Tech Reviews: New products (January 2022)
Jonathan Savage
Saturday, January 1, 2022
Jonathan Savage reveals what's new this month in music technology
Casio CT-S400 Electronic Keyboard
Price: £279
Casio's new CT-S400 electronic keyboard, with 61 touch-sensitive keys, is the latest in its range of well-equipped and great sounding keyboards that are ideal for classroom use. In addition to an impressive grand piano voice, this keyboard contains around 600 other tones that your students will enjoy exploring and using in their performance or composition work.
This is one of the first keyboards at this price point that Casio has produced with connectivity for smartphone and tablets. Additionally, with the purchase of a Bluetooth dongle (the WU-BT10) you can add Bluetooth MIDI and Bluetooth Audio functionality to the mix.
Boss RC-505 MK II
Price: £499
Boss has released the second generation of its best-selling loop station, the RC-505. Recognising the huge impact that loopers have had on music production techniques in recent years, the RC-505 is a brilliant addition to the contemporary music classroom. It will be appreciated by musicians of all ages and abilities, including beatboxes, vocalists and multi-instrumentalists. As a live tool, this iteration includes a new ‘mark back’ function which allows students to instantly jump back to a previous loop state while performing, helping them correct mistakes easily.
This particular edition of the RC-505 features five tracks, four simultaneous input FX (49 different effects to choose from) and track FX (53 options), two dedicated XLR inputs and multiple other stereo outputs too. For those wanting to move their looping into a more dedicated production rather than live environment, there are a host of sophisticated MIDI functions to explore.
Roland Zentracker
Price: Free
Roland's free Zentracker is a new recording app that turns your mobile into a powerful and intuitive multitrack recording studio. Working on Android or Apple devices, it provides you with unlimited audio tracks, two track effects, and a mixing environment with 16 additional audio effects. The app links up directly into Google Drive or Microsoft's OneDrive.
While we know that schools have different policies on the use of mobile phones, this app can also be used on tablet devices within the classroom to provide a quick and easy way to capture a recording of a students' work and automatically store it in your school's online management portal.
▸ www.roland.com/uk/products/rc_zentracker/
Steinberg's new licensing model
Could this be the death of the dongle? Not so much a new product, but notable news, nonetheless. Steinberg's dongle for protecting its software has been a core component of its licensing security for decades. However, next year things are going to change. Steinberg Licensing will provide greater convenience, more flexibility, and enable you to use your Steinberg software in new, more powerful ways.
Single-user licenses will be able to be activated on two computers, so you can easily run your software in your classroom and at home. You won't need to remember your USB eLicenser when you travel or need to work at a new location: you can simply download your software, sign in with your Steinberg ID, and you will be up and running right away. During 2022, Steinberg will also be introducing dedicated support for institutional and enterprise licensing, making it easier for schools, colleges, universities, and businesses to deploy, manage and use Steinberg software without dongles.
Adobe Stock/ Eremin
