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Guitar Special ................1,2,3,4,5,6Studio Notebook ......................... 6MOTU MachFive 2 ...................... 7Hands On: Abbey Road Keyboards .... 7Antares Harmony Engine ............... 8Apogee Symphony Mobile .............. 8Zoom HD16CD, HD8CD ................. 9Steinberg Sequel ........................ 9Inside Sweetwater ......................10Korg M3 ..................................10Sonic Reality R.A.W. ...................11Expert Center ............................11Guitar 101 ................................12Customer Studio. .......................12Inside the Sweetwater Difference ....13TechNotes ................................14Blue Woodpecker .......................14Synth Tricks ..............................15SSL Alpha VHD.. ........................15and more!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Making music happen for over 27 years!(800) 222-4700 • www.sweetwater.com

August/September 2007 Issue | Vol. 76

S

There are one-of-a-kind instruments that become almost as well-known as the artists that play them: Stevie Ray Vaughn and Rory Gallagher’s battered Strats. Billy Gibbons’ Pearly Gates. Mike Bloomfi eld and Peter Green’s Les Pauls. Brian May’s homemade guitar. Eric Clapton’s Blackie. But few artists are as closely associated with a guitar as Eddie Van Halen is with his homemade Strat-style guitar, which was loaded with a humbucking pickup and painted in a striped design using bicycle paint. It’s an instrument that has moved past “associated with” status to full-blown iconic status. To say it’s one-of-a-kind is selling it short!

At least it was one-of-a-kind! Now Eddie has joined with Fender to launch the EVH brand, and the fi rst instrument from the new company is the Frankenstein, an exact replica of Eddie’s homemade guitar. Fender went to extreme lengths over many months to duplicate this famous instrument, down to the last ding, mark, scratch, screw hole, and cigarette burn. They even searched out the correct-year quarter to screw down to the top and found authentic refl ectors to attach to the back. Eddie has said he can’t tell the original from the replicas!

Only 300 of these instruments will be made, so don’t hesitate, or you’ll miss out!

Eddie has also collaborated with Fender to produce the fi rst amplifi er from EVH, the 5150-III head and matching 4x12 cabinets.

The 100-watt all-tube 5150-III head is available in black and ivory and has a striped metal grille. There are three channels, voiced to produce the exact tones Eddie wants for his clean, crunch, and lead sounds. The amp features custom-made transformers and special biasing to achieve Eddie’s fabled tone. The preamp section is designed to make notes “jump out of the guitar,” and

to inspire creative, unpredictable playing. A footswitch selects any of the three channels as well as the effects loop.

This amp deserves great speaker cabs, so EVH has also released the 5150-III 412 enclosures in black and ivory. The premium birch-ply cabinets are relatively light in weight and are very resonant, per Eddie’s specs. They contain Celestion G12EVH speakers for a dynamic, harmonically rich tone.

Eddie Van Halen is indisputably an icon in the guitar world, and now you can own an exact replica of his famous guitar, and the exact same amp and cabinets he uses himself. Don’t delay, call your Sales Engineer now to learn more! —Mitch Gallagher

Modern music is largely built on the electric guitar — no big secret there! What’s amazing is the variety of electric guitar gear that’s available, and how much cool stuff continues to be introduced by manufacturers. There are so many great electric guitar-oriented products

out there. In this special issue of SweetNotes, we’ll take a tour of some of the latest and greatest offerings for the electric guitarist.

5150-III head and matching 4x12 cabinet

Frankenstein

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Our Guitar Gallery is Always Open!If you’ve been searching in vain for your dream axe or squinting at tiny, low-resolution photos online, it’s time to try a new approach. Sweetwater’s Guitar Gallery showcases the incredible array of the guitars we have right here in stock — and you can get up-close and personal with any and all of them, anytime! They’re presented by serial number, so you’re seeing the exact guitar you will be ordering.

A click of the mouse gives you instant access to the Guitar Gallery’s wide-ranging selection of electric and acoustic guitars and basses. Each instrument gets the royal treatment, with multiple high-resolution photos that allow you to examine it closely from several angles. You can take a detailed look at fretwork, wood grain, fi nish, and hard-ware without leaving the comfort of your chair! We also include comprehensive descriptions and specs, so you can get to know these guitars inside and out.

Plus, the Sweetwater Difference means you’ll get an instrument that plays great, right out of the box. As soon as we receive a guitar from the manufacturer, we inspect it to make sure it’s in pristine condition. Then, before the guitar is shipped to its new owner, our experts subject it to a rigorous 55-point inspec-tion. We make sure you get what you ordered, and that it’s set up properly and ready to play when it arrives at your door. Our Guitar Gallery lets you choose the guitar that’s perfect for you, and our unparalleled service and sales staff makes sure you get it!

Visit www.sweetwater.com/guitargallery

Mitch Gallagher

Editorial Director

[email protected]

SWEETNOTES | AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007 | PAGE 2

The electric guitar is an interesting instrument. Think about how many instruments qualify as “electric guitars.” Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, Explorers, Variaxes, Flying Vs, ES335s, Jaguars, Byrdlands, G6120s, Melody Makers, JEM77s, SGs, Flys, Custom 22s, Sheratons…this doesn’t even barely begin to compile a list of models that all qualify. Then consider the variations among even a single model. How many different types of Fender Strats are there? Gibson Les Pauls? Different woods, neck shapes, pickups, fi ngerboards, bridges, hardware, electronics…the number of combinations is staggering!

That’s part of what makes the electric guitar such a fascinating subject — there’s just no way to know everything about it. Every time you think you have it nailed, someone comes along with a new variation. And that’s just the guitars, before you factor in amplifi ers and effects.

All of those variations and combinations make electric guitar gear a compelling topic for a special issue of SweetNotes. But it’s easy to get caught up in the facts and specs about the hardware. The point is to fi nd the right combination or system for producing the unique tone that you want to hear.

That’s what makes the great players great; you can identify them immediately from the tone they produce. It doesn’t seem possible, but two players playing the same guitar through the same amp with the same settings can still sound quite different, tone-wise. Those same players will tell you that’s because a large percentage of the tone comes from the player, not the instrument. But there still is that percentage of your sound that’s defi ned and refi ned by the gear you use and how you interact with and set it.

This fact, combined with the staggering number of variations mentioned earlier, is why almost every guitar player is on an endless quest to fi nd their perfect instrument, amp, and effects. Even if you occasionally “arrive” at your sound, it’s really only a temporary arrival. A new guitar, new strings, new pick, new cable, new pedal, new amp…any one of those items can change everything…hopefully for the better!

That’s what makes being obsessed with the electric guitar so fun! It’s an endless search both musically and equipment-wise. Enjoy the ride, and good luck with your own tone quest!

Moving? Moved? Want more than one copy? Call, fax, or email us your new address and don’t miss an issue of SweetNotes!

from the editor

Stompbox HeavenAs guitarists, we know how the right effects pedal can be downright inspiring. That’s why Sweetwater stocks such a wide variety of classic — and soon-to-be classic — stompboxes to get your creative juices fl owing.

For example, the classics from Dunlop. Jimi Hendrix was a master of using effects, and Dunlop has graciously offered up some of Jimi’s favorites. The Uni-Vibe churns out thick choruses and rotary speaker emulations. Next, we’ve got Jimi Hendrix Editions of both the Octavio and Fuzz Face, two fuzz boxes often found under Jimi’s feet, with the former adding an “octave up” for the cool tonal texture heard in “Purple Haze.”

We’re also pleased to announce that we’ve expanded our selection of pedals from electro-harmonix, the boutique-y company that has been favored by guitarists and bassists since the ‘60s. New to our inventory are both

Dunlop Uni-Vibe & Hendrix Fuzz Face

— continued on page 3

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GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR

Gibson Custom 1957 Les PaulGibson 1960 Les Paul

Standard Reissue

Gibson 1956 Les Paul Goldtop Reissue

The Sweetwater Difference — Experience it for yourself! Call, fax, or email us today!

Peavey Windsor

Head

Peavy Windsor StudioPeavey JSX Mini Colossal

MXR Auto Q, Distortion III & Phase 90 Electro-Harmonix POG & Metal Muff


the MicroSynth and the Bass MicroSynth, which allow you to take your axe places that it’s never been. Along those same lines, the POG (Polyphonic Octave Generator) excels at adding up to two octaves above or below (or both simultaneously) for thick guitar tones. For straight-up distortion, the Metal Muff is great for scooped-mids rhythm parts — stomp down on the Top Boost button for searing leads.

MXR stompboxes are favored by such guitar heavyweights as Eddie Van Halen and Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age). The Phase 90 adds a touch of shimmer to your tone, with smooth, watery phase shifting. To add sustain to their tone, countless guitarists have turned to the Dyna Comp. We also now carry the Distortion III and Auto Q to complete your effects arsenal.

This only touches on the guitar effects we carry. If you’re looking to expand your tonal options, a new stompbox from Sweetwater may be just the ticket to spice up your licks!

Gibson Custom Guitars: History in the MakingGibson’s history is full of legendary guitars, preferred and played by musical icons from every genre. Until recently, owning a vintage piece of that history has been off-limits to all but the most well-heeled among us. Enter Gibson Custom guitars, which range from painstakingly accurate historical reproductions and signature models to one-of-a-kind modern instruments that would make any collector proud.

Using the choicest tonewoods and premium components, the master luthiers who make Gibson Custom guitars are truly “hands-on,” meticulously crafting the guitars throughout each step of the manufacturing process. This attention to detail means you get a superior instrument, whether it’s a recreation of a venerable classic Les Paul from the 1950s, or a precise recreation of a legendary artist’s favorite Gibson. Historical models include vintage touches — right down to period-correct electronics, pickguards, fi nishes, and hardware — that will take your breath away as soon as you open the case. What could be better than the look and feel of a “vintage” instrument in a brand-new guitar that’s ultra-playable right out of the box?

So many artists play or have played Gibsons that a comprehensive list would probably fi ll up an entire issue of SweetNotes! Suffi ce it to say, the best play the best, and Gibson Custom offers some of the most interesting, sought-after artist signature models you’ll ever see (or hear). For example: you can get the Jimmy Page Signature Doubleneck model, an accurate reproduction of the axe used live on “Stairway to Heaven.” On behalf of all you guitarists out there, we’ll just say it: How cool is that?

Tube-powered Tone!Peavey is no stranger to guitar amplifi cation, and their latest offerings keep upping the ante for value and tone. Leading the way is the Windsor, a single-channel tube amp. With 100 watts pulsing through three 12AX7 and four EL34 tubes, power is the name of the game with the Windsor. Loaded with Resonance and Presence controls, as well as Texture circuitry — all three of which are proprietary Peavey technologies — the Windsor offers control over amp response and damping factor, as well as bouncing between vintage Class A and more modern Class A/B push-pull circuitry for an amazing tonal control.

The Windsor’s little brother — the Windsor Studio — boasts 15 watts of Class A power in a compact package. Perfect for the studio or intimate club gigs, the Windsor Studio conjures tones reminiscent of the golden age of rock. Boost is available at the touch of a footswitch, and a Power Sponge attenuator gives you perfect distortion at any volume. A 12" speaker broadcasts the sweet tube tones.

Last, the all-tube, Class A Mini Colossal amp proves that big tone can indeed come in small packages. At just fi ve watts driven by 12AX7 and EL84 tubes and an 8" speaker, this compact terror reacts beautifully to being pushed hard. The perfect recording amp, the Mini Colossal gives you amazing tone at a manageable volume.

— Stompbox Heaven continued from page 2

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Vox Turns 50 in Style!To celebrate a half-century of building some of the most distinctive and legendary amplifi ers on the planet, Vox decided to

do what they do best: create a unique, handwired guitar amp that showcases that incredible British tone. Of course, not just any design would do justice to such an occasion, so the engineers at Vox hit

upon an ingenious way to celebrate 50 years of great tone while producing an entirely new amp. Hence, the AC15H1TV.

Based on the original AC15, the new amp combines the EF86 preamp channel from the 1958 model with 1963’s Top Boost channel. The result is a sonic trip through the golden age of Vox tone, all from one amplifi er. This 15-watt, all-tube handwired amp also includes a half-power switch, 12" Celestion Alnico “Blue” speaker, and Brilliance and Bass Shift switches. Enclosed in “TV-front” cabinet and covered in rich cream vinyl, the AC15H1TV looks incredible and sounds even better. Vox is also manufacturing a separate head/cabinet version, and a limited edition of the amp with a stunning oiled mahogany cabinet.

Put a POD in your PocketLine 6 PODs revolutionized the way we look at recording direct, with small kidney-shaped units that packed tons of tones. The latest POD incarnation is the most compact yet, fi tting in the palm of your hand. Small in size, but not scrimping on features, the Pocket POD packs an impressive 300+ presets including models of 32 amps, 16 cabinets, and 16 effects, and can be powered by four AAA batteries. An onboard chromatic tuner mutes the output for on-stage tuning, and USB connectivity further expand its capabilities as you can edit presets on a computer. As a practice tool, the Pocket POD can accommodate the connection of a CD/MP3 player. Palm-sized guitar power to go with the Pocket POD!

The Guitar PlanetTo keep your guitar looking and playing its best, Planet Waves offers a complete line of guitar accessories. From humidifi ers and dehumidifi ers to keep your acoustic guitar perfectly attuned

to its surroundings, to tuners and string winders, Planet Waves covers all the bases. To help you navigate from chord to chord, the

Chordmaster provides a digital chord dictionary with a touchscreen LCD. In the strap department,

Planet Waves offers woven straps with world-themed patterns as well as straps based

on themes such as famous amp grille-cloths and jazzy textures. The Chromatic Pedal Tuner is great for on-stage use, with true bypass and both strobe and sweep tuning modes. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a touring professional, Planet Waves has all the essentials you need to keep your guitar

healthy and happy!

A PRS Signature Model for a Fleet-fi ngered Artist

Johnny Hiland is one of those guitarists whose agility on the fi ngerboard has to be seen to be believed! There’s no other way

to fully comprehend his stellar technique and clean velocity. Plus, Hiland is renowned for his effortless ability to cross musical

boundaries, jumping from style to style as if it’s as natural as breathing. You just know he’s going to use a top-notch instrument

that’s as fi ne-tuned and versatile as his playing. That’s where the Paul Reed Smith Johnny Hiland Signature

Model comes in.

It’s not hard to pick the fi rst feature that stands out on this eye-popping instrument: A rock maple neck and its large dot inlays join a mahogany body topped with breathtaking carved fi gured maple. Add a pair of JH signature humbuckers with chrome covers, and you’ve got a high-performance PRS with neck-craning looks to boot. The Johnny

Hiland Signature Model’s extended tonal options allow you to pull off anything from country pickin’ to

smoldering metal, and everything in-between — which is just another day at the offi ce for Johnny Hiland.

AC15H1TV AC15H1TV Limited Edition

Pocket POD

Johnny Hiland

Chordmaster

Pedal Tuner

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ITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIAL GUITAR SPECIASWEETWATER EXCLUSIVE!

Hands on: Marshall, Fender, Randall amps



There’s just nothing like playing through a highly responsive amp; your entire touch changes. If you value “feel” in your amp, then you must check out the Fender ’57 Deluxe Reissue. It’s one of the most responsive, touch-sensitive, and articulate amps I’ve ever played through. The hand-wired ’57 Deluxe is a re-creation of the amazing tweed “5E3” combo amps that Fender put out during the ’50s. The all-tube amp provides 12 watts through an alnico Jensen P-12Q 12" speaker (just like the original). The amp comes with two 12AX7 preamp tubes; if you prefer more clean headroom you can substitute a 12AY7 for one of them. A 5Y3GT tube rectifi er provides all the beautiful “sag” the original had. The fi nger-joined pine cabinet is covered with genuine lacquered tweed, and sports a vintage brown/gold grille and a leather strap handle.

This is an amp that begs to be played with a dynamic touch. As you turn up the volume, the tone smoothly breaks up. Even maxed out, the volume is manageable; in fact, as you get past midway on the dial, you’ll just add more breakup and compression without adding more volume. No matter how distorted the sound gets, your guitar’s volume knob will easily bring it back to clean.

Between being able to control the compression and distortion from your guitar, and the amp’s response to how hard you pick, you have complete control over the tone you produce literally at your fi ngertips. I’ve rarely played a more responsive amp than this. If it seems I’m stoked about this amp, it’s because I am. A guitar, a cable, and this amp will put you straight into tone heaven!

As a guitarist, it can be hard to settle on one amp that covers everything you want. There are some versatile amps out there, but few can match Randall’s MTS series of tube amps, which have slots for installing optional tube preamp modules that emulate a variety of different amplifi ers — you

can sort of think of it as a tube-based analog modeling! There also are “signature” modules, such as those for Dan Donegan (Disturbed) and George Lynch, including “Mr. Scary,” which produces his tone from the Dokken days.

I spent a couple of weeks with the RM20B, a 15-watt, 1x12 combo that has a single module slot. The amp is equipped with Ruby EL84 power tubes and a Celestion Greenback. The RM20B has a tube boost for overdrive or volume boost, and a unique “Density” control, which can add substantial low end. Around back there’s an effects loop, external speaker outs, a line out, and a compensated “Mic Eliminator” output for recording or PA use. Nice.

What does the RM20B sound like? That depends on the module you use. The Blackface produces convincing “American” clean tones. The Plexi module sounds authentically thick and crunchy — dialing up the Density control produced amazing 4x12-style thump! The XTC module is all about maximum gain, sustain, and shred.

I used the RM20B in my studio as well as for a live gig at a church. Despite its 15-watt rating, this thing can get loud. It easily kept up with a drummer and bass player. With a nice complement of modules at hand, it covers just about any amp need in the studio. Live, it has the versatility to shine on a country gig one night, a classic-rock gig the next, and a metal-fest the next — few amps can cover as much ground.

By Mitch Gallagher

Given that Marshall has produced both legendary guitar amps, and a steady stream of great new amps, their decision to launch a Vintage Modern series of amps seems completely apropos. The all-tube amps (there are 50- and 100-watt heads, a 50-watt 2x12 combo, and 4x12 cabs) offer two “dynamic ranges.” The Low range gives you the tone and gain of a vintage Marshall. With the High range, an extra preamp tube is added, providing extra drive for rock tones. A Mid-boost fattens up the tone nicely.

There are separate Detail and Body preamp controls for shaping the sound. With a little tweaking, you can easily dial in anything from a sparkling clean tone to a round fat sound; it’s a fl exible system that also allows you to compensate for single-coil and humbucker-equipped guitars. An onboard digital plate reverb provides ambience, while the master volume knob lets you set the decibel output level from gentle to eviscerating.

I used the 100-watt Vintage Modern head through a 1936 2x12 cabinet and a Vintage Modern 4x12 (which was clad in dark purple tolex — some might call it “deep purple”). The amp provided all the Marshall tone,

crunch, grind, and punch you’d expect and there’s plenty of drive for great rock and fusion tones. Even with the Body and Detail preamp gain controls dimed, you can roll back your guitar’s knob to clean things up nicely.

If you’re after a fl exible, responsive Marshall with excellent articulation and great sound, the Vintage Modern will be right up your alley.

Vintage Modern 2266C

’57 Deluxe Reisssue

SWEETWATER EXCLUSIVE!

Hands on: Marshall, Fender, Randall ampsSWEETWATER EXCLUSIVE!

Hands on: Marshall, Fender, Randall amps

RM20B

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From Mouse to MooseWhen it comes to onstage footswitching, most of us want enough to get the job done, no more, no less. Too few options and we’re not taking full advantage of our gear, too many and it’s a distraction. Call it the “Goldilocks” footswitch dilemma.

Tech 21 comes to the rescue with two great MIDI footswitch options: the 7-button MIDI Moose foot controller, and the MIDI Mouse, which features three switches. Either unit can be powered via a 9V battery, phantom power from the MIDI cable, or from an optional power supply.

Right off the bat, you’ll be struck by MIDI Moose’s intuitive operation. You can access up to 128 patches and choose among them using num-bered and up/down footswitches. The easy-to-read display is battery-friendly, turning off after fi ve seconds to save juice. Hit your selected patch switch again, and up pops the display. The MIDI Mouse features up and down switches, plus another switch that lets you search for patches and send your choice to the output. Both units are enclosed in rugged metal housings, so your stage rig will be “just right” for years to come.

Voodoo SwitcherGuitarists are on an eternal quest for tone, and many have realized that stompboxes — even ones that sound great — can rob tone away from your signal if they don’t pass the signal correctly when bypassed. But what if you could make any pedal operate as though it was wired for true bypass? With Voodoo Lab’s GCX Guitar Audio Switcher, you can operate any pedal through one of eight true-bypass audio loops. The GCX loops have no active circuitry, and once your guitar, amp, and effects are plugged in, your guitar has a direct path to the amp. This means that pedals that don’t utilize true bypass can be selected when you need them, but there will be no impact on your tone when the effect is bypassed.

To pull off this hands-free feat of tone-saving genius, you need only connect a Ground Control Pro, which can control up to four GCX Switchers, or eight simultaneous MIDI devices. Stored preset names are brightly displayed, so even on the darkest stage you always know what’s happening. Coupled with the GCX, Ground Control Pro can potentially turn any rig into a massive multi-effects processor with your favorite effects and true bypass. Very cool!

TECH 21 MIDI Moose

TECH 21 MIDI Mouse

GCX Guitar Audio Switcher


For the past few years, my focus has been almost solely on classical guitar — at least as far as my own guitar playing. But recently, I’ve been compelled to pull out my electrics for live gigs and to play on studio sessions for different artists and producers. In the course of doing that, I’ve gone through and updated many of my old pedals. As I dug through the closets, I couldn’t believe how many I had accumulated over the years.

Having all those pedals is great from the standpoint of perfecting tones. (I fi nd you can never have too many overdrives to choose from, in particular….) However, making them all accessible, usable, reliable, and transportable is another thing entirely. It was time to get things organized onto a pedalboard.

Pedalboards make a lot of sense, both for players and for studios that keep a selection of stompboxes around. Pedalboards allow you to:

• Reduce wear and tear on pedals and cables • Organize and optimize signal fl ow • Speed up set-up and tear-down • Increase portability • Provide clean, consistent power • Minimize cable mess

While you could make your own pedalboard, I fi nd it more effi cient to go with a commercial ready-made board. There are many available. Because I have pedals of wildly varying sizes, I went with a Gator Powered Pedal Tote, which has a

large fl at surface, and comes with a universal G-BUS-8 power supply for powering the pedals, and with a handy case/carrying bag. (It’s also available without the power supply.) If you’re using BOSS pedals, the company’s BCB30 and BCB60 are terrifi c, and feature hardshell cases for excellent protection. Furman also makes pedalboards with built-in power and patching capabilities, the SPB-8 and SPB-8C (which includes a case).

A power supply for your pedalboard is essential. You don’t want to have to remove your pedals to change batteries all the time. As mentioned, some pedalboards include power supplies, or Voodoo Lab makes the Pedal Power 2 universal supply. The BOSS TU2 is an example of a tuner pedal that can also power seven other pedals.

If you have a complex rig, then A/B or loop switching capabilities may make your life easier. Pedals that do this range from the BOSS AB2 2-way selector to the

Radial Switchbone and BigShot. For large rigs or complex setups, the Radial JD7 has two ins and seven outs, and the Voodoo Lab GCX and

Ground Control combine to give you programmable MIDI control over all your effects — it’s a sweet system.

Assembling a pedalboard pays off big when it’s time to use your rig. Just connect your guitar and amp, plug in the AC power, and you’re making music with all your pedals ready to go!

By Mitch Gallagher

studio notebook: Pedalboards

Powered Pedal Tote

BCB60




Mach Speed!When MOTU debuted MachFive a few years back, it turned more than a few heads. A truly universal software sampler, MachFive could import nearly any format of sample or loop thanks to the UVI-Xtract import utility, meaning that MachFive users could trigger and manipulate any sample within a common, unifi ed interface.

MachFive 2 puts both the Universal Binary Mac version and Windows version in the same package, and bolsters the included sample library to a whopping 32GB — an entire DVD of which is a special MachFive edition of Vienna Symphonic Library Orchestra. Among the other DVDs, there’s a disc of universal loops and instruments, 8GB of samples of the MachFive Concert Grand, and a DVD full of 192kHz and surround samples. Add to this the fact that MachFive 2 can import virtually any sample with drag-and-drop ease — and that means no time-consuming importing process is required — and you’ve got what could be the most user-friendly sampler ever created.

Not only is MachFive 2 amazingly versatile as far as content is concerned, but it represents a tour de force of editing and manipulation as well. Edit samples in MachFive’s full-screen editor with unlimited undo/redo. Jump over to MachFive’s LoopLab and edit beat-sliced loops down to the smallest beat. Trigger each slice separately, or drag and drop the loop into your host software. Apply MachFive’s powerful synthesis engine to any sample, keygroup, layer, loop, or preset using two fi lters, eight LFOs, six multipoint syncable envelopes, and pitch processing, or create your own synth sounds with MachFive’s built-in synth engine. Forty-seven real-time effects from tape delays to exciters to vinyl effects push your creativity even further. Put the fi nishing touches on with an amazing convolution reverb.

While many samplers restrict the number of parts you can use, there’s no such boundary with MachFive 2. Load as many instruments as you need — as long as your computer can handle the load, you’re good to go.

Since MachFive 2 can operate as an AU, MAS, RTAS, VST, or DXi plug-in or as a standalone instrument, and is very accepting of virtually every sample format known to man, everybody can benefi t from this second-generation ground-breaking sampler technology. The original MachFive was a huge hit, and this second incarnation packs a substantially bigger punch. Needless to say, the face of sampling is changing at Mach speed! > >> > MOTU MachFive 2 • Sweetwater price $459.97 • www.sweetwater.com/machfi ve2

Hands On: Abbey Road KeyboardsBy Mitch Gallagher

Quick, what do Paul Simon, Yoda, Manfred Mann, Harry Potter, Howard Jones, Gandalf, Sting, and Indiana Jones all have in common?

If you shouted out “Abbey Road Studio,” you know your pop culture! The studio has played host to an incredible list of stellar artists — incuding their most famous clients, The Beatles — and famous fi lmscore sessions in the decades it has been open for business. The studio’s history, famous acoustics, top-notch engineers, and legendary gear collection make it one of the most desirable facilities in the world at which to record.

Unless you’re up for a trip to London, recording there may be a challenge. But now Propellerhead Software has made it possible to use some of the most famous instruments from Abbey Road in your own studio with the Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill collection for Reason. The instruments were all sampled using state-of-the-art gear, but “Classic” versions are also provided that were sampled using vintage mics, preamps, outboard, and consoles — and consulting veteran Abbey Road engineers — to capture the way they sounded “back in the day.”

The sampling was done in Abbey Road Studio Two, so you can add the coloration and ambience of that 2,280 square-foot space to the sounds, or you can add reverb from Abbey Road’s Echo Chamber Two. The instruments include a Steinway Vertegrand upright piano known as “Mrs. Mills,” a Challen studio piano, a Hammond RT-3 with Leslie Model 122, a Mannborg Harmonium, a Mellotron Model 400, a Schiedmayer Celeste, and Premier Tubular Bells.

The sounds include Combi presets (Abbey Road Keyboards requirements include Reason 3 or later, running on a Mac or PC with 1GB or more of RAM) giving you access to different stereo close-miked sounds, ambience, and echo chamber, so you can balance the tones the way you want. There are also NN-XT patches (both full and “light” versions), pre-confi gured ReWire templates, and demo songs (including very impressive songs with vocals and guitars tracked into Dr. Rex loop players).

The package is rounded out by a beautiful 40-page book by vintage keyboard expert Mark Vail that documents the vintage recording gear, and the instruments and how each was recorded (including diagrams of mic placements).

Reason is my default virtual “sampler/synth rack/sound module” for composing with MIDI, and the addition of the Abbey Road Keyboards ReFill rounds out the sound selection nicely. The sounds are very playable, and there are numerous variations and “processed” versions of each instrument to choose from. Whether you want classic vintage keyboard sounds or new textures, this is a great collection! > >> > Propellerheads Abbey Road Keyboards • Sweetwater price $185.97 • www.sweetwater.com/abbeyrefi ll



Hearing VoicesOccasionally, a product comes along that absolutely changes the way we do things. Antares Auto-Tune was one such product, giving engineers the ability to instantly fi x out-of-tune vocal passages. So what do you do after you’ve revolutionized vocal production? Well, if you’re Antares, you do it again, this time with a gem called Harmony Engine.

As the name implies, Harmony Engine acts as a vehicle to render up to 4-part harmonies in real-time. These voices are formant-corrected and maintain independent vocal characteristics thanks to Antares Throat Modeling technology, which allows you to create a physical model of the human vocal tract through which to process the harmony part. Harmony Engine also offers the ability to apply vibrato to the generated harmonies as well as control the panning. All of these tweakable settings are controlled through a very simple and straightforward user interface.

Harmony Engine lets you work the way that works best for you, with harmonies being generated automatically, or you can have note-by-note control. Harmonies can be set to follow the key, or the harmony can be created chord-by-chord with the option of inversions. You also have MIDI-based options for creating harmonies. Chord by MIDI mode allows a standard MIDI controller or a pre-recorded MIDI track to trigger harmony voices. MIDI Omni mode lets you “play” the harmonies on a controller the same way you would with a virtual instrument. Finally, for the ultimate in control, four separate MIDI channels can be used for absolute control over each note of the arrangement.

To ensure that the harmonies sound amazingly real, Antares included the tools necessary to avoid artifi cial-sounding results. A Humanize function adds user-defi nable amounts of variation to the harmonies for a realistic feel. For consistency from track to track, you can create virtual backing groups — up to six of them — with user-created settings, and recall them for instant backing vocals. If your host supports it, you can route the four outputs to independent channels for additional effects processing.

Harmony Engine will prove an invaluable tool for engineers and arrangers who might be called on to add harmonies at a moment’s notice. Singer/songwriters will absolutely love the ability to instantly beef up tracks with perfectly in-pitch backing singers. Antares has been leading the way in vocal processing for a while now, and Harmony Engine shows that they’re not looking to give up that throne just yet!

> > > > Antares Harmony Engine • Sweetwater price $299.97 • www.sweetwater.com/harmonyeng

> > > > Apogee Symphony Mobile • Sweetwater price $535.97 • www.sweetwater.com/symphonymob

Symphony Takes Your MacBook Pro to New Heights

Just a few short years ago, the kind of native digital recording capability we take for granted today was hard to come by, not to mention expensive and cumbersome. To predict that a portable notebook computer could ever perform DAW

operations at a professional level would have been unthinkable — even a relatively powerful desktop studio CPU would have been breathing hard in order to get a respectable number of tracks, not to mention running plug-ins, virtual instruments, and editing operations. Now Apogee breaks the shackles of desktop systems and empowers your MacBook Pro to perform like a champ with the incredible Symphony Mobile ExpressCard.

Symphony Mobile gives you 32 channels of amazingly low-latency I/O (1.6 milliseconds at 96kHz), and the ability to record at up to 24-bit/192kHz resolution. Just plug it into your MacBook Pro and connect to a compatible Apogee converter (Rosetta 200, Rosetta 800, AD-16X, or DA-16X), and you’re in business. Watch Logic Pro’s functionality practically explode with this handy card, which is also compatible with any Core Audio application (including Digital Performer, Cubase, and Nuendo). Imagine a truly portable recording rig that can run nearly three dozen tracks at full steam, including plug-ins — with negligible latency!

The MacBook Pro has managed to supplant many fi xed desktop systems with its processing power, speed, versatility, and great display. Project studios have reaped the benefi ts of this computer’s portability and horsepower — especially space-starved areas, which can quickly go from “tracking room” to “control room” with a minimum of fuss. Now, the addition of a Symphony Mobile card to your MacBook Pro means another step up in your tracking capability, not to mention sound quality and workfl ow.

Pro-level native laptop DAW recording is now a reality, and Apogee’s solution is both elegantly simple and affordable. Sweetwater has the tools — all you need to do is call your Sales Engineer to make your portable recording dream rig a reality. Turnkey installation is available, too, so you can fi re up your new MacBook Pro with Apple’s Logic Pro 7 software and the Apogee Symphony Mobile ExpressCard already installed.

It’s a new era in native notebook recording, and the Symphony Mobile card puts your MacBook Pro at the forefront!





> >> > Zoom HD16 • Sweetwater price $699.99 • www.sweetwater.com/hd16cd> >> > Zoom HD8 • Sweetwater price $499.97 • www.sweetwater.com/hd8cd

Portable Workstations from Zoom!If you remember the “good old days” of analog recording, you’ll recall (with a wince,

perhaps) that the only way to get anything resembling “portable” multitrack recordings usually involved a cassette tape and a less-than-ultra-compact machine. The results were

compromised by wow, fl utter, and background hiss, even with the best gear of the day. Fast-forward (no pun intended) to today: We might not have fl ying cars or live on the moon, but

we do have some top-fl ight multitracking technology that can go just about anywhere, easily. The ZOOM HD16 and HD8 recorders are self-contained mini studios, complete with robust hard drives, meters, faders, visual displays, 16-bit/44.1kHz resolution, and even CD-burning capability. All this would have fi lled up a room back in the “good old

days.” Now it comfortably fi ts on any desktop or tour bus.

The HD16 can record 16 physical tracks, each with 10 additional virtual tracks. You can track up to eight sources simultaneously, making it possible to easily record live performances or in-the-studio basic tracks that

can be individually mixed and manipulated to your liking later. The HD16’s eight XLR/TRS combo jacks provide plenty of input options, plus phantom power for condenser microphones. Impressed? Add the ample 80GB hard drive, 100-plus effects for guitar, bass, and vocals, a dedicated programmable drum machine, and a built-in

CD-R/RW drive, and you’ve literally got a one-stop shop for recording, mixing, and mastering your project! ZOOM also packs in touch-sensitive pads for realistic drum programming. This defi nitely isn’t your father’s portable cassette studio.

If you’re looking for an even more compact solution, the HD8 offers eight tracks (with 160 virtual takes for each track), and gives you the ability to record to two tracks simultaneously. You can use the HD8’s two phantom-powered combo inputs for either high- or low-impedance sources. Like its big brother, the HD8 includes an 80GB hard drive, CD-R/RW drive, effects selection, and drum machine function. A sampler function even lets you add additional drum sounds to its drum machine.

ZOOM equipped both the HD16 and HD8 with USB 2.0 ports for easy computer connectivity, and they come bundled with Steinberg Cubase LE recording and editing software. And you won’t need tape head cleaner for these recorders.

HD16CD

HD8CD

Learning the ins and outs of recording is never an easy task. From the fi ner points of mic placement to mixing and editing effectively, the learning curve can be pretty intimidating. With the release of Sequel, Steinberg provides entry-level music production software that allows even musical novices to dive into the world of recording with little diffi culty.

Sequel — which runs on both Macs and PCs — is the perfect all-in-one solution with all the tools you need to take a project from idea to song. You’ve got access to up to eight simultaneous recording tracks, with the number of total tracks only limited by your computer’s power. On-board tools include the same audio engine that top-notch producers and engineers around the world rely on daily, plus intuitive editing and mixing tools, including a very handy SmartTool that changes function depending on where it’s located in the track. “Warp” audio by stretching and pitch-shifting in real-time. Also included is a suite of effects with everything from compression and distortion to delays and modulation effects — all the tools necessary to produce great recordings. There are also more than 600 instrument presets and 50 audio track presets to start you down the path of putting the touches on your song.

In the mix window, Sequel offers a 3-band EQ with low and high shelving and a compressor on each channel. To add other effects, there are a pair of insert points on each channel, along with two global effects sends per channel. On the master fader, there are two fi xed mastering effects — Stereo Enhancer and Maximizer — for fi nishing touches, as well as a pair of inserts for adding reverb or other effects to the entire mix.

Steinberg ships Sequel with over 5,000 loops to get your creativity fl owing. These loops run the gamut from pop to metal to alternative to classical. Even novices can build their own songs with the loop library, and since Sequel will stay in the right key automatically and never gets out of step with the rhythm, you can concentrate on assembling your song. Sequel will even accept loops from third-party libraries, so it can grow with you as your needs change. Integrated support allows your fi nished song to be exported directly to iTunes.

Sequel is great for beginners, but it’s also perfect for seasoned pros looking for a quick-and-easy way to lay down tracks on a musical sketchpad. With its loop-based production methods and eight simultaneous recording tracks, Sequel takes the labor out of music production so you can concentrate on what’s really important — creating music!

Steinberg Sequel

> > > > Steinberg Sequel • Sweetwater price $99.99 • www.sweetwater.com/sequel




> > > > Korg M3-88 • Sweetwater price $3499.97 • www.sweetwater.com/m3-88> > > > Korg M3-73 • Sweetwater price $2899.97 • www.sweetwater.com/m3-73> > > > Korg M3-61 • Sweetwater price $2499.97 • www.sweetwater.com/m3-61> > > > Korg M3-M • Sweetwater price $1999.97 • www.sweetwater.com/m3-Module

Recently six of us from here at Sweetwater packed up our bags and headed out to Tucson, Arizona. But our trip was more than just a vacation. Our reason for going was to attend the Tape Op Conference, which is put on each year by Tape Op magazine. This is the second year we’ve participated in the conference. Not only did we have a booth in the exhibit hall where we were running the Shure Challenge (a blind listening test where participants were asked to identify three different Shure microphones using only their ears), but we also all were participants in panel discussions and recording technique demonstrations. Personally, I was on the “Price Is Right” panel, which discussed how gear is designed and comes to market. Other Sweetwater attendees were on Pro Tools LE and HD, mixing, and education panels, and gave demos on recording drums. Sweetwater was also honored to sponsor the main Producer’s Panel (moderated by SweetNotes editor Mitch Gallagher), which included such stellar names as Mitch Easter, Eric “Roscoe” Ambel, John Morand, Pete Anderson, and Joe Chiccarelli.

There are lots of great things about TapeOpCon, but one of the best parts of going to a conference like this is getting to hang out with hundreds of musicians, recording engineers, and producers. I think sometimes people forget that here at Sweetwater, we’re all recording and music fanatics. So the opportunity to spend a long weekend immersed in recording and music is, simply put, a complete blast! We had the chance to say hello to the many Sweetwater friends and supporters who were in attendance, which is always a treat, as well as meet many new friends. It was truly wonderful to see so many people brought together by their love of recording and music. We were proud to be part of it!

ProGearBy the time you read this, our Summer ProGear Gear Directory will have begun mailing…in fact, some of you may have already received your copy. This

issue we’re up to an astounding 452 pages. Who knew there were so many products available in the industry? In truth, even the thousands of products that pack those pages are just a fraction of the number available in our warehouse. It takes a monumental effort on the part of so many people here at Sweetwater to make one of these directories happen — and we now do three issues a year! We hope you enjoy the latest edition of ProGear!

By the way, if you can’t wait a moment longer to start looking through your copy, you can download an electronic version of the ProGear directory from www.sweetwater.com/progeardirectory.

Inside

Chuck Surack

Korg M3Korg has maintained a presence in the world of digital synthesis that most manufacturers

should be envious of. From the original M1 to the Triton to the potent processing of the OASYS, Korg consistently leads the way. The M3 Series not only represents the latest generation of Korg synth

workstations, but also marks the “trickling down” of OASYS technology into affordable models.

The M3 is equipped with the EDS (Enhanced Defi nition Synthesis) sound generator that was distilled from the HD-1 engine and second-generation KARMA functionality. Loaded with 256MB of PCM samples, the M3 holds what could be considered a “best

of” sound set from the OASYS. These sounds come in the form of 512 programs, all of which are fully editable. EXB expansion blocks further expand the sonic capabilities of the M3, and an optional RADIAS card delivers 24 voices and four timbres of MMT synthesis technology.

The M3 boasts a touch screen that provides access to everything from a drum module to advanced synthesis to adding effects. Speaking of effects, the M3 offers up to fi ve insert effects, two master effects, and a single total effect, with a huge selection of everything from delays to compressors to amp modeling. And since the M3 is a synthesizer after all, there’s a complete host of fi lters, oscillators, and modulation tools to completely

bend the presets to your liking. Plus, you can sample up to 11 minutes of 16-bit/48kHz mono audio (approximately fi ve minutes stereo), load samples from a USB storage device or CD, or import AIFF, WAV, AKAI S1000/S3000 fi les. For hands-on control over the tweaking and operation of the M3, Korg included a joystick and ribbon controller, plus eight pads and 10 sliders. A pair of analog 1/4" inputs, six 1/4" outputs, and S/PDIF I/O round out the physical features.

The M3 is available in four different models: The 88-key hammer-action M3-88; the 73- and 61-key semi-weighted M3-73 and M3-61, and the M3 module. There’s also an optional EXB-FireWire card that can be installed for connection to a computer.

By offering the legacy of the M series of keyboards along with inspiring touches from the OASYS — all while keeping the price very manageable — Korg has a real winner on its hands with the M3. If you’ve been pining for the power of the OASYS, the M3 gives you a ton of synthesis power in an intuitive and well laid out package, and it sounds great, too!


Expert C E N T E R

R.A.W. PowerRecent years have seen virtual instruments and loops taking a fi rm hold on the music world. From replacing lackluster performances to acting as inspiration, loops are here to stay. This production method has enabled a new crop of producers, hip-hop artists, and one-man-bands to fl ourish using these new creative tools. Sonic Reality — an industry leader in the fi eld of loop libraries — offers up R.A.W., an awe-inspiring collection of loops that spans from folk to urban, with a little of everything thrown in.

R.A.W. (which stands for REX, Apple Loops, and Wave, the supported formats included in each library) is one of the most universally compatible loop collections known to man. Not only is it compatible virtually across the board, it’s also jam-packed with an amazing number of loops (over 42,000). How’s that for having sonic options? Those 42,000 loops are encapsulated in the R.A.W. Gold Edition, which contains the Universal Groove Kit + 15 Style Paks bundle, which is one of the most comprehensive values around in the realm of loop libraries. But Sonic Reality realizes that not everyone needs that scope of options, which is why the Universal Groove Kit is available on its own, as are the 15 individual Style Paks.

The Style Paks cover all the bases, so if you’re in need of a groove, chances are there’s a Style Pak for it. Need a Chicago blues shuffl e? There’s a Style Pak for that. What about an R&B groove from Detroit, circa 1964? R.A.W.’s got that, too. There’s a loop library to cover nearly any style of music imaginable. The loops included in R.A.W. libraries are all 24-bit for seamless integration into high-resolution sessions.

Considering the number of loops available, the sound quality, and the cost — just under $400 for the complete R.A.W. Gold Edition with Universal Groove Kit and all 15 Style Paks, and less than $50 each for individual Style Paks — you’d be hard-pressed to fi nd a better value in loop libraries.

> > > > Sonic Reality R.A.W. Gold Edition • Sweetwater price $399.97 www.sweetwater.com/rawgolded> > > > Sonic Reality R.A.W. Universal Groove Kit • Sweetwater price $169.97 www.sweetwater.com/raw> > > > Sonic Reality R.A.W. Individual loop paks • Sweetwater price $49.97 (each)

• Blues Grooves• Country Folk Rhythms • Electronic: Drum and Bass• Hip Hop: Dirty South• Jazz Grooves• Latin Afro-Cuban Grooves • Latin Brazilian Grooves• Latin Caribbean Grooves

• Nashville Pop Grooves• Sixties Motown Grooves• Trip Hop Beats• Urban Grooves• Vintage Rock Grooves• Vintage Soul Grooves• World Grooves

INDIVIDUAL LOOP PAKS



Q: How do I authorize my Waves plug-ins if my studio computer isn’t connected to the web?

A: You can authorize your Waves plug-ins via another computer that is online by following these steps.

1. Install the Waves plug-ins on the computer that’s on the web, and connect your iLok. (No other audio software needs to be installed on this computer, just your Waves plug-ins. It doesn’t matter if your web computer is a PC and your studio computer is a Mac, or vice-versa).

2. Run the Waves authorizer for the plug-ins that you installed on the Internet computer and fol-low the Waves authorization procedure. These steps can be found on our website at:www.sweetwater.com/feature/register_waves

3. Once your iLok is authorized you can remove it from the online computer and uninstall the Waves software from that machine.

4. Install the Waves plug-ins on your DAW computer and plug in your iLok. It should not be necessary to run the Waves authorizer on the studio computer.

11 Page 09.indd 1111 Page 09.indd 11 7/19/07 1:29:33 PM7/19/07 1:29:33 PM



Customer Studio: Psalmist Recording StudioCharlotte, North Carolina, is known more for NASCAR, pro football, and quintessential Southern-ness than as a buzzing hub of recording activity. But Ted Kynard’s labor of love, Psalmist Recording Studio, has evolved into a real attraction for musicians throughout the region. The friendly Kynard points out, “We’ve done a little bit of everything, from demos to full-blown album projects. There are a lot of creative people around here.”

Psalmist, a division of Lazy Ridge Music, Inc., began fi ve years ago as a humble home studio with a desktop PC and a few microphones and preamps. “I have a lot of friends who write,” says Kynard, “and they just wanted to record some decent demos without having to pay an arm and a leg.” He was more than happy to oblige, but the fl ood of clients soon dictated that he build a dedicated facility and upgrade his gear. Now, the 1,500-square-foot Psalmist facility features several recording rooms, as well as a kitchen area. “It’s still expanding,” notes Kynard. In the process of all that growth, he hired Kristina Hess in late 2005 as an audio engineer. “She’s been an incredible help to the operation. Kristina’s got a great ear, and has really made a difference in getting things organized here.”

The studio features a Mac-based Pro Tools HD system and a stellar collection of outboard gear, as well as guitars, basses, drum kits, pianos, and keyboards. Go-to gear includes a Neumann U87 mic, as well as AKG and Sennheiser models. Kynard depends on his collection of Avalon and Universal Audio preamps (“They’re great for vocals and anything acoustic,” he says), as well as Focusrite units. He takes a quick mental inventory of the gear he has purchased from Sweetwater, includ-ing ADAM monitors, Avalon, Neumann, and Shure products, as well as Auralex wall treatment throughout. Kynard adds with a chuckle, “I’ve got about 50 miles of cable from Sweetwater.” He’s full of positive things to say about his Sales Engineer, Brian Loney: “Brian’s always been really knowledgeable; he’s right there with all the information I need. I’ve been very happy dealing with Sweetwater — there haven’t been any negatives.”

Though Kynard hints that Psalmist may branch out at some point, for now he’s content to work with bands and writers, many of whom come from upstate to take advantage of Psalmist’s quality work and reasonable rates. He says the studio will probably require a new building sometime in the future, but, “we’re taking it one step at a time. We want to keep pleasing our customers and grow that way.” Contact Psalmist Recording Studio at 704-455-7912, or visit myspace.com/psalmistrecordingstudio for more information.

By Jim Miller

Last issue we addressed neck sizes and profi les. This time, we’ll tackle the second part of guitar necks by discussing the materials used on fi ngerboards. The types of timbers used to produce fi nger-boards haven’t signifi cantly changed in about 100 years. While the specifi c wood used on an instrument’s fi ngerboard can have some impact on overall tone, none can be said to be “the best” in any quantifi able way.

Essentially, there are three woods used on fi ngerboards, with rosewood being the most common. It was used on Spanish guitars as far back as the 1700s and before that, on lutes. The term “rose-wood” applies to the timber of the tree species, Dalbergia. When cut, the wood has a strong, sweet smell that may persist for several years. This pleasant lingering scent earned the wood the common name “rosewood.”

Brazilian rosewood is the most sought-after because of its beautiful coloration and grain pattern. However, it is now almost impossible to obtain, as it is listed as an endangered species. Though not as spectacular, East Indian rosewood has most of the properties you’d want in a timber being used for a fi ngerboard and other rosewood species are being investigated as possible sources for the future. These include species native to tropical America, Southeast Asia, and Madagascar.

Ebony has also been used for centuries for fretted instruments. Commonly referred to as the “king of woods,” ebony is dark in color (often intensely black) and denser than rosewood. It is also

one of the few woods that sinks in water. Gibson and Gretsch both reserved ebony for their top-of-the-line guitars. Most ebony comes from a tree in the family Diospyros, which is native to India and Sri Lanka, though it is often cited as being of African origin. In some cases, high-quality rosewood may be stained and fi nished to look like ebony.

The third common fretboard material is maple, which simply shouts “Fender” because Leo Fender’s fi rst generation of guitars all had maple necks and fi ngerboards. The maple used in this manner comes from several different tree species in the genus Acer. Many guitar builders had used maple in their necks because of its avail-ability, resonance, and light weight, however these were stained in a variety of colors, while Fender was the fi rst manufacturer to exclusively use unstained maple for all its necks and fi ngerboards. and the “blonde” necks became a Fender trademark.

Are there pros and cons to any of the three? Maple and ebony, being denser woods tend to produce a slightly brighter sound, most noticeable in the attack, while rosewood is often cited as having a slight warming effect. In general, players end up with the fi ngerboard the manufacturer chose to put on a specifi c instrument. Some traditional jazz players may shun the look of a maple fi ngerboard, but for cosmetic reasons. Brazilian rosewood is desirable, simply because of its rarity and beauty. An instrument with a Brazilian fi ngerboard would be worth several times what it might be if it used a less desirable material. Looks and rarity aside, most guitar players have no problem adapting to fi ngerboards constructed from any of these timbers.

GUITAR 101: Necks, Part II

Want to see your studio in SweetNotes? Email photos to Mitch Gallagher now! ([email protected])


Inside the

Jeff Radke

(800) 222-4700 | www.sweetwater.com

The Sweetwater Marketing Team

What are your department’s responsibilities?Anything and everything that has to do with delivering the message of who Sweetwater is, and educating our customers on the details about the great products we carry. That includes all of our print work, from ProGear directories to brand ads in magazines to this very edition of SweetNotes you’re reading now. Our department is also responsible for our incredible website and the marketing for Sweetwater you see on the web.

How do you view your department as part of the larger Sweetwater puzzle?Working at Sweetwater is about working together as a team. Of course, it’s our job to lead the charge in telling the Sweetwater story, but we’re also working internally to provide support and resources for our sales staff and other departments within the company.

How has the new campus helped make your department even faster/better/more effi cient?The new work environment is very stimulating, very conducive to maintaining focus on the quality of work we do here. It’s inspiring to work in a facility that refl ects our high standards.

How would you compare our marketing activities to other retail organizations inside and outside of our industry?By the nature of the products we sell, and the common interests and goals of the people who use them, our marketing is much more targeted than most other retailers. I enjoy marketing to our customers — fi guring out what’s compelling to them. It’s especially fun because I’m as much of a gear fanatic as they are!

Anything else you’d like us to know about your department?Our marketing team is an amazing group of artists, writers, and programmers, but we’re also musicians and recording engineers who have the same interests and passion as our customers! I think that makes us uniquely qualifi ed to understand our customers’ needs and to help give them valid reasons to choose Sweetwater.

Our guest interviewee this go-round is our Director of Marketing, Mike Ross. When you hear the term “Marketing Department” your natural inclination might be to think of a scene from the old Bewitched program, with Darrin Stephens pitching his vision for an incredibly creative advertising campaign to his client. Maybe the image that comes to mind is of a high-end Madison Avenue fi rm with imagery featuring supermodels and obtuse references to whatever the product might be.

Here at Sweetwater, our Marketing Department is a logical extension of our value-added business model. They don’t just produce our industry’s high-end “wish book” — our ProGear product directory — they’re responsible for helping our customers and potential customers understand all we have to offer here and what makes us unique from all the other music technology providers. This amazing team is responsible not just for the great ProGear directory and the beautiful ads you see in the various magazines, but for our incredibly deep website, our daily electronic newsletter, inSync, and much more.

JR: Tell us about your background and what brings you to Sweetwater.Mike Ross: What brought me here is a passion for gear I’ve had ever since I got my fi rst cassette recorder as a kid. Prior to coming to Sweetwater, I spent 20 years in the ad agency business. A good part of that time was in the studio as a radio and TV producer. One day I received my weekly e-mail issue of GearNet and I saw an opening for the Director of Marketing position at Sweetwater, and I knew right away that marrying my love of technology and recording with my skills in advertising and marketing was the right thing to do.

How long have you been at Sweetwater and how has your job changed during your tenure?I’ve been here about two and a half years. I don’t think the job itself has changed as much as my understanding of what the Sweetwater Difference really is and how to explain it to our customers.

What is the “Sweetwater Difference”?This company is built on the commitment that we can and will do whatever it takes to make sure that buying gear and instruments from us results in a totally satisfying experience. We really are interested in our customers — not just the gear they need to buy, but their musical ambitions and dreams. As a former customer, this is what kept me coming back time and again.

Mike Ross Director of Marketing



I want to thank everyone who sent me e-mail regarding my column in the last issue of SweetNotes. It seems to have struck a chord with quite a few readers. I wish I had more room, as I would have loved to share some of the interesting messages I received. I also wish I had been able to answer each and every e-mail personally. All I can say is that I read each and every one and am humbled that you guys took time out to drop me a note!

In this issue, I want to talk about what’s going on in the music industry today. By that I mean recorded music, not music industry technology, though admittedly that does enter into the picture, as you’ll soon see. To kick things off, Apple recently announced that in an amazingly short amount of time, it has sold over 100 million iPods, making it the fastest-selling music player in history. Now that’s impressive! Meanwhile, all those iPod owners have purchased well over two billion songs since the iTunes Music Store went live in April of 2003. That doesn’t even take into consideration all the music videos, TV shows, and feature movies that Apple has made available, with more to come.

When digital audio was fi rst born, a 16-bit recording at a sample rate of 44.1kHz was pretty amazing and truly pushed technologies of the day to their limits. Over the last 25 years or so, we had an excellent medium in the compact disc that served us well. Yet here we are in 2007, with the majority of us having the ability to record 24-bit audio at sample rates up to 192kHz, but without the means to distribute it.

During the last decade, while audio delivery systems lagged behind, video made the leap from low-resolution VHS tapes to the bright, shiny DVD. Its image quality was stunning and surround sound audio sounded pretty awesome. Thus, in fairly short order, the public accepted DVDs.

But the story of digital video just begins there. Over the last few years, widescreen, high-defi nition TVs have become hot ticket items. Hook a DVD player up to a 52" widescreen TV, and wow, that’s impressive. Now add a high-def signal from your local cable provider or one of the satellite companies and everyone, including your Uncle Phil and Aunt Dorothy can clearly see the difference. Which is why widescreen TV and high-def (HD) video is the rage right now. But where does that leave audio?

Play a 24-bit/96kHz recording for a casual listener and they’ll say it sounds just fi ne. They certainly won’t gasp in astonishment. The problem is simple: Unlike the night-and-day difference between low-res video and an HD signal on a 52" widescreen, 24-bit sound quality doesn’t hit you right between the eyes. People are spending their hard-earned dollars on a big screen TV they can watch Monday Night Football on with their friends. And with that great picture, 16-bit surround sound audio seems good enough, even though it’s been compressed along the way.

Our current 24-bit audio formats can produce audio that has many times the resolution of CDs. But do such recordings sound even twice as good as CDs? Of course not. If and when the high-defi nition Blu-ray or HD DVD formats gain signifi cant market share, we should have uncompressed 24-bit audio at least as an option, though nothing is engraved in stone at present.

For now, though, when you download a song from Apple’s iTunes Music Store, you get a 128kbps AAC-encoded fi le, which is arguably better than the original MP3 compression. Some iTunes Plus songs are now being offered at 256kbps or twice the standard rate and without the digital rights management (DRM) protection, so they can be played on iPods, other digital music players, and an unlimited number of computers. For the time being, and for many music lovers who download most or all of their music, being free of DRM seems to be a bigger issue than audio quality.

Which takes us full circle. The bottom line here is that consumers want music — lots of it — and it must sound good, or at least good enough! Both CDs and MP3/AAC audio fi les meet those needs. Until the average person can hear a signifi cant difference in the quality of a particular audio format, they won’t particularly be interested in paying more for it. Those of you reading this would hardly be in that category, but for now, we’ll have to live with the limitations imposed upon us by the delivery methods chosen — or more accurately rejected — by the general public. We need only look at what a disaster SACD and DVD-A were.

Perhaps linking high resolution audio to the Blu-ray and HD DVD formats will be the answer. But the last thing we need in our quest for better sound quality is a format war to rival Beta versus VHS. George Santayana stated it best: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” The man had a point there!



Jim MillerTechNotes

Blue Changes the Microphone Pecking Order“Where will they go next?” That’s what we always ask ourselves while staring in wonder at Blue’s latest combination of solid design, great-sounding practical application, and artful execution. After stunning the industry with model after model of incredible microphones that run the gamut from multi-purpose mic locker stalwarts to innovative insectoid-styled condensers,

Blue has moved in yet another new direction and introduced the stunning active ribbon Woodpecker.

The Woodpecker pairs Blue’s proven Class A discreet electronics with an aluminum ribbon transducer to provide a distinctive, smooth sound. This mic excels at capturing the natural sound of the room, whether you’re using it on vocals, acoustic or electric instruments, or drums. Of course, this attribute makes the Woodpecker an ideal ambient mic as well. Its fi gure-8 pickup pattern gives a true impression of any space, and its un-hyped tonality is a perfect fi t for multiple-mic combinations.

As unique and classy as this mic sounds, it has the looks to match. An exotic wood body gives the Woodpecker an extraordinarily rich appearance, complemented by a gold mesh screen. This is one of those pieces of gear you recognize instantly. The included custom brass shockmount only adds to the Woodpecker’s visual appeal. A cherrywood storage box is also included.

Simply put: Blue does it again. The Woodpecker sounds and looks incredible, bringing together the clarity and convenience of active microphones with the natural, vintage tonality and vibe of a ribbon model. Call your Sales Engineer now to learn more!

> > > > Blue Woodpecker • Sweetwater price $999.97 • www.sweetwater.com/woodpecker

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> >> > Solid State Logic Alpha VHD • Sweetwater price $1695.97 • www.sweetwater.com/alphavhd

SSL Takes you from Clean to MeanSome names just ooze quality. The mere mention of certain audio luminaries is enough to make you perk up and take notice when one of their new products hits the shelves — a great example is SSL. Solid State Logic has been associated with premium-quality studio gear for nearly four decades, and they continue to wear their reputation well with the release of innovative product lines that suit the project room as well as the big-time studio. The Alpha VHD preamp represents SSL’s commitment to great sound and practical fl exibility.

You might think of the Alpha VHD as a “Jekyll and Hyde” of sorts: it’s designed to provide the kind of clean, transparent signal that has made SSL a renowned studio mainstay, but increase the gain and you’re in for some major harmonic content — giving you everything from sweet tube-style overdrive to a more gritty drive associated with transistors. Plus, the two worlds can be combined to get some truly intense signal coloration. If you’re looking for that missing ingredient to get certain parts to “pop” out of your mixes, this box might just be the one.

How does SSL pack this capability, plus four phantom-powered channels, into a compact, single-rackspace chassis? The streamlined front panel is simplicity itself: each channel features its own input and output knobs, plus a control labeled “VHD.” As you increase input gain, you simply turn the VHD knob counter-clockwise for smooth, tube-style 2nd-order harmonic content, or clockwise for 3rd-order, more “in your face,” tones. Since you can apply up to 75dB of gain, you won’t be lacking for signal strength — a real plus for ribbon microphones. Backing off the input gain keeps the signal path pristine, for high-fi delity sound reproduction. The entire circuit is pure analog, too. Having the ability to add so much (or little) color to the signal makes the Alpha VHD an ideal front end for digital recording systems.

Each of the Alpha VHD’s channels also features a hi-Z input (with passive DI-type impedance detection), rear-panel XLR in and out, phantom power switch, and 20dB pad. Your studio rack will be well served by this incredible 1U preamp’s multiple personalities.

We all know that a real guitar track will almost always be better than a MIDI guitar track. There are just too many subtle nuances that can’t be captured by MIDI or reproduced with a limited number of samples. But this is of little value to you if a MIDI guitar track is the way you have to go.

Here are a few tips that can make any MIDI rhythm guitar track more tolerable to the average listener.

1) Try to use only the notes of a chord allowed on a real guitar. How do you fi gure this out? Well, my favorite trick is to use both hands and hold down all of the six open strings of a guitar. From low to high the notes are E, A, D, G, B (for reference, this is the B right below middle C), and E. Get comfortable grabbing those six notes quickly.

Now think of a chord you want to play and apply this rule: Never let any note of a chord go below (to the left of) the E-A-D-G-B-E notes. For example, let’s say you want to play a C chord (C-E-G). Look at the E-A-D-G-B-E notes you’re holding. You can use the low E (though in reality most guitarists would omit this note from this particular chord to avoid playing the fi rst inversion). Now you might be tempted to take the A you’re holding and move it down to a G. But that breaks the rule. Instead move the A up to the next C. Now move the D up one step to the E. Keep the G where it is and move the B up to the next C. Finally, leave the high E where it is.

Keep practicing this with different chords and you’ll begin to do it without much thought.

2) Learn to roll your chords from low-to-high and high-to-low. The best notes to start out on are the open strings: E-A-D-G-B-E. Just rock back and forth and try to imagine the sound of dragging your fi nger or pick across strings. Don’t worry about other chords until you get this to sound realistic.

3) Move a few notes while keeping others the same. This is very guitar-like.

4) And fi nally, my secret MIDI weapon (especially for acoustic guitar tracks) is to duplicate the MIDI track, assign a different guitar sound to each track, and then pan one slightly left and the other slightly right. Balance the volumes of the two tracks so that they produce a center image. Now use your sequencer’s Change Velocity parameter to randomly vary the velocities of all the notes in both tracks.

The end result is a sparkling guitar track that breathes across the stereo fi eld and doesn’t sound like the same strokes over and over. Have fun!

SYNTHBy Daniel Fisher

TRICKS



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All contents © 2004 Sweetwater, Inc.

Guitar Special ...............1,2,3,4,5,6Studio Notebook ........................ 6MOTU MachFive 2 ..................... 7Hands On: Abbey Road Keyboards ... 7Antares Harmony Engine .............. 8Apogee Symphony Mobile ............. 8Zoom HD16CD, HD8CD ................ 9Steinberg Sequel ....................... 9Inside Sweetwater .....................10Korg M3 .................................10Sonic Reality R.A.W. ..................11

Expert Center ...........................11Guitar 101 ...............................12Customer Studio. ......................12Inside the Sweetwater Difference ...13TechNotes ...............................14Blue Woodpecker ......................14Synth Tricks .............................15SSL Alpha VHD.. .......................15and more!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

MeetJosephSecu

Family info: Single and content.Other stuff we should know about you: My hobbies include cooking and fi ne din-ing, traveling, art, and Broadway shows.Personal motto: “If it is to be, it is up to me.”Favorite magazines: Pro Sound News, Sound on Sound, Car and Driver, Automobile, The Dupont Registry for Cars, Audio Video Interiors, Stereophile, Absolute Sound

Real-life hero: My mother. She rescued me from an orphanage in Romania and adopted me and three other children. Guilty pleasures of choice: Luxury automobiles, consumer electronics and gadgets, high-end consumer audio systems and home theaterHow would your boss describe you? Loyal, hard-working, dedicated.How would your best friend describe you? Loyal, caring, thoughtful, generous. A good listener and a good giver of advice.What did you dream about doing for a living when you were growing up? Theatrical productionsDescribe the most dramatic situation in which you provided the “Sweetwater Difference” for a customer: There have been many instances where I was able to help someone out in a unique way. For me, it’s not out of the ordinary to go out of the way for one of my customers (fi guratively and literally). I’m just happy to help.What do you enjoy most about being part of the Sweetwater Team? Feeling like I’m a part of a big family and working with guys and gals that share the same interests and passions as I do. I enjoy networking with great customers, helping them make decisions about gear, and making new friends.What’s the most important thing you’ve learned at Sweetwater? It’s better to make an “executive decision” and ask for forgiveness later than to not make an attempt at all.

Name: Joseph SecuPosition at Sweetwater: Sales EngineerStart date: May 2004Education: Bachelor of Science in Communications at Liberty University, Associate of Science in Recording Arts at Full Sail

Where are you from originally? Delaware and Pennsylvania (I lived only a mile from the state line.)What was your occupation before coming to Sweetwater? StudentWhy did you fi rst apply for a job at Sweetwater? I was a customer and was fascinated by the professionalism of the company. I carried a Sweetwater ProGear directory with me to class every day at Full Sail. A student noticed I was never without a gear directory suggested I should just work there. Here I am today.Foreign languages: RomanianTechnical strengths: Studio monitors, microphones, preamps, live sound, computer recording software and devicesFavorite music-related websites: www.sweetwater.com (of course), www.prosound-news.com, www.mixonline.comInstruments you play: Just my voice!Gear you own: Digidesign Pro Tools LE, Apple Logic Pro, MOTU Digital Performer, Apogee MiniDac Firewire, Apple 17" MacBook Pro, a ton of software samplers and instruments.

©2007 Sweetwater Sound, Inc. All rights reserved. All trademarks are property of their respective owners.

5501 US Hwy 30 W, Fort Wayne, IN 46818 (800) 222-4700 • sweetwater.com

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