Merry Christmas, everyone! Here are a few thoughtful stocking stuffers I know I would like to get come Christmas morning.
TUDIA COUS
TUDIA Cous will control all your lights, house- hold appliances and power strips without
using expensive remote control devices or a smartphone app and hardware. TUDIA Cous turns on/off lights and appliances, wirelessly by communicating to its outlet plugs from as far as 100 feet through closed doors, floors and walls. This is great for controlling hard to reach lights and appliances and essential for seniors and/or the mobility impaired. Cous comes with five outlet plugs and two remote pocket remote controls with additional outlet plugs and remotes available. Each outlet plug module will control appliances and/or lights that use up to 1,200-watts (10-amps). It sells for $34.75.
tudiaproducts.com/Cous
EVANS' '56 CALFTONE DRUM HEADS
Evans has a new assortment of drumheads that look like a calfskin, sound like a calfskin head and feel like calfskin but are not. Manufactured in New York from advanced synthetic materials and fitted with D’Addario’s Level 360 Technology, they will serve up a warm, familiar sound and you’ll love their quality and consistency. They are available in bass drum sizes: 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 and 26-inches and also various tom-tom sizes. Bass drums start at $38.50 MSRP.
evansdrumheads.com
BASS FITNESS APP
Based on the best-selling book Bass Fitness by Josquin Des Pres and published by Hal Leonard, Bass Fitness Ultimate Woodshedding The App for 4-string, 5-string and 6-string bass is now downloadable at iTunes for $9.99. Bass Fitness remains the gold standard of bass warm-up exercises that are designed to help increase your speed, improve your dexterity and develop accuracy and promote finger independence. Exercises can be display in bass guitar tablature notation and bass clef standard music notation. The table of contents allows ease of movement in the book and has the ability to keep track of the particular exercises you have completed.
itunes.apple.com/us/app/bass-fitness-ulti- mate-woodshedding/id1164608104?mt=8
NEWERTECH POWER2U DUAL USB WALL OUTLET
Another good little gift for that handy person around the house to install is the NewerTech Power2U Dual USB wall outlet. I installed it as a direct replacement for any standard 15-amp wall socket at my house and it features two USB charge sockets built right in. If you leave USB wall chargers plugged in all the time, it is costing you money over the long term—not to mention taking up one or both of the AC sockets. The Power2U eliminates standby power drain by only using energy when your device(s) are plugged in. It supplies up to 2.5-amps of current for fast charging and I love that I can just plug in and charge both my phone and tablet at the same time. Plus there is no more hunting around for power supply(s) either. It sells for $22.95 and I love it!
newertech.com/products/power2u.php
WAVES AUDIO NX VIRTUAL MIX ROOM
Waves Nx Virtual Mix Room is a plug-in that puts you in the sweet spot everywhere you might move around. Waves Nx lets you hear, on any pair of headphones, the same natural depth, natural reflections and panoramic stereo image you would be hearing from speakers in an actual room. It turns headphones into a more reliable mixing and monitoring tool by letting you hear everything with real-world dimension. Music producers and singers are starting to use this technology in the studio with great results. It sells for $49.95.
waves.com/plugins/nx
RADIAL ENGINEERING REGENCY
The Regency has two sections and both can be used together or individually. The first is a high output low distortion overdrive useful to add extra saturation to the amp without “muddying” the tone. When in play, the pre-drive adds natural sustain and harmonics. The second section is a 100% discrete Class-A boost that delivers up to +18dB of gain. A built-in effects loop automatically activates when the boost is engaged. This is for solos or standouts where a preset sound is instantly accessible. Regency is super compact and is powered by a standard 9-volt power supply and easily fits within any pedal board. It sells for $169.99.
tonebone.com/regency.php