SECTOR SPOTLIGHT PERCUSSION
Natal Sprit bongos £101
Spirit series percussion is crafted from Siam oak, delivering a fantastic tone when combined with the natural hide heads, the steel Comfort Hoop rims and the proprietary Resonance Block, which minimises surface contact and enables the bongo shells to produce a longer, freer and more resonant tone.
Harmony soprano chromatic glockenspiel £86.75
While the Harmony brand is Percussion Plus’ budget range, the instruments are all made in the UK at PP’s Market Harborough facility – and an impressive set-up it is, too. The glock here is fully chromatic, ranging a 22-note soprano range from C64 to A85, set on a single solid wood frame.
Bucara 11-inch Ghanaian djembe £101.99
This handmade, single-weave drum is from Ghana, made for Soar Valley in conjunction with a fair trade organisation. The drum is traditionally carved from the tweeneboa tree (African cedar) and skinned with goat. This particular model is described as ‘well-made with a big bass and a sharp slap’.
Remo Katsugi okedaiko £1,064
The Katsugi Okedaiko is made from Remo’s patented lightweight Acousticon drum shells in the US from a durable, purely recycled wood fibre. The drumhead is specially made for the unique drumming style the okedaiko requires, using Remo’s Skyndeep natural drumhead.
World Rhythm Percussion Hydrobeat djembe £59.99
WRP’s Hydrobeat djembe comes in nine-and-a- half and 12-inch versions and combines the best of cutting edge materials and techniques to make a djembe that is very practical. Decorated with a batik pattern and matching printed Mylar head, this drum is perfect for mobile drum facilitators and schools.
The latest offerings from the UK
company include a wide range of African (djembes, dun duns and shakers), Latin (cabasas, caxixis, ganza shakers and cajons) and more conventional western instruments and kit add-ons, such as cowbells, tambourines, claves and bar chimes. SVM Percussion, still known to many
as Soar Valley, has been one of the more intriguing percussion companies over the past couple of years, bringing into its catalogue the Techtonic electronic drumkits and scooping the distribution for Dream Cymbals. The marketing has seen SVM take a dramatic image shift from ethnic specialist to all-round percussion supplier – and it suits the company very well. All this is not to say that the company has moved away from its roots and there is still a lot on offer in the traditional percussion sector.
58 miPRO JUNE 2011
Under the SVM brand, there are the Busker series bongos (six and a half-inch and seven-inch) in a red wine wood finish, and the Pro series bongos – the same size, but with a rounded hoop and a natural wood finish. On the djembe front, SVM has
something of a departure from its traditions with the Festival 12-inch Hydrobeat Djembe with a fibreglass body and a synthetic head. The results, SVM tells us, have been stunning, creating loud but light drums that react in a similar way to wood drums and are well priced, colourful and durable. Some of the Festival models have genuine rope and goat-skin heads, but the Hydrobeat is touted by SVM as the vegetarian option.
PLUS POINTS Another company making a surge into the more general spheres of all things hitty is Percussion Plus, now enjoying the
benefits of one of the most impressive UK manufacturing set-ups in the MI trade. The company has also broadened its
offering in terms of brands, with Sonix being a major one and covering a very wide range of percussion from drumkits to cajons. For the latter there is the PP776 cajon, manufactured at Market Harborough and offering a superior sound for a budget instrument. The resonance from its quality snare at the top of the box is loud and crisp and, when played further down, produces a deep, mellow base sound. The Perfect Pitch range of tuned
instruments is also manufactured in the UK. Tuning uses the latest electronic node chromatic tuners that ensure the overtone notes are balance tuned to work in perfect pitch with the fundamental notes. This range is proving immensely popular with schools not only because of
the accuracy of pitch, but also because of the sturdy construction. Also popular with schools is the Wac-
a-Tube range of tuned, plastic, percussion tubes, based on the Boomwhacker. These brightly coloured tubes are useful for teaching melody, harmony and rhythm through a variety of playing techniques and just for having a lot of fun, really. As well as flying the Stagg banner, EMD is in the enviable position of being the exclusive UK distributor for Remo, which not only produces the world's best selling drum heads, but also manufactures an impressive catalogue of world percussion. From the humble tambourine to exotic instruments from all over the globe, incorporating Remo's revolutionary Acousticon technology, the manufacturer continues to introduce wonderful percussion every year. Remo Belli's main aim is for every household in the world to own a drum,
WWW.MI-PRO.CO.UK
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84