Tech reviews: new products, April 2024
Kate Rounding
Monday, April 1, 2024
Kate Rounding spotlights the latest products.
Yamaha SEQTRAK
Price: £345
The Yamaha SEQTRAK is an all-in-one music production workstation. This compact instrument is divided into three sections: a drum machine sequencer; a synthesiser and sampler; and a sound design area with an effects section. It comes with over 2,000 adaptable pre-set sounds, including piano, strings, guitars and drums. It also has a built-in sampler that captures sounds via the internal or an external microphone. There are various effects such as reverb, delay, compression, distortion, modulation, and more. It can be linked to a DAW for editing and mixing your music. The inclusion of a ‘Visualizer’ feature in the free SEQTRAK app is an exciting addition, enabling you to instantly create and synchronise visuals with your music. It has a convenient onboard speaker, and you can also connect headphones. It is suitable for small spaces (measuring 343 × 97 × 38mm), and the rechargeable battery will last around four hours on one charge. Available in light grey/orange or dark grey/black.
SNARK ST-8 Titanium clip-on tuner
Price: £29.99
The SNARK ST-8 is a handy clip-on tuner with features to diffuse unwanted background noise and improve tuning accuracy. To reduce interference from unwanted vibration and background noise, the housing is made from titanium and the screen is cushioned by a sturdy rubber ‘sound shield’. A clamp is used to fix the tuner to the instrument and soft rubber components ensure a firm but gentle grip, protecting your instrument's finish from scratches or damage. The screen can rotate 360 degrees and is easy to read, with a simple colourful display (green for in tune) and battery indicator. It is rechargeable via a USB connection, so no need to worry about changing batteries, and the lithium battery will last for weeks without needing to be charged.
Boss VE-22 Vocal Performer
Price: £319
The Boss VE-22 Vocal Performer is a multi-effects vocal processor for singers. It includes premium features to enhance vocal performances on stage or when recording, including a high-quality preamp, automatic pitch correction, and all the essential effects such as a compressor, EQ, de-esser, reverb and delay. There are also functions for creating harmonies, doubling vocals and a built-in looper. It has an XLR input and phantom power for condenser mics. There is a USB-C to connect to a computer for recording, an aux input for plugging in a phone or other playback device, and a headphone jack. The interface is intuitive, with multi-function knobs, a colour display and customisable switches. You can save up to 50 pre-sets and access 99 memory slots. Powered by four AA batteries or an optional AC adaptor.
Chorda
Price: £229
The Artiphon Chorda is an easy-to-play instrument that can be used as a synth, drum machine, looper, sampler and MIDI controller. It has 12 touch-sensitive silicon pads, about the same size as a piano key. Each pad can be played in different ways, from a straightforward tap or press to ‘radiate’ (an arpeggio effect), ‘tilt’ (literally tilt the Chorda while pressing a pad for a different effect), and you can even produce vibrato. You can play the Chorda flat like a keyboard or pick it up and strum it like a guitar. It has four main playing modes: Drum, Bass, Chord, and Lead, each with hundreds of sounds to choose from. The ‘bridge’ section of the Chorda has six coloured LED lights or ‘triggers’ and can be used in various ways. In chord mode, the bridge lets you ‘strum’ the chord.
You can record multiple parts and build beats and harmonies with the onboard looper. The Artiphon app allows you to sample and import your own sounds. The instrument features an in-built speaker, or you can connect to external speakers or plug in headphones. You can connect the Chorda to a DAW via MIDI over Bluetooth or USB, and it can be charged from any power-charging USB port. Available in black, white or blue.
