We’ve been getting so much new stuff lately we haven’t been able to keep up with it all, so today’s inSync will be exclusively devoted to new items in stock at Sweetwater. Tomorrow we will return with our regularly scheduled programming.
Mackie hasn’t been standing around patting themselves on the back for the success of the SRM450 powered speakers. Instead they’ve been hard at work, and that work is starting to bear fruit with the new SR1530 active three-way speakers. With a whopping 500 watts each powering a 15 inch woofer, 6 inch midrange, and a 1 inch tweeter enclosed in a Baltic Birch cabinet these guys aren’t messing around.
Roland hasn’t been messing around either. They’ve finally delivered the first Handsonic HPD15. This is the coolest thing since sliced bread. A very expressive percussion controller you play with your hands. They are still in short supply right now, but we expect to be filling all orders very quickly.
But the really big news is, their two new VS series recorders are already shipping. The VS840GX is ideally suited for guitarists and comes with a zip disk full of tracks to play along with. Then there is the new VS890HD. Incorporating all the latest Roland tricks into a new 24-bit, 8-track workstation with built in hard drive the VS890 is a songwriter’s dream. Add one of their CD burners and a pair of speakers and you have a full-fledged production studio people would have paid $20k for a few years ago. Amazing.
They’ve also delivered the new unpowered RSM90 speakers. Having the same footprint and sharing the same great quality as the powered versions these are priced right and ideal for someone who has an extra power amp lying around.
Yamaha isn’t sitting still in the PSR department. They’ve delivered the new PSR282, which for the incredibly low retail price of $295 packs by far the best sound and most features we’ve ever seen in any keyboard anywhere near this price.
Hartke is known for excellent bass amplification systems, but now they’re applying their expertise to the basses themselves. And they do sound great. The XK4BK features a Poplar body coupled to a Vaccaro double T-Bar aluminum component neck system with a rock maple neck shell that provides a familiar feel and easy playability. The lower priced AK4BK, CK4BK, and WK4S feature rosewood fingerboards and cutaway bodies for playing comfort. The main difference between them is the pickup configuration.
The long awaited Rode NT3 has arrived. This is a terrific sounding hypercardioid condenser mic that carries an unbelievably low retail price of $199.
Ovation has had an excellent reputation for building instruments that stand up well to the rigors of live performance (including excellent feedback rejection). Now they’ve ported that knowledge over for bass players with the new CC074 acoustic bass. It comes in the familiar roundback design with all the good electronics onboard.
If you want a very easy to use hard disk recording system check out the new Fostex VF-16. It features 16 recording tracks plus 8 additional “ghost” tracks, and fantastic digital mixing capabilities. There are two independent digital multi effects using acclaimed Fostex A.S.P. technology.
Samson has delivered a very powerful yet portable powered speaker set called the EX20. Featuring a 12-inch woofer and horn these lightweight speakers put out much more sound than their diminutive size would lead you to believe. And they can even run on rechargeable batteries. They’ve also successfully added to their Airline wireless series with the SWQSLL lavaliere system. Like the other innovative Airline series units the SWQSLL has no body pack. The entire wireless transmitter and microphone is contained in one small box that fits nicely on the lapel of your clothing.
Metric Halo’s awesome Channel Strip plug-in is now in stock for MAS users. If you want an excellent all around processor for everyday needs this is what you want to buy. It has a full featured and excellent sounding EQ, compressor and gate with individual sidechain inputs, and extravagant metering. We promise you will hear the difference in sound with this plug-in. You can also find the TDM and RTAS versions in our store.
Whether named after a celestial event or a muscle car from the 1970’s the Novation Supernova has been a best seller in the world of analog synthesizers. Now the SuperNova II is on the scene and better than ever. New in stock is the SuperNova IIX (48 voice) and SuperNova IIPro (36 voice), both of which have some of the phattest analog sounds money can buy.
Think there’s more? You bet there is, but we’re going to call it a day here. We never cease to be amazed at how much great new stuff is coming out all the time. And frankly, we cover only a small fraction of it on inSync. If you’re ever looking for something you don’t see in our pages (print or electronic) don’t hesitate to ask us. We probably have it.