Johnson Audio

I have used Guitar Pro 5 and while it has always been the defacto TAB software for guitarists the program sucked a little on OS X, for instance it only allowed a single TAB open and when you closed a TAB the entire program shut down which was annoying to say the least. Also the floating tool bar was reminiscent of Microsoft word and faded to semi-transparent when not in use which I found pointless. What it did do though was make writing guitar TAB pretty easy and when you played it back, sound pretty good using Guitar Pro’s Realistic Sound Engine (RSE).

I’m glad to say Guitar Pro 6 has had a complete overhaul of the user interface and has fixed both of the problems mentioned above by allow multiple documents to open in tabs like you would see in a web browser and the toolbar has been moved into a left hand panel. This left hand panel has 6 buttons which allow you to switch between panel views, the first opens the Editing toolbar which contains all of your notation options. The second opens the Instrument panel where you can choose the tuning of the guitar (or bass) and what RSE soundbank to use (guitar has option of Les Paul, Strat and Jazz guitars). The third button opens the Audio panel which lets you choose an amp, effects pedals and master effects such as reverb and chain up to 5. The fourth button opens the Mastering panel which include compression, limiter, gate, eq and reverb. Button five opens up the Chords panel which allows you to choose the chords that are used in your song and add them to the top of the TAB sheet and finally the last button opens the Lyrics Panel.

The result of these enhancements has made Guitar Pro 6 much easier to use, quicker to write TAB with and more realistic sounding on playback. This isn’t just a minor upgrade, if you are a Mac user this is this upgrade that finally makes Guitar Pro really worth the $60 price tag.

Phenomenally successful British alt rock band Kaiser Chiefs were formed in 2003 and their debut album, Employment, released in 2005, shipped over 3 million copies across the world. Tracks such as 'Ruby','I Predict A Riot' and 'Everyday I Love You Less And Less' have been major selling singles for the band who continue to tour heavily. And not forgetting their inclusion in the various versions of the Guitar Hero game.

IK Multimedia recently spoke with keyboard player Nick Baines, known to fans as 'Peanut', who has been an IK user for many years.

He told them:
"Nick (Hodgson,drums) and I are the studio-heads in the band. We were using T-RackS way back when we were making the early Kaiser Chiefs demos and in the band we were in before that too!"

He then continues:
"T-RackS was our saviour as we were doing the best recordings we could manage with borrowed mics, mattresses for vocal booths and an old digital 8-track thing - everything went through T-RackS and it always came out better!"

"Initially the standalone version was all that was available when we first started using T-RackS, but now the Singles offer much more flexibility in our projects, we love those vintage EQ and Compressor modules, and we recently took delivery of the full Deluxe version - which blows us away!"

Peanut uses T-RackS 3 Deluxe, T-RackS 3 Singles and CSR Classik Studio Reverb in his studio.

Long before boutique bass amps like Markbass, Genz-Benz and Ashdown appeared on the scene, the Ampeg SVT tube heads held down the bottom end in the backline at concerts. Ampeg branched out into solid state technology some time ago, and the company has released two new heads the popular SVT-PRO Series, the SVT-7PRO and the SVT-8PRO , one of which has enough power to bring down small buildings or drive groundhogs out of their burrows, fer sure.

The SVT-7PRO pumps out a full kilowatt (that's 1,000 watts, if you're not up on your electrical terminology) yet weighs only 15 pounds. The head offers professional features, including a flexible 5-position mid control, a remote switching FX loop and an onboard variable compressor. The tube preamp usesa premium JJ 12AX7 that feeds Class-D power section. It's a perfect match for the all-new PRO NEO Series or Heritage Series enclosures.

If you think 1,000 watts is a lot of power, you'll be impressed to hear that the SVT-8PRO delivers up to 2500W of RMS power in a the same compact, lightweight, two-rack-space design, making it the highest output head ever created by Ampeg.

The Ampeg SVT-7PRO is now available and has a U.S. MSRP of $1119.99.

The SVT-8PRO has estimated availability in the first quarter of 2010 and will have a U.S. MSRP of $3359.99.

We have reached the 19th Jazz Break Revival. It’s the first step after the maturity number that we have just passed last month. We were surprised by the coming of the legendary band Chaseiro on Jazz Break Revival January edition, giving out a very memorable performance for all their fans in Bandung. (Check out our exclusive interview with Chaseiro here) And what a way to kick off the start of this edition. This time it wasn’t only a concert, but Jazz Break Revival has touched the educational side of music. We always believe that jazz development won’t be enough if we only think about on-stage performance. The educational program is needed as well. It can be beneficial to everyone who are serious about building themselves in jazz, and that, of course, will benefit our music world.
As usual KlabJazz, BP Bumi Sangkuriang and Melinda Hospital are those who presented this edition. If the previous events started at night, this time the event kicked off earlier in the afternoon. The workshop started this month’s Jazz Break Revival with the topic “Jazz Basics”. The clinician for this workshop was Julie Spithill from University of Sydney Conservatorium of Music as a part of special collaboration with Studio Musik Melodia, and supported by our fabulous Imelda Rosalin.
Julie Spithill is absolutely no stranger to music. She has been contributing a lot  for many years. She has worked with David Baker, Hal Galper, Dave Leibman, John Scofield, Ed Soph, Sonny Stitt and many others. She holds degrees in Music and Education and a Masters degree in Music Education, and currently completing a PhD. Julie gave up her performance career to concentrate on pedagogy in the early 1990’s. Besides teaching at Sydney University Conservatorium of Music, she has also written many books on intervals, chords and rhythm for her clinics, and teaching books for children as well. Many of her students have became famous, including one of the most amazing pianist we have in Indonesia, Indra Lesmana.
Julie Spithill hosted the workshop in a very friendly way. She opened up with a simple question many have asked, “What is jazz?” This is a very simple question but difficult to answer. Spithill simply said that jazz is what you want it to be. It could be your hobby, passion, career and anything you wish to make it as. Over a hundred years, jazz has grown so much, accumulated into many forms, styles and shapes we all know today. There are over 50 different sub genres of jazz so far, and it will still grow from time to time. Basically jazz is cored on four important elements, Melody, Rhythm, Harmony and Improvisation. Right after the break, Julie got a surprise from Tesla who played his own new composition especially made for Julie.
At 7:45 pm, the stage performance began. Opened by Chalk For Cheese, we say it’s about time to have them again. We haven’t seen them a lot lately. This is a very interesting band with the style that suits the music trend today in Indonesia. Labeled themselves as”The new nu jazz/groove band in the block”, their crunchy groove will place them higher in no time. Their beat shuffle, soul and groove with great players on every instruments, plus the unique vocal of Trianzani Sulshi are the main ingredients to bring them into the spotlight. Besides Trianzani Sulshi, there are Ferry “Gembong” Nurhayat (keyboard), Arif Baradja (drums), Iman Rahman (bass), Ferdy Apriady (sax) and Martin Handy (guitar).
The first song was “Berbisik Maaf”, and the groove was on. The next song was a ambience groove jazz version of one famous pop song called “Cari Pacar Lagi”. The delicious “Apple Pie Order” came next, followed by “Sukmaku” and “Bercerita Jingga“. It was nice to see them again, and we hope to see them again in the future.
The next band performing was “B.L.A.V”. Unfortunately the keyboardist Bayu was late, so they just played 2 songs without him. Mohammad Athar (guitar), Septian Linanto (drums) and Rahel Pradika Purba (vocal) took the stage and brought some songs  including “Softly As the Morning Sunrise”.
BAG Trio consists of some personnels from different bands. They are young, talented and still energic, full with ideas and creativity. We have Gerald Situmorang as the guitarist, half of the dynamic duo SKETSA who just launched their debut album, “Childhood’s Dream” last Sunday (January 31,2010). With the skill he has, surely he’s someone to look for in the future. We also have Aldhi Mahardika, the drummer of NEW SEASON, the winner of 2008’s JGTC, who is also active in Jazzyphonic. Establishing in such diversity, BAG Trio appears as a unique trio. They combine jazz, funk, rock and world music in their style.  On the bass section we got Dimas Soegiharto replacing Bramantyo Musyanif who couldn’t make it for tonight.
That was exactly what they showed on stage. It was fusion on high, blending with a little african rhythm, reggae and rock on “The Rock Star”. It was really fun. Again a wild ride delivered on stage with the next song, “Auditor’s Room”. They were having lots of fun on stage with many cool improvisations in good chemistry between each other.The best of funk fusion appeared next through the playful “Strange Feeling”. Fast paced, energic and dangerous, the song brought absolutely like a fun ride from start to finish. After “Where’s The Mosque”, the closing was even more manic, entitled “BAG’s theme”. It was totally a lightning speed composition. BAG Trio brought us on a journey into the different side of jazz, entering many layers of it. It was seductive, it was wild, it was stunning. What an experience to enjoy their music.
It  was a pleasure to see Agam Hamzah delivering his skill again. He is one of the amazing guitarist who never wants to be trapped up inside one genre. For him, the melody has to come first, no matter what the genre is. Latins, folk/country, classical, smooth jazz to the darkest side of jazz fusion can be brought perfectly by this versatile and modish guitarist. After his show with Donny Suhendra at Jazz Break Revival XII several months ago, it was great to have him again.
But this time he brought in a different nuance. Agam Hamzah performed together with the beautiful Tiwi Shakuhachi in a very lovely intimate bossa session. An amalgamation of Parahyangan valley‘s exoticism with the charm of jazz improvisations, that is Tiwi Shakuhachi’s musical persona. She’s a great piano and accordion player who can also sing very well. Tonight she appeared with accordeon, accompanied by Agam Hamzah on acoustic guitar. Actually Tiwi was supposed to play with her group, but they couldn’t make it tonight. So they decided to play as an acoustic duet, and actually in my opinion it was just perfect. They both brought some magic on stage, turning it into a romatic bossa night. As the rain poured heavily outside, they warmed the audience with sweettunes. Tiwi hummed sweetly almost through all the songs, running up and down the melody. Her accordeon gave a taste of a tender Parisian romance, while Hamzah did his part tenderly on his guitar. The classic bossa “Tristeza” was the opening, followed by Maria Schneider’s composition called “Choro Dançado”. It was very beautiful, as the audiences were hypnotized with their performance. Love was  in the air. Series of songs were still brought intimately and romanticly such as “Magnificent Seven” and Djavan’s composition entitled “Jogral”. Tiwi and Agam then closed their session with the request from the audience, “The Girl From Ipanema”. What a lovely performance by these two outstanding musicians.
The next band to perform was G/E/T. From the moment G/E/T was established last year, we could clearly see that this very talented trio would do very well in our music scene. Tesla Manaf Effendi (guitar), Gallang Perdhana Dalimunthe (bass) and Edward Manurung (drums) are the personnels behind this group, and they keep on showing good progress, on skills, performance, harmony and creativity. For tonight, they brought all their own original compositions.
They kicked off their session right away with “Sekapur Sirih”. They continued with another heavy fusion entitled “Play Death”. Both were like the hardcore side of jazz, it was dark. It was like a showcase of skills with amazing compositions made by Tesla.  “Migrain” was the next song, followed by the cooling “Postpone” and closed with “Outside of the Bird Cage” which was delivered playfully, full with joy, just like looking at a bird that just found its freedom.
Bayu who finally came all the way from Jakarta joined his band, “B.L.A.V” and delivered two songs, “Sunny” and “Recordane”. It’s nice to have the unique keyboardist Bayu back on jazz stage. We kinda missed him since he decided to leave the jazz scene due to his work as once he stated a couple of months ago. With these two last songs, this month’s Jazz Break Revival reached the end.
Again, it was a very interesting night at Bumi Sangkuriang. It’s about time to deal with the educational side of jazz, and that’s what exactly happened on Jazz Break Revival February edition. We are blessed to have Ms Julie Spithill from Sydney Conservatorium of Music as the clinicians, sharing her knowledge to improve our quality in jazz. Thank you to Studio Music Melodia for this, also we extend our thanks to KlabJazz, Melinda Hospital and Bumi Sangkuriang for the spirit and courage to carry on. Another great night with success indeed. Can’t wait to see the concept next month!

Submitted by Riandy K on February 3, 2010 @ http://jazzuality.com/

The Pnoe horn is the culmination of a 10 year effort to design and realise a horn speaker without compromises. A team of high-end enthusiasts with deep technical knowledge and access to advanced production equipment worked through many stages of design, mathematical and physical simulations, prototype development, and countless hours of listening and blind testing. In various times listening panels of jazz and classical musicians were employed to ensure that the direction is the right one.

The Pnoe speakers are simply in a class of their own. They combine the best characteristics of single driver horn designs along with a clarity and fullness of sound which is simply unique. The sound is extremely dynamic, clear and correct. The bass extension, although not the deepest, is very fast and totally natural, unlike hybrid box/horn designs or multiple driver systems. The soundstage is wide and precise and the whole experience brings the emotions of a live performance.Voices are simply divine, horns are in the room, orchestras are alive!

This excellent performance comes with a speaker sensitivity of 100db/W along with a favourable impedance curve, which means the Pnoe is perfectly suited to be paired with the smallest high quality tube amplifiers. A 300B makes the Pnoe sing effortlessly with authority and speed reminiscent of solid state monsters.


The design objectives of the Pnoe were to:

• Create the smoothest, roundest path for the sound wave front, without any obstructions, so that there are no sources of standing waves and spurious reflections. This was the spark which started the Pnoe concept. 

• Choose the ideal horn design. The design of the Pnoe is the optimized result of many tests, calculations and consecutive prototypes.

• Build the speaker precisely, using materials with a friendly sonic signature. The Pnoe is shiny in and out. It is made of fibreglass and special damping materials in the form of a sandwich, with special attention to resonance control where it is needed most.

• Use the highest quality driver available. The AER MD3B was chosen for its ultra detailed presentation and its warm sound. It sounds like a point source electrostatic speaker with a sensitivity of 100 db/W! In the Pnoe it offers nuances like the ‘brassness’ of brass and the ‘woodness’ of violins and pianos, which have to be experienced to be believed! The reproduction of human voices is another area where the MD3B is simply in a class of its own.

Style 
The Pnoe speaker is also uniquely stylish and attractive. It is a statement of modern design and respect for natural, harmonic lines, especially important for a large speaker.





Specifications

• Size: 220cmH * 100cmW * 90cmD
• Weight: approx. 52 Kg
• Frequency Response: 42-21.000 Hz
• Max Power: 100W
• Nominal Impedance: 16 Ohms
• Sensitivity: 100db/1W/1m

The Pnoe speaker, being a large horn, is more suited to listening rooms with 3m or more distance between the listener and the speakers.
The standard internal wiring is the DNM Solid Core Precision and the binding posts are Eichmann Cable Pods. Both have been carefully chosen for the specific application.


Ordering

The Pnoe horn speaker is currently available only from Arcadian Audio. Standard colours for the horn body are charcoal black and ivory white. The driver mount, grille and grille fabric can be ordered from a range of colours. Each pair includes 2 sets of magnetic grilles, one with fabric and one without and 2 sets of Pnoe logos to be installed by the user.
For more information and prices, please contact Arcadian Audio.


Contact Info

• Address: 16 Heimaras St., Athens 15125, Greece
• Tel: +30 6970632970
• e-mail: info@arcadianaudio.com

Lil Wayne, Brian Wilson, Kanye West, Snoop Dogg and Celine Dion are among the artists who have recorded a new version of the 1985 charity song 'We Are The World' to aid victims of the recent Haiti earthquake.

Barbra Streisand, Carlos Santana, Usher, Miley Cyrus, Tony Bennett and Enrique Iglesias are also among the 75 singers who contributed, reports BBC News.

The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones - who returned to the role for the new version. The new recording took place at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood – where the original was also put on tape.

The song is set to debut on US TV network NBC on February 12. The video is to be put together by director Paul Haggis, who filmed the recording session.

Lil Wayne admitted after the recording, "I don't know how to sing."

He went on to hail the new song but criticized the response to the 2005 disaster in New Orleans, when Hurrican Katrina caused havoc.

"I think it's amazing what's been done for Haiti, but I think it's amazing what hasn't been done for New Orleans," he said.

Meanwhile, Simon Cowell's Haiti single, featuring Robbie Williams and Take That, Susan Boyle, Cheryl Cole and Alexandra Burke, has hit the airwaves in the UK. Hear the song, a cover of REM's 'Everybody Hurts', by clicking below.

Lady Gaga 'cried' because she was so overwhelmed at singing with Sir Elton John.

The 23-year-old singer was so happy the pair got to perform a spectacularly extravagant duet – seated either side of a giant piano which sprouted hands – at the Grammy Awards on Sunday (31.01.10) she was forced to make an emergency visit to her make-up artist shortly before she was due on stage.

She said: 'I’m just so happy, I can’t say enough and Elton was so amazing and the performance was really truly magical. I had been fantasising about this performance piece for a while and we got to do it, and I’m just really truly floored.

'I ruined all of my make-up right before the show. Crying, I was just so happy.'

The 'Bad Romance’ hitmaker picked up two awards at the event – Best Electronic/Dance Album for 'The Fame’ and Best Electronica/Dance Song for 'Poker Face’ – and dedicated her wins to her legion of fans.

She told 'Access Hollywood’: 'This is not an award for me, it’s for my fans. And I love my fans so much. And I wanted them to know that they should believe in themselves.

'And I wanted to be everything that they hoped I would be tonight, and that’s what we got to do.'