Have you seen our online store?

We have an online store that we feel is worth a look - it's just a selection of products we stock and should give you a good idea of what we can help you with. The important thing to note is we back up online purchases with the same personal service we offer to callers at the shop - why not take a look when you get chance? All the best ASLS! http://absolutesoundandlighting.co.uk/

Personal service counts more than bargain bucket pricing

It’s been a long time since the last blog. But, a comment made by a loyal customer made me think about the value ASLS actually offers. It’s not just the convenience of being able to pull something from existing stock he likes, it’s the way our experts approach things – and they often save him money, which is a bonus.

Everyone within the ASLS business has practical experience of the products we sell so we know precisely what is up to the job in hand. Our aim is to provide a reliable solution that is cost effective and of a high standard. That way we’ll keep our customers happy, and that means we are happy too. We get a lot of satisfaction knowing we’ve delivered a good solution.

The number of products available today is mind boggling, and they all promise to best in class. And, reliability is high for the majority of the things we see. However, we don’t bite at everything the sales reps wave before our noses. Instead, we try to be selective and stock what we believe will provide the best value. Occasionally, a customer will want something specific that he or she has read about or seen at a gig and if we haven’t got it, we’ll investigate the product and procure it for them.

We aren’t box shifters and so we aren’t aiming to compete so much with the large discount warehouses. Instead, you’ll get to know us and we’ll always look after you. We’ll honour the warranties that come with the products and we can provide a quality repair service should you ever need it. All you need to do is think about your performance, whatever it might be, and let us look after your equipment needs.

Ohm BootiQue and Total Clarity range now available

We now offer the fantastic Ohm BootiQue and Total Clarity range of speakers and subs. Fantastic quality. Call Chris for more details: 01492535123

Dan the man returns with a rock n'roll masterclass

The fact that 100 live music fans bared the inclement elements of a cold, wet Tuesday night (December 4th) in Llandudno is testament to the raw energy and superb showmanship of Dan Baird and Homemade sin.

This hard-touring, American rock 'n machine were in town to play their second North Wales show of the week at the Grand Hotel and what a show it was.

Seeing this band perform live is a masterclass in no frills, Southern-rock music with faultless delivery every time. This time the audience were treated to over 2 hours of premium, good-time rock and roll.

In Warner Hodges the band has one of the music industry's greatest "undiscovered" guitar slingers. When I say "undiscovered" it isn't quite true as I remember seeing Warner playing in the UK and Europe with his other band Jason and the Scorchers as far back as the mid 1980s and being blown away by his tasteful chops and guitar acrobatics.

Warner's playing, although never never understated, quitely compliments the band as a whole with Baird belting out classy rock/blues tinged melodies over the rock solid rhythm section of Keith Christopher and Mauro McGellan. If you are a fan of the sort of bass playing of Andy Fraser and Robert kearns (Cry of Love and more recently Lynerd Skynerd) then you'll be in for treat if you hear Christopher's thunderous tone weave through the mix with an air of melodic supriority and precision.

Stand out songs for me in the Grand set were, er ....well....all of them!

The band will be back playing in the UK around the same time next year. Miss them at your peril.

Red Zephyr rocks The Park, Colwyn Bay

Red Zephyr may have blown into The Park on a cool, calm west wind that November (17^th) night, but the band soon whipped up a hard rocking tropical storm within the first few minutes of their two-part set. Tunes from The Rolling Stones, Tom Petty, Thunder, AC/DC, Queen, Led Zeppelin amongst others, plus some excellent original material had the crowd going wild - so much so the first 45-minute-long set went by in a flash.

The lads put an extremely credible act, with fluent, melodic lead guitar, thumping bass, driving drums and the multi-instrumental rhythm guitarist also playing excellent soaring keyboards. This tight-knit instrumental fusion was topped off with the closest thing to a Robert Plant’s vocal I’ve heard in years.

The band comprises a new drummer in the form of John Rogowski – his first show and he played brilliantly,  Arthur Holden vocals (also lead vocal for Led Zep tribute band, Mothership), Chris Price-White on Stingray bass, lead guitarist Graham Davies (also guitars for Box of Frogs), Fred Eastwood on guitars and keyboard (also multi-instrumentalist with Mothership).

Song flowed from one to another and the crowd’s reaction to the band’s original material was positive; this no doubt will spur them to produce more of this quality in future.

Next time the Red Zephyr blows into town, be sure to catch it. (Some talk of them appearing at The Park on 2^nd February 2013.)

The coolest kid on the block: the Fender Jaguar

How mean and purposeful has the iconic Fender Jaguar looked as a guitar or bass prototype over the year?

1.  Elvis Costello, Kurt Cobain and Pino Palladoino (bassist with the mighty Who) have all brandished these weapons of choice.

However one of the most commonly overheard phrases when a player is faced with a Jaguar Bass (or guitar, for that matter) is ‘Cool! But what do all those switches do?’

The Fender Modern Player Jaguar Bass is designed to be much leaner incarnation than this, and as such does away with the standard switching system, replacing it with a straightforward, two volume pot plus master tone configuration.

The pickups these control offer a wealth of tonal options. With a Modern Player Precision Bass pickup in the middle position, and a Jazz Bass pickup from the same series at the bridge, the Modern Player Jaguar Bass offers an ideal solution to the player who, perhaps, can’t decide between P-bass and a J-Bass.

Come and try this bad boy out at Absolute Sound and Lighting Solutions, 6, Greenfield Rd, Colwyn Bay, LL20 8EL. Tel: 01492 535123
New price £349 inc vat.

Clever connectivity

Getting yourself connected

Cable, cable looms and cable patches are all areas that need careful consideration when putting together a PA rig or just connecting yourself to your amp via a channel switching network or pedal board.

Good quality cable and connectors are the starting point and obviously a defined cable management network if attempting to put together a multiway PA system or lighting rig.

If you are unsure of the most reliable and ergonomic way of getting your connectivity sorted out come and talk to us. We will advise you on the best and most cost effective methods of doing this.

Never trust a cheap cable network and check your cables for continuity, and breaks or scars to the sheathing as often as possible.

ASLS offers a bespoke cable management service. We can custom design, build and deliver all manner of patching network looms, multicores, splitters and starightforward custom manufactured cables.

We use top quality connectors from Edac, Eltec, Harting, Amphenol, Socapex, Neutrek, Switchcraft and Canford Audio aswell as cable and multicores from Belden, Dap Audio, Evolution Horizon, Klotz, Connectronics, and Whirlwind.

Call us on 01492 535123 or e-mail mail@absolutesoundandlighting.co.uk