New Analog Guitar Speaker Simulator From Tonehunter and SPL

New Analog Guitar Speaker Simulator From Tonehunter and SPL

Analog technology cold shoulders latency problems: SPL's TRANSDUCER, a speaker and miking stand-in for guitar amps, functions free of latency issues and with amps up to 200 watts.

Niederkrüchten, Germany, March 7, 2007 In a cooperative developmental effort with the guitar amp specialty firm of Tonehunter, SPL will present at its Frankfurt Musikmesse stand, B84 in Hall 5.1, a new 2U, 19-inch format guitar speaker and microphone stand-in called Transducer. The Transducer is connected and operated exactly like any guitar speaker box so that a guitar amp‘s distortion can also be integrated into the sound design.

Among the important advantages the manufacturer envisions include independence from volume levels during performances or recording sessions that also provides added hearing protection from In-Ear monitoring in any kind of session, whether studio, live or private. Furthermore the Transducer concept grants greater sonic flexibility in comparison to fixed box/microphone gear, independence from room acoustics in recordings and eliminates phasing problems with track doubling thanks to latency free design. It provides for a live signal in recording quality without crosstalk from miking, great space and weight reduction in transport, time-saving setup and simplifies experimentation with sound variations.

SPL emphasizes the Transducer's authentic sound qualities and real time response for the guitar player that are missing in digital simulations due to latencies in processing. SPL's head, Hermann Gier, notes, “Anyone who, in a hotel in the middle of the night, wishes to record with the sound of a fully torqued tube amp no longer has to feign anymore...the Transducer really rocks. Ralf Reichen's Tonehunter design team has done a tremendous job.“

The Transducer sports two main controls to adjust its sound: “Speaker Action“ works analogous to a speaker‘s cone behaviour at different levels through to an audible cone distortion effect. Similarly, Miking Level recreates a microphone‘s characteristic at different recording levels. Further switchable functions allow the choices of alnico or ceramic speakers, closed or open housings, condenser or dynamic microphones as well as adjustments to miking distances.

The planned Transducer delivery date is for May 2007, with SPL targeting a price of under 1000 Euro/1500 USD. For further information visit www.soundperformancelab.com.