V Beat and V Kick
SE Electronics’ microphones are found in countless school and project studios around the country. Its Reflexion filter was the first of its kind and now it has added drum mics to its range of products.
The V Beat and V Kick are based on the company's excellent V7 series of dynamic mics. The Beat is designed for toms and snare and features excellent rejection for accurate recording. The V Kick features different voicings for your kick drum depending on the style of music you want to record. Expect a full review soon. seelectronics.com
S1 Pro System
Bose is renowned for its PA systems and headphones and its latest offering is a battery-powered, small, all-in-one PA speaker designed for singer-songwriters with built-in Bluetooth.
The speaker can take two mics or instruments and an aux-in, plus audio via Bluetooth. Although aimed at singer-songwriters performing small gigs, this could be the perfect speaker for a music department. Loud and ultra-portable with several inputs for a range of activities. bose.co.uk
Rockit G4
KRK's Rockit series of budget-friendly monitors have graced school studios for at least 20 years, if not more, and it has just announced an update to the complete range. Version 4 of the monitors will be available at the end of March at the same price-point as Version 3.
Version 4 includes a lot of features from its big brothers in the V series, including Kevlar tweeters and cones for increased punch in the high and low frequencies. The new range also includes built-in DSP to tune the speakers to your room acoustic via an app. krksys.com
The Flute
An interesting game that tells the story of the first scene of the first act of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Across six stages of puzzle platforming, you play as Tamino, Papageno, the Three Ladies and the Queen. What is novel is that, as well as telling the story through play, the game is scored using the original music – an idea that sounds so obvious once you hear it, yet no-one else seems to have done something similar until now.
The early build is currently unpolished but a full rollout is expected in April of this year, which is hopefully enough time to iron out the creases. A novel way of introducing opera to younger generations, one that has potential from this new studio.
