Review: Arturia MiniBrute
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These days many keyboarders carry their whole set-up around with them in their laptops or iPads, which has led to – possibly premature – rumours of the hardware synth’s impending demise.
Against this backdrop Arturia’s recent moves make for a refreshing (and brave) change – the French company decided to develop an affordable, lightweight and completely analogue monophonic synth. Its name is: Arturia MiniBrute.
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The Arturia MiniBrute constitutes a conscious attempt to get back to the very beginnings of the synthesizer, when the new instrument’s raison d’être lay in experimentation and the exploration of new sounds.
In more recent years some of the focus has (regrettably) shifted towards the use of factory presets, as well as the imitation/recreation of the sounds of traditional musical instruments.
The MiniBrute brings us back to Square One, in a way, and forces us to remember the basics of analogue subtractive synthesis, bringing…
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Review: Yamaha THR5A, THR10C and THR10X
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Yamaha’s popular series of THR practice amps has recently got three new members:
The brass-metallic coloured THR5A is a 5 Watts combo aimed specifically at electroacoustic guitars, and features digital microphone modelling, amongst other things.
The regular Yamaha THR10 has now gotten two sister models. The black THR10C concentrates on “classic” and “boutique” tones to satisfy the friends of classic Sixties and Seventies Rock and Blues. The army-green THR10X is aimed squarely at the connoisseurs of all things hard and heavy, concentrating on Hard Rock-, Metal- and Thrash-tones.
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The main design concept is uniform across the THR-range:
All combos have a sturdy metal chassis with plastic sides. The overall design clearly takes a lot of cues from today’s high-end tube Hi-Fi gear.
All THRs come equipped with a digital tuner.
All of the small amps feature a built-in USB-soundcard, which can be utilised for recording purposes (Steinberg’s Cubase…
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Review: AKG WMS470 Instrumental Set
The AKG WMS470 Instrumental Set is the company’s new mid-price wireless system for guitarists and bassists. The system consists of the PT470 bodypack transmitter and the SR470 diversity receiver. The AKG WMS470 (current street price in Finland approx. 550 €) is a pro-level system offering plethora of handy features. AKG’s main focus point, however, is to ensure the highest possible reliability in all situations. The engineers have managed to couple this with an ease-of-use that makes the WMS470 Instrumental Set suitable for wireless novices, as well as seasoned pros.
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A wireless system is always made up of a transmitter and a receiver.
The WMS470 comes with AKG’s lightweight PT470 transmitter. The Instrumental Set naturally contains the company’s special MKG L guitar lead compatible with the PT470.
For some strange reason I experienced problems with the phone plug – it wouldn’t stay put in a closed, tubular Switchcraft…
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Review: Vox AmPhones
Vox Amplification have given their headphone practice amps a new twist by taking their successful AmPlugs and transplanting them directly into a pair of quality headphones. So now they give us the Vox AmPhones (current street price in Finland approx. 120 € each), made in co-operation with Audio-Technica.
At this moment the AmPhone-range comprises three guitar models – the white and grey AmPhone Twin, the silver/brown AmPhone AC30, as well as the none-more-black AmPhone Lead – plus…
…a red and black AmPhone-model tailored for use with electric bass.
In standard headphone use the Vox AmPhones naturally don’t require batteries. The headphone amp, on the other hand, runs on a pair of AAA-batteries, which are inserted into the right side headphone.
All of the Voxes are equipped both with a mini phone jack, as well as the standard size counterpart.
The headphone amp’s electronics and corresponding controls have been…
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Review: Blackstar ID:60TVP
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At last year’s Frankfurt Musikmesse Blackstar launched their ID-series of programmable guitar amps. Now these amps are finally available in Finland.
The new series is a first in Blackstar’s product range – guitar amps without any valves. These are the company’s first digital modelling amps, and Blackstar being Blackstar, they’ve come up with a couple of exciting new features for the occasion.
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The Blackstar ID:60TVP (current price in Finland: 499 €) is a mid-size, 60 Watt guitar amp, equipped with a single 12-inch speaker.
The compact combo’s cabinet is covered in a black, leather-like vinyl, and sports black plastic corner protectors.
The ID:60TVP’s back is almost completely closed, which no doubt helps with achieving authentic stack tones.
Blackstar use their own Blackbird-series speakers for the ID-series, which are made under license in China, just like the amps themselves.
One downside to valve amplifiers has always been their…
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Review: Rotosound 1960s Reissue Fuzz
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The Rotosound 1960s Reissue Fuzz is a reissue of a legendary effect pedal which originally never made it to full-blown production. The great sound of the few existing pre-production prototypes, their scarcity, and the fact that this pedal has been spotted repeatedly on a certain Mr Jimmy Page’s equipment list have made this fuzz the stuff of legends.
At last year’s Musikmesse in Frankfurt Rotosound announced a limited run of 2,000 Fuzz reissues, assembled by hand at the company’s UK plant.
Rotosound’s Fuzz (current price in Finland 349 €) is an old-school guitar effect – meaning it’s huge and built like a tank.
The large casing makes it possible to place the controls well out of your stomping foot’s way.
The major drawback of course is that this Fuzz takes up considerable space on your pedalboard.
One in, one out – no need for anything more.
When…
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Gear Review Finland 