Here is something close to my heart as I remember how Bass Drum Pedals used to be and how they are today. Jojo Mayer has invented the Perfect Balance Bass Drum Pedal and Sonor Drums have put it into production for his excellent idea. It has taken Jojo quite a few years to design this as he wanted to achieve perfect swing balance of the beater.

His experiece of today’s pedals are that drummers demanded more thrust forward with the beater in order to achieve greater power. The problem with this is that it would need to be out of balance to achieve this and what you had coming back would be a bit “sluggish” as Jojo puts it. I most certainly agree with this because nearly every pedal I have ever owned, I have ended up changing the spring mechanism in order to achieve the feel and response I am seeking. Some pedals give you quite a range of adjustment but somehow they still do not achive that ‘Perfect Balance’

So it is ‘Well Done’ to Jojo for devoting such time to achieve this, perhaps other manufactures will sit up and take note of what drummers really need rather than what they think they need. Have a look at Jojo’s YouTube clip to give you some idea:-

INTRODUCING THE LINE 6 POD HD DESKTOP EFFECTS AND AMP MODELLING BEAN

The Line 6 POD range has been around for quite a few years now and has been a source of great effects and Amp Modelling both off stage and in the Studio. Based in California, this company now boast a new POD HD range with five models; the POD HD Desktop, POD HD 300, POD HD 400, POD HD 500 and the POD HD PRO. I have managed to get my hands on a POD HD Desktop (known as “the Bean”) announced at Musikmesse 2011 but unfortunately I am not a Guitarist, so I will have to review this from a Studio point of view and perhaps look at the possibilities of how I can get a better guitar sound from my keyboards. Fortunately the POD HD Desktop is aimed at the Studio user and has not been designed for the Live-Playing Guitarist who wants good LCD visibility and stomp-box type foot pedals to effortlessly change effects, whilst in full flow of his Blackmore-type solo.

INSIDE THE BOX IS A POD – HOW USEFUL IS THIS TO ME?

Technology has moved on quite a bit since the original desktop POD was conceived. The designers decided to look again at their product with a view of how they could make best use of just how much DSP chips have evolved. The result is a new range and Line 6 are making very bold statements, with claims that these new products offer ten times more computing power than the originals had. As I start to unpack one from its box, I can’t wait to find out if I can produce Amp models that behave exactly like the real thing. It is strange but whilst we are on this point, it makes me think about a keyboard player who wants his keyboard emulation of a violin to sound exactly like a violin. Similarly a guitarist craves the sound of a particular guitar going through a particular amplifier. It makes me wonder how important this is. I think in the latter case, I do not really care because what I am looking for is the right guitar sound for the recording I am doing, regardless of whether or not it is a perfect recreation of the original. The great thing about having a unit like this is then surely the ability to audition from a vast choice of sounds, to find what works best for your needs.

As I open the deep red and black box, on top of the cardboard protection is a small manual called the “Pilot’s Handbook”. This guide is a starting point but you can download a 109-Page advanced guide from the Line 6 website. The small lightweight POD comes complete with PC-3 Power Adaptor and optional socket attachments and a USB lead. It is no longer the famous bright red colour but rather a professional looking black finish with white and gold writing. You can also get a POD mounting stand as an optional extra, which can either sit on your desktop or mount on top of a mic stand.

HAVE LINE 6 PICKED THE BEST AMPS TO MODEL?

As a result of the free firmware update, the amount of Amp models available has increased from 16 to 22. You get a very detailed and different sound from each Amp and with the Amp edit facility you can adjust the early reflections and the type of microphone being used which include some old favourites like the Shure SM57 and Royer 121 ribbon mic.

For those of you who simply must know the answer to the burning question as to what Amps were modelled, then here is the full 22 HD model list:-

Bogner Uberschall
Divided by 13 JRT 9/15
Dr. Z Route 66
ENGL Fireball 100
Fender Bassman
Fender Bassman (“Vibrato” channel)
Fender Blackface Deluxe Reverb
Fender Blackface Deluxe Reverb (“Vibrato” channel)
Fender Twin Reverb
Fender Twin Reverb (“Vibrato” channel)
Gibson EH-185
Hiwatt Custom 100 (DR103)
Line 6 Elektrik
Marshall JCM-800 (2204)
Marshall JTM-45 MkII
Marshall JTM-45 MkII (“Normal” channel)
Mesa/Boogie Dual Rectifier
Park 75
Park 75 (“Normal” channel)
Supro S6616
Vox AC-15
Vox AC-30 (Top Boost)

LETS GET TO GRIPS WITH THE POD HD LAYOUT

You have to remember that the Bean-shaped POD HD is the desktop model and is really more suited to the Studio. It is a good sized unit to fit in your Studio but at the same time the controls are meaty enough for easy control and where the floor models have the advantage of foot-control, the Bean is accessible on your desk and when working with your DAW eliminates the need to keep bending down.

It is a nice user-friendly layout with all the traditional type knobs that you would have on a guitar amplifier. These form a half moon shape at the top of the unit circling around the central LCD. The eight main knobs are very solid and you have Drive, Bass, Middle, Treble, Presence, Tweak , Volume and Master. The Tweak knob was not on previous models and it can be assigned to either an amplifier sound or an effect and used to modify parameters in real time.

Either side of the screen you have the Navigation Controls for Save, View, Enter and Move. On top of the Save/View Buttons is a smaller knob which tells you that you can cycle through the Presets or ‘Press’ to bring up Set Lists. On top of the Enter / Move buttons there is the main navigation control to move Up, Down, Left or Right.
Below the screen are four Multi-Function Knobs which allow you to adjust the Effects or Amp parameters. Then below these are seven square buttons. The first allows you to navigate through all 16 preset banks in the currently selected Set List. You then have A B C and D buttons to select any of the four presets in the current bank and then finally the Tap Button for tempo-synchronising but if you hold it, you can access the Tuner to tune to the standard 440 Hz or if you want any different tunings you can actually tune between 425-455 Hz.

I have briefly mentioned that the POD HD has a “Set List” function. Here you can save up to eight of them with 64 presets per list – excellent.

LOOPING ON THE POD HD BEAN AND USING DUAL TONE

There is a Loop facility; however I think this works better on the other models where you can control it with your feet. You can access the Looper by an alternative use of the A, B, C, D and Bank Up and Down Buttons. You get either 48 seconds of mono recording time in Half- Speed Mode or 24 seconds of recording at normal speed. You can overdub and layer in real time as many times as you want, so it is also a good fun to try this out with vocals, especially if you make your own vocal percussion sounds.

You also get something called Dual Tone whereby you can play through two rigs at once. You can route your guitar signal through two different chains of models or pan them hard left and right.

VERY EFFECTIVE LINE 6 POD HD BEAN

The effects on this unit are just endless and there are 109 of them which Line 6 has taken from their M9 and M13 effects boards. I find that more often than not, adding just one effect is not enough because you want to layer effects to give you endless sound possibilities. Well with the POD HD desktop you can use up to eight simultaneous effects and as you will see below you can select from a vast selection of absolute gems to sculpt your sound. The effect chain is controlled from the central LCD screen, where you can utilize up to eight effects at a time. But there’s more flexibility than just lining up effects. You can insert two amp models in your signal path and pan them left and right. These functions are manipulated via the Signal Flow View, which is controlled with the multi-function knobs below the LCD. The addition of the 4-way Navigation pad allows you to effortlessly move an amplifier or effect into the desired position or loop in the signal chain.

You get 19 delays which include Analogue and digital, Tape and Sweep Echoes, Ping Pong, Echo Platters, Tube, Reverse, Multi-Head, Low Res, Stereo, Dynamic and Auto Volume. This is such a great choice of delays; I have to watch that I don’t repeat myself. I really like the Multi-Head delay which apparently is modelled on the sound created by the multiple playback heads of the Roland RE-101 Space Echo. I used this to enhance one of my Korg Triton’s guitar sounds and it made such a difference and brought the sound to life. The Dynamic Delay worked exceptionally well. It has this ducking control to keep the delays from overwhelming what I was playing which I think is so important when you are using delay effects. Line 6 got inspired by those clever guys at T.C. Electronics who created the 2290 Dynamic Digital Delay.

Moving on to Modulation Effects, there are 23 of these to keep you busy deciding what is best for your needs. Here you have some gritty and orbital sweeping Flangers, jumbo jet Phasers, thick warm larger than life Chorus effects, Tremelos inspired by famous guitar amps like the Vox AC15 and Fender’s Blackface 64 Deluxe Reverb Amp. There is also a Ring Modulator and a Frequency Shifter to add a little weird and wonderful element to your sound and a couple of Rotary effects.

Well you can’t have fun on a guitar without Distortion and you have 17 here consisting of Classic Tubes, Overdrives, Fuzz, Big Muff, Buzz Saw, Colourdrive, Octaves and Screamers. I think my favourite here is the biting sound of the Ibanez Tube Screamer.

Six essential Compressors, Five EQs and a Noise Gate give the sound you are looking for whether that be for a nice slow lead using the Red Compressor to give you plenty of sustain or the boost of the Vetta Juice Compressor. Then add a touch of constant Q and soft clipping output with the Studio EQ – Wow.

And no, we are not done yet because there are 26 Filters. There are Seven different types of Wah Filters, Throbbers, Voice Boxes, Growlers, Wave – Shapers, Cry Babies, Q-Filters, Pitch Shifters, Chrome and Wammy.

Lastly are the 12 Lush Reverbs includes; the gorgeous 1963 brown spring-reverb head; a Lux Spring; a Line 6 original that turns your chords into a modulated pad; the normal Room, Chamber, Hall, Plate, Cave, Echo; a tiled bathroom or shower and a Ducking Reverb where the volume goes down while you play, and back up when you stop. What a great choice, I love them all but I think my favourite is the harmonized decay of the Octo Reverb.

THE CLEAR SOUNDS OF THE LINE 6 POD HD BEAN

A Guitarist friend of mine owns the old red bean – The Line 6 POD XT. He has kept it in great condition and up-to-date. We did a comparison of how they both sounded and both agreed as to how much better the POD HD is. The sounds were clearer, brighter and fuller. We were a little unsure about whether the comparison and use of the phrase ‘High Definition’ was appropriate but I suppose if you consider that the sound was more detailed then maybe this is reasonable. My friend thought that the Effects Section had the greatest amount of improvement over the XT and after trying out the HD’s assortment of goodies with his Fender Strat, I think he wanted to take my HD home with him – sorry no can do. He did however comment on the amount of Amp models. He could not understand why there were 32 Amp Models on his XT but now only 22 on the HD and that some of his favourites were not there. This is obviously to do with resources and compromise. And is one of those situations where you will never please everyone.

CAN I PLUG IN A MICROPHONE?

I tried this with a MIC and a set of headphones. I put some distortion on my voice with some Reverb and it sounded great. There are also some presets readily available for Vocals, some with some Synthy Robotic Sounds.

POD HD EDITOR AND LIBRARIAN

Line 6 allows you to download an Editor and Librarian for your POD HD. This application is great for you to see what is going on all on a large computer screen. You can easily edit all of the parameters for Amp, Preamp and Effects models; manage and store hundreds of Presets and Set Lists, create, edit and back them up. You can also share your own POD HD Presets or download from a huge library of artist & user Presets. These are all available at Line 6 CustomTone site. What I like about the Editor is seeing clearly the Signal Flow Panel. The pictures used mean that you can instantly understand what is being used and how it is working. Also if you add an effects model in the software, you will then see it on the hardware and visa-versa and you can do this all as a simple drag and drop move.

When you wish to update your POD HD you need their free application called Line 6 Monkey. This App will automatically let you know about Firmware and Driver updates etc. Line 6, at time of writing have just released another update – Version 2.02 which includes two guitar amp models, the world’s first HD bass amp model (with eight mic model choices) and a new vintage-voiced mic preamp model – it just keeps getting better.

RECORDING ON THE LINE 6 POD HD BEAN

When you are recording with your DAW, you can configure the sample rate from 44.1 kHz up to 96 kHz. You don’t have to worry about latency because the driver software allows for the signal to be split and sends one signal to the computer and the other directly out of the main outputs and headphone jack. The output is fixed at 24 bit.

MAKING CONNECTIONS ON YOUR POD HD

The POD HD gives you good range of connections with its 1/4-inch mono guitar/bass input, stereo 1/4-inch balanced outs, USB 2.0, S/PDIF out for a 24 bit version of the direct signal, 1/4-inch headphone jack, an XLR mic input and a jack for connection to a Line 6 foot controller. The unit is designed for guitarists or bassists with its mono instrument input, but I wish it also accepted a Stereo Input for keyboard players, but this will not bother the majority of purchasers.

CONCLUSION

This to me is a great value unit for your Studio, giving you a convenient solution for your Amp Simulation and effects with a lot of choice right at your fingertips. All of the processing takes place in the internal DSP engine taking the strain away from your computer when recording. It is far superior to software alternatives and provides exceptional models of many great stomp boxes. I don’t really think it is there to replace guitar hardware but from a portable, instant choice point of view, it is a remarkable piece of kit. Taking the quality of effects into account, the free editor and librarian and the means to create your own setups and Set Lists, you really do get a lot for your money here.

If you are a guitarist then you can also use it for practice with headphones. You can even make your guitar sound like a spooky old organ with it. It has been substantially updated a couple of times already providing further enhancements and facilities that you can download for free. If you find that you really do want to use your feet like on many other Stomp Boxes, then you do have the option to connect a foot controller or alternatively if you haven’t purchased one yet then have a look at the POD HD 500.

There is only one place to buy this amazing effects bean, and that is by clicking this Orange Banner:-

Those clever guys at Crysonic have just released the SPECTRA C2 for Mac and Windows which is a Wideband Audio Compressor Plug-In. They are absolutely convinced that this plug-in is going knock you out and provide you with outstanding results. This Non-Transparent Compressor gives you subtle but exactly the analog characteristics that you want on any signal being processed. It is Zero latency and is ideal in all music production.

With so much going on in the background that you don’t notice with its very fast and user-friendly interface giving you the results you demand instantly and suprisingly, it doesn’t drain too much from your CPU.

You can get it for an incredible $55 if you are very quick but it is going up to $159 from 16th May 2012. More info can be found at www.crysonic.com

I don’t remember my Roland TR-909 Rhythm Composer or my Clavia Nord Modular Classic being this good to play with – how times have changed.

These are part of the sexy PussPuss range of Swimsuits that you can buy at http://www.etsy.com/shop/thepusspuss

I have been anxious to get my hands on a Nord keyboard and it is very strange that at the time Nord have just announced the release of the Electro 4D at Musikmesse in Frankfurt, I am about to look into the Nord Electro 3. This maybe the right time as there is a possibility that the Electro 3 will come down a little in price, with its successor just around the corner. Obviously the Electro 3 is the third incarnation of Clavia’s virtual electromechanical range of bright red wonders. The first is now over ten years old and Clavia have slowly updated the software and hardware.

WHAT IS THE NORD ELECTRO 3 KEYBOARD?

I know I have said this many times in the past, but you cannot please all of the people all of the time. Many keyboard players want one keyboard to be able to do it all, but that just is not possible. Even the Korg Kronos with its nine synth engines was very let down by its keyboard action on all of its models. Your requirements may be that you want a great fast moving keyboard action to play organ and synth sounds and then at the same time you want the feel of an Acoustic Grand Piano to play all the subtle dynamics. You also want a vast range of sounds which does not just include the bread and butter sounds and for these sounds to be of a very high quality and the sound very natural and believable. On top of this you want it to be user-friendly and be very portable, possibly lightweight.

Compromise is the word and Clavia set out to achieve many of these needs. The Electro 3 is part of their virtual electromechanical range of keyboards. They now have three Electro 3 keyboards in an attempt to supply you with exactly what you need. There is the 61 Key, the 73 key and the Electro 3 HP with a hammer action keyboard. All three give you authentic vintage sounds with Acoustic and Electric Pianos, modelled organs that have rotary speaker simulation, strings and other real instruments. To meet your other needs you have full access to Clavia’s large and ever-growing sample library. You have to bear in mind that the Electro range of keyboards are not synths and whilst there is a great sample library available, you do not have all the controls on the Electros that most synths have today. All three keyboards have a great weight and here is the model comparison:- 61 note is just 7.65 kg (15.3 lbs), the 73 note is an incredible 9.1 kg (18.2 lbs) and even with weighted keys the Electro 3 HP is just 11 kg (24.25 lbs).

KEYBOARD ACTION

As always this is different for everyone and before you make any decision, I always recommend you try before you buy. Personally I still want this to be much better, but Clavia have attempted to please everyone by giving you the fast synth-like feel combined with a springiness that can assist with a piano performance. If you consider that the Piano has a greater priority in your requirements then perhaps the Electro 3 HP is the model for you. I must say I do prefer this action to that of the Korg Kronos when comparing the 61 key models. I think it is a reasonable comment to say that nearly all the big companies do not provide us with fantastic keybeds. I really wish they would stop trying to impress us with their new sounds and new effects and controls and spend a much greater amount of time creating the keybed and then come and impress us with it. After all it is the main part of the keyboard, it is the tool we use to make our sounds but more importantly it is the key to a good performance.

THE NORD ELECTRO 3 – CONTROLLING THE BEAST

You can control the Nord Electro 3 easily as you play Live from the front panel which has four main areas, Organ, Piano, Program and Effects. There is also a Master Level knob which is not programmable but Clavia have very cleverly given that function to the Gain Control in the Effects Section. There is no modulation wheel or pitch bend as you may have expected and the LED with its, three-character display, although very small does an adequate job for your needs. The slight issue I have here for live use is remembering my patch locations. Strangely enough the Nord Electro 2 had a better although somewhat smaller setup for its preset patches and it allowed you to save a bank of 8 patches in Banks A to F. However, the Electro 3 has only 2 Bank buttons (Patches A 1-64) and (Patches B 1-64 patches). With the Electro 3HP, Clavia must have listened to user feedback because they have implemented four program buttons that access four sound banks, making it quicker to navigate than the Electro 3.

The Nord Electro 3’s 128 factory preset programs can all be replaced and over-written. You can and should backup your sounds regularly on a PC or MAC using the included Nord Sound Manager application. For help on other functions Nord have printed Sound and MIDI parameters on the keyboard itself, I am not that this is a great idea but I wasn’t really bothered either way.

The Organ section is a big part of the Electro 3 allowing you to authentically recreate classic organ sounds of the past and everything in-between. My starting point was in the Program area where I could make an initial choice between Organ and Piano. As I selected Organ, the Organ section lit and activated ready for my use. I could then press the Organ model button to cycle through the three classic organ models; the B3, the Vox Continental and the Farfisa. For each of the Organ Models (the B3, the Vox Continental and the Farfisa) you get 17 presets. What I did next was to select the Preset / Split button. This gave me a second preset which allowed me to keep two dif¬ferent settings for an organ sound available from the panel at any time. You can also split the keyboard by pressing the Shift and the Preset / Split button which defaults to a splitting point at C4. Another great feature that Clavia have designed in the Electro 3 is that it will support an extra MIDI keyboard when the Organ Split mode is activated. This would allow you to use the Nord Electro 3 like a classic dual manual organ. You could also have different drawbar settings for both keyboards – great stuff.

Clavia have based their Electro Organ on their own famous C1 Combo Organ. I really like the updated key click giving a lovely percussive sound and feel to it. For the John Lord’s in you, you will find enough Purple, gritty, Rotary Hammond sounds to keep you playing “Child in Time” to the early hours of the morning. To my ears that is a really great Hammond replica, not quite a Leslie Speaker in there but pretty close. My favourite organ sound seems to be patch 32b which is called Mercy Vox. It has some awesome effects and phases in and out allowing you to play fast notes that smooth into each other to great effect.

To play an organ and recreate sounds authentically you need Drawbars. Clavia provide nine digitally controlled drawbars which are represented by up and down buttons and LED bar graphs – very clever. This is so easy to use Live and the LEDs instantly show you what is happening even in poor lighted areas. The Farfisa organ model uses the drawbar controls as toggle switches just like the rocker switches on the original Farfisa. I always like the percussive sounds on organs, perhaps it just the drummer in me. The Electro does an awesome job here and provides you (amongst other user-adjustable parameters) percussive levels, decays and keylicks.

Ok let us move onto the Piano section which is divided into six types – Electric Pianos, Uprights, Grands, Wurlitzers, Clavs / Harpsichords and those from the Sample Library. The Electro 3 has 256MB of RAM, which is eight times as much as the original Electro giving you a bit more room to load some of your favourite piano samples. 185 MB of the flash memory is allocated to the piano types. Personally I found the Nord’s acoustic pianos a refreshing change from the Roland and Korg pianos that I am very familiar with. Every manufacturer seems to have its own slant on the sound it creates. Every time I play for example a Roland Piano, it is as if I know what to expect before I have heard it. With the Nord, I can’t put my finger on it (no pun intended) but the sound is for some reason different. There are a couple of Yamaha and Steinway grand pianos but if these are not quite to your taste, you could replace them free of charge with a bigger velocity-layered Steinway D from the sample library.

My favourites are the electric pianos with four different tine electric pianos and a reed electric piano. This works well if you add a touch of phaser to it to give you that classic Steely Dan sound. Also, try adding tremolo and you will time-travel back to the seventies. Some of the electric pianos are much brighter and give you that nice gritty bite as you dig into the keys and I love the Wurlitzers, they just feel and sound so right and you can still tweak them, add effects and make them your own. The Clavs are based on the famous Clavinet D6 and with the right effects and EQ will make you sound like Stevie Wonder and you should try these with flanger and auto-wah – great funky sound. The delicate harpsichord sound is very accurate.

There are also some Boutique sounds on-board, some that came from the vintage tape player the Melatron for you to sound like the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields – perfect recreation. Also the Melatron bright aggressive string sound will really cut through anything.

Moving on to the program section, you can select, manage and store programs, access the System, MIDI and sound parameters. There is also a handy extra – the live buffer which is really like a program memory button whereby all changes to the panel set¬tings you make are constantly saved. If you switch the power off, or accidently select another program, the settings are still stored in the memory, so when you power up next time (or return to the Live memory) all set¬tings will be exactly as they were when you left them.

THE NORD SOUND MANAGER AND SAMPLE EDITOR.

On your PC or MAC you can install the Nord Sound Manager. With this you can do tasks such as download or upload pianos, samples or programs to and from the Nord Electro 3. It can also function to backup and restore the entire Nord Electro 3 memory.

There is also a Sample Editor where you can load your own samples into the Electro 3. You will find full instructions on the included DVD.

CLAVIA NORD ELECTRO 3 FX

I like the layout of the effects section with its quick access to turn effects on or off. If you Press and hold the Shift button and then press the Effect selector you can cycle through the effects. The Effects Section is divided into six and at the top is the EQ section providing you with a 3-band EQ with treble, bass and a sweepable midrange. These frequency ranges can be boosted with the separate gain control +/- 15 dB. To the right of the EQ section is an overall Gain knob with selections from 1 to 10.

The next four sections control the main effects and all have individual On and Off buttons, selector buttons and a suitable control knob. Effect 1 section gives you a choice of Auto-Panning and Tremelo and both of these have three selectable depths. There are also two types of Wah-Wah and a Ring Modulator. You can do some strange things with the Ring Modulator as it certainly brings a bit of fun to the table against the serious nature of the Electro 3. Effect 2 section adds three types of modulation effects: Phaser, Flanger and Chorus with three selectable depths and a Rate knob to control the rate of the effect. The next Section – Speaker and Compression, provides Speaker and Amplifier emulations, the rotary speaker emulation and a compressor. I like the Rotary emulation but the other controls allow you to get some dirt, grit and aggression into the sounds. Finally the Reverb Section (which was not on previous versions of the Electro) gives you a Dry to Wet control and selections for Hall, Stage or Room and all sound very natural. I found that adding a touch of Hall Soft really added warmth to the sounds. Interestingly Clavia added a delay effect to the Electro 3HP, with tap tempo and ping-pong mode, which sounds very analogue-like.

CONNECTIONS

Around the back from left to right, you have three standard jack pedal inputs; a Control Pedal to control various param¬eters such as a Swell for the Organs or control effects like the P-Wah; a Rotor Pedal to control the Rotor Speed and a Sustain pedal. You then have MIDI In and Out but no Thru. A USB connector to connect with your PC or Mac for O/S updates, Backups and use of the Sound Manager or Sample Editor software. Next is the addition of a 3.5mm input for external sound sources like a CD or mp3 player, routed directly to the headphone output. Finally there are the left and Right Main Outputs and a Stereo Headphone Output.

CONCLUSION

There is no doubt in my mind that if you are a Vintage keyboard player who loves electromechanical and real sounding instruments then this is the keyboard for you and if you want weighted keys then go for the Electro 3HP which is still incredibly lightweight at only 11 kg (24.25 lbs) and does also have a couple of useful extras on top. With the Organ you have some truly great simulations authentically taking you from the heavy rock sound of the Hammond to the thin transistorized sounds of the Farfisa and Vox organs. The Electric Pianos are stunning and I certainly enjoyed playing them the most. The Electro 3 has the looks of a fast red sports car; it replaces the need to carry heavy vintage keyboards about and gives you a reliable authentic-sounding keyboard in a very portable and quality package. But don’t forget the extensive sound library to make this instrument what you want it to be. You just can’t help but love Nord keyboards.

Here is a very talented guy known as the JazzDoctor (JD73), who really knows how to play and shows the true potential of Clavia’s Nord Electro 3. Watch this it makes you want to go out and buy one.

There is only one place to buy this beautiful red beast and that is by clicking this Orange Banner:-

Here is something I just don’t know how I missed – Pearl Drums – Tru Trac Eelectronic Drum Heads. I know it has been done before converting an acoustic set of drums into Electronic, but Pearl have been around a few years now and certainly know a thing or two about drums.

Their consideration from an electronic point of view is how they feel and Tru-Trac Electronic Drumheads have the same size and response as real heads. They are available in pre-packs and individual components so you can convert your own acoustic kit into an electronic kit. Both of their pre-packs include (5) No Drill Adapters and all necessary parts and tools to complete your kit’s conversion from acoustic to electronic. All you need to do then is connect the pads to your favorite drum brain like the Roland TD20 or TD30. The conversion process is just like changing a Drum Head.

The two packs are: EPAD-25S contains the following: TTP-B Bass Tru Trac Electronic DrumHead, TTB-10 10″ Tom DrumHead, TTP-12 12″ Tom DrumHead, TTP-16 16″ Tom DrumHead, TTP-14 14″ Snare DrumHead, NDA-1 Non-Drill Adapter (x 5), CH1JB 16″ TRS Cable, DZC15 15″ Long Cable, 52MM Tension Rods (x30), 63MM Tension Rods (x30), NP485 Velcro Tape (x10), BDMTP Hole Position Template, PDPTP Paper Ruler, HPC6 Hole Punch and BDC Foam Bass Drum Cushion.

EPAD-25 contains:-TTP-B Bass Tru Trac Electronic DrumHead, TTB-12 12″ Tom DrumHead, TTP-13 13″ Tom DrumHead, TTP-16 16″ Tom DrumHead, TTP-14 14″ Snare DrumHead, NDA-1 Non-Drill Adapter (x 5), CH1JB 16″ TRS Cable, DZC15 15″ Long Cable, 52MM Tension Rods (x30), 63MM Tension Rods (x30), NP485 Velcro Tape (x10), BDMTP Hole Position Template, PDPTP Paper Ruler, HPC6 Hole Punch and BDC Foam Bass Drum Cushion.

I haven’t done any Studio Monitor reviews and I was interested to see that a surprising amount of people were recommending Adam A7X Studio Monitors, in fact it is hard to find a bad word about them and the readers of Sound On Sound magazine have voted them the best studio monitors of 2011 and 2012. Adam Professional Audio is a German company, based in Berlin with distributors all over the world. The UK base is in London – Adam Audio UK Ltd. They already had a very successful product the A7 and last year they decided to upgrade their A-range. I haven’t heard an A7 so I cannot compare the two but I do know that you do not get prestigious awards from Sound On Sound two years in succession unless you have something very special.

ADAM A7X MONITORS  – A TREAT RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX

As you remove the solid heavy speaker from its excellent supportive and protective packaging and unwrap it, immediately you feel that you would be proud to have something looking this good in your studio. I admit looks are not everything but it is most certainly a good starting point. Looking at it from the front, (apart from its sexy black satin finish), you have the X-Art Tweeter (apparently the ‘X’ stands for ‘extended frequency response’ and ART is accelerating ribbon technology), a newly designed 7” midwoofer and a control panel between two bass ports housing an On and Off switch and a Volume control. In my opinion that is the best place for them, in easy reach and sight.

ADAM A7X MONNITOR CONNECTIONS

The connections at the back are basically in three sections, inputs, controls and power. The input section has an unbalanced RCA input and a balanced XLR. The controls are for the tweeter level and high and low shelf ?lters and are finely adjusted with a screwdriver. The power section has a power input and a voltage selector.

ADAM A7X AMPS, DRIVERS FREQUENCIES AND SUBS

There are two built-in amplifiers and in relation to their previous model the Adam A7 they have now doubled the output power. You get a 50 Watts Class A/B amplifier to drive that lovely X-ART tweeter and a 100W PWM amplifier for that outstanding 7 inch mid and bass frequency woofer. Both of these amplifiers can handle peak levels 50 % above their nominal rating. As I said earlier a lot has been upgraded and that also includes the new redesigned drivers.

The incredible feature here is their X-ART tweeter. It is a folded-ribbon tweeter design but the ribbon membrane is not flat it is corrugated. Adam tells us that the X-ART principle is the ability to move the air in a 4:1 ratio and increase the acoustically effective area of the diaphragm by a factor of more than 2.5 times. This gives you a higher dynamic output with extremely wide dispersion, an greater efficient cooling and frequencies up to 50kHz. When you think about the fact that the average human can only hear frequencies up to 20 kHz, this is well above the normal hearing range. This headroom provides for a much more detailed sound. I may be wrong but I think my understanding of this is that if you played a sound which had frequencies of say 25 kHz and you played it through speakers that could only handle frequencies up to 20 kHz, then regardless of your hearing capabilities, this would not play the whole sound. The makeup of the sound and harmonic content would be different to when it is played on a set of Adam A7Xs which are able to take that frequency with ease and play the whole sound despite the fact that you don’t hear anything above 20 kHz. Right or wrong, I am sure this will make for an interesting debate down the pub.

The low frequency goes down as far as 42 Hz which again is amazing for a speaker this size. We are able to hear frequencies as low as 20 Hz so this is where the discussion takes on the form of whether a subwoofer is needed. However, there is a pleasing warmth about the low end and bass drums sound tight and punchy. The fact that these monitors separate the frequencies extremely well, meant that anything I played did not sound muddy in anyway, in fact it was the opposite.

As a nearfield monitor, and the range that these speakers cover, I think in some setups you could get away with not having a subwoofer with A7X, but personally I probably would still have one. I think once you’ve had a subwoofer you would not want to be without one. I set these up with my sub and the whole truly powerful package sounded awesome. Don’t get me wrong the A7Xs have a great low frequency sound and if you have a small home studio, they will sound great without a Sub.

If you want to adjust the low frequencies, in the Control panel at the rear of the monitor, there’s a shelving filter that operates below 300Hz. As all rooms are different, you can adjust this to your personal taste to compensate for the decisions you make on positioning your monitors in your room. You need a screwdriver to adjust the settings here. I did not like this at first but this form of adjustment means that you can carry out the task more precisely. To adjust the high end there is a volume adjustment which has a range of -2dB to +2dB coupled with a shelving filter for frequencies above 5kHz. Both of these shelving filters have a range of -6dB to +6dB.

USING THE ADAM A7X MONITORS

I carried out a few tests first by connecting a Roland GAIA which really has the sonic range. Everything sounded superb with lots of detail, very crisp and clear high frequencies as well as handling whatever sub-frequencies I tried. The low end really sounds natural, it did not distort at all during my testing despite some of the strange and extreme editing I was putting the GAIA through. I have to say though it was in the mid-range that I thought that the A7Xs excelled. This is just what you want from a nearfield monitor, the mids were very accurate and revealing in my opinion, as I ran an arpeggiated sweeping filtered sound that auto-panned, I could clearly hear all the small nuances as if they were in a space of their own, everything separated giving you an almost three-dimensional experience.

Vocals seemed a good idea for testing next, so I played some familiar CDs and also some recently recorded vocals on Sonar X1. With the CDs I really noticed the punch, the crack of the snare beats and warmth of the bass and bass drum. The vocals cut through clearly with a lot of space and I have to admit on some of my favourite tracks, I started to hear some things I am sure I had not heard before. Perhaps it was the fact that there is no colouring on these monitors and they sound very different (as they should) from a Hi-Fi speaker. I am also sure that the extended frequency range of the X-Art tweeter was really making the difference. Also everything seemed wider in my opinion.

The DAW test was certainly the ultimate test to find how they would affect what I hear, especially from a mixing point of view and vocals are always the most important and the most difficult to mix. Although I would really have liked more time to test this, I was very aware of what I said earlier about how things seemed to be in their own space. Also the Adam speakers are not very forgiving and highlighted areas in my existing mix that needed work as well as highlighting some vocal performance weaknesses. I feel sure also that they will assist in my decision making of where I place tracks / instruments in the stereo field.

A7X SPECIFICATIONS

These are the main specifications:-

MID-WOOFER – 7? Carbon/Rohacell/Glass Fiber Cone with a 1.5? voice coil
TWEETER – 4? X-ART
BUILT-IN PWM AMPLIFIER MID-WOOFER – 100W RMS / 150W Music
BUILT-IN A/B AMPLIFIER TWEETER – 50 W RMS / 75 W Music
FREQUENCY RESPONSE – 42 Hz – 50 kHz
LONG TERM OUTPUT – >=106 dB
MAX. PEAK – >=114 dB
CROSSOVER FREQUENCIES – 2500 Hz
INPUT IMPEDANCE – 30 KOhm
WEIGHT – 20.3 lb (9,2 kg)
INPUT CONNECTORS – Analog: XLR / RCA
MAGNETICALLY SHIELDED – No
HEIGHT, WIDTH AND DEPTH -13.5? (337 mm) x 8? (201 mm) x 11? (280 mm)
WARRANTY – 5 Years

SUMMARY

At the end of the day, choosing a set of monitors is a very personal thing. I think that the best environment to test monitors is in your own studio because this is where you do your listening and a great deal of it. Your ears will know instantly if a familiar track sounds more detailed as a result of the monitors you have just installed. Unfortunately, you cannot easily do this and have say five pairs of different monitors on loan to test. Therefore, you have to make do with; hearing them in a store (where you could hear some comparisons), research on-line and to some extent trust the professionals with their recommendations. With the Adam A7X monitors, as I said at the start, you do not get SOS awards lightly so you could go out and buy these with confidence. Whether you would prefer for example a pair of Genelic 8030As is simply personal choice. I found that I loved the A7X monitors the minute I took them out of the box, they are very accurate and have a flat response and a lovely detailed sound and they will not break the bank but should provide you with an accurate mix. At the end of the day that is what you want – isn’t it?

There is only one place to buy these monitors and that is by clicking this Orange Banner:-

Korg Kronos O/S Version 1.6 and The Editor/Plug-In Editor software for the Kronos are now available with effect from the 6th April 2012 for download at www.korg.com/kronos/support . All you need to do is select  “Software” for the editor and select Operating System for O/S 1.6. You will also need to visit the “Drivers” section to download the latest USB-MIDI driver.

Korg Kronos OS v1.6, which is required to run the Editor/Plug-In Editor. In addition to various bug fixes, this update also adds an “Uninstall EXs” command, which will completely remove selected EXs data from the internal SSD.

Thank you very much for this free update