Today's Top Stories:
 Intel Introduces Its Next-Generation Core 2 Duo Processor
As we all know by now, Apple has jumped on the Intel bandwagon — and for good reason. They're blazing fast! But when it comes to processing power, there's no such thing as Òtoo fast,Ó particularly when you're dealing with HD video and 24-bit audio. Intel's new Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme processors combine dramatically improved performance, along with significantly lower power consumption. The company is planning to offer ten models of these latest-generation dual-core CPU chips, which combine an ultra-compact design with clock speeds from 1.86 to 2.93GHz. The server versions are already shipping, with desktop versions expected by mid-August and chips for laptop computers by the end of the month. According to Intel, the new chips will deliver up to 40% faster performance while consuming 40% less power than its Pentium D Processor 960. Much of the speed gain comes in the form of floating-point calculations, which is critical for low-latency audio and HD video production.
Calling All "Synth Gods"
Okay, who wants to be in a movie? Let's see a show of hands. Wow, that many! Well, here's your chance. The makers of the critically acclaimed film Moog are embarking on a quest to locate the gods of electronic music for their ambitious new feature-length documentary film project titled (appropriately enough) Synth God. Filmmaker Hans Fjellestad, who is also a musician himself, is set to write and direct the film, which heads into production this month. According to Fjellestad, "Keyboardists and composers have used the synthesizer to stake out new territory in music, filling our heads with all kinds of unexpected sounds and ideas. These are the Synth Gods...I'm certain there are also hoards of strange and undiscovered deities out there and we intend to include all of [them] in this film. I want to paint a huge crazy mural about every Synth God species on the planet, and the instrument that gives them their power." Combing the planet for Synth Gods is no small task, so the producers need your help. They're dying to hear from you!
New In Stock At Sweetwater
- Gibson Montana L-200 Emmylou Harris Model
- Originally discovered by Gram Parsons, Emmylou Harris has been force in roots-driven music for almost 30 years and has collaborated with such legendary performers as Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan. The Gibson L-200 Emmylou Harris Model features a newly designed body that's smaller and thinner than the SJ-200 but with bracing that allows it to produce a powerful, natural sound. The Emmylou Harris Model has an Antique Natural finish, a solid Sitka spruce top, curly maple back and sides, and multi-ply body binding. It's also equipped with a Schertler Bluestick Transducer Pickup System for concert performances.
- Gibson Montana Historic J-185
- One of the most-fabled flat-top guitars Gibson ever produced is the Gibson J-185. It made its debut in 1951 and was inexplicably discontinued in '59. Only 270 natural-finish and 648 sunburst J-185s were originally made, but guitarists from delta bluesman Skip James to Sons of the Pioneers' Ken Curtis made this jumbo their instrument of choice. Why? According to Gibson's Fabulous Flat-top Guitars (Miller-Freeman, 1994), "The J-185 is one of the nicest Gibson flat-tops ever built." Many players and collectors bemoaned the fact Gibson made so few of them. This reissue J-185 should make them happy. It's a recreation of a 1950s Vintage Sunburst model with maple back and sides and a soft ÒVÓ mahogany neck. It's accurate right down to the Maltese cross bridge wing inlays and comes complete with a plush-lined hardshell case.
Guitar Of The Day
The Gretsch Irish Falcon, like so many guitars built by Gretsch, has an interesting history. Six years ago, Bono (of the Irish supergroup U2) commissioned Gretsch to build ten "Irish Falcon" model 6136 hollowbody guitars. Essentially, this is a White Falcon finished in Cadillac Green rather than white. Fred Gretsch personally delivered the Irish Falcons to Bono during the Elevation 2001 tour. You can hear it on the song "Walk On" from the U2 album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. An inscription on the pickguard reads "The goal is soul." Today, one of the other nine guitars resides in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.
Built to Bono's specifications, this single-cutaway, laminated maple archtop guitar has two classic FilterTron pickups (the same pickups thaat were on George Harrison's Country Gentleman during The Beatles early years) controlled by a 3-position toggle switch. High-end features include gold-plated hardware and real mother-of-pearl fingerboard inlays. There are volume controls for each of the two pickups, plus a master volume control. Rather than a tone control knob, the Irish Falcon, like most Gretsch guitars, has a 3-position master tone switch. The 22-fret, 2-piece maple neck is topped off by an ebony fingerboard and the guitar has real f-holes (most '60s Gretsch guitars had fake, painted-on f-holes) and a jewel-like gloss urethane finish. Naturally, a guitar this special comes with a plush-lined custom hardshell case.
| Recent inSync News: |
| · |
Friday, July 28, 2006 |
| · |
Thursday, July 27, 2006 |
| · |
Wednesday, July 26, 2006 |
| · |
Tuesday, July 25, 2006 |
| · |
Monday, July 24, 2006 |
| · |
View Entire inSync Archive |
|
|
 |
Sign up to receive the weekly inSync summary by email each weekend!
|
|
 |
| Cabinet |
The portion of an amplification or sound reinforcement system that houses the speakers. In instrument amplification systems the cabinet usually refers to an enclosure of one or more speakers that does not contain any of the amplification devices (an amp and speaker cabinet as one unit is generally just referred to as an "amp" or a "combo amp").
Over the years, there have been lots of different guitar cabinet configurations, with the most common being the 4x12 (four 12" speakers), though there have been 4x10, 2x12, 1x12, and even a 2x15. Marshall has become almost synonymous with its monstrous 4x12 cabinets, and Fender was producing 2x12 cabinets as early as 1961 for its Tremolux amp, though by the following year, the Dual Showman amp head appeared with a matching 2x15 cabinet (and yes, it was very heavy)!
Guitar cabinets have different form factors to allow for maximum projection and dispersion. For example, some 4x12 cabinets have a "slant" design where two of the speakers are tilted back to aim more at the guitarist's ears. A "straight" 4x12 has a more vertical front panel (called the "baffle") and is designed to project the sound more directly forward. They can have either open or closed backs, which greatly impacts the tone. In addition, they may or may not have ports, which affect the amount of bass energy they project.
Bass cabinets may come in many different configurations as well...4x10, 2x15, 1x15, 8x10, with and without midrange and high-frequency drivers (tweeters) - and the corresponding crossover circuits required to divide the input signal into multiple frequency ranges - and often feature ports to increase bottom end.
PA or sound reinforcement cabinets have all of these variables and a few more. Some may have passive crossovers built in to divide frequency ranges, they may be of the horn-loaded, or folded-horn variety with all sorts of different dispersion characteristics. They may be fitted to accept the pole of a speaker stand or have flying hardware points and/or be shaped so that many can be placed together in an array. Sizes and shapes depend a lot on the specific application the cabinet is designed for. There are cabinets designed only to handle very low frequencies that may have many large speakers (18" or more), while others may be designed to be small and blend in with the aesthetic of auditoriums and so forth.
Monitor cabinets are also used in sound reinforcement applications. Monitor cabinets can come in the form of small wedge-shaped boxes that sit in front of performers, larger conventional PA-type boxes that sit on the side of a stage for overall fill monitoring (aptly called side-fill monitors), behind or beside drummers, etc. Again, a variety of shapes, sizes, and configurations are common.
In odd contrast to instrument cabinets, PA cabinets may have amplification systems on board and still be called cabinets, though often the term "powered" or "active" speaker is used.
|
 View the Complete Glossary |
| Decoupling For Clarity |
A studio monitor, subwoofer, or guitar, bass, or PA cabinet, or stage monitor doesn't operate in a vacuum, it interacts with the room around it. A big part of that interaction results from the surface that the speaker cabinet sits on - the floor, a mixing console, a desk, the edge of the stage. In a phenomenon called "coupling" the vibrations from the cabinet transmit into the surface, and are transmitted back again, resulting in a variety of interferences, not to mention phase and cancellation problems from the passive (coupled) device radiating energy into the air as well. All of this, naturally, changes the tone you or your microphones hear from the speaker.
For this reason, it's recommended that you "decouple" the speaker cabinet from whatever it's sitting on. Put your studio monitors on isolated stands or use Auralex MoPads Monitor Isolation Pads. Position guitar and bass amps, PA cabinets, subwoofers, and stage monitors on non-resonant isolators such as Auralex's GRAMMA - Gig and Recording, Amp and Monitor, Modulation Attenuator. For larger cabinets, try the Auralex Great GRAMMA.)
You'll be amazed at how much more clearer your tone becomes when you isolate it from the room around it. In fact, the amp or cabinet may even seem louder, as the increased clarity helps the sound project and cut through.
|
| View all 1,700+ Tech Tips |
|
