Kemper, Eventide + more: our top five gear releases of the week
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15.04.2021

Kemper, Eventide + more: our top five gear releases of the week

Words by Will Brewster

Check out the latest from Kemper, Eventide, Fender, Røde and Michael Kelly Guitars.

With so many brands to keep up to date with, it can be easy to lose track of all the latest equipment launched into the gear-sphere each week.

Today, we’re taking a look at some of the best product releases that you might’ve missed over the week, including picks from Kemper, Eventide, Fender, Røde Microphones and Michael Kelly Guitars.

This week’s top picks:

  • Kemper Power Kabinet
  • Eventide UltraTap Delay
  • Fender ’68 Custom Pro Reverb & Vibro Champ Reverb
  • Røde Connect
  • Michael Kelly Guitars Forte Port Jr. Ziricote

Check out all the latest Product News here.

Kemper Power Kabinet

It’s finally here! After being teased last year, Kemper’s active Power Kabinet is shipping now. This 200w powerhouse boasts one of Kemper’s proprietary Kemper Kone speakers and accompanying speaker imprint technology, offering 19 iconic speaker imprints straight out of the box to get you started.

Specifically designed to accompany Kemper’s range of Head, Rack and Stage modelling rigs, the Kemper Power Kabinet provides players with an unparalleled ‘amp in the room’ sound to allow for just about every guitar head and cab sound under the sun.

It’s also able to be used in ultra-liner full-range mode for a conventional PA speaker sound, while Sweetening and Directivity controls allow for a little more sonic versatility.

Eventide UltraTap Delay

After releasing the MicroPitch Delay last month and hinting at the imminent arrival of another unit, Eventide have confirmed that the UltraTap Delay pedal is now shipping.

The third entry into the Dot9 pedal series, the UltraTap Delay offers six controls with an Alt switch to unlock secondary functions such as Slur, Chop, Spread, Speed/Rise/Release, Predelay, Tone and Output Level.

There’s a bunch of LFO waveforms on offer for crisp modulated sounds and a tap-tempo switch to assign delay time, while the pedal also features five presets onboard and over 127 via MIDI.

Elsewhere, the pedal features MIDI I/O, a USB port, stereo I/O and a switch to flick between Guitar and Line Level signals. Hear it in action below, and order one today.

Fender ’68 Custom Pro Reverb & Vibro Champ Reverb

After being revealed earlier in the year at NAMM, Fender have now begun shipping the ’68 Custom Pro Reverb and Vibro Champ Reverb amplifiers.

The ’68 Custom Pro Reverb feeds 40 watts of tube power into a 12″ Celestion Neo Creamback speaker, with Fender also adding in an extra channel to the amplifier. A three-band EQ and bright switch can be used to sculpt the sound of the amplifier, while tube tremolo and spring reverb help you tap into those classic washy tones of the surf rock era.

Meanwhile, the five-watt Vibro Champ Reverb is loaded with a 10″ Celestion speaker and features two inputs and DSP reverb, while controls for Volume, Treble, Bass and Tremolo sit on the amp’s front panel.

Røde Connect

Local microphone legends Røde have introduced some sweet new features to the NT-USB Mini microphone via the Røde Connect software suite. This downloadable program fuses recording, routing, mixing and streaming in a manner that replicates the workflow of the RødeCaster Pro, and unlocks some seriously powerful tools that any content creator will happily use.

In addition to single and multi-track recording, Røde Connect also offers new noise gate, compressor, APHEX Aural Exciter and Big Bottom effects emulations, as well as a virtual device channel to set up Zoom or Skype calls or even connect to speakers, recorders or audio interfaces.

It’s a pretty comprehensive suite that truly takes the NT-USB Mini up a notch to make it an extremely powerful and affordable device for content creators, and it’s totally free to download now.

Michael Kelly Guitars Forte Port Jr. Ziricote

The team at Michael Kelly Guitars have debuted a tantalising new offering in the from of the Forte Port Jr. Ziricote, a three-quarter size (24.75″ scale) acoustic guitar with a beautiful ziricote soundboard and distinctive design.

With mahogany back and sides and a Comfort-C-profile mahogany neck with a 19-fret ovangkol fretboard, the Forte Port Jr. also boasts a unique side soundhole, which increases the guitar’s air movement and overall resonance.

Other noteworthy features include built-in sideport to serve as an onboard monitor, as well as a Fishman Sonicore pickup and Presys II Preamp with a built-in tuner.

Catch up on all of last week’s hot gear releases here.