Allowing musicians to escape the studio booth, move from behind the desk and get a little room to move, Zoom’s ARQ gives it’s user the freedom of control. Made up of two powerful components – the Base Station and the Ring Controller, the ARQ is electronic communication at it’s finest.
The Base Station features 468 drum/instrument sounds, 70 synth sounds and many more digital effects. It is phrase recording and looping enabled and it contains it’s own headphone jack and volume control. A handy USB port allows you to connect it up with your computer whereas a SD card slot lets you save your patters or loops and import other audio.
The Ring Controller is a detachable, wireless controller which communicates directly to the base via Bluetooth. The 96 velocity and pressure sensitive pads enable the player to play drum sounds, instrument sounds and sequences. The unique grip detection automatically prevents any accidental triggering of the pads and there are buttons at the top and bottom of the ring including Record, Play, Stop, Filter, Delay, Reverb and Master FX on/off.
Over 33 sounds/parts can be played back simultaneously and a sounds pitch or timbre can be changed with the touch of a button. Additionally, 400 patterns can be combined in any order or form to create a song or pattern and flattened to an audio loop, all without having to use a computer.
While the instrument is great for studio use, the Ring Controller is an excellent live instrument. Whether you leave it connected to the Base Station or move it around, the performance is sure to come alive with the LED lit machine.
For more information on the Zoom ARQ, head to Zoom’s Official Website.