Canadian Musician November / December 2019 | Page 68

HOT GEAR Reason 11 DAW & Rack Plug-In Reason Studios, formerly called Propellerhead, has released version 11 of its namesake DAW. As well, Reason’s rack of synths, instruments, and effects can now be used in any DAW with the Reason Rack plug-in. Reason 11 also features six new devices, a host of workflow improvements, and a new Reason Suite offering. Musicians can load any Reason devices into any DAW with the Reason Rack plug-in (VST/AU) and craft and polish their sound with new modulation effects and a trio of devices pulled from Reason’s mixing console. Reason 11 comes in three versions: Reason Intro, Reason, and Reason Suite. Reason Suite is a wide collection of instruments, effects, and other music-making tools – more than 70 devices in total, including the newly-released Scenic Hybrid Instrument along with top-selling Reason Studios devices. New Reason 11 devices include Quartet Chorus Ensem- ble, Sweeper Modulation Effect, Master Bus Compressor, Channel Dynamics, Channel EQ, and Scenic Hybrid Instrument. For more information, contact Hal Leonard: 414-774-3630, [email protected], www.halleonard.com. SonoTone Vintage Series Guitar & Bass Strings SonoTone has released the Vintage Series of small-batch pre- mium electric guitar and bass strings, which are designed to reproduce the resonance and feel of the guitar strings manufac- tured in the U.S. during the 1950s and ‘60s. These Vintage premium strings feature a pure nickel wrap wire with a hexagonal core to produce a rich, warm, clear tone while also enhancing the instrument’s resonance and sustain. No coatings are used so that only the pure elements that make up the string-wire ring out through the body of the guitar. The Vintage series electric guitar strings are available in four gauge sets (9-42, 10-46, 10-52, and 11-48). The Vintage series stan- dard four-string bass guitar strings are available in a 45-105 set. For more information, contact SonoTone Strings: 508-341- 3499, [email protected], www.sono-tone.com. Line 6 Spider V 20 MkII Practice Amp Line 6 has introduced the Spider V 20 MkII amplifier for practicing guitarists. The Spider V 20 MkII features an intuitive interface with colour-coded controls and dedicated front-panel buttons. It comes with 16 new tonally-diverse presets, while the new Classic Speaker mode provides an improved organic feel. Each preset contains three effects that can be switched in and out, stomp- box-style, using the dedicated FX buttons on the front panel. The Spider V 20 MkII also includes specific features that make practicing easier. A dedicated Reverb control adds atmosphere and depth, while a Tap/Tuner button enables guitarists to tap in delay times and modulation rates to match songs they are play- ing along with. Guitarists can also hold the Tap/Tuner button to access the onboard tuner and quickly tune their instrument. For more information, contact Yorkville Sound: 905-837-8777, [email protected], www.yorkville.com. 68 CANADIAN MUSICIAN