Latest News

The Black Cat special offer on Roughneck music stands

For the month of November, Black Cat is offering 10 per cent discount on the Roughneck music stand as a special promotion.

  This generous discount can bring the price down to as little as £45.40 per stand, depending on the amount ordered, making it the perfect opportunity for schools and colleges to invest in top quality stands for their music department.

The all-metal music stand is designed for general practice and performance. With its welded base, the Roughneck music stand always stands straight, won't lean or wobble and will never need tightening. Extremely robust, the height adjusting trigger lock will easily hold 30lbs without releasing. 

For more information on the Roughneck music stand and full details on the November offer please go to the   Black Cat Music web site.  

 



Barking Abbey School goes state-of-the-art with the help of Black Cat Music & Acoustics


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Barking Abbey will be the envy of many a school with the latest project that has transformed its music department with state-of-the-art facilities.

In pursuit of their musical mission, Barking Abbey School turned to Black Cat Music & Acoustics, who installed three AcoustiCabins practice pods and a recording studio as the main features of a brand new music suite, last month.

Head of Music, Mr Dorrington, has commented: “In the music department we can really see the difference that the music facilities are making to the students and their grades. The soundproof pods are a massive bonus for the department. We now have instrumental lessons in all three pods at the same time.  Students come in and practice regularly.”

He added: “It’s had a profound impact on the department. Students are beginning to come in and make their own mixed tapes and albums. Bands are forming in school which will be great for concerts.”

Alice Dagger, Managing Director of Black Cat Music & Acoustics responded: “We're thrilled that the school is already making such good use of their recording studios and practice pods. It's great to see the AcoustiCabins making a real difference to the music department and to the students' grades."

New Music Facilities - Barking Abbey School from Barking Abbey School on Vimeo.

The Black Cat special offer on Roughneck music stands

For the month of November, Black Cat is offering 10% discount on the Roughneck music stand as a special promotion. 

This generous discount can bring the price down to as little as £45.40 per stand, depending on the amount ordered, making it the perfect opportunity for schools and colleges to invest in top quality stands for their music department.

The all-metal music stand is designed for general practice and performance. With its welded base, the Roughneck music stand always stands straight, won't lean or wobble and will never need tightening. Extremely robust, the height adjusting trigger lock will easily hold 30lbs without releasing. 

For more information on the Roughneck music stand and full details on the November offer please go to the Black Cat Music website

Count down to Music Education Expo 2016

Black Cat Music and sister company MusicPracticeRooms.com are once again Platinum co-sponsors of Music Education Expo in 2016 and we look forward to seeing you at the show.

This year there is a change of venue with Music Education Expo moving to Olympia for the two day exhibition and conference event taking place on the 25th and 26th February 2016.

Billed as 'The Oscars of the music education world’ by event organisers, Rhinegold, Black Cat Music and MusicPracticeRooms.com are sponsors of the Life Time Achievement Award. The Music Teacher Awards for Excellence ceremony takes place at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel, Knightsbridge this year. 

Acoustics for Dummies – Problem 4: Structure bourne noise transfer

Last in our Acoustics for Dummies mini series we take a look at noise transferred within the building and what to do about it.

In a presentation given by Mark Rasmussen from the Black Cat Music marketing team, four common problems of noise in schools were identified and the issues explained and solutions put into simple terms, free of the technical jargon used more formally by acousticians.

For those who missed the event, or who atended and want to take a second look, we have posted a video of the session.

Problem 4 talks about noise coming from the building itself.



Sound Isolation Cabin helps Brit School speak the language in Paris


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The Languages Faculty of the British School of Paris has recently installed an AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin for use in one of their language classrooms. Dr. Batters, Head of the Senior School enthusiastically welcomed the new AcoustiCabin Express saying. “ We are delighted that we now have such a fantastic facility in the Languages department, this will undoubtedly give us more options to adapt and enhance our language teaching.”

The new cabin has already been pressed into service for some of the school’s oral public examinations. The AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin is designed to be self-installed but without compromising the booth’s excellent sound-isolating properties. Impressive sound isolation is achieved thanks to the use of high performance acoustic materials in the slot-together patented panels. The modular, interlocking panel design permits considerable flexibility in size and footprint.

Commenting on the early success of the AcoustiCabin Express which was only launched at Music Education Expo earlier this year, marketing manager, Alice Dagger said, ”Although our company heritage is in music, we are excited by the other applications customers are finding for the product. Apart from other educational uses such as language laboratories, we have commercial installations where privacy is important, quiet working space in noisy industrial locations and as recording suites.”

AcoustiCabin EXPRESS is perfect for Smooth Jazz


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An AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin certainly squeezed into a tight space when installed in Andrew Chisholm’s flat.

 

The AcoustiCabin Express sound-isolation cabin is designed to be self-installed but without compromising the booth’s excellent sound-isolating properties. Impressive sound isolation is achieved thanks to the use of high performance acoustic materials in the slot-together patented panels. The modular, interlocking panel design permits considerable flexibility in size and footprint.

 

Andrew told Black Cat Music, “I've set up the cabin and it's been excellent in reducing the volume of my music. Due to the height of my room, space was restricted to get the top panels on, but I got there in the end and it was worth it.”

A Christian musician whose music reflects his life and faith, his compositions are strongly influenced by the Gospel and Jazz music styles. Andrew's music is largely instrumental, focused heavily around the tenor and soprano saxophones, with the occasional splash of background vocals. The music is smooth in nature, with elements of classic and modern jazz fused together to create a rich, yet soulful blend.

 

10% Discount on the Large Cart with 20 Classic 50 Music Stands


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A package offer from Black Cat Music that proved so popular before, is back for July. As a special promotion, 20 x Classic 50 Music Stands plus a large size Move & Store Cart are offered with a saving of 10% by Black Cat Music, for July only.

The package normally priced at £1,393.60 is on offer throughout the month at just £1,252.24 plus VAT and delivery. Schools and colleges looking to equip with new music stands designed for robust and regular handling can take advantage of this great offer as the summer break approaches.

Already a top seller, the popular Classic 50 Music Stand doesn’t compromise on a design that is tough enough to handle the hardships of regular classroom use thanks to a formula of advanced polymers offering inherent tensile strength that will not bend or dent like metal stands - a design that also makes it quiet and rattle-free during performances. And the scratch resistant desk surface also incorporates a unique recess for keeping pencils in place. When the performance, rehearsal or class is over, stands can be stacked on the easy to load Move & Store Cart for transport and convenient, compact storage.

Full details on the July offer can be found here: https://www.blackcatmusic.co.uk/music-stands-and-accessories/music-stands/move-and-store-cart-large-with-20-classic-50-music-stands.html

Acoustics for Dummies – Problem 3: When sound on stage cannot be heard

Next up in our Acoustics for Dummies mini series, Problem3 talks about sound on stage.

In a presentation given by Mark Rasmussen from the Black Cat Music marketing team, four common problems of noise in schools were identified and the issues explained and solutions put into simple terms, free of the technical jargon used more formally by acousticians.

For those who missed the event, or who atended and want to take a second look, we have posted a video of the session.

Problem 3 talks about sound on stage.



Military band rehearsal space gets acoustic upgrade

When Britain's largest military band, The Band of the Life Guards based at Combermere Barracks, Windsor, relocated to the Army Reserve Centre, the new location was not acoustically suited for music rehearsal, so Black Cat Acoustics was called in for advice.

Although the ARC provided more space for the band, currently with 68 musicians, the structure of the drill hall and the gymnasium that formerly occupied the building had very reflective walls and ceiling giving rise to noise and echo problems that without acoustic treatment rendered the space unsuited for the musicians' rehearsals. Black Cat Acoustics recommended a series of special treatments to create an ambience and acoustic quality that dealth with the noise problems and allowed the band to take advantage of the alrger space that they required, but now in an acoustically friendly environment.

The work, which was completed on time and within budget, included the addition of acoustic panels, both wall mounted and suspended from ceiling, that reduced the Reverberation time (RT) to approximately 1.5 seconds from 4.5 seconds. In addition acoustic dampening walls were installed between the band rehearsal room and two other military secure areas. Four acoustic door sets separate the band rehearsal room from the social club, office corridor, stores area and museum corridor. An acoustic barrier and absorption curtain over a roller shutter door helps muffle sound travelling through the shutter door and also assists in the internal acoustics of the rehearsal room.

Additionally the contract included a large Wenger StageTek staging system 14.6m x 4.8m (48ft wide by 16ft deep) comprising two tiers at 0.3m and 0.6m (12" and 24" heights). This staging is also designed to be re-configurable in various layouts to suit the different band requirements. The move and store carts allow all the staging components once disassembled to be transported and deployed off-site when the band(s) play external functions.