JazzKat Guitar Amp

This neat little 110 watt amp with its angled control panel is a welcome addition to the jazz guitarist’s arsenal. With two separate input lines, loop option, XLR, phone, external speaker socket and a digital effects base, this is a serious piece of kit. There are a staggering 16 reverb settings, from Hall 1, through Chorus 2 to Rotary, many of which are actually very similar. But playing around with the various combinations and level adjustment can either confuse or delight. Yet one thing’s for sure though, you’ll need a spare hour or two to really find your sound – but believe me, it will be in there somewhere. Quality amplification requires quality speakers, and they don’t come much smoother and richer than Eminence. The JazzKat supports an 8 inch, which when fully driven conjures up smooth, liquid-y Polytones, which take you back to those jazz amps of choice for many a six stringer. We liked the clean lines and compact nature of this unit, with its clear control panel and its top set grab handle and sprung recessed heavy duty side handle. It’s also nice and light, so it won’t break your back.

Info: www.ivormairants.co.uk

Sandarac Bass

A Bulgarian hand crafted string bass made to order and customised in the UK to the player’s specific needs. Sounds good? It is and you won’t have to take out a second mortgage. Made out of locally sourced tone woods kiln dried in the traditional manner, this very pretty instrument comes in three quarter size as well as full size with a variety of finishes. It has a warm “woody” but lively timbre particularly in the lower register and is well balanced across the full range with excellent sustain and harmonic response. Playing is a pleasure, the neck is neither too deep or too wide and there aren’t any rough edges underneath the fingerboard. Indeed, the craftsmanship of this bass is remarkable with a beautifully carved swell back, ebony detailing to the heel of the neck and a nicely fluted ebony tailpiece. Topped by German-made individual French-style machine heads tailed by a very solid brass threaded rubber foot, this bass has both character and class. Info: www.sandarac.co.uk

Taylor Vulcan Flugelhorn

Proving the point that sharp angles make little difference as to how a brass instrument plays, the small bore Vulcan produces a very dark, rich sound with plenty of depth. The pistons are very smooth and the valves are as quiet as you like. True, there is some resistance when you start to push and it does take some driving in the upper register but the reward is well worth the effort. Made out of a heavier gauge copper than normal, the whole instrument is nickel plated, not just for the looks, but also because nickel is incredibly hard wearing. There are also a couple of nice touches – two opposed water taps to release water more quickly and a very individual ‘Mr Spock’ inspired finger hook. Info: www.taylortrumpets.com

Paiste Twenty Series Cymbals

New from the Paiste stable, the Twenty Series cast cymbals are aimed at the more subtle sonics of the jazz player. The ride is a remarkably versatile cymbal and can move from quiet to heavy without any feeling of compromise. Carrying rich undertones, it also has the benefit of a very pronounced and distinctive bell. The excellently balanced hi-hats offer much the same characteristics with a warm and musical tone together with a defined sense of chic. My test crash cymbal however seemed to come from a different family. Somewhat one-dimensional it needed to be thinner as it required a lot of driving before it produced a true crash sound. Using a Paiste “dark energy” as a replacement I think this cymbal’s performance at lower volumes provided a better balance when played alongside the twenty ride and twenty hats and as always with Paiste manufacturing the quality is assured. Info: www.paiste.com