EXTENSION CHORDS
Once again, CREEM is happy to present New Products, a semi-regular column introducing some of the latest developments in musical instruments and technology as an aid to all the aspiring musicians and producers out there in Boy Howdy land.
The CREEM Archive presents the magazine as originally created. Digital text has been scanned from its original print format and may contain formatting quirks and inconsistencies.
EXTENSION CHORDS
New Products 14
Once again, CREEM is happy to present New Products, a semi-regular column introducing some of the latest developments in musical instruments and technology as an aid to all the aspiring musicians and producers out there in Boy Howdy land.
ARIA ZEBRA SERIES
Aria introduces the ultimate in heavy metal instruments. Musicians can choose from two distinct guitars, ZZ Zebra, RSII Zebra, and the ZZB Zebra bass. Standard features: alder body, rosewood fingerboard 22 frets, 251/2" (guitar) & 321/‡" (bass) scale, graphite nut, ACT-2 tremolo (guitar) & diecast bridge tailpiece, Hot Blades pickups (guitar) & MB-3 pickups (bass) and color finish is White with Black zebra (WBZ).
QUEST GUITARS
Quest guitars are made in Japan by a factory that’s been in business for over 30 years, and has made some very well known brand names along the way. Their rock ’n’ roll line is called Atak, and features twin high output ’buckers with coil tape, optional Fender flicker-type tremolos, and truly unique Sunrise finishes. These go the old fave ’bursts one better by starting at full color density fading to a very light color at the tips of the horns, with no stripes or lines along the way. In black, red, blue, green or flame, these sound like a video natural. Atak guitars come in several shapes and sizes, with the most metallic being the star-shaped Atak V and the ExplorerBody Atak VI. Mahogany bodies and maple necks are the standard components. Primo Music, the company that imports Quest, also brings in the Riverhead bass, which has a combination of single-coil and humbucking pickups, behind-the-bridge fine tuners just like the mighty Steinberger. The Riverhead does have its own body shape and string-locking nut that’s different from the Steinberger’s.
SONY MUSICIAN SERIES MICROPHONES Sony is announcing two new additions to the Musician Series microphone line: the Sony DR-K400 Headphone/Microphone and the Sony ECM-K250L Electret Condenser Guitar Pickup microphone.
The DR-K400 combines a MDR headphone already renowned for excellent sound quality and fit, with a close-talking dynamic microphone. The main features of the DR-K400 are high sound quality headphones; compact, high-quality, water-resistant dynamic microphone; high quality flexible microphone arm coupled with an automatic microphone-off mechanism; an “unimatch” plug enabling connection to a wide range of equipment; and a microphone windscreen designed to eliminate wind noise. The design of the DR-400 is most suited for musicians.
The ECM-K250L microphone is designed to meet the needs of acoustic guitarists. This electret condenser microphone is only the size of a dime, yet offers outstanding performance with a frequency response of 50 to 15,000 Hz. This microphone comes with a specially designed mount which attaches to the guitar’s soundhole to assure the optimal sound pickup. A Sony EPX 675 battery is supplied with the ECM-K250L Electret Condenser Guitar Pickup microphone and allows approximately 1,000 hours of use.
NADY’S SOL VHF WIRELESS SYSTEM Nady Systems, Inc. is introducing three new models of VHF wireless microphone and instrument systems. One of these new series of VHF systems is the Nady 501 VHF, an economically priced system that makes no performance compromise. All the proven advantages of VHF high-band transmission are incorporated in a lightweight, portable receiver and a choice of three transmitters: handheld (501 HT), lavalier (501 JLT), and instrument (501 GT) types are available. The 510 VHF offers a choice of five clear channels in the VHF high-band (170-216 mHz). All five channels may be operated simultaneously without interaction. Nady’s exclusive companding circuitry gives the 501 system the widest dynamic range available (120 dB max SPL to A-weighted noise level). Features include a balanced, switchable mic/ljne output, and two, three-color ten LED displays on the receiver to indicate signal strength and audio level. Nady’s 501 VHF system operates with no overload distortion or background noise, producing audio of a clarity, crispness and tonal quality equal to the best hardwire systems.
