Loaded with an industry-leading 21 drivers per side and boasting a frequency range of 5Hz-40kHz, UE PREMIER are UE Pro’s most powerful, nuanced and versatile in-ear monitors to date.
Whether performing live on stage, recording in the studio, or listening to music with professional sound quality, UE PREMIER sets a new gold standard for exceptional sound quality.
“Building upon the success of the groundbreaking UE LIVE, we wanted to push ourselves to the limit of what was previously thought possible,” said Philippe Depallens, VP & General Manager, Ultimate Ears Pro. “Our team of experts embarked on a mission to take our technology further than ever before. UE PREMIER represents the pinnacle of UE Pro innovation, with immersive studio-quality sound that brings even the most intricate details into focus.”
Each of UE PREMIER’s 21 drivers was chosen in the pursuit of audio excellence. Working in tandem with a five-way passive crossover, each driver was carefully selected and individually tuned to efficiently and accurately reproduce different frequency bands across the audio spectrum.
To extend the frequency range down to 5hZ and ensure a low-end listeners can feel without compromising on size, UE PREMIER starts with two dual sub-low drivers in parallel with four dual mid-low drivers. A quad-mid driver provides unmatched nuance, clarity and adaptability no matter the instrument, genre or listening environment. UE Pro’s proprietary True Tone driver and Knowles’ proprietary Quad Super Tweeter extends the frequency range up to 40,000 kHz, delivering the richness and warmth from upper-register harmonics.
UE PREMIER is available now at pro.ultimateears.com in the USA and internationally through Ultimate Ears Pro’s dealer distribution network for $2,999. Orders will ship on May 15, 2023.
For more information, please visit custom.ultimateears.com.
Jordan Rudess plays a LAVA ME 3 at the Lava Music booth during NAMM 2023 in Anaheim.
Searching for a do-it-all songwriting tool, the keyboard wizard found a perfect companion in Lava Music’s state-of-the-art acoustic with onboard effects, looping, recording, and connectivity.
The creative chase is always a challenge, and especially for songwriters and composers, for whom the time it takes to set up a loop or a recorder can be an opportunity for ideas to fade. Jordan Rudess, the keyboardist for prog-metal heroes Dream Theater, has found an elegant solution in Lava Music’s LAVA ME 3 acoustic guitar, a carbon-fiber instrument that does a lot more than picking and strumming.
Rudess had been exploring acoustic guitar as a different compositional palette, and while he loved the instrument’s urgency and intimacy, he found himself wanting more sonic options and more ways to quickly and easily share the ideas he was conjuring. His friend, the Brazilian guitar virtuoso Mateus Asato, suggested that Rudess should try the LAVA ME 3, and Rudess was immediately hooked.
At the April 2023 NAMM show in Anaheim, California, Rudess explained how the LAVA ME 3 opened his eyes to the opportunities of combining advanced technology with classic acoustic guitar design—and, more important, opened a new door to exploring and developing his original ideas.
The LAVE ME 3 comes in six eye-catching finishes that complement its futuristic design.
“The LAVA ME 3 is incredible,” Rudess says. “It’s got app-based effects—chorus, reverb, flanger, and octavers—and then you start scrolling through its upper-bout touch screen and realize ‘Wow, I can message somebody with this, or I can choose these drum loops? I can upload my files to the cloud?’ It’s pretty crazy! The more time I spend with it, the more I’m going ‘this thing is awesome!’”
In addition to its futuristic appearance—with a carbon fiber body and neck, a rounded back, a sleek headstock, and an above-the-strings soundport—and app-controllable effects, the LAVA ME 3 can also create loops and record, and has a built-in tuner. That adds up to a highly self-contained and evolutionary playing experience.
“I love the idea of having all that built into the guitar,” Rudess explains. “I don’t necessarily want to have to plug my 6-string into all that stuff. I had been thinking, ‘Why can’t those electronics be in the guitar?’ And then I found out about LAVA guitars.”
The LAVA ME 3 is really an all-in-one axe for guitarists from beginner to world-class. Premier Guitar’s John Bohlinger recently provided a close-up on the instrument in a PG Plays demo video.
Lava ME 3 Demo | PG Plays
“It’s a carbon fiber guitar, but it’s way more than that” says Bohlinger. “It’s a learning tool, a practicing tool, a writing tool, and a recorder. It comes with multi effects, it comes with loops, a tuner, and a metronome. And it comes with a mobile app where you can connect with this whole LAVA community of guitar players.”
Powered by LAVA’s proprietary HILAVA system, LAVA ME 3 makes it easy to practice, jam, and solo anywhere. Guitarists can play in a range of styles and with a wide range of sounds without having to plug into an amp, via the instrument’s built-in speaker. And since it’s constructed with carbon fiber, the guitar is more stable and durable than a typical acoustic, no matter the weather or humidity, which is a major bonus for touring pros like Rudess.
“One of the really nice things about this,” he says, “is that, because of the way that it’s built, this thing stays in tune incredibly well. I can go days without having to tune this guitar. It’s really amazing.”
At $799 street, the LAVA ME 3 is also in the price range of most guitarists. For more information on LAVA ME 3, check out Lava Music’s website.
While Earthboard has historically sold their complete pedalboard systems—their pedal platform and all the accessories necessary to play music—exclusively, at NAMM Earthboard introduced the option to buy just the platform, apart from the accessories (available in a separate starter kit). A single board streets for $225 and the double board for $325. Earthboard also uses a unique mounting and power system—magnetic mounts and a long-lasting, rechargeable lithium battery power source.