Radial Announces Space Heater Tube Drive + Summing Mixer, Twinline Guitar FX Router
Radial Engineering came through Winter NAMM with some big announcements and the ones that caught our eyes were the introduction of the Space Heater 8 channel tube drive + summing mixer, and the Twinline guitar effects router.
The Radial Space Heater 8 channel tube drive and summing mixer.
The Space Heater was inspired by Radial’s Workhorse 500 series power rack with built-in summing mixer. With a total of 8 tube driven channels, the Space Heater was designed to add tonal characteristics to any tracks users decide to run through the device. Each channel has it’s own drive control with overall lo, mid and hi-fi tube settings.
The Twinline guitar effects router.
Radial’s Twinline guitar effects router is the answer to their customers’ prayers – A solution for musicians utilizing dual amps that need to share effects the the specified head, with better signal-to-noise ratio vs. routing through an amplifiers effects-loop. The Twinline is also compatible with Radial’s JR2 remote control for a cleaner setup.
Both the Radial Space Heater and Twinline have an expected release date of April, 2014. The Space Heater will be available for $2000 MSRP with the Twinline available for $400 MSRP.
Here are more details from Radial:
Space Heater 8 Channel Tube Drive and Summing Mixer
Set up as four stereo pairs, the Space Heater design begins with a choice of 1/4″ TRS or D-sub inputs for quick connection to a workstation. Each channel pair is 100% discrete enabling 4 stereo sets to be used independently or be sent to a stereo mix bus with left and right outputs. To control the effect on the tube, each channel set is equipped with a separate drive control to increase or decrease the signal being sent to the 12AX7 tube and a level control to set the output. A unique Heat switch lets the user apply 25, 50 or 100 volts on the tube depending on the fidelity needed. Lower voltages starve the tube causing more distortion. On the other hand, higher voltages produce a cleaner signal. Each stereo set is also equipped with a handy high-pass filter to help eliminate resonance and clutter. This is extremely useful for cleaning up a mix. To expand patching options, all 8 channels are equipped with separate send and receive insert jacks. The send jack works double duty as a second output with the D-Sub for parallel processing. The master section features a simple level control, headphone amp and choice of XLR or TRS outputs. Everything is housed in a 1 RU 19″ rack frame and as with all Radial product, it is made from 14 gauge steel for greater rigidity and maximum shielding. An external power brick works globally by accepting anything from 100 to 240 volts.
Twinline Guitar Effects Router
The Twinline begins with two effects-loop connections for the two amps, each of which is equipped with send and receive ¼” jacks along with individual send and receive level controls plus a polarity reverse to ensure the amps and pedals are in phase with each other. A third send and receive effects-loop is then used to connect to the pedalboard using ¼” hi-Z jacks or balanced lo-Z XLRs for use with studio-grade professional line level effects. In effort to eliminate hum causing ground loops, the two amplifier effects-loops are 100% transformer isolated and supplemented with ground lift switches. Switching between the loops may be performed using the front panel AB switch or via the optional JR2 remote control. The JR2 is equipped with two footswitches whereby the first is used to select the amplifier effects-loop and the second is used to bypass the effects altogether. Bypassing the effects is done via gold contact sealed relays for true-bypass signal flow. Using the remote control is particularly advantageous as it allows the Twinline to be positioned adjacent to the amplifiers, eliminating a tangled mess of spaghetti!
As with all Radial products, the Twinline is made in Canada using heavy duty 14 gauge steel. A recessed front panel creates a protective zone around the knobs and switches to keep them safe from overly zealous roadies. A full bottom no-slip pad allows the Twinline to be positioned on the guitar amp without fear of it sliding off. Powering is done with the included 15VDC power supply.
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