RMV Brazilian Instruments
By becoming the sole U.S. distributors of RMV instruments, Latin Percussion has added a line of Brazilian instruments to its already large stable of hand-percussion products. Finely crafted from beautiful woods and quality metals, these lightweight tantans, pandieros, caixas, timbas, tamborims and all their Brazilian brothers and sisters are exactly what you need to help re-create the hypnotic sambas on those classic Stan Getz/Charlie Byrd Verve sides. www.lpmusic.com
Petersen Folding Music Stand
It’s designed to hold a concert-stand light and it’s built to accommodate oversized scores and it’s height-adjustable like it should be, but what makes the Petersen Stand special is that it transforms into a self-contained carrying-case. Made from plastic and aluminum alloy, the stand weighs only 3 1/2 pounds. Accessories available from Petersen include a 7-inch height extender and a deluxe shoulder bag for hands-free transport. www.petersendesigns.com
C.G. Conn Dent Eraser
A new tool that uses old technology, the C.G. Conn Dent Eraser restores your beat-up sax, tuba, sousaphone or other cumbersome brass instrument to its original shape by way of a powerful magnet. Simply place a steel ball inside the instrument and roll the Dent Eraser over the ding. The strong, focused magnetic attraction guides the ball as it rolls over the dent and voila! The dent disappears! Balls come in a variety of sizes to fix dents of different sizes. www.unitedmusical.com
Yamaha Silent Guitar
One of the latest additions to Yamaha’s growing Silent instrument line, the SLG100N Silent guitar lets you practice all night long without waking the neighbors, or the spouse. Well, OK, the nylon strings surely make some sound, but it’s minimal and won’t rise above the noise of outside traffic or a hardworking A/C unit. An internal digital-signal processor shapes the sound picked up by the piezos in the bridge. Plug in headphones to practice or an amp to perform, or connect it to a CD player and cop lines from the masters. www.yamaha.com/guitars
Zaolla Silverline Cables
These fine instrument, microphone and audio interconnect cables could mandate a new silver standard. Zaolla Silverline cables have center conductors of solid silver wrapped in layer upon layer of shielding to provide both a stronger signal than standard copper cables and a transparent sound. The gold-plated contacts don’t hurt either. Plug a Silverline into a guitar and you’ll hear every subtle inflection you play come out of your amp. Zaolla also makes video and digital cables with silver centers, from which the same kind of detailed quality surely results. www.zaolla.com
Eden Electronics Time Traveler
No word on whether or not this bass amp comes equipped with a Flux Capacitor, but we do know that Eden Electronics’ Time Traveler supplies a warm sound with very little noise. Its tone-shaping features include a three-band EQ, onboard compressor, Eden’s own “Enhance” control and a new dynamic booster system that supplies solid, defined lows and highs at any volume level. The Time Traveler’s backside reveals an effects loop, multiple speaker connections, auxiliary inputs and a direct-recording output. www.eden-electronics.com
Vic Firth SIH1 Stereo Isolation Headphones
Designed for musicians who like to play along with prerecorded music or for studio situations where monitoring other performers is key, the SIH1 headphones seal you off from the outside and let you concentrate on the sweet, sweet music. The headphones cover the entire ear and cut external ambient noise by 24 decibels, which means you don’t have to crank the volume to hear their output in noisy environments. It makes for a much smoother listening experience and protects ears from fatigue, tinnitus and permanent hearing loss. www.vicfirth.com
