JUBAL joins Xylosynth in DCE

Wernick is delighted to have signed an endorsement deal with Jubal Drum and Bugle Corps, winners of the DCE 2009. The Jong Jubal will be using two 2-octave and two 3-octave Xylosynths in the DCE 2010. Shown in the picture are (left to right) Ronald Wassink (Brass Arranger), William Wernick, Julie-Ellen John (from Wernick), Matthias Smouter (Percussion Arranger) and Trinet Trotta (Jong Jubal Coordinator).

From JUBALS  website- English Translation

Jong Jubal has world premiere! Early this week the feeder corps from Dordrecht sent out the order for four brandnew  ‘Xylosynths’. These are electronic xylophones that produce real sound, but are driven by soundmodules. The instruments look, play and feel just like a real instrument should and, thanks to intuitive hands-on control of note length and sensitivity, can gracefully adapt to your playing style.

This brings an end to the long search for replacement of the current, but outdated pit-instruments. The Jong Jubal staff and management are very pleased with this new addition for the feeder corps. We can clearly state we’re looking at a world première here: Jong Jubal is the first drum & bugle corps to use fully electronic keyboards.

The last six years the corps has looked into buying good and affordable second-hand instruments, and even into buying new instruments. In most cases the price, size, weight, firmness or the general state the (second-hand) equipment were in.

Some time ago our attention was drawn to a new type of electronic instrument, the Xylosynth, that might be a good option for the Jong Jubal pit percussion.
Trinet Trotta of Jong Jubal: “After some thorough research it didn’t take us long to become really enthusiastic: The Xylosynth is compact, lightweight, and is very reasonably priced if compared to the regular mallet-instruments. In addition to this it’s a versatile instrument that will give us lots of opportunities for the future.”

Jong Jubal contacted Will Wernick, manufacturer of the Xylosynth. Together an interesting agreement was made, which was sealed last Monday during a meeting at Schiphol airport.

A Xylosynth is an electronic instrument, which looks like a two- or three-octave   “xylophone”, played with mallets. The Xylosynth doesn’t produce a sound itself. A soundmodule is used similar to the ones in synthesizers and keyboards. To project this sound to the audiences at events and contests, Jong Jubal will also be the First junior division (feeder) corps to use amplification!

The Xylosynth is not an acoustic keyboard, but not a 100% synthesizer either. It’s an instrument which will provide numerous possibilities for Jong Jubal as far as pit-sounds are concerned. The corps will be discussing with DCE how to implement this in the coming years.
.

Shoko Araya and XYLOSYNTH

Shoko Araya Marimba & Vocal Night
新谷祥子 マリンバ弾きがたり「Rock Marimba」
Minami Aoyama MANDALA Rock Marimba Act-2
2010年2月27日（土）南青山MANDALA
open 17:00 / start 18:00

TICKET　発売中！
全イス席￥5,000（税込・1drink￥700込・入場整理番号付）
※ドリンク代￥700はチケット代金に含まれています。
※未就学児童入場不可

郵便振替による購入：～12月19日(土)までの消印有効
UP&Down.com WEB：クレジット・代引
南青山MANDALA 店頭：販売時間：16:00-22:00

http://www.up-down.com/shoko/

Ever want a synth sound using mallets on a keyboard? Introduced to consumers at PASIC in November, the Xylosynth™ is claimed to avail players to “unlock the flexibility and convenience of MIDI whilst retaining the physical playing experience of an acoustic instrument” as it does to “unlock an unparalleled level of nuance and playability in any MIDI sound source.”

See, this innovative new product was actually used by both RhythmX and the Bluecoats in 2009. Manufactured by Wernick Musical Instruments in Britain, these hybrids are available with bubinga, stained birch and birch laminate keys. Built as two to five octaves, they are lighter that the marimba (with the profile of an electric keyboard) at up to seventy pounds (half that of grands) and the larger ones fold!

What about the feel, the rebound—is it reminiscent or robo? You’ll have to take a spin with one. Al Murray, U.S. representative, reports that “the latency is about .003 of a second. The wood bars respond just as a marimba and they respond to the sensitivity of touch and dynamics just as if you were playing an acoustic board.” Traditionalists and progressives will both like this. And arrangers will love this: “The unique transpose pedal allows the player to shift to any key signature or switch octave in real time.” Moreover, “what you hear is exactly what you played.” With the ability to process live playing in this manner, this is a ripe platform for sound on the floor.

As revolutionary as it sounds, the development of this new, potentially key instrument has actually been decades in the making. The company’s website (www.wernick.net) relates the story: “Will Wernick first took a commission for a ‘Xylophonic Synthesizer’ in 1986 for an English pop band called Drum Theatre but the Instrument was used only as a visual prop in their video as the electronics supplied by someone else never materialised.”

The industry has yet caught up and today’s marching percussion is again a beneficiary.

Xylosynth...... Get yours today!!!!!

The Booth

5 Octave

The Xylosynth is a peferct instrument for those who are concerned with space. The sounds are great and the craftsmanship is outstanding. It can be used from Elementary schools to Broadway to the marching Field. Its durable and a must have for any percussion section or percussionist

DCJ CHAMPIONSHIPS

Come by and see the best Japanese drum corps … Don`t forget to say hello!!!!!!

KikNotepad

• High-quality hand-built drum pads
• Brighten up your drum kit, percussion set-up or studio with a really striking addition to the world of electronic percussion. The Wernick Notepad is a hand built electronic drum pad with a unique silicon rubber playing surface. It fits neatly into standard drum hardware and is a great way to expand live playing and make recording much less hassle. The Notepad has been professionally proven to be hard wearing and playable enough to satisfy even the most demanding musician. So why not join in the electronic percussion revolution and brighten up your kit with elerctronic sounds and the Wernick Notepad.

• High sensitivity hand percussion pads
• The Wernick PercPad is the world’s first electronic pad designed specifically for hand percussionists.
• Its Ash wood playing surface combines the warm organic feel of an acoustic hand drum with all the capabilities of electronic music. It’s based on the successful Notepad, using the same patented Wernick Percussion System technology to achieve unrivalled levels of sensitivity and range. The PercPad isolation system starts with the playing surface which sits on free floating suspension mounts inside a rugged ABS tray.