky in particular. Unbelievable instruments, right? And because I’ve got that opportunity I’m like, “Dude, let’s just put lights on ’em!” Like, I’ve got a Tele – I’ve got my writing guitars, a Tele and a Strat and a Les Paul and I’m good to go, so my stage guitars? Dude, let’s just make these things audacious!”

If you’re looking for particularly cool bass moments in Devin’s music you should check out his Terria album, which features Craig McFarland on fretless bass.

McFarland has played with M.I.R.V. and Ronnie Montrose, and currently plays in Red Camel. The more lyrical, flowing nature of the fretless bass provides an interesting counterpart to Devin’s washes of guitar and drummer Gene Hogland’s punchy, snappy drum sound.

BY PETER HODGSON

www.mixdownmag.com.au

Check out the full range of the new Diamond guitars at www.diamondaus.com.au Proudly distributed by Dynamic Music Australia www.dynamicmusic.com.au

C O L U M N S

WHAT’S THAT SOUND? Giorgio Moroder and the Nova

Giorgio Moroder, a man as well known for his sunglasses and moustache as he was for the sound he created. This Italian born music producer can be put on high along with the likes of Vangelis, for he too brought the world a truly unique and distinctive sound that captured our imagination both on and off the screen. Beginning his musical career in the ‘60s, it wasn’t until disco really came to light in the 70’s that Moroder began to develop his sound. From then on out, there was no stopping the force that was Giorgio Moroder.

Today, having been a Novation user for many years, he has teamed up with Novation for the very limited release of the MoroderNova synthesizer that bears his image, his sound and a very cool cult Having developed his own unique sound over the years, it is obvious that Moroder has gained so much from collaborations with other artists along the way. Take for example his soundtrack to Midnight Express where he worked with Harold Faltermeier, of “Axel F” fame. In this you can hear influences of both Faltermeier’s and Moroder’s in the composition and sounds created, and you can hear in Moroder’s later works how this became an influence. Like any great artist, he grows with every collaboration he undergoes and so, Moroder’s latest collaboration with Novation should create great things from both the artist and the synthesizer manufacturer.

For those of you lucky enough to get your hands on one of the very limited edition MoroderNovas, it will be a trophy to hang on to for all time. Based around the MiniNova, but with a unique facia and sound set, these synthesizers have been limited to 500 units worldwide, so they naturally attracted quite a lot of attention even before they were released.

The frame is the same as a MiniNova, but with a black and silver colour palette and factory patches inspired by Giorgio Moroder’s work. As a colleague pointed out to me last week, there’s a hit in every one of those patches. And he is right in more ways than one. Yes, there ‘was’ a hit in each of the sounds in the MoroderNova, having come from Giorgio’s works, but there is also a hit waiting to happen as each and every patch is ready to be put to new use. This is where the real fun is going to begin.

Obviously we all wanted to play the theme music from Scarface and, of course, Top Gun, when we got our hands on one of these. You just couldn’t help but realise the potential for a cover band in what lies within these keyboards. And for anyone looking to fire up a Giorgio Moroder

tribute show, this is going to be the best starting point for getting all your sounds in one place. But, it is not enough to take a great engine like this and simply replicate what Moroder has already done.

What the MoroderNova is crying out for is some new creativity to be harnessed with the aid of the sounds of old. A new interpretation on sounds that were fresh and exciting some thirty or forty years ago is what really makes this an interesting unit.

Now, being that this is essentially a MiniNova with a new set of pre-set patches, there are going to a lot of MiniNova users around the world giving their blue unit a sonic upgrade and dumping the Sysex file into their MiniNova to create a glorified MoroderNova, that is for certain. Just because it doesn’t have the silver facia and the sunglass and moustache logos on it, doesn’t mean it can’t behave like a MoroderNova. So, what we are seeing is an existing user group that already knows this synthesizer very well having access to a new range of sounds that are sure to trigger many memories from the past. I think it is also very fitting that a keyboard like this, which comes with an included microphone for vocoder use should be reprogrammed for such a collection of pre-sets, given that Moroder was an early exponent of the vocoder and used it to create a futuristic edge to certain tracks. I for one loved his reworking of the Metropolis soundtrack to bring new life to this classic film and was delighted to hear similar sounds were to be found within the MoroderNova. These are not dissimilar to many of the sounds used in the Scarface soundtrack, so there is plenty of scope for interpretation of these patches and a great deal of new life that can be breathed into these sound of old.

BY ROB GEE

PG.36 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

HOME STUDIO HINTS Opening the Right DAW

In this fast paced era we live in, there is a huge offering when it comes to technological variety in all walks of life. This is no different when it comes to selecting a DAW, or Digital Audio Workstation, within which you intend to record and produce your music. Today, we have more options than ever before in recording software and although having all this choice may seem like a wonderful luxury, it can often hinder the creative process.

Jack of All Trades, Master of None

I regularly tell clients that there is no point knowing how to operate several DAWs fairly well to try and draw the best parts from each one. I have tried this, as I am sure many of you have too. The ease with which you can have several DAWs running on a modern computer makes it all too tempting. But, what results is not only confusion in operations, but a user that never truly makes the most of any of the software’s full potentials. As I continue to stress, it is far better to fully get your head around one single DAW and be able to use it to its fullest potential, rather than trying to get a little bit out of a number of software packages. In reality, you are only as good as your ability to operate the tools you work with, and if you don’t fully understand your DAW, then your musical ability will hit a standstill when you can’t get the most out of your recording. If you have been using a certain software package for a while, but don’t seem to be getting the results you want, stick with it. Get to know more features within that programme and realise its full potential. Simply installing a new DAW onto your computer is not going to solve the problem and will most likely put you further behind from where you are already.

Finding the One for You

I often get asked, “What is the best recording software?” This is a loaded question, that’s for sure. I can say that Pro Tools in the best recording software, for my needs. But Reason is the best song writing software, for my needs. It too has recording functions, but it is not the best recording software, for my needs. Do you see the recurring motif developing here?

There are a number of software packages that can do the job, but there is only one that is the best for ‘your particular needs’ and that one is usually the one that you know how to operate the best. I have been using Pro Tools to record with for more than ten years now, having stepped into it rather painfully somewhere around the late stages of Version 4. Before that I was using Cubase, having developed from an old Atari system with Cubase running

as the sequencer and a Super VHS recorder acting as my master tape. That was a while back now, but in the late 90’s I was getting great results from Cubase at the time because I knew it very well. When I made the switch to Pro Tools, it put my production behind a good 6 months, with a lot of swearing and the want to throw my computer through the window several times a week to begin with.

Nowadays, I look at a Cubase session and I have no idea what is going on. It has developed over the years into an amazing production suite that is somewhat different to Pro Tools and so offers me no way of fully utilising its capabilities.

I do continue to use Reason as a song writing software as I have done since Version 1, given that is offers a very quick workflow that I have grown with as the software itself has grown. But, with my home studio setup, Pro Tools continues to be the best recording software for me.

It may not be for you. There are plenty of people I know getting great results from Logic and even more that continue to surprise me with the work they are producing in Garage Band. Yes, that’s right, Garage Band. This program has often been written off as a bit of a joke by many given that it is offered as a free music option with Mac computers, but just because it is free doesn’t mean you can’t get great results from it. For those users who put the time into learning all the intricacies of the program there is a lot hiding beneath the seemingly simple interface and so the ability to produce great music.

So, whether you us Reason, Cubase, Logic, Pro Tools, Ableton, Garage Band, BitWig, Digital Performer, Studio One or any of the other recording packages out there, it is important to remember that there is no right or wrong answer to what is the ‘better’ software. The DAW that is right for you is the one you know the best and so will be able to get the most out of.

Make a choice, focus on one system and get to know it intimately. You will see the results.

BY ROB GEE

www.mixdownmag.com.au

Create your sound. Any place, any time.

Analogue modelling synth: simple control, complex sound, endless possibilities

FM synth: from nostalgia to trendsetter with modern control

The 8-note polyphonic Virtual Analogue reface CS’ five unique oscillator modules create an incredible variety of sounds from analogue to digital.

reface DX goes retro ‘80s to cutting edge modern at the flick of a switch. Multi-touch controls let you access FM synthesis with your fingertips.

Electric piano: retro control, classic sound and incredible response

Combo organ: a ton of vintage sound & control that weighs less than a small dog!

reface CP features iconic ‘70s stage keyboards and vintage effects in a retro-styled package with great sound, playability and polyphony.

reface YC has the unique expression of drawbars, rotary speaker, percussion and effects for a complete organ experience.

Internal speakers • Battery or AC powered • MIDI input/output

Available

now!

$699.

99

RRP

FIND A DEALER au.yamaha.com

reface Mobile Mini Keyboards are reimagined interfaces of classic Yamaha keyboards. *The price set out in this advertisement is a recommended retail price (RRP) only and there is no obligation for Yamaha dealers to comply with this recommendation. Errors and omissions excepted.

EVENTS & PROMOTIONS yamahabackstage.com.au

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK facebook.com/yamahabackstagepass

C O L U M N S

[D]IGITAL [J]OCKEY That Pioneering Spirit

BANGING THE TUBS

How Do Your Hear Yourself?

Drummers are presented with two main solutions for hearing themselves on stage, but which solution actually turns up the best?

In the time that I’ve played drums I’ve had some great gigs and some equally horrifying ones. Some (not all) of the reasons behind the outcome of any gig is whether you can hear yourself, how much you can hear yourself and the quality of the sound you are hearing. Let’s suss out the two primary options that are available to us drummers these days. Basic methods of monitoring on stage are the uses of fold back wedges/speakers or in-ear monitors (headphones). Both ways offer some pros and cons and many players will have a distinct preference.

One name has remained a constant in the DJ world throughout all the changes in technology over the last twenty or so years. The brand that coined the term CDJ, and made it not just a model number but a commonly used noun in the DJ world for similar devices has come a long way in the last two decades. Growing from the support that longstanding electronics company Pioneer brings to the table, Pioneer DJ continue to redefine the way in which we as DJs interact with our music.

It’s safe to say that Pioneer were very much responsible for the shift away from vinyl in the DJ booth and the development of the Digital DJ. When the CDJ was first introduced in 1992 it was an instant game-changer. Suddenly you could turn up to a gig with only a small array of compact discs and no longer needed to carry around large and heavy record boxes to keep the crowd happy. Of course, this took a long time for many DJs to welcome as a means or performance, but it wasn’t long before most venues fitted out their booths with both a pair of turntables and a pair of CDJs of some generation to cater to the needs of all DJs. The introduction of multi-channel DJ mixers made this all the more workable and soon many DJs were using vinyl and CDs in their sets together. Now, Pioneer have delivered some new products that will again redefine the way in with DJs work.

The CDJ Continues to Grow

I still see these things as CDJs, as that seems to be the colloquial term for a music playing device that has this sort of physical build, like a stand-alone desktop CD player. But the XDJ-700, the latest offering from Pioneer, isn’t quite that as it doesn’t accept compact discs like the CDJs of old would. Designed as a controller for the Rekordbox software, this is a digital music player, not a compact disc player, so it has far greater capabilities. Although not a new concept, this is a new device from Pioneer, offering a more compact and simplified way of working to that which was offered in the larger XDJ-1000. Although built into a smaller frame, it still offers many of the functions you would expect from a device like this, with music capable of being loaded via either USB or Wi-Fi, so you can access the full potential of your musical libraries. There is a large full colour screen on the top of the unit to allow you full visual feedback of what is going on with both file management and playback,

as well as effects application and mix functions. Of course, the traditional large format jog wheel and pitch fader are as always ever present on the unit so you get the same feel when working with the XDJ-700 as you would with just about any other Pioneer player.

Taking the Effect to the Tablet

The other hot announcement from Pioneer this month was the release of the RMX100 effects processor app for iPad. Yes, that’s right folks; you can now have the classic RMX-100 in app form and take it with you anywhere you like. For those of you who just can’t listen to a track without wanting to tweak it in some way or another, adding effects and giving it a new voice, then the RMX-100 app is going to bring new life to your iTunes library as you can work it into your music playback just like the hardware version. Better still, for those of you that use your iPad as a production tool, you can use the RMX100 app’s Inter-App support for adding further character to your own music. If you are onto this quick, you can get an introductory price in the App Store until November 11, before the price goes up, so it could be just in time if you aren’t too slow to read Mixdown this month.

This new trend of apps which emulate hardware units has pushed Pioneer to deliver a faithful recreation of the original RMX-100, with options like Scene, X-Pad, Isolate and Release FX all available at the swipe of a fingertip, just as they were on the original device. It’s time to get your iPad hot rodded with a little bit of Pioneer joy.

BY ROB GEE

PG.38 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

In-Ear Monitoring

First lets talk about in-ear monitoring. Essentially, we’re talking about headphones, although, players in the know will tell you that not all headphones are made equal and some of the major companies that manufacture these monitors (such as Ultimate Ears) have options for headphones with multiple armatures and crossovers for ultimate clarity. Unfortunately, regardless of the amazing piece of kit, when it comes to hearing yourself on stage, you’re usually negotiating with another party. Here are some of the initial downsides of using in-ear monitors.

1. You may not realise how loud you’ve had the mix set in your ears and at the end of the gig, you’ll know about it.

2. Prolonged use at higher volumes could damage ears 3. Need to have perfect mix of everything on stage to make it work as it’s harder to be engaged with the band if mix is bad.

4. You can unknowingly play louder to compensate for the noise cancellation effect as your drums won’t be as loud and the sound won’t be coming at you in the same way as when you don’t have headphones in.

5. Sudden spikes in volume (feedback, changes in volumes of instruments on stage, mistakes by the engineer) can be very damaging to ears.

6. In ear monitors are not cheap and costly to replace if they get lost.

7. Wireless variations of in-ear monitors can encounter interference if not set up properly.

8. If not using custom moulds, some players can find the earphones uncomfortable.

Having said this, the benefits of using inears are also present and worthy of noting.

1. A perfect mix of your drums is always a good thing!

2. You can run a portable mixing desk for yourself to give full control of your own sound in your monitors.

3. Backing tracks with click or metronome are a breeze when you can hear so clearly and you’re not battling with other instruments as much. You can also split and pan the tracks so that the click is isolated on it’s own channel for even greater control.

4. The sound is more isolated from other noise on stage, so you’re likely to hear more of what’s going on if your mix is clean.

5. You can theoretically have a softer mix in your monitors to save your ears and there’s less to set up if you’re running the PA yourself.

Foldback / Wedges

The other, more regularly supplied option for monitoring is the good ol’ fashioned speaker or foldback. I was fortunate on a recent tour to have a monitor set up that included a top box and a subwoofer. In terms of feel, this was nice as my kick drum was very present and I was able to get a nice environment happening for the gig.

Again, like anything there’s pros and cons with foldback wedges. Some of the challenges might include: 1. Feedback 2. Positioning of the speaker itself 3. A bad EQ or an incompetent monitor engineer can lead to constant battles as well as talking back and forth trying to get a good sound.

4. Can be often set too loud.

5. It’s an extra set of speakers to carry around if you’re doing PA yourself.

6. Having multiple monitors for all musicians simply creates more on sound on stage which can lead to problems in front of house as well as feedback The positives?

1. Because your ears are free of obstructions, you’re more aware of the performance space around you and what the other players are doing.

2. You can get more low end frequencies from larger speakers and a bigger sound 3. It’s ultimately more comfortable for the majority of drummers as it’s more a standard option for sound engineers.

4. It’s simpler to get a good mix as the drummer might still be able to hear other instruments from stage sound alone meaning less needs to go into the mix and a more relaxed approach to monitoring.

So Which Is Ultimately Best?

This is personal preference. I like both but for different reasons. If I’m running tracks, I like to use in-ear monitors – even cheaper ones. I have greater depth of hearing click and track and this is important. If I were playing a gig where interaction with the other musicians is paramount, I’d opt for standard fold back.

I can hear when people are talking to me, the sound of my drums is right there and I can be a real part of the experience – not just in my own little world. Again, this is all subjective and everyone will have a different preference but it’s nice to have options.

BY ADRIAN VIOLI

www.mixdownmag.com.au

DIGITAL STAGE PIANOS PX-160

THE CASIO PRIVIA RANGE

PX-360M

WHERE PERFORMANCE MEETS PASSION

PX-5S PRO

PX-560M PRO

SOUND

TECHNOLOGY To find out more about CASIO Privia visit www.soundtechnology.com.au/product/stage Phone: 1300 768 112 CASIO IS PROUDLY DISTRIBUTED BY SHRIRO AUSTRALIA

C O L U M N S

- FAQS Following on from last month’s discussion on P2P V PCB; hopefully we have now established that P2P is mainly a reliable and “applicable to the technology” construction method other than the primary reason that tube amps sound so good.

Then What Does Determine The Sound Quality Of A Tube Amplifier?

Firstly and most obviously they use tubes that just sound good!

The next would be the configuration of the amplifier. This includes aspects like the number of tube stages used, the amount of control of the frequency levels with the amplifier’s tone controls (i.e. tone stack) and other filters, the voltages used to operate the tubes (300v - 500v), the type of output stage configuration or more efficient designs such as push-pull producing much more power.

Other factors would include valve types such as 12AX7, 12AT7 dual triodes, EF86 mini pentode for preamps tubes and various power tubes, the most common being, EL84, 6V6 for lower powered amps from 5 watts (1 tube) to 30 watts (4 tubes), 6L6, EL34 for mid powered (50 watts 2 tubes, 100 watts 4 tubes) and for more powerful amplifiers KT88 or 6550 producing up to 300 watts using 6 tubes. Speakers, their

with

THE AMP DOCTOR -

size and the materials used to construct them, also play a large role in determining the overall sound of an amplifier.

Most of what has been discussed so far is simply described at the electronic circuit of the amplifier, and this is the number one factor in determining how the amplifier will sound. The circuit is basically how all the various components like tubes, resistors, capacitors, transformers, and speakers are all connected to one another.

Another important criteria is the physical locations of the components or the layout of the components within the amplifiers chassis.

After this, we have the type and quality of the other components like resistors and capacitors. Tube quality and brands are also important and tubes need to be matched and biased correctly for output stage and select for low noise etc. for the various preamp stages.

Transformers and materials used to construct them are also quite important.

Choosing An Amp To Buy

It’s a bit like horses for courses really. You need to buy an amp that is best suited to your playing needs, at the volume you need to play. Small 5-watt amps are great for practice, blues and recording but don’t expect to get an awesome loud clean sound out of them. At the other end of the scale, don’t buy a 100-watt EL34 job for small gigs and home practice,

PG.40 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

it’s just going to be way too loud. A 15 to 50-watt amp is the most common, and you’ll be surprised at how loud tube amps can be in comparison to solid state amps.

Spending more money usually will allow you to get a better product and don’t forget the boutique amp makers if you have the money as they offer a far better product for sound quality and reliability.

BY DR. SHERLOCK

www.mixdownmag.com.au

B R A N D

S P O T L I G H T

LEWITT MICROPHONES Lewitt microphones are a relatively new product in a world of microphones dominated by established long-standing names. Introduced in 2010, Lewitt is the brainchild of Austrian Roman Perschon.

After working as a project manager in manufacturing microphones for one such established company, Perschon took his wealth of knowledge and set out to develop a line of microphones that sought to challenge the rest of the market in terms of quality, but more so innovation. Tired of continuously seeing great and interesting ideas brushed aside in favour of tradition, or engulfed by the inherent disconnect and bureaucracy of larger manufacturers, Perschon packed his bags and set out travelling, in search of someone that shared a passion for sonic innovation.

Eventually Roman Perschon found his kindred spirit in Ken Yang, a Chinese Australian whose family had owned one of China’s largest microphone manufacturing bases. The strengths of having a partnership like this are obvious. Roman, an ambitious and experienced entrepreneur with a swag of sketched out designs, and Ken, an equally ambitious young man with a tremendous understanding of the industry and access to one of the world’s biggest manufacturing bases, the possibilities were endless.

Roman assembled his technical team from Austria and sought to put his designs into production, with the small, albeit impressive product line being introduced

www.mixdownmag.com.au

at the NAMM conference in Anaheim, USA and the Prolight+Sound conference in Frankfurt Germany. The range caught the idea of technicians and musicians alike, and from that point the Lewitt range has grown into the esteemed line we know today.

These days the Lewitt range is significantly larger than it was when they first launched, and is comprised of five distinct lines, built for five distinct purposes.

The LCT Authentica Series is Lewitt’s premier series of recording microphones; a new generation of condenser microphones that best demonstrate the companies passion for innovation. These mics are fitted with features like illuminated settings, noiseless push buttons, automatic attenuation with clip detection and a history feature specifically to tend to common difficulties experienced by the musicians and technicians they tested the products with.

The MTP Performance Series contains a more recognisable collection of condenser and dynamic cardiod microphones built for more traditional purposes. These mics are built in the same familiar way that most dynamic mics are, but they do have their own special suave signature.

You’ll find Lewitt’s flagship models the

MTP840 DM and the MTP940 CM in this range that seeks to provide more accurate sound reproduction from the source with enhanced side rejection.

The DTP Series is designed specifically for capturing drums and percussion. A family of wired condensers headlined by the dual element cardiod DTP 640 REX kick drum mic. The DTP Series is built to be able to deal with varying load impedance, and offer a clarity of sound that you wouldn’t ordinarily expect from a range built for this sole purpose.

Lastly, the DGT and LTS Series of microphones are purpose built microphones for contemporary use as radio mics, or for wireless recording. The DGT series offers a couple of USB microphones that will please

anyone who requires a portable solution to capture ambient noise, or other sound in the field. The DGT Series also features a recording app for smartphones that incorporates the ingenuity of the company to give you greater control over your recordings through your smartphone. The LTS series on the other hand is a collection of wireless microphones aimed for gigs, conferences or any other live event that demands consistent performance and intuitive operation.

Though Lewitt microphones have been around for a few years now, the recent expansion and development of their range has them poised to be competing with some of the most well-known microphone manufacturers in the world. Expect to see a lot more of these around the country.

For more information about Lewitt Microphones, contact Electric Factory on (03) 9474 1000 or visit elfa.com.au

MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.41

B R A N D

S P O T L I G H T

SWITCHCRAFT

S OME OF THE W O R L D ’ S B E S T G U I T A R C O M P O N E N T S Switchcraft has long been known for their high-quality audio connectors: jacks, plugs, switches… pretty much every guitarist in the world has passed their signal through a Switchcraft product at some point in their lives. The company was established in 1946, just in time to be a part of the rise of the electric guitar. In the 70s they expanded into ‘harsh environment connector products,’ expanding market growth and learning new skills. In 1999 the company was acquired by Conxall, a manufacturer of circular connectors and cable assemblies, and then in 2011 it was acquired by HEICO Corporation to become a part of their Electronic Technologies Group.

But that’s the past, and Switchcraft has a lot more going on than simply making some of the best, most respected audio connectors in the world, as Glenn Clarke of Australian Switchcraft distributors Clarke & Severn Electronics explains.

“Switchcraft has been around for a lot of years, since 1946,” he says. “And basically they just make products that don’t wear out. They’re well known for their guitar products - their jacks, their plugs, their switches. In more recent years they’ve come out with some rather clever patch bays - their Studio Patch Range - that you can change with the turn of a screwdriver rather than having to solder and re-solder.

They’ve also come out with small-form type technology which they didn’t have before, and they’re driving a lot of that sort of stuff. So we’re going to see more products that are now attuned to the current technology with iPads and virtual studio technology. So yes, they’ve been around for a long time, but they’re not stuck in the past.”

Before, it wasn’t. Before you had to have all good gear, and you had to have the money to pay for it and support it.

Now you don’t need that!’ And then there’s the emotional connection felt between musicians and their gear. “Even at the Melbourne Guitar Show, we were opposite Charles Cilia, and he uses Switchcraft parts that we got in for him, and the quality of what he produced, and the effort and love that went into each one that he made was just amazing.

And I couldn’t believe how cheap he was selling them for!

I was like ‘Charles, you could be selling these for so much more! They’re all handmade and you put all that effort in.’

But he said ‘No, this is what it is.’ And then people would come to play them and almost cuddle them, and then they’d play for an hour, go away and come back. They had an emotional connection to his guitars.’

So which Switchcraft product does Clarke feel is especially exciting? One example is the new DI 314 box, which builds on the concept of Audiostix, tiny little rectangular tubes for signal routing applications. “They’ve now reduced the size of their chunky DI boxes to that size too. The Audiostix line is quite popular, and since we’ve done all this effort on our site and got the pricing right, the 9625 patch bay – the 96-way studio patch – we’re probably moving one of those a week where we were lucky to move one a year. And I think that’s a big thing: having Switchcraft products available means you order it and if it’s in stock then it generally ships within 24 to 48 hours. So you’re getting value for money in product, price and service.”

BY PETER HODGSON

Switchcraft is uniquely placed to be right there at the intersection of creativity and knowledge. It seems like most musicians now are more empowered by knowledge and information than ever before. whereas once the mega rigs of doom were reserved for the likes of Steve Lukather, now pretty much anyone can construct a rig with complex switching and routing applications with high quality gear at a much more affordable price point than ever. “I think people are more empowered,” Clarke says. “And they can basically do so much more now, almost anywhere, any time.

Other than from an acoustic point of view you don’t actually need a studio, which is going to change a lot of things.

My perception, my take from going to trade shows and guitar shows and talking to people is that everybody knows Switchcraft from the old stuff. They don’t think of the new stuff, and a lot of the Switchcraft competitors have done all the new stuff that Switchcraft is now starting to catch up to, and they’ve got an awful lot of stuff in the pipeline which we’ll see come into the market in the coming years.”

Clarke has his own theories on why so many folks are setting up their own studios or becoming more aware of pro-style signal routing technologies:. “Music, in some ways, is making a comeback,” he says simply. “There’s a guy in my poker group who has a band and he plays keyboards and guitar. Six of them got together and they’re playing gigs in pubs around Sydney, and even he turned up and goes ‘look, we’re playing in the garage and it’s not quite working. Can you make us up a Y-split cable so I can run both my keyboards into my amp?’ I think that’s where now technology has made it easy for everybody to do that.

PG.42 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

Key to Clarke & Severn’s philosophy is to make sure that the gear is available at an affordable price point, and in a timely manner. Especially now that there’s always competition from offshore sites. Part of that is protecting local consumers from the false-economy-shock of exchange rates and fees for freight and customs, not to mention cutting down on wait times. “It’s important that it’s available here in Australia,” Clarke says. “It’s stocked in Australia and the prices are pretty competitive with prices out of the US, especially when you factor in freight. Between myself, my marketing person and my wife, Switchcraft has been a pet project and we’ve trawled almost every website that we can find on the net, checking prices, and we’ve worked out what the pattern is. We try and make it as attractive as possible for people in Australia and New Zealand to get their hands on the product and not get the shock of the huge freight bill when it turns up!”

For more information on Switchcraft products, contact Clarke and Severn Electronics at www.clarke.com.au or phone (02) 9182 1944

www.mixdownmag.com.au

CUSTOM SHOP

Hand crafted in the foothills of Mt.Takamine, Japan.

Only 20 of each of these unique models are available worldwide.

CP7D – AD1

CP5M – SE

Dreadnought model, Adirondack OM model, Striped Ebony back Spruce top, Indian Rosewood and sides, Ebony ngerboard, back and sides, Ebony bridge, Bearclaw Engelmann Spruce top, Mahogany Neck, CTP-3 Preamp Rosewood bridge, CTP-3 Preamp Distributed in Australia by Pro Music

CP5M – FW

OM model, Flamed Black Walnut back and sides, Ebony ngerboard, Bearclaw Engelmann Spruce top, Rosewood bridge, CTP-3 Preamp

www.promusicaustralia.com

ROAD TESTS Casio

Privia Pro Series Keyboards Shriro Australia | (02) 9415 5000 | www.soundtechnology.com.au | RRP: PX-160 $899.95, PX-360 $1,399.95, PX-560 - $1,699.95, PX5S - $1,699.95

When I think of Casio, the first thing that comes to mind are the cheap and cheerful keyboards that populated households the world over in the ‘80s. However, things have changed a lot since then. The next generation of Casio keyboards are jam packed with professional level features, cutting edge technology and breathtakingly lifelike modelling of everything from crisp grand pianos to pulsing analogue synths - all of which is exemplified in their new Privia series.

Throughout, the piano tones are sampled from some of the world’s most desirable concert grands, and thanks to their groundbreaking AiR (Acoustic and Intelligent Resonator) system, upgraded memory, lossless audio compression, improved touch sensitive action and a slew of extra features, the collection finds itself at the perfect crossroads between uncompromising quality and affordability. To cap it off, all of these digital pianos are extremely portable so you can spend less time at the chiropractor and more time behind the keys.

PX-160

The PX-160 presents itself as the most affordable option in the Privia range. It’s an excellent choice for someone looking for their first good digital piano, those looking for a gig-ready keyboard on tighter budget or just those looking for a conveniently sized rig that won’t take up too much space. Don’t be fooled by its lower price, however. The PX-160 packs a whole lot of punch and competes with plenty of other digital pianos twice its cost. Powered by the same AiR technology found in its bigger brothers, the concert grand sound is spot on.

Essentially, AiR utilises a unique processor based on Casio’s Linear Morphing technology.

This recreates the nuances of a live grand piano by allowing seamless dynamic transitions and more realistic tonal colours that are controlled by touch. Digging in, you’ll notice a pleasant bite that particularly shines on the ‘modern’ setting.

As well as sounding remarkably close to the real thing, the PX-160 physically feels right too. The new Tri-Sensor Scaled Hammer Action Keyboard is a key selling point for this model, and makes for a responsive experience that lends itself to expressive playing. Coupled with the simulated ebony and ivory feel keys that offer subtle texture for added grip and luxurious feel, Casio have shown

an attention to detail that makes this a winner.

PX-360

Moving up from the 160, the PX-360 still harnesses all of the core features that makes the Privia series so playable, but combines them with a stack of valuable additions that make this a great tool for composition and live use. The most instantly remarkable feature is the large, full colour touch screen interface placed at the centre of the keyboard. Usually, the more features that are added into a digital piano make the overall experience less counter intuitive.

However, the clearly designed interface negates this problem and saves from having to memorise any clunky secondary key functions. Instead, an expansive selection of sounds is easily accessible and ready to use whenever inspiration strikes.

As an added bonus, the display is bright enough to see you through even the darkest stage set up.

With 550 tones on offer including strings, guitars, drums, basses, synths and a whole heap more, it’s well suited for experimentation. The Rhodes and Wurlitzer emulations come across particularly convincingly.

Rounding it out is a selection of built in studio functions including a 17 track MIDI song recorder as well as the capacity to record in WAV format straight

PG.44 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

to a USB for easy sharing.

Perfect for someone looking for a pro quality, fully featured keyboard without breaking the bank.

PX-560M

The PX-560M boasts the same intuitive 5.3 inch interface as the 360, but it squeezes even more juice out of the keyboard with a whopping 650 tones to play with. Importantly, the PX560M carries the powerful Hex Layer sound engine, as seen in Casio’s top tier keyboards and synths. The Hex Layer engine allows for up to six wave forms to be combined together. The result is rich, textural and lush sounds that work particularly well for creating atmospheric pads. This function really pushes the model into a new level. Not only is it a fully capable stage piano, but it carries a lot of the tones and tweakablility you’d want from a professional level synthesiser as well. Bringing the two together makes for an incredibly versatile instrument that is at home in almost any situation. As you would expect from a high calibre synthesiser, the sound parameters can be controlled in real time through knobs, two modulation wheels and an expression pedal that are all completely assignable. This particularly comes in handy for live use, where sounds can be altered to suit the moment as you play.

For those who are looking for a vast selection of sounds to fine tune and warp to find their own sound - the 560M is a solid choice. Thankfully, there’s a large bank of 400 empty patches for you to save your signature tones on to, which are all easily accessible. This allows for endless variations and a multitude of possibilities, allowing you to find and create something truly unique to you.

Finally, the impressive metallic blue paint job gives the PX-560 a retro cool while packing all the capabilities of a modern powerhouse under the hood.

PX-5S PRIVIA PRO

Lastly, we have the Privia PX 5S, the most established unit in the range. It’s less an upgrade from the others, as with the unit we see a departure from some of the features that are consistent throughout the others, though it still certainly feels as though it’s in the same broader family.

Featuring crystal clear sound quality and a bucketload of features, Casio has pushed classic piano and key sounds into a new realm by combining them with a fiercely powerful synthesiser selection. Seeing as this is a true stage piano, it doesn’t feature any on-board speakers. However, the handy headphone out is a lifesaver for home use. Plugging in a set of my own, I was genuinely blown away by the three dimensional sounds and stereo depth the instrument holds, without any added processing. While it lacks the digital displays of other Privia models, the instrument is centred around 100 endlessly configurable Stage Settings, all accessed via an illuminated control panel on the body. For those sonic control freaks who want the capacity to alter their sounds to the finest degree, there is a huge amount of effects, eq and assignable filters that can be refined and saved or adjusted on the fly.

Different tones and sounds can be played together, combined and zoned across the keyboard making for some incredibly layered playing. Within a few minutes, I had washes of dreamy pads stacked behind a pulsing bass, grand piano and a driving drum beat. It’s an approach that inspires creativity, and would become invaluable when composing or sketching out a larger production - all from a single instrument. This is again due to the immensely powerful Hex Layer technology, which really shines on the Privia Pro. The inbuilt arpeggiator system is a welcome addition and easily accessible for live use. Rounding

it out comes 100 built in loops with room to save up to 900 of your own, audio recording and playback and Casio’s ‘class compliant’ MIDI functionality making this keyboard as much of an asset in the studio as it is on the stage.

SOMETHING FOR ALL

With this Privia series, Casio have proved that they’re not only ready to offer up pro-quality keyboards to the masses - but they’re willing to lead the way with a next generation of digital pianos that combine the best of traditional, life-like sounds with cutting edge synth capabilities.

Whether you’re looking for a solid entry level option, or a live performance and studio powerhouse, there’s something for everyone here. All at a price that won’t break the bank, or at a weight that will break your back.

By James Di Fabrizio

HITS • Extreme portability • Realistic AiR technology as standard, with the mesmerising Hex Layer technology on higher models.

• Improved, more responsive action • Intuitive display and controls • Large capacity for crafting and fine tuning sounds, particularly on the PX - 560 and PX - 5S • USB connectivity is great for sharing songs and collaborating.

MISSES • While offering a huge array of sounds, the organ tones could be a bit more convincing.

• Overall, the series is a resounding hit. However, some models do feel a bit light in practice and can be prone to wobbling around when used. In saying this, it’s a worthwhile trade off for the added portability.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS

Visual Sound

V3 Route 66 American Overdrive EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au | Contact For Pricing

The Visual Sound Route 66 V2 is a much-loved pedal for its sonic qualities, but many players expressed frustration at the quality and operation of its twin foot switches. That issue has been decisively dealt with on the V3 model, with the problematic stompers replaced by more conventional switches more like the original V1 iteration.

That’s not the only change though, as we’ll see.

TWO BECOME ONE

The Route 66 is a greatsounding combined overdrive and compressor. The new model dispenses with the wedgeshaped enclosure in favour of a more conventional box, and it adds a few controls. Whereas the V2 had drive, tone and volume plus a bass boost switch on the distortion side and comp, tone and gain plus a tone switch on the compressor, the latest beefs things up with a clean mix knob with an accompanying bass control knob, an A-B voicing switch for the drive channel.

The compressor side has comp, tone and volume controls again but adds a clean mix knob plus a tone switch (for engaging or bypassing the tone knob) and a Gate switch.

Both sides of the pedal are buffered, but you can turn this effect on or off via DIP switches for true bypass operation. There are also two inputs and outputs

so you can effectively use the unit as two totally separate pedals in two separate signal chains, or change the order of the two effects by using a patch cable, or even put other effects in between the two.

SOUND & VISION

The overdrive sound has a little bit of natural compression, although not to any level that would make the compressor side obsolete, of course. It’s a Tube Screamer-style overdrive with plenty of smoothness, warmth and attack, but with a brighter, more open high end to my ears.

The A-B switch lets you select between a more bright and open overdrive or a more saturated one. In a lot of ways it’s similar to the JHS Moonshine reviewed elsewhere in this issue, but with more control, more headroom and a little more of a ‘boutique overdrive’ feel. The ability to blend in the clean sound gives

you a lot more chime and clarity too.

The compressor side is designed to be quieter than the previous version and the noise gate is nice and subtle, saving you from abrupt-sounding cut-offs.

Again the clean mix gives you flexibility for getting a snappy attack with lots of followup sustain. This particular compression circuit seems ideal for country chicken-pickin’ and general dynamic control. It’s also very musical and useful for funkier styles. There’s a bit of a low-end reduction, but in a very useful rather than harsh .

IN THE MIX

There’s so much you can do with this pedal that I wish you could plug right into this page and test it out. Both sides are very useful but you can create some real magic when you use them together or start messing around with the order of the two effects.

If you’re looking for an OD and a compressor, why not check this out and see if you can kill two birds with the one …tone?

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Great redesign that addresses previous flaws • Rich overdrive • Smooth compression

MISSES • None

Orange Amplification Micro Dark Gibson AMI | (03) 8696 4600 | www.gibsonami.com | Contact For Pricing

Orange’s Dual Dark DD50 and Micro Terror amps are both well loved and well respected, but there’s a grey area in between that isn’t quite being covered. Oh wait, never mind, Orange has heard our pleas and given us the Micro Dark

ORANGE YOU CUTE

The Micro Dark is an utterly tiny one-channel amp, about the size of the box an iPhone comes in.

It provides 20 watts of power thanks to a solid state power section, and it utilises a 12AX7 valve in the preamp for more complex harmonic overtones.

There are only three knobs, for volume, shape and gain. The shape control is for dialling in your tone, and the gain gives you a huge range anything from fat-sounding clean to all-out distorto-mayhem. There’s also a headphone jack on the front panel which doubles as a line out, and it employs Orange’s CabSim circuitry to give you the feel of a mic’d up cab through headphones or into a mixing desk. The Micro Dark has an 8/16 Ohm speaker output, and you can use the small matching

www.mixdownmag.com.au

SPECS

cabinet available with an 8” speaker or you can plug it into any cabinet with compatible impedance.

INTO THE DARK

Set the gain control low and you’ll get a clear but characterful clean sound that recalls Vox and THD textures depending on where you set the shape control, so this is no tinnysounding little thing: it sounds huge even when played clean.

Turn up the gain for a classic rock crunch that will keep you blasting Jimmy Page and Tony Iommi riffs for hours. But turn the gain control anywhere past about 2 o’clock and you’re in for a glorious hellride of fat, aggressive distortion which can handle all sorts of extreme genres including stoner metal and modern thrash. Wanna play

Slipknot riffs through an amp you could hide in the pocket of your cargo pants? This will do it.

Got some Mastodon-style songs to blast out? Those sounds are in here, no problem.

The only real downside is that there’s no channel switching.

The cleans are so useful that it’s almost a shame to have to choose one or the other and not be able to toggle between the two. But they’re pretty inexpensive amps so you could probably justify getting two and an A/B switch, right?

IT’S THE LITTLE ONES YOU’VE GOT TO WATCH OUT FOR

The Micro Dark hits way above its weight with authentically complex distortion tones as well as with clean tones that sound rich, full and useful instead of just being a mere afterthought like on most gain-oriented amps.

It’s so versatile and useful that a lot of players are going to want to have these things around for jamming, recording and general ‘aww, isn’t it cute’-ing.

BY PETER HODGSON

• Features - single channel valve/solid state hybrid amp head, high gain preamp, shape control, fully buffered effects loop and cabsim-loaded headphone output • Controls (right to left) = gain, shape, volume • Finish options - matte black finish (steel chassis) • Output power - 20 watts Speaker output - 1 X 8-16 OHM cabinet, rated at 20 watts or greater • Unboxed dimensions - 16.5 x 13.5 x 9.5cm • Unboxed weight - 0.78kg

HITS • Huge gain range • Very versatile • Deceptively loud

MISSES • No reverb • No channel switching

MIXDOWN #259/ NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.45

ROAD TESTS Akai Advance 25 MIDI Controller Keyboard Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $649

Having already been afforded the opportunity to test out its larger brother, I was keen to have a look at the Akai Advance 25 software controller system. There’s been a great movement in deep integration between controllers and DAWs in the last few years, to make your keyboard more interactive and create a better workflow for the user.

This has seen a number of manufacturers start to develop keyboards that work fully with one DAW or sometimes two, but Akai have gone all out with this software control system and have created a controller that works with a range of DAWs right out of the box.

READY, SET, GLOW

Having come across the Advance series already, this smaller model wasn’t going to offer me any great surprises, but it did give me a different approach.

This is a really well designed and constructed keyboard that does so much more than simply sending MIDI note data to your recording software. Everything about the build is beyond what you should expect of similar units - the Advance range is well put together. From the sturdy frame with metal end caps, to the large rotary encoders that are firmly seated on the top panel, and the pitch and modulation wheel that feels really solid when put to use.

This isn’t a quick throw-together unit that Akai have put out to

SPECS

fill a gap in the market, this is a serious piece of kit. Plus, when it is engaged and fully functioning, it glows like a set of Christmas lights with all the colours of the rainbow.

GETTING STUCK IN

Setup is fairly easy, and you have the option to select from a number of predefined DAWs which are already mapped in the system, or you can build your own user-defined setup if you want. What the Advance 25 offers when working with your favourite DAW, including Logic, Cubase, Ableton and Bitwig, to name a few, is a two-way information path that not only sends information to your DAW, but takes it back as well to show you on the keyboard’s

screen what functions are being initiated and what values result.

This is why Akai claim it to be a “software/controller system” rather than just calling it a MIDI controller. That’s because it’s so much more than a controller; it is a fully integrated workflow system. Think about not needing to look at your computer half the time, nor needing to touch your mouse, yet still achieving a creative workflow. That is what it’s all about, and until you get into it, you won’t know what you’re missing.

As an added bonus, during November, purchasers of the Advance will be able to choose one of two free virtual instruments from AIR. They can select between theRiser or Mini Grand.

BY Rob GeE

• Number of Keys - 25 • Type of Keys - Semi-weighted • Pads - 8 x Velocity- and Pressure-sensitive MPC Pads with RGB Illumination • Encoders/Pots - 8 x Large, Endless, and Continuously Variable Control Knobs • Other Controllers - Pitchbend, Mod Wheel • Pedal Inputs - 1 x Expression, 1 x Sustain • MIDI I/O - In/Out/USB • Height - 8.54cm • Width - 48.8cm • Depth - 29.3cm • Weight - 3.1kgs

HITS • Quick and easy installation • Great integration with your DAW • Clear, colour screen displaying plenty of information • Large rotary encoders • Nice response to both keys and pads

MISSES • It’s just not as big as the Advance 49

Focusrite Clarett 8PreX Thunderbolt Audio Interface Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $2449

In what almost looks like a return to the old from preamp gurus Focusrite, the new range of Clarett Thunderbolt audio interfaces brings us that familiar anodised red facia that most of us know all too well. The Clarett 8PreX in particular has the look of the old Red Series units, given its 2U rack casing with red front. But, these units are a long way from the classic preamps and EQs of old, delivering mighty AD/DA conversion and multi-channel audio recording with the help of the Thunderbolt connection and Focusrite preamps for all eight analogue inputs.

GET SERIOUS

It has come to that time where the Thunderbolt interface is really getting recognised as the new leading force for data I/O at least in the Mac world. With USB 3.0 being widely accepted in PC circles, Mac users are reaping the benefits of Thunderbolt and are now beginning to get the hardware that takes advantage of this new connection. Focusrite have taken their time in entering this new market and have done so justly to ensure they deliver a product worthy of the Thunderbolt capabilities.

With the Clarett 8PreX I think it is safe to say that they have delivered in releasing a new

interface that will stand up to the test of time and issue great results right from the get-go. If you were considering upgrading your Mac audio recording system, then stepping into a Clarett interface would be a very serious option indeed.

FULLY LOADED

The front panel on the 8PreX offers gain, phase, high-pass filter and phantom power options for each of the eight preamps, as well as master volume and monitoring options with two separate headphone outputs.

Around the back, the device is loaded with options. MIDI and Word Clock I/O get you started

PG.46 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

SPECS

along with SP/DIF connections on coaxial ports. Then you also get two optical ins and two optical outs, allowing up to 16 digital channels from these connections alone. Eight separate analogue outputs along with two added analogue monitor outputs take care of your mixing needs and both line and microphone connections for all eight analogue inputs mean you end up with a complete arsenal that will set up the beginning of any great recording system, or integrate with an existing one to really push it forward in power and AD/DA conversion quality. There’s no doubt that the added speed

and volume of the Thunderbolt connection puts the Clarett way ahead of Focusrite’s USB and Firewire devices. This is the next generation of audio recording, so don’t let the generation gap catch up with you.

By Rob Gee

• Focusrite mic preamps - 8 • Analog inputs - 8 • Analog outputs - 10 • Headphone outputs - 2 • Instrument inputs (Hi-Z) - 2 • 48V phantom power - Perchannel • Highpass filters - Per-channel • Phase reverse - Per-channel • Digital inputs - 18 • Digital outputs - 18 • ADAT inputs - 16 Ch • ADAT outputS - 16 Ch • Connection protocol Thunderbolt • LED metering - 6-segment • Switchable input metering - Yes

HITS • Lightning fast AD/DA conversion • Slick sounding preamps • Extension digital connectivity for further expansion

MISSES • No USB3 connection for PC users

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS Laney Ironheart IRT-Pulse

its direct recording or distortion pedal applications rather than as a re-amping unit.

Australasian Music Supplies | (03) 9549 1500 | www.austmusic.com.au | RRP: $549

ONE-STOP ROCK BOX

If you want true tube-driven tone for your recordings but you still need to work within a digital environment, this unit has a lot going for it. If you require more precise toneshaping than the admittedly very useful preset sounds, or if you require more flexibility when reamping, there are more suitably configured gadgets out there.

But the things the IRT-Pulse does well, it does incredibly well.

There are so many different options out there for recording guitarists.

There’s good old-fashioned micing, digital processors, plug-ins, smartphone apps… but for many players it’s still all about staying as analog as possible. That’s not always easy in a digital environment but Laney’s IRT-Pulse puts a unique new spin on the idea of stuff you plug your guitar into for recording.

PUMPING IRON

The IRT-Pulse is designed to give you the sound and feel of an Ironheart amp in a desktop package, powered by a pair of high-voltage 12AX7 valves. It lets you plug directly into your DAW using a T-USB 2.0 interface, or as a silent practice aid with headphones and an AUX input, or in front of your amp as a high-end boost pedal. It also lets you re-amp your signal without a bunch of extra leads.

On one end of the unit you’ll find the input jack and the reamp button. On the other end is a headphone jack and phones volume control, balanced output jack, remote footswitch jack (for bypass if you want to use it as a pedal), AUX in, power jack and USB I/O. On the top are two knobs (gain and volume)

plus six switches: Dark removes some of the high frequency content which helps the unit to sit better in a mix when using it through the front of a guitar amp. Bright beefs up the highs, especially on cleaner tones for recording. Hot provides extra gain, taking the distortion level all the way up to full-on metal, which is no mean feat since the cleans are designed to be extraclear as well. The EQ button adds a pre-defined studio EQ curve to the signal with more bass and treble and less mids. And the Emulation button adds a 4X12 speaker emulation to the signal for going direct. There’s also a Bypass button.

BOOST JUICE

Depending on how you want to use it, there are plenty of

BY PETER HODGSON different things you can get out of this unit. As a pedal it gives you insane amounts of gain or subtle amounts of boost. Use it to get sickeningly distorted tones for leads, or simply for a bit of extra kick on a clean or overdriven sound. As a direct recording unit it gives you a super wide range of tones with especially noteworthy clean tones that let your guitar’s natural voice speak clearly, as well as fat, thick, chunky distortion sounds that seem especially happy with high

output humbuckers. You can record a whole albums’ worth of guitar tones with this thing, with a caveat: although the various buttons do give you more control over your tone, they aren’t customisable so you’ll probably want to use a little EQ before or after the unit to get specifically tailored tones. As a re-amping device it’s useful but the one cabinet emulation might be a bit limiting for most players. It’s handy to have this feature but most folks will probably buy the IRT-Pulse for

HITS • Easy to set up • Huge rage of clean to scream tones • Very sturdy construction

MISSES • Limited re-amping capability • Limited tone sculpting

command being initiated.

This is a well thought out controller. Bundled with Native Instruments’ Komplete Elements software, there are more than one thousand sounds to get you making noise as soon as you set this device up.

By Rob Gee

Samson Graphite 49 USB MIDI Controller Keyboard

SPECS

Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $429

Samson has changed around the direction of their range of USB MIDI controllers with the Graphite series standing out ahead of the Carbon series for both features and build quality. Designed for musicians on the go, and those who struggle for space in the home studio, the Graphite units are not just compact alternatives, they are a fully integrated MIDI solution for home and studio production. This unit, the Graphite 49, probably packs more features into less space than any other MIDI controller on the market.

ALL THE TRIMMINGS

Like one would expect, a MIDI controller keyboard is all about giving the user the most flexible approach to controlling their software. The Graphite 49 certainly goes out of its way to offer plenty of options in the relatively small top panel. As

well as your standard function buttons and transport controls, you get nine short faders that can be assigned to just about anything. On top of this, there are eight rotary encoders, and sixteen function buttons beneath these. This can allow you to set them up as volume, mute and

PG.48 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

solo controls for a mixer across eight consecutive channels if you so desire. The options are endless as to how you assign their functions. Moving across to the far right of the unit there are four pressure sensitive drum pads for tapping in rhythms when the keys just won’t give you the right groove.

A NOTEWORTHY MENTION

Of course, this is more than a compact MIDI controller, as it offers 49 full sized, touch sensitive keys that have a good feel to them if you are looking to use this for synthesizer based

stuff. Naturally, there’s an octave shift so you can move the key range up and down and the standard pitch and modulation wheels are included on the left side. Both of these are larger than usual, and very easy to gain precise control over. One feature that every MIDI controller should have is found on the top panel of the Graphite 49, and that is a panic button. Although not a designated button in itself, two buttons when pressed together have the same result and force all functions to cease in the event of something going, like a stuck note or unwanted

• Number of Keys - 49 • Type of Keys - Semi-weighted • Pads - 4 • Encoders/Pots - 8 • Faders - 9 • Other Controllers - Pitchbend, Mod Wheel • Pedal Inputs - 1 x Sustain • MIDI I/O - Out/USB • Power Supply - Bus Powered • Height - 8.4cm • Width – 79.8cm • Depth – 24.6cm • Weight – 4.6kg

HITS • Loads of control • Extensive operation data shown on screen • Clever ‘Panic Button’ option

MISSES • Faders are too short to be really effective

www.mixdownmag.com.au

It’s your career.

Make it with JMC. APPLY NOW FOR FEB 2016.

Degrees and Diplomas in Music, Songwriting, Audio, Entertainment Business Management, Film and Television, 3D Animation, Games and Digital Design*.

The Australasian institutional partner school of

Feb intakes.

Enrol Now.

Your creative future starts today.

Visit jmcacademy.edu.au or call on 1300 410 311. facebook.com/jmcacademy

youtube.com/jmcacademy *Sydney campus only

ROAD TESTS

SPECS

Kawai ES8 Digital Piano Kawai Australia | 02 9882 2000 | www.kawai.net.au | RRP: $2295

It’s been about a year since I last got my hands on a Kawai digital piano, and in fact, the last one I played was the predecessor to this month’s arrival, the ES8. At first touch, I really had to ask myself, why was it so long between drinks? There is something very special about how a Kawai digital piano feels under the fingertips, and the ES8 is no exception. Stack that up with a sound bank that does the hammer action a true justice and you have a very serious unit at hand.

HEAVY HITTER

I know some people get put off by speakers in a keyboard; like this is an option that should only be reserved for beginners, but you cannot take a piano like the ES8 on face value. You need to consider the history behind this work of art and know that Kawai have developed a very real digital piano that will deliver amazing results both at home, in the studio or on any stage around the world. Don’t be put off by the in-built speakers,

instead, have a listen to them and you’ll see, or rather hear why they have been included. With a deep low frequency response and a sparkling top end, they really show just what sounds this digital piano is capable of creating. The ES8 is a real heavy hitter, not just in sound quality but in overall weight too, as it was no easy feat loading this in and out of the car in a road case. This is not a compact keyboard you will just throw in the back of your car on the way

to a gig. The 88-note key bed in this unit comes at a price, and that price can be measured in kilograms.

PRECISE TOUCH

I’ll come straight out with it. I love the action of this digital piano. This is no ordinary weighted action, but a real hammer action feel that changes tension under your fingers as you apply pressure. Slowly striking a key will allow you to feel the engagement of the action as the key has more than half completed its journey and the hammer tension takes over. They lightly pop back into place with a definite thud like any hammer driven key returning to rest would and return to offer the same resistance again upon the next engagement. This may all

seem a little over-indulgent on my behalf when considering how the keys fall, but too many years of playing so-called ‘hammer actions’ that don’t deliver really makes the good ones stand out.

You can see how this keyboard would attract a serious piano player looking for a digital option for practice, recording or performance. It feels so nice to play, and sounds just as good too.

By Rob Gee

• Keys – 88 weighted keys with Ivory Touch key surfaces • Internal Sounds – 34 voices • Polyphony – Max 256 notes • Keyboard Modes – Dual Mode, Split Mode, Four Hands Mode • Effects – Six reverbs, three delays, two chorus, two tremolo, auto pan, classic auto pan, phaser, rotary, combination effects x4 • Internal Recorder – 10 song, 2 track recorder, approx. 90,000 note memory capacity • Jacks – MIDI (in/out), USB to Host, USB to Device, Line in Stereo, Line out (L/Mmono,R), damper (for F-10H), Damper/ Soft (for F-20), Pedal (for F-301), Headphones x 2 Speakers – 2 x (8 x 12 cm) • Output Power – 15W Power Consumption – 30W Dimensions – 1362mm x 361mm x 149mm • Weight – 22.5kg

HITS • Amazing feel and response • Great sounding speakers • Handy recoding function • Incredible piano sounds

MISSES • It is very heavy, making transport difficult

Neumann KM 184 Condenser Microphone Sennheiser Australia | (02) 9910 6700 | www.sennheiser.com.au | RRP: $1249

The Neumann company has, over many years, built up a reputation for designing and manufacturing the finest microphones available.

This has not happened by any sort of accident and it definitely didn’t happen overnight. But, it is through their quest for excellence in audio capture that such results are achieved and so, I know with each and every Neumann microphone I have to use that I will be working with the absolute best quality. Yes, this does sound like a bit of a glowing recommendation, but that’s because it’s backed by the knowledge that these microphones deliver what they promise, and don’t just tease us with tempting specifications whilst falling short on results. Therefore, as I unpacked the KM 184 this month, before I even had a chance to plug it in, I knew this was going to be good.

GERMAN ENGINEERING

Taking it from the box, my mind was taken to images of the Sennheiser e614 microphones that live in my kit. This comes as very little surprise as both companies are now owned under the one roof and shared ideas from both areas are resulting in better products across the board. But, this is not an e614, this is a whole different class of microphone, and you know this as soon as you get it in your hands. The build quality is amazing. You have to hand it to the Germans; they really

PG.50 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

understand and thrive on delivering precision. It weighs very little, which is excellent given that this is the sort of microphone that you are likely to have at an extended reach on a mic stand, so it isn’t going to weigh the boom arm down and cause it to sag in any way. Even the microphone clip supplied with the unit is of amazing quality, with metal threading and a self-clasping nut on the tightening screw. This is a microphone you know you can depend on for continued results year after year.

HITTING A HIGH NOTE

With such a solid build, it is easy to guess just how this microphone is likely to sound.

With an end-fire design, like a smaller pencil condenser, this is the perfect microphone for getting into tight places round percussion and pianos. It offers a rich sound that is just how you would expect the instrument to be heard. On an acoustic guitar it captured all the brilliance of the string noise whilst still staying faithful to the tone of the instrument, and it worked a treat as a drum overhead microphone, although I thought it worked even better focussed on just the hi-hats, as it really allowed them to sizzle. And best of all, because it is a Neumann, you know you can get any two of these and they will work as a matched pair, they are that good.

By Rob Gee

SPECS • Microphone Type - Condenser • Polar Pattern - Cardioid • Frequency Response 20Hz-20kHz • Max SPL - 138dB • Output Impedance - 50 ohms • Signal to Noise Ratio - 81dB (A weighted) • Self Noise - 13dB (A weighted) • Connector - XLR

HITS • Beautiful, precision German engineering • Lightweight and compact • Truthful sound capture • It’s a Neumann

MISSES • None

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS

Laney Lionheart L5T-112 Australasian Music Supplies | (03) 9549 1500 | www.austmusic.com.au | RRP: $1549

Laney has made a wide range of different amplifier types over the years, from original valve beauties with a Marshall influence, to high-gain beasts enjoyed by the likes of Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi (actually come to think of it, Iommi was using Laney back in the 70s too - brand loyalty is a beautiful thing). The Lionheart line is designed to distill everything Laney has learned through over forty years of tube heritage into a single amplifier range, with a decidedly British boutique tone. Among the range you’ll find the L5-STUDIO, L50H and L20H heads as well as the L20T-212, L5T-112 and L20T-112 combos. Each uses a classic old-school Laney logo and vintage styling.

HEART OF A LION

The L5T-112 is a 5 watt RMS, single-ended Class A amp. Laney has worked to strike the ultimate balance between flexibility and simplicity. If you’re not familiar with single-ended Class A, there’s a single EL84 output valve connected to one side of the output transformer’s primary winding, and the other side is wired to the power supply.

This gives less output power than the alternative push-pull circuitry but produces more even-order harmonics when overdriven. The Lionheart has two channels, clean and drive.

There are Hi and Lo inputs: the Lo input is (maybe confusingly) for higher-output pickups and

will give you a tighter sound.

The Hi input (for lower-output pickups) is designed for a more open tone that might be mushed up if you use hotter pickups. The controls are cean volume, bright switch (for the clean channel), drive, drive volume, channel select switch, bass, middle and treble controls, reverb, and finally a tone control. This last one is quite unique in that it’s designed to work more like a guitar’s tone control than, say, a presence control on a regular amp.

Around the back there’s an effects loop with a mode switch for connecting rack effects or pedal effects, or for bypassing the loop altogether. There’s also

a foot switch socket for toggling between the two channels and turning the inbuilt reverb on and off. The speaker is a Celestion G12H 70th Anniversary driver.

THE LION ROARS

This is definitely not a highgain distortion monster, but its inbuilt drive tones are very expressive and responsive, great for blues, fusion, blues-rock or indie/alternative sounds where you need something a little more open and with great separation between the individual notes of chords. It’s very dynamically responsive, so if you’re the kind of player who likes to really vary their note attack then you’ll love this. If you tend to favour compression and sustain maybe a Laney Ironheart is more your speed. But for classy, rich, expressive overdrive this amp is damn hard to beat.

The clean sounds are very open and rich, with a crisp clarity to the high end and a tightness and fullness to the lows. It’s especially great for single coil pickups, particularly the 2 and 4

positions on a Strat. Some amps get too thin in those conditions but this one keeps the body of your tone intact while still allowing the highs to shimmer.

IT’S GOOD TO BE THE KING

This is a great amp for those who need bold, ringing clean tones and rich, expressive, responsive, interactive overdrives. It’s not aiming to be everything to everyone, but if you’re in the market for a boutique-style amp which works with your playing instead of against or in spite of it, this is a great choice.

BY PETER HODGSON

SPECS • Power Output - 5 watt • Valves - Class A. 3 x 12AX7 preamp tubes. 1 x EL84 power tube.

• Speaker - 1 x 12” Celestion G12H 70th Anniversary speaker.

• Channels – Two, clean and drive.

• Controls - Passive bass, middle and treble controls and a global tone control plus a bright switch.

• Weight - 19kg • Dimensions – 423 x 562 x 253mm

HITS • Great cleans • Beautifully expressive overdriven sounds • Classy looks

MISSES • None

Klotz LaGrange LAGPR0300 Guitar Cable CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au | RRP: $69.95

Cables are one of the less exciting pieces of guitar equipment out there. They’re not as sexy as, say, a nice flame maple topped PRS, nor as pulse-quickening as a cranked vintage Marshall Plexi. But if you have a bad cable - a cheap, noisy, dodgy one - then you’re shortchanging the potential of the rest of your gear. The Klotz LaGrange is a long-running model which has won all sorts of guitar magazine shootouts over the years, so it’s safe to say this isn’t one of those tone-suckers.

TAKE THE LEAD

The LaGrange is made in Germany. At the heart of its construction is a high-quality copper core for the lowest possible microphony (in other words, so it doesn’t make crackly noises like a packet of chips nor squelchy noises like dog food sliding out of a can when you move it around, like some cords do). The core is surrounded by an extra conductive plastic layer shield, there’s extra-thick dielectric for ultimate conductor insulation, and a lead-free ultradurable jacket. The cable itself has extremely low capacitance of 67 pF/m resp. 20 pF/ft, which is

www.mixdownmag.com.au

a techy-sounding way of saying that your signal will retain plenty of clarity and headroom as it travels through the cable, rather than having key elements of your sound chopped off, reduced or otherwise neutered.

Neutrik plugs are used, and the review model has one right angled and one straight plug each with gold contacts.

Numerous lengths are available with your choice of nickel or gold contacts, and either two straight plugs or one straight and one angled. The review model is 3 metres/10 feet, and there are also 1.5m, 4.5m, 6m and 9m versions.

WIRE YOU DOING THIS TO ME?

This is a very transparentsounding cable, which is great for those who play clean a lot of the time, or who use a lightly overdriven sound. You’ll retain the high end, which is always important, but it’s interesting to note a little more fullness to the lows too. My particular Fender Stratocaster is a pretty dark-sounding one compared to most other Strats, but with this cable it takes on a little more of the traditional Strat sparkle than it otherwise would have.

I also noticed nice amounts of headroom and detail in my Ibanez 8-string, which has Seymour Duncan Pegasus and Sentient pickups hooked up to a BMP-1 modular preamp that effectively turns passive pickups into active ones. This guitar sounded quite focused, even on the lowest notes.

NOW FOR THE PLUG

You owe it to your tone to use

nice cables, and this is a heck of a nice cable. The low noise is a great bonus but what really sells it is the clarity and faithfulness of the tone.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Low noise • Low capacitance • Wide dynamic range

MISSES • None

MIXDOWN #259/ NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.51

ROAD TESTS Magnatone Varsity 12

I LOVE IT LOUD

If you can handle the kind of volume that’s required to get this amp to operate at its peak tonal potential, you’re going to love this amp for a wide range of rock, country and blues styles.

Its sophisticated, it looks great, it’s easy to control and it’s very versatile. But loud. Very, very loud.

EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au | Contact For Pricing

Magnatone was founded in 1937 and was active until the mid 70s. Ted Kornblum (ex-Ampeg) revived the name in early 2013 with a range of boutique amps, some of which reproduced classic Magnatone designs, and some of which were new, with input from ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Neil Young’s guitar tech Larry Cragg. These are seriously beautiful amps for serious players, and the list of Magnatone owners includes Paul Simon, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Andy Summers, Jack White, Keith Richards, Jeff Beck, Joe Bonamassa, Jason Isbell, Ry Cooder, Jeff Tweedy and many more. The Varsity 12 is a classy-looking 15-watt combo with a 12” speaker.

COMBO ATTACK

At the heart of the Varsity’s tone is a Class A, EL84-driven power amp. There are two 12AX7 valves in the preamp and a GZ34 rectifier valve for an Americanstyle voicing, and the controls are simple and straightforward: volume, treble, bass and reverb.

The treble control has a 14dB range at 2kHz and the bass knob has 12dB at 60Hz. There are two inputs (high and low sensitivity) and a tube-driven 4-counterwound spring long-pan reverb. There’s also a control panel-mounted 8 ohm speaker output and a line output, as well as an NFB switch, which Magnatone somewhat confusingly states is designed to “provide settings of gain and harmonics

by restructuring the power amp gain providing fuller tone.” In layman’s terms what it does is makes everything sound bigger, louder and more sensitive when it’s engaged. The 12” speaker is a ceramic-magnet custom Magnatone model.

HIT THE ‘AWESOME’ SWITCH

First up, this thing is loud.

With the NFB switch engaged and the high sensitivity input selected, the volume was loud enough on 2 to get me yelled at by everyone in the house.

There’s only a limited amount of travel on the volume knob where you’ll find clean tones before things transition to big, bold, overdriven, singing tone. This is an intriguing amp because

BY PETER HODGSON

SPECS

it can most definitely get dirty, but it does it with a high level of sophistication, complexity and control. The term ‘boutique’ is pretty much overdone by now but that’s really what this amp conjures. The midrange is rich and articulate, the highs are clear but not buzzy and the lows are full but not boomy. Jeff Beck likes to use one of these with his Strat, and it is indeed a very single coil-friendly amp, but it also played very nicely with my high-output-humbucker-loaded

Les Paul. You can reign in the harmonic complexity a little and scoop the mids by turning off the NFB switch, and this also gives you a bit more clean range before hitting those heavenly overdrives, but NFB makes such a bold, powerful tonal statement that it’s almost an ‘Awesome Switch.’ The reverb has a slightly muffled, yet very complex feel, acting as more of a swirling ambient effect than a traditional splashy spring reverb sound.

• Tube compliment: (2) 12AX7, (2) EL84, GZ34 Inputs: high and low sensitivity Power output: 15 watts pushpull class AB Treble: 14dB range at 2kHz Bass: 12dB range at 60Hz Reverb: tube driven 4 counterwound springs long pan • Speaker: custom Magnatone 12”, Option: Celestion Gold Alnico Negative feedback (Varsity Head only): (NFB): open or closed Dimensions: 18.5” x 21” x 9.5” Weight: 33 lbs

HITS • Crazy loud • Great reverb • Very responsive

MISSES • Crazy loud

Sterling by Music Man S.U.B. AX4 CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au | RRP: $850

The Axis is one of the most coveted guitars in the Ernie Ball Music Man line-up. It traces its lineage to the Edward Van Halen model of the early 90s, but after Eddie left the company a few changes were made, particularly to do with neck dimensions and control layout. The S.U.B. AX4 is a new-for-2015 model that takes this iconic guitar design and presents it in a much more affordable package while keeping the key elements in place.

AN AX TO GRIND

The most important feature to note here, compared to the AX3, is the addition of a doublelocking tremolo, which brings this guitar much closer to the Axis in style and spirit. I always felt a non-locking trem looked weird on an Axis-style guitar.

Other appointments include a solid hardwood body (Sterling By Music Man doesn’t clarify exactly what kind of wood it is) with a bound quilt maple image top.

That is to say, it’s not actually quilt maple at all but either a printed image of it or perhaps a quilt-patterned film overlay.

PG.52 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

So it’s not the basswood/maple combo of the originals. The neck is surprisingly similar in feel to the EBMM though, with an asymmetric carve and 22 mediumsized frets. There’s a 5-bolt neck joint that keeps the neck stable and allows for plenty of string energy transfer. The headstock is the classic EBMM style with four tuners on the top row and two on the bottom.

The electronics consist of a pair of high-output humbuckers - not the custom DiMarzios that have been a part of the EBMM model since the EVH days (and which you can get on the Sterling AX40D). They’re connected to a 5-way pickup selector switch that gives you single coil tones as well as humbucker ones. And there’s a master volume control and a master tone control.

AXIS OF AWESOME

The setup out of the box wasn’t so great, with the strings quite high in the upper fret region, and a loose B string bridge

saddle that came free of its moorings during a whole-step bend. But any good store will make sure the guitar is ready to go before you leave with it.

The pickups don’t have quite the character of the custom DiMarzios but they’re plenty versatile, with a nice natural compression and plenty of attack. They split nicely too, giving you lots of options for clean and jangly tones that aren’t typically available from a stock Axis. This guitar seems happiest when exploring heavier rock tones and it’s great with tunings like Drop D. It’s also cool that you can get this guitar in S.U.B, Sterling and EBMM versions, each of which adds more deluxe appointments materials and workmanship but each of which is unmistakably an Axis. A big part of that is the attention paid to getting the neck right.

AXIS AND YOU WILL RECEIEVE

So if you always wanted an Axis but couldn’t swing the cash

for the EBMM version, there’s a Sterling and an S.U.B. version waiting to fill that Axis-shaped hole in your heart. With a quick setup this guitar is more than capable of handling a gig or recording session.

BY PETER HODGSON

SPECS • Scale - 25.5” • Nut Width - 42mm • Body - Jabon • Neck - Maple • Fretboard - Maple • Frets - 22 • Pickup Selector - 5 Way

HITS • Fat rock tones • Great neck • Looks awesome

MISSES • Poor factory setup • Pickups are versatile but lack a little character

www.mixdownmag.com.au

Australian Institute of Music

Get serious with a Bachelor Degree.

Trimester 1 starts 25th January 2016.

The Australian Institute of Music offers courses in Contemporary Performance, Classical Performance, Audio Technology, Dramatic Arts, Music Theatre, Entertainment & Arts Management and Composition & Music Production.

Visit aim.edu.au to apply now

Mixdown Magazine_T1 2016.indd 1

30/10/2015 2:27 pm

ROAD TESTS Visual Sound VS XO Overdrive EGM Distribution | (03) 9817 7222 | www.egm.net.au | Contact For Pricing

Overdrive is such a personal effect that it’s kinda weird when you realise a great many ODs out there are based on one particularly popular unit that’s almost four decades old. Visual Sound is looking to put their own spin on the concept of an overdrive pedal with this entertainingly complex, flexible stomper.

TWO IN ONE

The concept at the heart of this pedal is a pair of separate overdrives that you can use one at a time or together. Part of the appeal of this is that you can choose to set one up as your rhythm drive and one as your lead, or cascade one into the other for a more amp-like feel like when folks use an overdrive on top of an already overdriven amp. Overdrive 1 (on the right side of the pedal) has a boosted midrange and it features controls for Drive, Tone, Volume and Clean Mix as well as three-position Bass and Clipping switches that let you tailor how compressed or open the sound is and how saturated it becomes.

Overdrive 2 has Drive, Tone and Volume as well plus a rotary

Bass control, and it has a flat midrange. Each channel has its own set of inputs and outputs, which are linked internally if you’re just plugging straight in, but you can use a patch cable to switch the order of the two overdrives or add other effects between them like an FX loop.

DOUBLE YOUR FUN

You’ll probably spend more of your soloing time on the Overdrive 1 side, since it has more features for tailoring your sound, and the enhanced midrange kick really lets you dial in some harmonically complex, vocal-like tones.

Whether you’re into a more saturated, compressed sound for shreddage or a more open one for Jeff Beck-style articulation,

this channel can give it to you. Overdrive 2 is more straightforward and less distinct, which actually works in its favour as a rhythm tone because it lets you find your place within a mix without drawing undue attention from the singer. There’s a nice range of clean and crunch sounds, so if you want to add an element of Stonesy grit to a clean tone, this will get you there. Want something more brash? That’s in there too. But it’s great fun to run the two ODs into each other to see what happens. Feeding one low gain signal into another gives you some pretty interesting smooth textures, and you can get some all-out mega-gain by running a pair of hot signals into each other while blending in a hint of clean sound for attack.

SHUT UP AND DRIVE

This unit will essentially cover all your gain needs, and it’s a great option for those who use a

clean amp but want to add a pair of channels to their rig. It’s also a fun one for the experimenters because there are so many different ways to set it up that you won’t be stuck with just the same old overdrives sounds everyone else gets.

BY PETER HODGSON

MISSES

AN ELEGANT WEAPON FOR A MORE CIVILISED AGE

If you want the ultimate control over your tone, this isn’t the Markbass amp for you, but there are plenty of others that will do it for you. If you want a simple, easy to set up, setand-forget amplifier that’s light, transportable and reliable and will happily reproduce any bass instrument you throw at it, this is worth a look.

CMC Music Australia | (02) 9905 2511 | www.cmcmusic.com.au | RRP: $850

When I think of Markbass amps, the thing that stands out to me most - apart from how light they usually are, which my spine certainly appreciates - is how effortlessly useful their VLE and VPF tone controls are. A common feature on many Markbass amps, they allow you to control specific frequency ranges, and they’re often paired with a more comprehensive network of tone controls. But on the Minimark 802, they’re the only tone control available. This is a very, very stripped down amp for the player who either doesn’t need a huge range of tones, or uses so many different tones from different outboard units that they need an amp that can simply take all that tone and put it out into the world without undue colouration.

The Minimark 802 is a 150 watt solid state bass combo with two custom 8” woofers and an onboard piezo tweeter for the high end. There’s also a rear bass port for fuller low end. Aside from a volume knob, the only controls are the VLE (Vintage Loudspeaker Emulator) knob, which governs the 250Hz-20Hz range, and the VPF (Variable Preshape Filter) knob which gives you a cut at 380Hz. There’s an AUX in, XLR line out with ground lift, headphone out and speaker on/off switch. And that’s pretty

• Lots of routing options • Great control over OD1

• None

Markbass Minimark 802

COVERING ALL THE BASSES

HITS

BY PETER HODGSON

SPECS

much it! It’s a little heavier than some Markbass amps I’ve picked up, but not by much, and still noticeably lighter than virtually all of its competitors.

WOOF WOOF, TWEET TWEET

With the clean-sounding woofers and clear tweeter, Markbass has voiced this amplifier in a way that makes it equally adept at reproducing the sounds of pickup-equipped acoustic instruments as electric ones, including double bass. So perhaps the simple control layout was settled on as a way

PG.54 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

of making this amplifier more accessible to more players.

Some will find the VLE/VPF configuration to be too limiting because it really doesn’t give you fine control over more nuanced frequencies, but they do give you all you need to quickly dial in a usable, versatile sound. And if you need something more precise

there are plenty of outboard gadgets and onboard EQs to help you get there. The 802 gives you lots of volume too, and it stays clean certainly beyond a neighbour-bothering level. It also sounds full and solid at low volumes which means it’s great for teaching as well.

• Speaker: 2x8” • Tweeter: piezo • Bass Port: rear • Impedance: 8 ohms • Sensitivity: 99 dB SPL • Amp output power: 250W RMS @ 4 ohms / 150W RMS @ 8 ohms • Frequency response: 53 Hz to 18 kHz • Crossover frequency: 3.5 kHz • Weight: 12.5 kg • Dimensions: 25.5 x 49 x 38.5 cm

HITS • Faithful sonic reproduction • Lightweight

MISSES • Very limited tonal control • No gain control

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS

JHS Moonshine Overdrive Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net | RRP: $399

This handpainted little beastie is JHS’s take on ‘the most famous overdrive ever created and housed in a little green enclosure.’ I guess they can’t say it, but there’s nothing stopping us from saying this is their version of the venerable Ibanez Tube Screamer. Though this isn’t a clone pedal: JHS has worked to put their own spin on the design in more ways than one. For starters it looks nothing like a Tube Screamer: the review model has a neat painted image of a forlornlooking moonshine-runner in the moonlight. And most importantly, there are tweaks to the circuit that make this truly its own pedal.

DRIVE TO THE MOON

There are three knobs; for Volume, Tone and Drive. Then there’s a two-position ‘Proof’ switch designed to give you everything from a low-gain ‘slight breakup’ feel like a tube amp all the way up to heavy overdrive verging on actual distortion. The higher gain settings are found at the ‘switch down’ setting, with enhanced saturation and sustain and lots of midrange. In the ‘switch up’ position you’ll get more opensounding, slightly mid-scooped, lower-gain crunchy tones with more volume and headroom, particularly great for either

www.mixdownmag.com.au

getting a more organic, ampy feel from digital devices or for putting the hurt on a tube preamp. The Moonshine uses an internal 9v to 18v charge pump that allows it to run on normal 9v but converting it internally to 18v for extra headroom, added low-end and more overall punch.

IN THE LIGHT OF THE MOON

In the ‘switch up’ mode you’ll get a wider, deeper sense of dynamics. There’s still some sweetness to the midrange and an enhanced degree of responsiveness: you can do the amp-style ‘turn the guitar volume down to get less gain’

trick, no problem. There may be a little less high end than many players might be comfortable with though. In the ‘switch down’ mode you’ll definitely get more gain, more compression and more saturation. It’s not as punchy, making it better for super-fast playing because it’ll even out your dynamics. It also makes for a thicker, more ‘wall of sound’ rhythm chunk tone.

To be totally honest it just feels like a better pedal with the switch in the up position: the ‘down’ mode squelches a little of the uniqueness out of your sound. It’s nice to have the two options, and the additional saturation may please some players who aren’t confident in their technique, but if you can handle the additional clarity of the up mode you’ll be doing your tone a big favour.

SHINE ON

This is a nice versatile unit, whether you use overdrive as its own sound source, or to goose an overdriven amp, but one of the two modes feels more refined and useful than the other.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Great styling • Big range of gain

MISSES • One mode is noticeably more useful than the other

MIXDOWN #259/ NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.55

ROAD TESTS Audient ID22 USB Audio Interface Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: contact for pricing

For those of you that keep up with the goings on here at Mixdown, you will know I looked at the Audient ID14 USB audio interface last month. This time around I have been given an upgrade with the Audient ID22 landing on my desk. At this rate I should be getting an entire console by midway through next year, but for the time being I am more than happy with the device sitting on my desk right now.

British audio hardware designers Audient do create some useful interfaces and ones that are not only clever on spec, but units that are well thought out for integration into a professional setup.

THE DESK JOCKEY

For those of you, like myself, who like to ride a desk when creating and mixing music, an interface that integrates with your console in the form of a handy controller is always desirable. The ID22, although rather large for what it offers, gives you that desktop control over your DAW and I/O, always at your fingertips when you need it.

Given that it is a fairly large unit for what is essentially a two input device (although there is the ability to run eight additional inputs by ADAT) you have a wellspaced out control surface with both inputs’ controls easily defined. Switch for phantom power,

-10dB pad, phase and low pass filter are all available through physical switches beneath the gain control for each channel.

On the input side of things, it is very neat and well laid out, and as it offers excellent AD/ DA conversion, it ticks all the boxes here for what an audio interface of this calibre should.

It does more than that when you integrate it with your recording system as this becomes a handson monitoring controller too.

JUST TOUCH AND GO

This is just the sort of interface I love to work with in a recording setup as it happens to work as a monitor controller too. One hand

will ride the mouse, while the other generally hovers around the monitor control for listening adjustments in the mix. With four analogue outputs, along with two send and returns, there is plenty of scope for integrating this with a range of monitoring solutions and having the Dim and Cut buttons located on the unit just below the volume control allow for a number of monitoring adjustments. The

three programmable function keys are very handy too, as I always like to work with a Mono button at my fingertips and that is naturally going to be the first function I programme one of these to do.

the past it really is a cool brand to reinvigorate. There’s already a swag of models in the range and the Royal Reverb really makes a solid contribution. Warm and vintage for moody trem and verb tones or big bold cleans on the edge of breakup it really delivers something a little different.

The amp looks super cool and is quite portable still for a 2x10

combo. Not your classic clean, but not a super saggy round vintage beast either. Should prove another cool option in the mid-priced combo market and whether you’re a nostalgic old rocker or a youngster looking for a solid workhorse the Royal Reverb might be just the ticket.

BY ROB GEE

HITS • Well-spaced out control panel • Sends and returns compliment additional outputs • Sturdy build and solid switches

MISSES • Headphone output is inconveniently located on the rear panel

Supro Royal Reverb Global Vintage | (02) 9569 7009 | www.globalvintage.com.au | RRP: $2595

Supro seems to be back in a big way. We saw a couple of amps earlier in the year, and with these reissues living up to the hype, they definitely appear to be getting some love across the globe. Billed as the flagship amplifier of the new Supro range, the Royal Reverb is a ‘retro modern update of the mid 60s classic’.

ROYAL FAMILY

Sticking with the classic blue rhino hide tolex and sparkly grille, the RR looks like it just stepped out of a 60s rock or blues show with that familiar lightning bolt logo displayed proudly on the front. Switchable between 35, 45 and 60 watts, its control layout has volume, treble, bass, reverb, tremolo speed and depth. 6L6 power tubes are under the hood and a pair of Supro CR10 10” speakers sit in the still manageable and smallish sized combo.

THUNDERBOLTS AND LIGHTNING

Plugging straight in you’ll see the Royal Reverb can get damn loud if you want. Plenty of juice to cover a loud drummer and the

2x10 setup adds some girth and spread. I found the amp to be chimey and juicy with a definite vintage vibe. The reverb is big and roomy but useable across most of its range for slight space or big old washy tones.

Dial in a little trem and you’ll be swamping it up in no time.

Although limited to just treble and bass controls they seem to interact quite well allowing quite a bit of tweaking which will suit guys swapping axes frequently.

Although the Royal could handle a lot of different styles its probably going to really be at home In the rock, blues, vintage arena with its jangle and edgy cleans.

LITTLE BOY BLUES

With the amount of classic names that have used Supro in

PG.56 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

BY NICK BROWN

HITS • Vintage tones • Retains those classic Supro looks

MISSES • Not the amp to cover all bases

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS Lewitt MTP350CM Condenser Microphone audio capture from the capsule is undeniably the clarity and richness of a condenser mic.

microphone off unintentionally and generally just cause problems. Not in the case of the MTP350CM though, the switch is recessed in the housing so you can’t disengage it by accident.

The only problem is that it is so deeply recessed that it isn’t easy to engage it either. But that aside, it doesn’t affect how this microphone performs when it is turned on and the results speak for themselves.

SWITCHED ON

BY ROB GEE

Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $209

The Austrians have delivered yet again with this microphone design.

Lewitt have really picked things up with their latest range of handheld stage microphones and the MTP350CM condenser microphone is leading the charge is most aspects of its design and build.

THE STUBBY

Not unlike the MTP250DM that I also tested out this month, the MTP350CM has that similar short handle that is going to feel a little unusual to some when they first get it in their hands. But perhaps this is not the microphone for a heavy grip, and more for a performer that is likely to hold the microphone aloft, with a lighter touch.

That said when an XLR cable is

connected to the microphone, it stops the hand from slipping off the end and you really don’t notice the size of the grip not matter how you hold it. Beyond that, there is reasoning to keeping the handle short and that is to allow for a larger cage around the capsule to ensure rear rejection and remove the chance of feedback from foldback monitors.

It’s what’s inside that large

Audiofly AF180 In Ear Monitors Audiofly | www.audiofly.com | RRP: $549.99

Portable devices and tablets have continued the push for the public music consumer purchasing headphones. People are listening to music everywhere these days and the quality, features and range of cans has grown immensely. This development and in turn choice has also filtered into the case of musicians on stage with regards to in ear monitoring. What was a complete luxury for many years is now quite the reality for players from all levels of gigs. The ease of use, quality and availability means IEMs can be every part of a pub band setup and not just for the big touring act. Whilst there is a tonne of overseas manufacturers, one Australian brand Audiofly has been strongly flying the flag with a solid range of headphones for the last few years.

EAR TO THE GROUND

Audiofly offers a range of models from their Premium range right up to these suckers, the AF180 In Ear Monitors at the top of the tree. From the brown leather storage wallet to the Cordura fabric reinforced cabling, everything points towards a quality product for the discerning individual. Four

drivers and a frequency range of 15-25khz are the go here with a decent 1.6m cable length giving you a good lot of cable that (hopefully) won’t get tangled or fall in the way. Three sizes of three various shaped ear bud tips are included which should cover most ears and of course they all fit nicely into the previously

cage that really makes this microphone special though. The rather small capsule is mounted centrally on a multi-layered rubber suspension frame that allows it to stay undisturbed even with some very rough treatment. Because of this, handling noise is kept to a minimum in a very impressive way. Taking the cage away reduces the wind and pop filtering, but still allows me to see just how this capsule operates in the hand. The incidental noise that comes from this microphone sounds like that of a dynamic mic, but the

So, given the characteristics of the capsule, this microphone delivers a sparkling high frequency response that not only lends itself to vocals, but will also get you out of a bind if you need a microphone for percussion, piano or wind instruments too. The model I had featured a switch on the side of the handle, which is a pet hate of mine. Switches tend to only allow the users to turn the

HITS • Solid casing for serious protection • Excellent suspension for capsule • Very low handling noise

MISSES • The switch is very hard to access

mentioned storage wallet. Did I mention the wallet looks super hip?!

LISTEN WITHOUT PREJUDICE..

Light and flexible, the AF180s seem strong enough to withstand some handling but feel very comfortable in your ears. The over ear portion of the cable has a flexible plastic-type cover that can be bent and moulded to sit nicely across your ears giving you some extra hold and keeping them out of the way. From there, the Cordura wrap cable feels tough and covered which gives some extra piece of mind over a standard plastic/rubber type cable coating.

Cranked through a receiver and you get some clear and defined sounds with a solid mix across the EQ spectrum. No super heavy bass or piercing tops here and pleasant across a range of settings.

I…JUST WANNA FLY

The AF180 IEMs feel good without being super fatiguing. They’re

weighted nicely, the bendy type over ear arch is nice when adjusted to suit, and they sound great. Clarity and definition seem to come to mind and they can handle a range of styles and gigs.

Combine that with the fact that headphones/IEMs are often a fashion statement for the music listening public as much as they are a tool of the trade for musos, and they definitely find a market spot for those who want something more than your generic $5 buds. Yes they look cool but most importantly they sound great.

BY NICK BROWN

HITS • Clear and detailed sound • Trendy case that’s also functional • Well isolated

MISSES • Quite pricy

G LAB Wowee-Wah Wh-1 Warren Haynes Signature Amber Technology | 1800 251 367 | www.ambertech.com.au | RRP: $369.00

Warren Haynes is an icon of American guitar, whether in the Allman Brothers Band, Gov’t Mule or his recent Americana-influenced solo album. So the last place you might expect him to get a signature wah wah pedal from is Poland. But why not? Haynes evidently liked G Lab’s Wowee-Wah enough that he’s added his own signature EQ tweaks to it and come up with the WH-1.

BAD LITTLE DOGGY

The WH-1 is based on the existing WW-1 model. Haynes has added his own vintage-flavoured EQ tweaks. It’s a very solid-feeling pedal too: the rocker itself has a brushed metal finish and it looks positively industrial. The purple base has an input jack on one side, and an output jack and 9vDC jack on the other (alongside Warren’s signature) as well as a ‘Q FACTOR’ switch for selecting between high and low Q modes.

On the side of the pedal itself is a switch for selecting the On/ Off mode: in the ‘up’ position you need to press the pedal all the way down to engage the effects, but in the ‘down’ position you only need to put your foot in the pedal to turn the wah wah effect on. There’s an image of Warren on the bottom posing with his ES335 which reminds me of the Jim Dunlop Buddy Guy Crybaby.

PG.58 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

KICKS LIKE A MULE

The high mode sounds very bright, almost strident but in a musical way with nice upper mids and tight, almost non-existent low end. It’s great for percussive, rhythmic wah wah effects and with clean tones. When you add distortion you’ll get more of an over-the-top quality to the upper mids too, almost like a controlled feedback kind of overtone. The low mode is deeper and fattersounding, and is great for more funky, swampy tones. It’s more subtle in some ways and more pronounced in others. If you’re in a one-guitar band you’ll probably find yourself using the low Q mode because it fills out more of the sonic range, whereas the high Q mode seems to lift the guitar up

and out of the mix. I guess that’s in keeping with Haynes’ approach too: he’s one of those guys who is always doing the right thing by the song, and it wouldn’t be in his nature to use a pedal that only sits on top of the band or only nestles into the background.

THIS WARRENS FURTHER INVESTIGATION

This is a very high-quality pedal.

It has that ‘you could use it to hammer in a nail’ feel, or maybe an ‘if a bandmate hit you over the head with it you’d be fucked’ kind of vibe. It’ll most definitely

keep up with the demands of life on the road, and the two voices are broad enough to cover any musical situation. Sure, some wah wah pedals give you a lot more control over the ultimate sound, but then again the originals had no user-tweakable controls at all.

This strikes the perfect balance between the two schools of thought.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Two great modes • Handy on/off mode selection • Roadworthy

MISSES • Expensive

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS

Yamaha TRBX204 Bass Guitar Yamaha Music Australia | (03) 9693 5111 | www.au.yamaha.com | RRP:$499.99

Before getting into this review, it’s worth pointing out that in 20 years of playing in bands, working in music stores, writing for magazines and working with gear companies, this writer has never come across a bad anything from Yamaha. Their quality control and construction standards have never been anything less than goshdarn impressive, whether you’re talking about an entry level acoustic guitar, or a top-of-the-line Billy Sheehan Attitude Bass. So you know that when it says Yamaha on the headstock it’s going to be reliable.

So what’s this particular instrument, the TRBX204, all about?

HOW MUCH BASS WOULD A BASSWOOD BASS…

This is a fairly straightforward, solid four-string bass, designed to be affordable and sonically flexible. It’s certainly not the first bass to feature a ‘P and J-Bass’ pickup configuration, although it appears there’s slightly more space between the two than many other variants on this configuration out there, providing a slightly wider sonic range. The pickups are ceramic, which generally means tighter lows and a bit of punch in the upper midrange. The controls include a master volume, a pickup balancer knob and controls for bass and treble.

The body is made of Basswood, a particularly even-toned wood often found in metal-oriented guitars. (Some folks think of it as an inexpensive wood but there are some damn fine Basswood instruments out there like the Ibanez Universe and EVH Wolfgang. Oh and it’s typically pronounced like the fish, not the instrument, so okay, that subheading up there is a bit of stretch). The neck is made of Maple with a Rosewood fingerboard and 24 frets. The overall shape of the body is slightly reminiscent of the fabled Tune Bass Maniac but with more of an offset thing going on, and there’s good access to most of

DRUMSTICKS

tone. If you’re using fuzz or distortion you might like the sound of the bridge pickup with extra bass. As for the neck pickup, it sounds full and deep, and is a great way of adding extra lows to the bridge pickup without overwhelming it. Most players will find themselves dialling in some blend of the two pickups rather than using them separately, but the ‘all-on’ neck pickup tone is very useful too.

distinctive and wide-ranging, but as is it’s a great playing, decentsounding bass with how-do-theydo-it-for-the-price construction quality.

the upper frets. You might find it a bit fiddly to get to the 23rd and 24th depending on your playing style. The bridge is a vintage-style unit and the tuners are die-cast and quite simple and straightforward.

BASS STATION

Straight out of the box this is a great playing bass, with no need to tweak the setup at all.

Everything from string action to intonation to neck relief was just nailed on the review model. It’s loud acoustically too, which usually bodes well for the plugged in sound. Plugging in, the bridge pickup sounds punchy and articulate, and you might not feel much of a need to add extra treble unless you want a particularly aggressive

BY PETER HODGSON

SPECS

THE CASE FOR BASE

• • • • • • • • •

So who’s this bass for? Well it’s affordably priced so it’d be a great beginner bass but it’s a good choice for general use for a more advanced player too. You might want to eventually consider a pickup swap to something a little more

Scale Length - 34’’ (863.6mm) Neck - Maple Fingerboard - Rosewood Radius - 9” 1/2 (240mm) Nut Width - 40mm Body - Basswood Tuners - Die-cast Bridge - Vintage style Pickups - Split single (Ceramic) x1, Single (Ceramic) x1

HITS • Great construction • Versatile tones • Simple but effective electronics

MISSES • None

H INGWORT BEN ELL ILLY

DAVE HALEY Psycroptic

FORG E Hobbs Norse, Angel of De

LEE ST Thy Art ANTON is Murd er

ath

Pick up a pair today and find out why more and more great Australian drummers are choosing Los Cabos drumsticks.

OUR WOOD SETS US APART! WHITE HICKORY

JULIA

N BEL -BACH IR OKA

L NNE M BU ion A D A ess Segr

Classic Feel

RED HICKORY

AY MCK DAN Tension High

Longer Life

MAPLE

Fast Response

HUGH L JONES Bones, The Ruck uss

TOBY BEND ER In Danc dependen ing w t ith th , e Sta rs NON SULLIVAN

SHAN

el, Tommy Emmanu Ian Moss, John Farnham, n Keith Urba

WHAT WOOD YOUR CHOICE BE? www.mixdownmag.com.au

Proudly Distributed by Dynamic Music www.dynamicmusic.com.au Visit us on www.facebook.com/loscabosaustralia

MIXDOWN #259/ NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.59

LY N KEL DECLA Fanning, d r Berna ing Sun is The R

ALEX “YOSHI” HAUSL ER Bloody kids, Spaceticket

E

MOR SAR A LETT ex, R A K r S She pli ccom Fait A

ROAD TESTS

Blueridge BR 73 Acoustic Guitar Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com | RRP: $1199

Blueridge offer a range of acoustic guitars from dreadnaughts and jumbos down to smaller sized OM and 000 models. Over the last few years they’ve made quite a name for themselves with their retro inspired models looking, sounding and playing the part at more than affordable prices. Sitting at the top of their ‘contemporary’ series we find the BR 73 000, a small bodied option for everything from strumming and open chord sing alongs to more intricate flat picking and improvising.

000

Smaller than Jumbos and Dreadnaughts, 000 sized guitars have proven to be popular instruments for a number of reasons.

Their reduced body size and easy playing dimensions make them a comfortable instrument for nearly everyone, and just

as importantly players also like them for their balanced and clear tone. They’re great for a range of styles, but fingerpickers are especially attracted to their response and subtleties. Coming in with a scale length of 25.6” the BR73 features Rosewood back and sides, a sitka spruce top, mahogany neck and a rosewood

S P EC S fretboard. Blueridge have then added a little show to this guitar with gold vintage styled ‘butterbean’ tuning pegs, a combination of mother of pearl, abs and abalone binding and inlays along with a high gloss finish.

I’m blue…

Punchy and mid rangey, the BR 73 sounds balanced and quite clear. Perhaps slightly more suited to more intricate styles, it reacts well to both open chords and voicings up the neck whilst pick players will also like the mid focused tones that can cut through the mix when needed.

It might not have the super complex overtones and richness of some super $$ guitars but it

definitely feels, looks and sounds in the 000 ball park.

Ridge and famous

With a bevy of cheaper priced acoustics on the market it’s really been a case of a few makers standing out with well made, good sounding guitars, and Blueridge definitely seem to be a part of that action. It stacks up well against similar priced guitars and even gives a few pricier models a kick in the guts. Vintage inspired with some modern touches, it’ll get you that small body feel and sound.

BY NICK BROWN

• Back and Sides - Select Santos Rosewood • Body Type - 000 • Brace - Spruce • Bridge - Indian Rosewood • Fretboard Material - Indian Rosewood • Neck - Select Mahogany • Number of Frets - 20 • Nut Material Bone • Top - Select Solid Sitka Spruce • Tuning Machines - Gotoh Vintage-style / Open-back / Butterbean Buttons

H IT S • Gloss finish • Skinny neck

MISSES • Not quite as full as some smaller bodied guitars

Hammond SK1-88 Digital Organ Bernie’s Music Land | (03) 9872 5122 | www.musicland.com.au | RRP: Contact for pricing

So, I have had the chance to play with a few newer Hammonds over the last couple of years and I am always impressed with what I get my hands on every time. That is why when I went to give the SK1-88 a quick fling this month I was not surprised in the quality of what the Godfathers of Organs have delivered. For pianists who have been wanting an organ sounding keyboard, you can look into all those ‘Hammond’ style patches in your digital piano, or you can get it right and go for the real thing, the Hammond SK1-88.

On a Larger Scale

When I think of an 88-note digital piano, I think of just that, piano sounds. Usually, I would expect this to be accompanied by a hammer action to the key bed and generally a limited range of preset sound to work with. This is where the new Hammond SK1-88 caught me by surprise. In fact, I wasn’t expecting to get an 88-note keyboard

form Hammond this month, so I knew I was in for a treat when I hit the first chord. The semiweighted key bed action by Fatar has a really natural feel that organ players are going to love, but it will also appeal to pianists who are used to heavier hammer actions. This does not feel like a springy keyboard, every strike of every key has a defined feel, and with five different sensitivity

PG.60 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

settings, you can set the keys to respond just how you want them to. This is the bigger organ that the pianist will love.

Just Listen

I have to admit, there were quite a few chords simply played over and over as I went through the range of sounds and settings.

It is easy to lose yourself when you get stuck into the drawbars on this keyboard, so making good use of the ten ‘Favourites’ buttons to recall the sounds you will most use is a good idea. Add in some Leslie cabinet emulation, vibrato and chorus and you get great results. You can even split the drawbars settings to the lower and upper ranges of

the keyboard, with the settings for each zone stored before the drawbars are moved to set the next zone.

A very handy addition is the ability to stream audio directly from a USB stick, so backing tracks can be called up in a flash. The browsing and recall of files is fairly simple and pretty much instant, so you can get your tracks playing at any time in a set if needs be. The only real downside to the USB option is that when importing new sounds, you can very easily expend the limits of the unit’s memory and may need to remove some sounds in order to load new ones in. But, if you can’t be kept happy with the sounds

already on this keyboard, you haven’t listened hard enough.

On-board memory doesn’t allow multiple large patches to be uploaded

BY Rob Gee

H IT S • So lightweight it is ridiculous • Classic Hammond sound and feel • Easy playback of audio from USB • Fatar key bed offers a very familiar touch

MISSES • none!

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS stage use, but that allows you to work on loud stages and still maintain separation from other voices and instruments. All in all, this is a pretty tough little vocal microphone that delivers in both build and sound quality.

Everything slid back into place nicely after I pulled it apart and it still felt firm and solid. This microphone is going to take a beating on stage and still deliver results, that’s for sure.

Lewitt MTP250DM Dynamic Microphone

By Rob Gee

SPECS

Electric Factory | (03) 9474 1000 | www.elfa.com.au | RRP: $129

I have had a fair few Lewitt microphones land on my desk over the last couple of years and I have to say, the ones that are coming through now seem to be a great improvement in quality. Straight out of the box and as always, I unscrew everything I can on this microphone because it’s just what I have always done. I like to see how a microphone is put together and with the Lewitt MTP250DM I am pleasantly surprised with the look and the feel both inside and out.

BOLD DESIGN

For those of you who do not know of Lewitt microphones, you must have been under a rock over the last few years. These Austrian designed microphones are starting to show up more and more and their take on classic designs with a new pitch is really

proving to work. The MTP250DM is, as the name suggests, a dynamic microphone and is designed for vocal applications on stage. So, it is primarily designed to be used as a handheld microphone, but surprisingly it features a smaller than usual handle section with a longer

cage around the capsule. If you have small hands, this might be suitable, but could prove to be a little off-balance at the same time. I found myself wanting an extra inch on the grip, and as my hand naturally crept up the handle for more purchase, it tended to block the rear of the cage, affecting rear sound rejection, leading to feedback problems. So, perhaps a different approach is required in holding this microphone to many other hand-held stage mics, but that is about all I have to complain about.

BRIGHT STAR

As a stage microphone, you want something that will bring your vocals forward in the mix and make you stand right out.

That is exactly what you get from the MTP250DM, as it is voiced just right for vocals. With excellent side rejection, allowing your voice only to be captured, keeping feedback to a minimum, there is a very clear and precise high frequency responses with this microphone that one would usually only expect of a condenser microphone. Yes, you do need to almost swallow the microphone, as is usually the case with a unit like designed for

• Acoustical operating principle Dynamic, moving coil • Directional pattern - Cardioid • Frequency range - 60 - 18.000 Hz • Sensitivity - 2 mV / Pa (-54 dBV) • Rated impedance - < 280 ohms • Connector - gold plated 3-pin XLR • Dimensions - 49 dia. x 175 mm • Net weight - 335 g

HITS • Solid build and design • Great, open high frequency response • Perfectly suited for vocal applications

MISSES • Handle is perhaps a little short

Deering Goodtime ‘Americana’ 5 String Banjo Zenith Music | (08) 9383 1422 | www.zenithmusic.com | RRP: $1199

Greg Deering has a long history with woodworking, from buying his first banjo at 12 years of age, to then making his first instrument at 19. Turning this passion into a fully-fledged business in 1975, the Deering Banjo Company now boasts a range of quality instruments and a long list of endorsees including Bela Fleck and Scott Avett.

LET’S HAVE A GOODTIME…

Introduced as lightweight and affordable, easy to play instruments handmade in the USA, Deering’s ‘Goodtime’ range instantly made a splash on their debut. The ‘Americana’ is an extension of this line and is the first to feature Deering’s Grand 12” rim, designed to add bass response and an overall warmer

tone. Continuing on with their blonde aesthetics, the AM also features a hard rock maple neck, nickel plated hardware and some spiffy hardwood fret inlays.

OPEN BACK

Tonally one of the first things you’ll notice is the more rounded, bassier tone. Perhaps equally due to the larger rim

PG.62 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

diameter and thick 3 ply size you’re definitely getting some extra body mass to round out the Americana’s fundamental tone.

Not as snappy and in your face as a typical open back, it’s been suggested as a good instrument choice for accompanying a vocalist or use as a singer songwriter.

Keep in mind that’s it definitely still got a decidedly traditional banjo tone.

Banjo, so the fact they’re also catering to the lower price point is a great chance to get into the caper. Spanky and clear, the Americana benefits from the 12” rim for tones that’ll sit in with a sing along or pump out some rolls as needed. If you’re adverse to the weightier and slightly more bulky traditional closed back models, these Goodtimes come in at under 2kgs.

JUMP ON THE BANJO WAGON

By NICK BROWN

You’ll find banjos being used in a range of music styles these days, and not just the realm of country and bluegrass. Deering is one of the go to names for all things

HITS • Light and portable • Modern look • Well priced from a reputable brand

MISSES • Somewhat bare bones compared to other models

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS

Taylor 210ce Acoustic Guitar Music Link Australia | (03) 8696 4600 | www.musiclink.com.au | RRP: Contact for pricing

Taylor guitars have long been held in high esteem. A host of endorsees, a range of acoustic and electric models and some seriously top class designs have kept them at the forefront of guitardom - modern technology combined with an old world attention to detail. Whilst they continue to sell lots of instruments across the board Taylor have also managed to incorporate a good range mid-priced models that follow the company mindset yet feel a little more accessible to many of the guitar buying public. From their 200 series let’s check out the 210ce.

TAYLOR MADE

Sitka Spruce, rosewood, sapele and ebony are the woods of choice for the 210ce combining with a satin finish for a classy, understated look. The top contrasts nicely against the back and sides and the reddish tortoise guard tops off the guitar with its flowing retro shaping. Under the hood Taylor have gone with their ‘Expression System’ ES-T electronics which incorporates individual elements under each string into a single source transducer. This signal then runs into a 9 volt powered active on board preamp. Adding some clean modern touches you’ll also notice the flat, round button styled controls which are easy to operate at a pinch and

the recessed battery compartment on the base of the guitar near the end pin. Little things I know but they still contribute to the overall look and feel of the instrument adding a touch of modern design and sensibility to a traditional style guitar.

EVERYBODY CUT, EVERYBODY CUT

Along with a slightly refined dreadnought shape the 210ce also features a Venetian styled cutaway (it’s actually the flattest slope cutaway of their entire range) which adds some extra reach to the higher register. Aesthetically I think this cutaway looks a treat, much more subtle and smooth than a deep curved cut and functionally it feels

comfortable and natural. And if the cutaway isn’t your thing never fear, you can opt for the straight 210 model instead.

YEP

There’s a reason Taylor guitars are so popular, well actually many of them. The 210ce plays like a dream, the neck is fast and comfortable, there’s a great balance across the strings with strong clear tops and some added bass thanks to the dreadnaught shape. Flat pickers and big bashers will love its response, but subtleties aren’t lost on the 210ce either making it a solid all-rounder that more than makes the grade. Nice, nice, nice indeed!

BY NICK BROWN

HITS • Fast neck that plays beautifully • Clear, open and balanced tone • Quality build

MISSES • None

Taylor 110ce Acoustic Guitar Music Link Australia | (03) 8696 4600 | www.musiclink.com.au | RRP: Contact for pricing

There’s more Taylor goodness in this issue with another dreadnaught fitting into the mid-priced semi acoustic market. Whilst Taylor boast a range of top end models, they’ve also endeared themselves to the more wallet friendly buyers with some slightly less decorated guitars that still retain the Taylor design thoughts and production methods.

One such guitar is the 110ce.

THE HUNDREDS

Taylor’s 100 series of guitars share some common specs with their 22 series bigger brothers.

Layered Sapele back and sides which are designed to give some extra resilience, Sitka spruce and ebony along with their slimmer 1 11/16” neck. Clean looks are also highlighted by the black binding and chrome machine heads. For those needing/wanting to plug in, Taylor have gone for their ES-T system combining an under saddle transducer, onboard preamp and active controls. A Taylor branded gig bag also comes as standard, offering some additional portability and protection. It isn’t a full hard case, but it’s definitely more padded and protective then your standard material gig bag with tough reinforcement around

www.mixdownmag.com.au

the body to help absorb those little bumps.

SPRUCE MOOSE

Like its bigger brother (the 210ce) one of the first things I was drawn to was the slimmer neck profile. It really does play a treat and lets you whip around the neck with chords or single notes and the action and intonation of this particular example was spot on. Live players, solo guys and accompanists will benefit from this easy playing neck which should let you hammer through multiple sets without hand grief. Tonally the 110ce pumps out some nice low end that keeps the integral, zingy acoustic tone. Good for flatpicking or digging into it’d hold up well in country, blues and rock amongst other things.

JUNGLE DREAD

For the price, it’s hard to go past an instrument such as this. The guitar feels great, sounds very nice and shows itself as a great example of Taylor’s techniques and designs. Slim necks aren’t for everyone, but this doesn’t feel gimmicky small, just a little skinnier. As a semi acoustic you’ll get clean, balanced tones that ring true to the unplugged instrument and all at a decent price. Taylor has a serious reputation and it’s easy to see why.

There are many guitars in this price point but not many play and feel this good.

BY NICK BROWN

HITS • Clean looks • Price • Slim neck

MISSES • Slim neck may not be everyone’s cup of tea

MIXDOWN #259/ NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.63

ROAD TESTS JBL EON615 Active Speaker Jands | (02) 9582 0909 | www.jands.com.au | RRP: $998 (each)

It’s a good thing JBL sent me one of these speakers to road test this month, because it makes my job so much simpler. The fact of the matter is that I use one of these almost every day of the week, so I was pretty much across the unit before I even opened the roadcase to discover what was inside. What we are talking about is the JBL EON615, the new standard in the EON range, and the speaker that so many of you will be using in the future when you upgrade your dated powered speakers for a newer, more flexible and more powerful model.

THE TIME IS NOW

I have been using EON speakers in one form or another for around twenty years now and continue to get great results, but I have also witnessed a series of changes over that time too. The EON515 became a bit of a standard in lightweight powered speakers for a while, so I was really intrigued to see what JBL would do with this new version. From what I have heard over the last few months, and from the reports I have been getting from other users, it all seems to be positive. Reliability issues have been cast aside, as the EON615 is proving to be a daily workhorse that puts in more hours than most of us are capable of. That is a real bonus, as I am sure anyone looking to invest in a pair of these speakers will need them to perform at any

time in the knowledge that the equipment will be ready for the task at hand.

SPECS

BOLD AND BIG

At first glance these speakers do appear to be considerably bigger than their predecessor, but it’s more of an optical illusion that anything else. Gone is the rounded body of the old 515s, and in comes a range of cleaner lines that give the EON615 a more foreboding presence but still keep it at about the same size. The weight has been kept down too, making it ideal for musicians who want to travel with their PA system. On the back, you only get two inputs with the EON615, one less than the older version, but both will accept either mic or line levels, with a master volume controlling them. Four different EQ presets

• Max SPL Output: 127 dB • Frequency Range (-10dB): 39 Hz – 20 kHz • Frequency Response (± 3 dB): 50 Hz – 20 kHz • Coverage Pattern: 90° x 60° • Dimensions (mm): 707 x 439 x 365 • Net Weight: 17.69 kg

offer some bold differences in the unit’s delivery of sound and allow for a range of applications. Of course, the option to illuminate the front LED is still included in the EON615, as that is very important, sometimes.

Bluetooth connectivity is relatively simple with a quick sync and boot option to get your

device paired up with the unit, bringing the EON range well into the future and setting up as a stalwart of sound reinforcement for many years to come.

BY ROB GEE

Jade Australia | 1800 144 120 | www.musocity.com.au | RRP: $129.95

One of the biggest problems faced by acoustic guitarists - other than Metalocalypse fans referring to them as grandpas’ guitars - is getting a good sound without microphones. There are all sorts of processors out there to tackle the problem, but Mooer has taken a particuarly unique approach with the WoodVerb, a reverb pedal designed specifically with acoustic guitar in mind. The name of the pedal might be a bit misleading because it almost makes you think this is a pedal designed to add natural-sounding body and resonance to a dry piezo sound. But nope, this pedal actually has a slightly more experimental idea in mind. Mooer does make a pedal called the Acoustikar which simulates an acoustic guitar sound from an electric guitar, further confusing matters. And by matters I mean me.

This tiny pedal has three types of reverb effects. There’s reverb, which simulates a vintage plate reverb; mod, which adds a modulation effect; and filter, which adds a sweeping filter sound. There are controls for decay, mix and tone/rate/range, the latter depending on the selection on the three-position mode switch. The Woodverb is solely 9vDC powered since it’s too small to hold a battery, and the input and output jacks are offset so they’ll both fit. The finish of the pedal includes a graphic of an acoustic guitar as well as a wood grain motif.

Again this seems to give the impression that it’s an ambient,

PG.64 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

• Lightweight, but solid build • Proven reliability over extended periods of use • Easy EQ settings for a range of applications

MISSES • Sounds a little bit “hi-fi” at times

Mooer Audio Woodverb

NOT WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN

HITS

body-simulating effect so I dunno, if I worked at Mooer I probably would have trotted out some Umberto Eco quote about semiotics and using the design of an item to tell the user how to interact with it. Then I’d probably be chased out of the office for being pretentious, or someone would produce Eco from off camera like Marshall McLuhan in Annie Hall to tell me I got it wrong. But I digress.

DID IT JUST GET CAVERNOUS IN HERE?

All three modes are very musical and useful, but the mod and filter modes give you more of a spacey, ambient, swirly effect that feels very ‘Devin Townsend’

to these ears. The Reverb mode sounds great, very vintage and evocative, but I have a feeling most players who pick this pedal up will prefer it precisely for those more out-there sounds accessible via the mod and filter modes. At more extreme settings the mod mode can sound a bit seasick and out of tune but there’s a sweet spot with just enough pitch manipulation to add dimension and depth. As for filter, it’s more of a niche effect but could be great for specific stand-out moments.

ECHO ECHO ECHO ECHO

Okay so this is a weird one, definitely not a ‘leave on all the time’ pedal and one whose name and graphics seem a little misleading, but if you’re an acoustic guitarist who needs something a little unique for featured moments or to stand out from the crowd, or to create ambient, swirly, wooshy soundscapes, this is a fun and inspiring option.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Very creative sounds • Small footprint

MISSES • Confusing name and graphics • Only Plate reverb

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS Breedlove Oregon Concert Acoustic Guitar National Music | 1800 773 438 | www.nationalmusic.com.au | RRP: $3895 (natural) $4195 (burst)

It must be hard to stand out in a market full of similar-ish designs, woods and looks. Of course, if you stray too far left or right, you risk completely alienating the guitar buying public. This model came with the same interesting wood selections as the dreadnaught, and for the most part ticked the same aesthetic boxes, though with a shape that’s arguably more familiar to the Australian guitar buying public. So I was keen to check out another acoustic with a slight twist from the Breedlove camp in the form of the Oregon Concert Burst.

WHISKEY BUSINESS

Similar to its Dreadnaught shaped cousin, the Concert features Sitka Spruce, Hard Rock Maple, Ebony and Myrtlewood.

This model has gone a slightly different route however, with stain finish back and sides.

While the guitar is available in natural and burst variations, the review model I had featured a semi-gloss ‘whiskey burst’ finish for the top, very unique. Breedlove have also continued with the ‘asymmetrical headstock’ on the Oregon Concert, this time with the 3 a side look having a slightly more pointed edge.

Different and edgy but still fits with the guitar’s overall looks and styling.

CONCERT MAJOR

I found this guitar to be a

little better pronounced in the mid-range than the concer, and slightly more hifi with some added zing. There’s response and clarity, but not the huge EQ spectrum of some other guitars.

I could see it working for quick lines and flat picking, but also chords and rhythm playing to sit into the mix without disturbing other instruments. The body sits more comfortably on your knee or curled up to our body than standing, and the thinner profiled neck is again in action for plenty of playing without fatigue.

NEED FOR BREED

You have to give a nod to Breedlove for adding a little bit of edge to their models. Myrtlewood seems like a different choice,

SPECS but it pays off, and the Whiskey Burst finish is well done and slightly different to your typical bursts on the market. The asymmetrical headstock looks a little more electric than traditional acoustic, but who said that’s a bad thing? I quite enjoyed the neck for a flatter C shape, which lets you whip around easily but still has the width to feel like you’re really going for each note

and getting a clear sound. The guitar comes with a very nice hard case and features an LRBaggs Element VT pickup system as standard. There’s a lot to like about this one.

burst finish too.

the validity of this design, but for me the OD sounded open and clear which I’m told will open up further over time such is the nature of Sitka Spruce.

NICK BROWN

• • • • • •

Body Type – Concert Neck - Hard rock maple Top - Solid Sitka spruce Back/Sides - Solid myrtlewood Fretboard – Ebony Pickups - LRBaggs Element VT

HITS • Modern ish looks • Nice neck profile • Responsive midrange

MISSES • Not as full in the low end as some others

Breedlove Oregon Dreadnaught Acoustic Guitar National Music | 1800 773 438 | www.nationalmusic.com.au RRP: $3895 (natural) $4195 (burst)

Breedlove have carved quite the niche for themselves in the guitar community. They work on the ethos of building lightweight, responsive guitars that are well crafted, feature innovative designs, unique materials and distinct aesthetics. Incorporating different woods, design techniques and sounds, Breedlove have continued to push their work in many styles all the while hitting a range of price points meaning they aren’t just for the rich and famous. As a taster I got to give the Oregon Dreadnaught a whirl…

OD

Made in Oregon, the aptly named ‘Oregon Dreadnaught’ features some usual suspects in the woods department with Sitka spruce, hard rock maple and ebony. The real eye catcher here is the Myrtlewood back and sides. Blonde with a killer grain it almost looks like a piece of driftwood that’s washed up on a beach somewhere. Adding further to the overall cool factor are the fret markers which are single dots on the top side of the fretth board up until the 9 fret. They then swap to the bottom side for the remainder of the guitar. Still serving their intended purpose it’s that little extra touch that feels fresh but still useful.

Factor in the notched headstock shape and you’ve got some great visual features that combine for a classy, modern take on the traditional dreadnaught guitar.

NECK AND NECK

Breedlove have gone for a slim neck profile across most of their line, with the OD also falling into that camp, still wide enough to be comfortable the flatter skinny shaping really allows you to wrap around it.

A big thumbs up to the semi gloss finish too which seems to stay dry and slick unlike some higher gloss guitars. However, it should be pointed out that like its concert counterpart, this one can be picked up in a striking

PG.66 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

GRADUATION DAY

I found the Oregon Dreadnought to be loud and clear with plenty of note definition across the strings. Great for strumming and big chords but also responsive to fingerpicking or single note lines up the neck. Perhaps this balance and definition is the result of another of Breedlove’s design techniques at play in the form of the ‘graduated’ top.

This initiative incorporates a top that is skinnier on the bass side and thicker on the treble side helping with tone, vibration and sustain, an interesting concept that Breedlove hang their hat on firmly. You’ll be the judge of

FEEL THE LOVE

I really dig the Oregon Dreadnaught. It’s something hip and a little different, but still very much a nice playing guitar. The choice of woods (the myrtlewood back in particular) look and sound great whilst the guitars cut and design work well for anyone from serious live players to your Sunday strummers. Win! NICK BROWN

SPECS • • • • • •

Body Type - Dreadnought Neck - Hard rock maple Top - Solid Sitka spruce Back/Sides - Solid myrtlewood Fretboard - Ebony Pickups - LRBaggs Element VT

HITS • Looks great • Hard case included • Something slightly different design wise

MISSES • May not be traditional enough for some

www.mixdownmag.com.au

ROAD TESTS

JHS Mini Foot Fuzz Gladesville Guitar Factory | (02) 9817 2173 | www.guitarfactory.net | RRP: $289

JHS offers a range of different fuzz pedals including the Pollinator, 4-Wheeler and Bun Runner, but this angry little stomper is one of the highest-selling pedals in the company’s line-up. They describe it as “small, ruthless and simple. 1” x 3” of pure classic fuzz that can melt even the most anti-fuzz activists heart.” Big call! So what’s going on with this thing then?

CAUGHT BY THE FUZZ

This is a silicon-based fuzz in a teeny tiny enclosure with just two knobs for control: fuzz and volume. No tone controls, no hidden DIP switches, nothin’.

Just pure volume and pure fuzz.

The small enclosure means it’ll fit on any pedalboard but it also means the controls are crammed pretty tightly together, and that the input and output jacks need to be offset, and that you can’t use a battery to power it. Its run solely off a 9VDC power supply, because you simply wouldn’t be able to cram a 9V battery into its fuzzy little innards. There’s a true-bypass switch for letting a pure signal through when the effect isn’t in use. And that’s all there is to it!

STOMP!

This is a pretty spiky, edgysounding fuzz, in the best possible way. It has that upper-

midrange bark you expect of silicon fuzz, with lots of hair around the edges. It’s very interactive with your guitar signal, so if you roll back the guitar volume control the sound becomes spluttery and dark rather than cleaning up like an overdrive. You can use that as a specific effect if you want to but really, this thing is all about glorious fuzz. Switch to the neck pickup and you’ll get a big beefy oboe-like effect with a decent amount of pick attack and smooth, loud sustain. It’s not a very complex-sounding pedal and a lot of players might wish there was a tone or filter control, but at this size you really can’t ask for much more. You can also dial in a decent amount of boost with the volume control, which lets you use it to put some extra hurt on a valve amp’s preamp section for a combined fuzz/distortion sound. In fact,

one of the more fun settings is found by running the Mini Foot into an overdriven amp with the pedal’s volume cranked and the Fuzz at a lower level, just adding some grit and body rather than generating loads of fuzz by itself.

FOOT FETISH

Okay so this isn’t the most versatile or flexible fuzz in the world. So it’s not the best ‘leave it on all the time’ dirt box. It’s designed to do a pretty narrow range of things, and after that it’s up to you to extract the most musical uses out of it. But if you’re in the market for a direct, no-nonsense fuzz with a small footprint, particularly to use for featured fuzz moments, this is a really fun option to consider.

BY PETER HODGSON

HITS • Responsive • Cool artwork • Tiny!

MISSES • Too small for a battery • No tone control

Studiologic Sledge Synthesizer Innovative Music | (03) 9540 0658 | www.innovativemusic.com.au | RRP: Call for pricing

Many of you may well be asking ‘Who is Studiologic?’ Well, for those that aren’t aware, this is Italian keybed manufacturer Fatar, who have created the keyboard action for all manner of synthesizer manufacturers for many years. They have also had a very successful selection of controller keyboards available for some time and are now making a real scene with their synthesizers and stage pianos. So, although I was not unfamiliar with Studiologic in one sense, I had never actually had one of their Italian made synthesizers to test out until this month.

What I got was much more than a synthesizer, I got the Sledge.

LOOK OUT

I am sure you have all noticed from the pictures of this keyboard that it is yellow. Really yellow. So much that you just can’t look away and in an eerie fashion, it just draws you towards itself. So, if you want to stand out, the Sledge is certainly going to help you do just that.

Beyond the wild looks, it is a well thought out synthesizer and the large format makes it very workable. The full sized keys will be a blessing to all those who like a real keyboard and the Fatar keybed is great under the fingers. It all looks like a great first step for Studiologic in the world of modern synthesizers.

There are some teething prob-

www.mixdownmag.com.au

lems, like a loud pop when you fire it up and notes that ride out extremely long decays and reverb even when you have moved on to the next patch. But, these are all part of the development of the beast, and new firmware updates continue to improve this synth. I must point out that the unit I tested was the first to land and wasn’t fully upgraded, so there is an even brighter future for this instrument.

A GERMAN IN ITALIAN CLOTHING

I will make no secret of the fact that I am a massive fan of German synth manufacturers Waldorf. They have created some absolute beasts over the years

and have a very definitively German sound that is a techno wonderland of tone. So, I was delighted to see that the Sledge houses an engine designed by Waldorf to bring together the Italian Fatar keybed and German engine. And what a combination they create. I was simply stuck scrolling through pre-set sounds for a couple of hours before I even had a chance to get really involved in the Wavetable options, three oscillators and super-fast filter envelopes.

If you were a fan of the Wave series of synths by Waldorf, this is going to get you excited.

Oscillator 1 has a wavetable generator that total twists the sound you can derive from

this monster. Beyond this, the engine is built around a classic subtractive synthesis design and incorporates a series of effects that really give added life to the already pumping sounds. This is a techno monster, but it is so much more than just that. It will adapt to create sounds for so many uses and with the new addition of being able to upload Korg sounds with the included editing software. Put simply, I really loved playing with the Sledge. With its little niggles aside, this is a keyboard that any synth nerd simply must add to their arsenal.

BY ROB GEE

HITS • It’s VERY yellow • Fatar keyboard and smooth control on all parameters • The Waldorf engine is all that one would expect it to be • It’s VERY yellow

MISSES • It’s VERY yellow • Hanging notes and popping when turning on or off

MIXDOWN #259/ NOVEMBER 2015 // PG.67

SHOW & TELL

JAMES ALEX

WE CHAT TO MUSOS ABOUT THEIR MOST TREASURED GEAR

BEACH SLANG

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

Fuzzrocious Dark Driving pedal.

How did you come across this particular item?

Our engineer hipped me to it during the recording of the first Beach Slang EP. What is it that you like so much about it?

Sound is a weirdo thing, you know? For me, there was always a space missing between my guitar and amp. I knew what I wanted, but never knew how to get it there. The first time I plugged this thing in, it happened—that perfect, fuzzy crunch, the thing I waited for.

When has it come in handy most? Do you recall any time this has got you out of a tough spot?

I don’t know that there’s ever been a ‘most handy’ or a ‘tough spot’. That’s something that super appeals to me—how reliable and consistent it is. I tend to play pretty hard and reckless. In all of that mess, it’s never cracked.

JOEY AMENTA

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way that you write music?

Non-stop and all the time. If I’m playing, this thing is on. It’s pretty automatic. If anything, I dial the tone up or down. But, really, it’s kind of a plug it in, turn it on, turn it up kind of pedal. It’s meant to be a rock & roll kid.

Any other interesting points/stories about it?

The company is owned by a husband & wife who, with their kids, handpaint each pedal. There’s something really right on about that.

Tell us a little about what you’ve got coming up.

Right now we’re out on our first full U.S. headlining tour and we’ve released our first full-length. We’re leaving for our first full European headlining tour on January 19. I never fully unpack my suitcase and that’s pretty alright.

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

My antique, wooden, Maidrite brand washboard! Yeehaw!

How did you come across this particular item?

It was actually given to me by a fan. He gave me 3 or 4 of them that day.

What is it that you like so much about it?

It’s light, it’s funky, it’s old and people always get a kick out of just seeing it. It’s really a perfect street music instrument.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way you write music?

I scratch it and I slap it with metal guitar finger picks on my fingers. It’s easy to play rhythms that go between swung and straight feels, and you can click-ety clack on it or slipp-idy slide, so the tunes can have a nice little bounce in it.

Any other interesting points/stories about it?

Sometimes, when we used to play in the BART stations in Oakland, CA (our version of the underground subway), the lady working there would get mad at me for bringing a whole drum set down there. So I had to learn how to play the washboard instead. It’s a really cool instrument because its use for music (besides scrubbing clothes) came out of jug-bands and old Country Blues from the first part of the 20th century, and you don’t see many groups playing that stuff very much these days.

me to play in a certain fashion that I’ve never played before, and write songs in a way I’ve never written before. I’ve been playing guitar since I was 14, and I find that the instrument speaks to me and tells me stories.

Any other interesting points/stories about it?

The sound – he makes his own pickups.

Other guitar makers buy the pickups and just put them in. This guy makes his own pickups. He’s an electronic engineer as well. He’s amazing.

Tell us a little about what you’ve got coming up.

Taste has been recording a new album Life on Earth with 13 new tracks. It has taken over a year to record and it deals with terror, murder and love (all the usual stuff). It’s epic and cinematic, full of guitars, strings, horns and harmonies.

Think Queen meets Foo Fighters! We plan to release it early next year. We have also released and remastered our first two albums, Tickle Your Fancy and Knights of Love on a Best of TASTE Remasters compilation.

Taste are touring through December and January, for more information visit www.taste-music.com.

PG.68 // MIXDOWN #259 // NOVEMBER 2015

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

A Universal Audio Apollo twin recording preamp/interface.

How did you come across this particular item?

Looking for a reasonably priced, high quality, super portable, user friendly, feature packed two channel interface. I guess I saw it online, read the hype, read the reviews, and ordered one.

What is that you like so much about it?

I can take it anywhere. I never leave home without it, literally. Anytime I want to develop an idea, it’s quick and easy to set up in a matter of minutes and be recording. The hardware is really rugged and easy to use, but it also has a bundle of awesome UAD plugins that sound great. It’s just a basic selection but you can spend some more cash and add extra plugins if you want.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way that you write music?

I have set it up in many hotel rooms and worked on stuff. It’s not just a ‘travel size’ gimmick, it’s a serious piece of gear capable of album quality recording, especially if you want something raw, natural and vibey. My wife and I were

THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS

When’s the next show?

Well, my next show is in 3 hours, in the Caribbean, on the top pool deck of a cruise ship. No joke.

The California Honeydrops will be touring Australia from November 21, for more information head to www. mixdownmag.com.au

JOSH CUNNINGHAM

TASTE

What piece of equipment do you have to show us today?

My custom made DELM guitar. It’s just an absolutely beautiful guitar, handmade in Melbourne by a local, Michael Deluca.

How did you come across this particular item?

A friend of mine told me about a guy that I used to go to school with that makes these amazing guitars. I remembered the guy so I went and saw him and since then, I’ve had the most amazing relationship with him. He is an incredible craftsman and the touch that he gives to his hand-made guitars is second to none.

You can’t buy a mass produced one that plays like this.

What is it that you like so much about it?

I love the personal feel about it. Because it’s hand-made and because he puts the love in it. I’m a passionate player, and it’s such a passionate feeling instrument, you can tell it’s made with love.

When has it come in handy most? Do you recall any time this has got you out of a tough spot?

It’s always handy and as for tough spots, they never break strings. So it’s just a really reliable instrument.

How do you use it, and how has it shaped the way that you write music?

I get a feeling off of it which inspires

BENJAMIN MALAMENT

THE WAIFS

staying at an Air B’n’B place a little while back and we recorded a bunch of her tunes that will eventually be on an album.

For getting ideas down it’s cool because you can multitrack and add parts to help develop a song, so it’s probably having an effect on my songwriting in that respect.

Any other interesting points/stories about it?

One of the plugins is a virtual simulation of Oceanway studios. You can use it for the natural reverbs of the studio or even use the microphone collection there at Oceanway and position them anywhere you want. Interesting stories? Well when my wife and I worked on the Air B’n’B ‘sessions’, we were in a self contained little pad underneath the house of a family with three young daughters.

Apparently the girls slept on a beanbag in the living room right above us because they were putting their ears to the floor to listen to our music and especially my wife’s voice - which is pretty special.

The Waifs’ new album Beautiful You is out now via Jarrah Records. For more information visit www.mixdownmag. com.au.

www.mixdownmag.com.au

DIRECTORY

FOR FULL S T ORE P ROFILES , HEA D T O MIX DOWNMA G.COM.A U / FEA T U RES / BA C KS T A GE

EVOLUTION MUSIC

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

8/2 Northey Rd, Lynbrook VIC (03) 8787 8599 info@evolutionmusic.com.au evolutionmusic.com.au

AA DUPLICATION

(PRINTING/CD & DVD DUPLICATION) A | P | E | W|

84 Nicholson St, Abbotsford VIC (03) 9416 2133 sales@aaduplication.com.au aaduplication.com.au

EASTGATE MUSIC

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

1131 Burke Rd, Kew VIC (03) 9817 7000 sales@eastgatemusic.com eastgatemusic.com.au N O T

I N

T H E

MELBOURNE MUSIC CENTRE

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

525 North Rd, Ormond, VIC (03) 9578 2426 info@melbournemusiccentre.com.au melbournemusiccentre.com.au

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER) 4/2181 Princes Hwy, Clayton VIC (03) 9546 0188 info@skymusic.com.au skymusic.com.au

FIVE STAR MUSIC

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

102 Maroondah Hwy, Ringwood VIC (03) 9870 4143 websales@fivestarmusic.com.au fivestarmusic.com.au

D I R E C T O R Y ?

C O N TA C T

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER) A | P | E | W|

(SCREENPRINTING & DESIGN SERVICE)

1/30 Station Rd, Indooroopilly QLD (07) 3878 4566 info@music440.com.au music440.com.au

A | P | E | W|

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER & EDUCATION) A | P | E | W|

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER)

48 Bloomfield St, Cleveland QLD (07) 3488 2230 sales@binarydesigns.com.au binarydesigns.com.au

A | P | E | W|

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER)

(MUSIC INTRUMENTS RETAILER)

Brumby Street Surry Hills NSW (02) 9690 0800 info@wildhorseguitars.com.au wildhorseguitars.com.au

P A T R I C K @ F U R S T M E D I A . C O M . A U

280 Victoria Rd, Gladesville NSW (02) 9817 2173 mail@guitarfactory.net guitarfactory.net

TURRAMURRA MUSIC

WILD HORSE GUITARS A | P | E | W|

15/17 Hutchinson St, St Peters NSW (02) 9550 6965 info@arcadescreenprinting.com.au arcadescreenprinting.com.au

GLADESVILLE GUITAR FACTORY

BINARY MUSIC

SKY MUSIC A | P | E | W|

ARCADE SCREENPRINTING

MUSIC 440

T O

A | P | E | W|

1267 Pacific Hwy, Turramurra NSW (02) 9449 8487 general_sales@turramusic.com.au turramusic.com.au

S E C U R E

Y O U R

P L A C E

MIXDOWN DIRECTORY The directory listing is a great new opportunity for retailers with the mag being distributed via musical intrument and equipment stores, record stores and retailers, live music venues, rehearsal rooms, studios, cafes, music schools and unis and high school music departments. If you trade online this is also a great opportunity to let our Australia-wide readership know about your offerings.

The Package: • Your store’s name + contact details listed in our Mixdown Magazine directory for 12 x issues (12 x 32,000+ copies delivered to over 1750+ targeted points nationally).

• Plus a mixdownmag.com.au (20,000+ unique monthly browsers) store profile editorial with picture gallery + social media support to be read and shared by all.

For More Info, Contact PG.70 // MIXDOWN #256 // AUGUST 2015

PATRICK CARR E-MAIL: PATRICK@FURSTMEDIA.COM.AU PHONE: 03 9428 3600

IX TO M HE AD

DO W

N M AG

.C O M

.A U /F

EA TU

S IKE’

RE S/

AR GUIT

e M d Av Gran 95 5 22 A | (03) 95 gui P | mike@ re sa E | guitar W| en com d Av 58 ked.

S E’ Gran 95 55 ewic .au ar 22 MIK A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM ck POR 22 P | mike@ rewi sa VIC A | (0 IUM E | guitar AR EM yPOR P | m GUIT ue, Fitzro W| VIC .au AR EM E | E’S yen com MIK GUIT ue, Fitzro W| d Av 58 u ked.

E’S m.a Gran 95 55 ewic .au ar 22 Aven MIK d.co A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM and 5558 icke u R Gr O ck .a 95 arew 22 P | mike@ rewi EMP y - VIC sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com RIUM AR E | guitar ck O | P IT ro e@ wi P tz C GU mik sare W| IUM , Fi .au E | guitar AR EM tzroy - VI E’S POR IT enue com U | Av C MIK d.

G EM Fi W d VI 58 , ke .au AR E’S yGran 95 55 ewic .au enue com ar 22 MIK GUIT ue, Fitzro d Av 58 ked.

A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com .au E’S Gran 95 55 ewic .au ck en com ar 22 P | mike@ rewi MIK d Av 58 ked. sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM Gran 95 55 ewic .au E | guitar ck POR ar 22 P | mike@ rewi M W| sa VIC A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com AR EM E | guitar yck ORIU P | mike@ rewi GUIT ue, Fitzro EMP y - VIC W| sa IUM .au E | guitar E’S POR ITAR com U tzro | Aven 58 MIK d.

G EM Fi W d , ke .au AR E’S y Gran 95 55 ewic .au enue com ar 22 MIK GUIT ue, Fitzro d Av 58 ked.

A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com E’S Gran 95 55 ewic .au ck en ar 22 P | mike@ rewi MIK d Av 58 ked sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM Gran 95 55 ewic E | guitar ck POR ar 22 P | mike@ rewi M C W| sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com AR EM tzroy - VI E | guitar ORIU C | P IT e@ rewick P U ik | G Fi EM m W sa VI .au ue, E | guitar E’S yITAR com U tzro | Aven 58 MIK d.

G EM Fi W d , u ke .a AR E’S Gran 95 55 ewic .au enue com ar 22 MIK GUIT u d Av 58 ked.

A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com E’S Gran 95 55 ewic .au ck en ar 22 P | mike@ rewi MIK d Av sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM Gran 95 55 E | guitar ck POR 22 P | mike@ rewi M W| sa VIC A | (03) 95 guitar AR EM E | guitar yORIU P | mike@ rew GUIT ue, Fitzro EMP y - VIC W| sa u E | guitar E’S m.a ITAR U tzro | Aven 58 MIK d.co G Fi W d , u ke .a E’S Gran 95 55 ewic .au enue com ar 22 MIK S d Av 58 icked.

E’ A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com an 55 IK u Gr 95 ck .a arew 22 P | mike@ rewi MM sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM Gra E | guitar ck POR 22 P | mike@ rewi M W| sa VIC A | (03) AR EM E | guitar yORIU C P | mik GUIT ue, Fitzro EMP W| u - VI E | gu E’S m.a UITAR , Fitzroy | Aven 58 MIK d.co G W d u ke S .a E’ Gran 95 55 ewic .au enue com ar 22 MIK d Av 58 icked.

A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com an 55 u Gr ck .a 95 arew 22 P | mike@ rewi M sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM E | guitar ck POR P | mike@ rewi W| sa VIC IUM AR EM E | guitar yPOR GUIT ue, Fitzro W| VIC .au AR EM E’S yen com MIK GUIT ue, Fitzro d Av 58 u ked.

E’S Gran 95 55 ewic .au m.a ar 22 Aven MIK d.co A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com and 5558 icke u Gr ck .a 95 arew 22 P | mike@ rewi sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com IUM E | guitar ck POR P | mike@ rewi W| sa VIC IUM AR EM E | guitar yPOR GUIT ue, Fitzro W| .au AR EM E’S yen com MIK GUIT ue, Fitzro d Av 58 ked.

E’S Gran 95 55 ewic .au ar 22 Aven MIK d.c A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com and 5558 icke u Gr ck .a 95 arew 22 P | mike@ rewi sa A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com RIUM E | guitar O ck | P e@ wi P EM mik sare W| VIC E | guitar yP ITAR U tzro | G Fi EM W , .au AR E’S enue com MIK GUIT ue, d Av 58 icked.

S an 55 E’ Gr 95 .au en arew 22 MIK d Av 58 A | (03) 95 guitar ed.com Gran 95 55 e ck ar 22 P | mike@ rewi M sa A | (03) 95 guitar E | guitar ORIU C | P e@ rewick P | ik m W sa VI AR EM E | guitar yGUIT ue, Fitzro W| .au E’S en om MIK GUIT ed.c d Av 58 E’S Gran 95 55 rewick .au 22 MIK 95 tara .com A | 3) ui and ed

FO R

FU LL

ST O

O RE PR

FI LE

S,

RY

CTO

DIRE

E’S

MIK

www.mixdownmag.com.au

IUM POR VIC AR EM yGUIT ue, Fitzro .au

AUDIO INTERFACES WITH LEGENDARY FOCUSRITE PRE AMPS. AVAILABLE FOR USB, FIREWIRE AND NOW NATIVE THUNDERBOLT.

Scarlett Solo

USB

Scarlett 18i20

Scarlett 2i2

Scarlett 6i6

Scarlett Solo Studio

Scarlett 2i4

Scarlett 18i8

(Hoorah)

Scarlett 2i2 Studio

Great for DJ / Remix Producers

FireWire

Saffire Liquid Pro 56

Saffire Pro 40

Saffire Pro 26

Clarett 8 Pre

NOW IN STOCK

TB Make sure you buy your Focusrite from an AUTHORISED DEALER. Goods bought through unauthorised dealers or from overseas carry NO WARRANTY in Australia. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get ripped off by shonky eBay dealers. Check with us before you buy.

Focusrite is proudly represented in Australia by Electric Factory Pty Ltd 188 Plenty Road Preston VIC 3072 focusrite@elfa.com.au