The Shure name is ubiquitous in both recorded and live sound. Who hasn’t thrown an SM57 instrument mic up against a raging quad box, or wrapped their hands around a heavily-duct-taped (purely cos it looks cool) SM58 vocal mic and screamed their little hearts out? But Shure has been in the wireless game for an awful long time too, and their latest, the PGX Digital Wireless series, takes advantage of the wonders of zeroes and ones to send your sound from your instrument to your amp via nothing but stage fog.

It’s A Shure Thing
When you unbox the set, you’ll find a durable hard shell padded case which includes space for the receiver, the transmitter, the cord and two sets of spare AA batteries (a pair is included – thanks for thinking of our wallets, Shure!). It’s a satisfyingly road-ready case that feels like it will protect everything well enough for most back-of-van situations.
At the heart of the PGX system is the PGXD4 wireless receiver. This teensy little unit, about the size of a guitar pedal, plugs in via an external adaptor and is suitable to be placed on top of your amp, in a rack or wherever else you might find yourself needing to plunk it down. It offers 24-bit 48kHz digital technology for authentic sound reproduction. Around the back you’ll find both 1/4 inch and XLR output jacks, for a guitar amp or a mixing desk, respectively.
The receiver works with either the PGXD2 handheld transmitter – which works with a wide range of mics such as the SM58 – or the PGXD1 bodypack transmitter, which is capable of sending instrument or microphone sources. The PGXD1 has a recessed side-mounted dial offering 26 dB of continuously adjustable gain (anywhere between -16 dBV and +10 dBV), and it’s darn near impossible to move the thing unless you actually intend to, which is very handy because the belt clip is the most secure that I’ve ever encountered on a wireless, and it’s going to encourage you to pull out all of your Steve Vai swing-the-guitar-around-the-neck moves that would put you at risk of bumping the controls on a lesser wireless transmitter pack.
The transmitter also features a mute control, as well as power, mute and battery status LEDs. The battery door feels very strong, and it’s easy to access in the heat of battle while also being impossible to open unless you intend to, much like that gain control. I really appreciate the work Shure has put into making this unit utterly idiot-proof.
The transmitter’s frequency range is 20 Hz to 20 kHz, giving you a pretty broad spectrum of tone to work with, and the input impedance is 1 M ohms.
The PGX system is very easy to set up. It features scan and sync, so you don’t need to worry about any kind of overly-elaborate finicky pairing routine. Just press the button on the front of the receiver and off you go. The transmitter and receiver can speak to each other within up to 200 feet (60 metres), and you can get up to ten hours of continuous use from a single pair of AA batteries. The 900mHz operation keeps the system out of the range of troublesome TV signal interference, and up to five PGX systems can be used at once without messing with each other’s signals.

Live At The Wireless
The 1 M ohms input impedance ensures a nice punchy, detailed translation of your guitar tone, while the transmitter’s gain control is great for dialling in the right amount of boost or cut to work best with your rig. I found that while it was handy to use for practical purposes in terms of getting a nice level for the rest of the signal chain, it could also be used very much like a clean boost pedal might be employed, to increase the gain level being presented to the amp and therefore getting a little bit more pre-amp tube saturation. While sometimes this can introduce some pretty ugly clipping artefacts, the PGX system sounded clean, clear and purposeful when driven in this manner.
I moved as far away from my amp as I could during testing to see if there was any degradation of signal. Nope. In fact the only thing I noticed was that the latency between striking at note at one end of the house and hearing it come out of the amp way down the other end threw off my sense of time. Of course if you’re playing on a stage of that size this won’t be a problem because you’ll have monitors, right?

THE BOTTOM LINE
The PGX is ridiculously user-friendly and road-ready. It does all the hard work for you, and unlike some other wirelesses and their finicky gain controls, I literally could not force it to sound bad, or could I pick up interference while jamming out at my desk surrounded by a mobile phone, a computer, an iPad and a home theatre system with a universal remote.

FEATURES
• Frequency range 20 Hz – 20 kHz
• Battery Life: 10 hours continuous
• Operating range 200 ft (60 m)
• Adjustable gain 26 dB
• I/O 24-bit / 48 kHz
• Sync one-touch automatic
• Outputs 1/4 inch, XLR

PROS
Simple to use
Long battery life
Clear reception

CONS
Must use the Shure cord

PRICE: $599

PLUG IN AND CRANK OUT THOSE WINDMILLS
The Hiwatt T40 is a 40 watt combo featuring two 12 inch Fane speakers. Although the name Fane is not as well known as that other brand of speaker, Fane were the speaker of choice for many manufacturers in the ‘60s, being the first speakers to ever be rated at 100 watts, required to keep up with the increasing wattage of amps being built at the time.
The T40 features a 3-band EQ with a push/pull frequency shift on the middle control allowing you to dial in the exact amount of frequency boost or cut you require. The EQ controls on this little beast are quite responsive and you can quickly dial in a tone to suit your tastes.
The T40 can switch you between 20 and 40 watts, a feature used in some of the more expensive Hiwatt amplifiers. This makes it ideal for use in either the studio or home recording situation, or in a live context where this little 40 watt monster has more than enough volume to keep up with the rest of the band.
Weighing in at 25kg this combo is about the same weight as some of your modern high gain heads, and if lugging gear every night is a consideration for you then this might be the amp your looking for.
The front panel features a normal/overdrive button, which essentially gives you an option between a clean and dirty channel. There is a gain control for each channel, but both channels share EQ controls.

CLASSIC ROCK TONES WITHOUT THE ROCK STAR PRICE TAG
The Hiwatt T40 features two 12AX7’s and one 12AT7 driver tube in its pre-amp section so it’s not a high gain amp by modern standards. The clean sounds it can produce are clear and bell-like. The break up that occurs when you crank the T40’s power amp is natural and compressed. Because there is very little pre- amp distortion in this amp the break up has to come from driving those power tubes and the result is a tight low end and beautiful mid range rich distortion. Channel one will get you into the classic blues break up territory and for the price of this amp it is worth the money for this channel alone.
Channel two has more gain on tap and with the master volume just past the point of break up you can get some great rock’n’roll crunch that will have you wind milling all round the room like Pete. Add your favourite pedal in front of this little monster and you can get some singing distorted tones.
There is a foot-switchable reverb built into the T40, which is very useable in cleaner settings, although not an amazing sounding reverb. The foot-switch also allows you to switch between the clean and overdrive channels of the amp but the foot-switch must be purchased separately.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The Hiwatt T40 is a more affordable version of the custom Hiwatt line, but it still has some of that classic Hiwatt sound. The T40 is not the most versatile of amplifiers, it is not the most amazing clean sound you will ever hear, and it is not a high gain amplifier in terms of modern metal, but it doa, and although it is not quiet enough to play in your apartment at 3 am the 20 watt feature makes it useable at home.
If you’re into a great power tube distortion and/or you use a pedal board then the Hiwatt T40 would make a great amp for home or as a second amp in your live set-up. The price makes the T40 a great amp to tide you over till you save up for that Hiwatt custom.

FEATURES
• 3 band EQ
• Push/pull middle frequency control
• Independent gain controls for each channel
• 20/40 watt power section switching

PROS
20 or 40 watts
Simple layout
Great tone when dimed
Solid construction

CONS
Foot-switch not included

PRICE: $999

Caught on tape by Grammy and Emmy award-winning filmmakers Pierre and Francois Lamoureux, Satchurated sees every chord documented by ten 2D and 3D high definition cameras so you won’t miss any of the action.

Delight your senses on the big screen at this special one night only event held on March 7th before you catch Satriani alongside Steve Vai and Steve Lukather with G3 when the trio make their way to Australia for the Byron Bay Bluesfest.

Along with passes to the film, we’ve got “The Electric Joe Satriani – An Anthology” CD up for grabs, as well as “Live in Paris: I Just Wanna Rock” on CD and DVD.

To win a Joe Satriani prize pack, simply tell us the Satriani song that features your favourite lick.

Joe Satriani’s 3D “Satchurated: Live in Montreal”
Selected Cinema Screenings: March 7th – one night only!
Ticket price: $25 at the Box Office or pre-sale details via www.cinemalive.com

NSW
Hoyts Broadway – 7pm
Hoyts Penrith – 7pm
Greater Union Glendale – 9pm

NT
Birch, Carroll and Coyle Casuarina – 9pm

VIC

Hoyts Chadstone – 7pm
Hoyts Northlands – 7pm
Hoyts Frankston – 7pm

SA
Hoyts Tea Tree – 7pm

WA
Hoyts Carousel – 7pm

QLD
Hoyts Stafford – 7pm
Birch Carroll and Coyle Maroochydore – 9pm
Event Townsville – 9pm
Birch Carroll and Coyle- Pacific Fair – 9pm

ACT
Hoyts Belconnen – 7pm

A NO COMPROMISE METAL MACHINE FOR BEGINNERS AND PROS ON A BUDGET.

Since the mid-‘90s LTD has been the affordable cousin of the high quality ESP guitar brand. With more affordable hardware and manufacturing in Indonesia the LTD MH 330FR is no exception.It will have you dive-bombing and shredding with money left over to buy an amp too, horns up to that.

A MEAN LEAN SHREDDING MACHINE
The ESP LTD MH 330FR features a very comfy bolt on maple neck; it is thin and fast with a comfortable U profile, but not so thin as to affect the tone. The fretboard is rosewood, which makes the guitar warmer than an all maple neck, a good thing for those metal tones. The heel of the neck features a shaved off part so the higher frets are easily accessible for those screaming shred solos.
The ESP LTD MH 330FR has 24 extra jumbo frets, making big bends and vibrato a breeze. The nut width is 42mm with a locking style nut. The bridge is a genuine Floyd Rose, making this little beast a metal machine; the locking nut allows you to dive-bomb till the hearts content without going out of tune. The scale length is 25.5 inches, which makes the string tension similar to Fenders.
The Floyd Rose Tremolo is not a cheap knock off and is a genuine version manufactured in Korea. It uses the same specs as its American cousin but it uses zinc alloy saddles instead of steel, and the sustain block is made from an alloy instead of brass. That said this Floyd Rose feels very nice and can easily do those Herman Li style warbles if that is your want!
Also great for metal are the two ESP ALH-200 active pickups. The guitar features a strat style 3 way blade switch and a master tone and volume. Both pick-ups have a high output so they will push the front end of your amp harder, and give you more gain. The back of the guitar has an easily accessible battery compartment so you can change those 9 volts quickly.
The finish on the ESP LTD MH 330FR is an extremely glossy electric blue. The neck is bound and so is the body. The hardware is a nice black nickel and finishes off the metal aesthetic nicely.

A SHRED MACHINE WITH A GENTLE SIDE
The maple neck and mahogany body make this guitar quiet versatile sonically. Even though the ESP LTD MH 330FR has a metal aesthetic it is capable of achieving some tones you would not expect. The middle pickup selection and a clean amp setting and you are in ‘tele-spank’ territory.
The neck pickup is capable of achieving some warm jazzy tones and there are many tones on tap with a roll back of the tone and volume controls. An inclusion of a coil tap would have made this guitar even more versatile but where the ESP LTD MH 330FR sounds best is with the gain cranked. This guitar is unashamedly a metal shred machine.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The ESP LTD MH 330FR is a great guitar for someone looking for an instrument that can tick all the boxes for metal style playing, and do this affordably. The build of this guitar is solid and the Korean made Floyd Rose does not feel flimsy like some of the more affordable brand guitars out there. The ESP LTD MH 330FR feels like it would put up with some serious abuse, definitely worth checking out.

• Bolt on neck
• 25.5-inch scale length
• Mahogany body
• Maple neck
• Rosewood fretboard
• 42mm locking nut
• Thin U neck contour
• 24 extra jumbo frets
• Black nickel hardware
• Floyd Rose bridge
• ESP ALH-200 active pickups
• 3-way selector

PROS
Easy access to higher frets
Extra jumbo frets
Locking nut and Floyd Rose tremolo

CONS
No coil tap
No guitar case
One volume control

PRICE: $1199

CONTACT
CMI MUSIC & AUDIO
03 9315 2244
www.cmi.com.au

LOUD ENOUGH FOR THE STAGE AND YOUR NEIGHBOURS WILL LOVE IT
The idea behind the TubeMeister 18 is to have an amplifier that can be used on stage, used at home for practice and used to record with silently. Although this is not the only amp of this type, the TubeMeister 18 does it well and in a small package.

Hughes & Kettner TubeMeister 18 Head and 112 Cabinet

It features a built in attenuator which attenuates in 4 stages. The amp can go from 18 watts for stage, to 5 watts or 1 watt for home practice, and then it can act as a power soak allowing you to not connect speakers and record silently via the XLR socket. The XLR out also allows you to run into a desk while you perform live meaning you don’t have to mic up the front of your speaker cabinet.

The feature I liked best about the TubeMeister 18 is the oversized transformers. The tone of this little amp is surprisingly ballsy with plenty of bottom end, thanks in part to the big transformers. The three band EQ is shared by both the clean and lead channels, it would have been nice to have had individual EQ controls on each channel but considering how small the head is it would have taken up too much space on the front panel.
Another great feature of  the TubeMeister 18 is the aesthetic of the Perspex front panel. The amp lights up the room in a blue glow and you can see the two 12ax7 pre amp tubes and the two EL84 power tubes glowing through the front, this may or may not be your thing though. The TubeMeister 18 includes an auto-biasing feature, the amp will bias your tubes every time you switch it on and there is an LED on the back, which indicates the status of your tubes.
The head ships with a soft bag and weighing in at only 5kg makes it an easy amp to lug. The 112 cabinet features a Celestion vintage 30 speaker in a bass reflex housing. The 16 ohm cab has a parallel output so you can easily run two cabs together at 8 ohms, great idea!

PLENTY OF HEADROOM, HOW CAN THIS BE?
For those of you who are interested in how this amp sounds for high gain playing, it sounds great; I was blown away by how much gain is on tap. There is a boost feature, which re-voices the lead channel and gives you plenty of gain, without the need for pedals in front of the amp. Because of the low wattage and built-in attenuator you can get some great singing sustain by pushing the power section hard, scoop out some mids and your in metal territory. It is not however as brutal as a 100 watt amp, especially at high attenuation settings. You can get some great metal tones at bedroom levels, the TubeMeister 18 does this better than any lunch box amp I have ever played.

The clean channel has a surprising amount of clean headroom; thanks again to those oversized power transformers, in fact the amount of clean headroom this amp has is amazing considering its size. The break up from the pre-amp gain gets you into some beautiful bluesy territory and the clean channel also does a convincing job of some Marshall AC DC open chord riffage when the master volume is up. The passive EQ controls are very responsive and you can dial in a useable tone in seconds. Another great feature is the inclusion of separate gain and master controls on each channel.

THE BOTTOM LINE
The Hughes and Kettner TubeMeister 18 head and 112 cabinet are a great pair. The 112 cabinet is perfect for use at home and sounds great. The TubeMeister 18 head has some extremely useful features. 18 watts means you can drive that power section hard and get some great tones too. The oversized transformers are a step in the right direction for lunch-box style amps and may convert some people who have otherwise steered away from smaller wattage amps. The TubeMeister 18 is well worth checking out.

PROS
Oversized transformers
Auto bias
Power soak and attenuator

CONS
Shared EQ on both channels
Foot switch not included

FEATURES
• 2 channels
• Foot switchable boost
• Oversized transformers
• TSC auto bias
• Serial effects loop
• Quad stage attenuation and power soak
• Balanced XLR output with Red Box speaker emulation

PRICE: HK-TM18H head – $999 RRP, HK-TM112 cab – $499 RRP

CONTACT
CMI MUSIC & AUDIO
03 9315 2244
www.cmi.com.au

Playing their only Sydney show and first Australian gig in almost a year, the Deniz Tek Group comes to the I-94 Bar Club at Newtown’s Sandringham Hotel on Sunday, February 26.

Led by ex-Radio Birdman guitarist-songwriter Deniz Tek and this time comprising Andy Newman (ME-262, Decline Of The Reptiles, Klondike’s North 40, Visitors) and Calvin Welch (Soul Movers, Earth Wind and Fire), the DTG melds a mix of Tek originals and tunes penned for his previous bands.

Riding on the back of the recent career retrospective The Citadel Years, the DTG promises the sort of high-energy jams rarely sighted on local stages these days.

Lending support are those gentlemen of fuzz and Farfisa, the Intercontinental Playboys (back from hiatus), and the entertainingly off-the-wall Men From UNCLE. Doors open at 7pm.

Photography: (c) Anne Laurent

Tosin, a self-taught guitarist based in Washington D.C. gained notoriety after he was approached by the heavy metal label ‘Prosthetic Records’ to produce a solo album, after they observed him playing as part of his previous band ‘Reflux’.
After initially declining the offer, Tosin eventually accepted several years later and formed the legendary project ‘Animals as Leaders’.

Tosin will be conducting 6 clinics for Ibanez Australia during his Australian visit, and is set to visit Brisbane, Newcastle, Melbourne, Hobart, Geelong and Perth. Tosin Abasi is an absolutely amazing guitarist and a skilled clinician, so make sure that you are quick to secure your place at one of these clinics!
For more information, Please visit the Ibanez Australia facebook page www.facebook.com/ibanezaustralia or phone: 1800 624 460.

Tour Dates:
BRISBANE: Monday 13th February – Ellaways Music (Underwood)
Phone: 3290 5656 for bookings.
NEWCASTLE: Tuesday 14th February – Musos Corner
Phone: 02 4929 2829 for bookings.
MELBOURNE (RINGWOOD): Wednesday 15th February – Five Star Music
Phone: 98704143 for bookings.
HOBART: Thursday 16th February – Elizabeth College Theatre
(supported by Hobart Music Centre) Phone: 62 315 578 for bookings.
GEELONG: Saturday 18th February – Oxygen Music
Phone: 52 231 724 for bookings.
PERTH: Monday 20th February – Guitar World Cannington
Phone: 9358 6665 for bookings.

Currently playing with?
Velocity Blue

Usually found playing?
Guitar.

Years on the fretboard?
Many, but always learning. Learning every day.

How would you describe your playing STYLE?
Blood, sweat, magic.

First axe?
An Ibanez Les Paul copy, wish I still had that baby.

Current Axe?
A Tokai flying V with Blue Murder custom pickups. Also using two Gibson Les Pauls (one an early-‘70s) and an original Ibanez Destroyer like the one Eddie Van Halen used on Van Halen.

Rig/pedals?
1961 Fender Tremolux head and cabinet with a Create Blue Voodoo head and Marshall quad.  A $35 dollar Danelectro Fab Tone distortion, love them! Roland chorus ensemble (original ‘70s), Roland Space Echo (original ‘70s), Boss Graphic EQ and a Morley Bad Horsie Wah Wah.

Secret weapon?
My Blue Murder custom pickups, the greatest thing since the invention of the guitar.

Favourite guitarist of all time?
Jimi Hendrix. His speech, moves, look and sound, no one will ever come close. I also love Zakk Wylde – he has it all.

Favourite Current Local Player?
Jon Ford of the Aussie band Black Label. The man has soul!

Current Release?
Love Your Demons (Riot/Warner)

Australian Guitar Magazine

The course is being taught by expert Paul McDonald who has been teaching audio for over 10 years. He’ll be giving students a practical guide to computer-based recording with the bulk of the work being hands-on. There are no more than two students per work station. The course teaches the concepts of recording in a software neutral environment, so the students can apply the knowledge to the software of their choice whether it is Logic, Pro Tools, Cubase, Sonar, Ableton, Reaper or any other flavour of DAW on either PC or Macintosh. The software and platform take a secondary role to the concepts that are being taught.

This is a course for people who want to know how to use their home recording setup, or how to use our mix rooms to mix their band’s recording once they have put down the tracks.

Students are allowed to use the teaching resources at Zen Talbot any time during the course FOR FREE! That means that you can come in and take your lesson on Saturday and return Sun through to Friday each night for FREE to work in the Zen Mix Rooms.
For more info go to zenstudios.com.au .
The course is normally worth $660 inc. GST.
To win your spot in the course, just tell us what music software you like to use.