Category Archives: Music Gear

iStrobosoft guitar tuner app review

Posted on by
1

Peterson iPhone and iPad apps are accurate and low cost strobe instrument tuners

iStrobosoft iPhone app

Peterson has two apps for the iPhone and iPad that give the musician strobe tuning accuracy for about $10.  The iPad app is being discounted to $9.99 until January 31st, 2012.

I wanted to see just how accurate the iPhone Peterson would be. I was not disappointed, although the under $20 Snark SN-1 clip on tuner was almost as accurate.

Last night I was practicing guitar while the news was on. It was handy to refresh my tuning without looking for a tuner. I’m not sure if musicians will risk damaging their iPhones in a studio or stage environment to use the iStrobosoft app. The practicality of the iStrobosoft tuner for those uses is up to each person to decide.

Peterson Strobe Tuners have been the pinnacle of stringed instrument tuners for decades and known for accuracy and high cost.  Continue reading →

VoiceLive Play and VoiceLive Play GTX announced

Posted on by
1

TC Helicon introduces downsized VoiceLive stomp boxes with harmony and effects for singers and guitar playing vocalists

VoiceLive Play - harmony and vocal effects at 1/3rd the price

TC Helicon has just announced at NAMM 2012 the latest version of the VoiceLive family – VoiceLive Play and VoiceLive Play GTX.

Both give vocalists harmony and vocal effects from the top-drawer VoiceLive family. The GTX model also has guitar effects and amp emulations so you don’t need a Marshall to get that sound. Continue reading →

Building a stand for K+H O 300 monitors

Posted on by
1

Horizontal active monitors present a challenge solved with K+H bracket and The Stand from Blue Sky

Blue Sky's The Stand with K+H O 300 mounting bracket (Figure 1)

The heavy and horizontal Klein + Hummel O 300 monitors need a sturdy monitor stand. At 30 lbs each and costing $5,000 a pair, you don’t want them dropping to the floor from 3 feet up.

This article is the second in a two part about speaker stands and the K+H O 300. The first part provides details on Blue Sky’s The Stand.

When I got the monitors in 2009, Studio Economik suggested the Sound Anchors STUDADJR for monitor stands at $800 a pair.

I didn’t get a cheaper solution than Sound Anchors but I did get one that looks better and has more flexibility in speaker location.  Continue reading →

Little Labs VOG the essential bass tool

Posted on by
1

Universal Audio plug-in delivers Little Labs bass processing you’ll want to have

UAD has just released the $149 plug-in modeled on Little Labs 500-series lunchbox module. It makes mixing the low end of your recordings a breeze at a small price.
Continue reading →

Our Dave Skinner goes to Nashville

Posted on by
Reply

Manager of Long and McQuade and recording studio owner takes junket

Canadians on the prowl in Nashville Jon Treichel, Andrew Deadder, James Evangelos, Remy Bazinet, Tim Ryan, Jonathan Graves, Matt Strawson, Dave Skinner, Jeff Cowling, Domenic Flibotte, Joe Fernandes, Chris Ghidoni, Jeremy Berger (image 12th Fret)

I was checking out the new guitars on 12th Fret this morning. Don’t ask: guitarists do this all the time. It keeps us out of pool halls and off Lavalife. I found some off-time pics of Dave Skinner.

12 Canadians were taken by Yorkville Sound to Nashville to tour the Gibson Guitar factories and have a little R&R.

I love factory tours because they are free and you get to see how your favourite guitar is made. Cool

The 12th Fret guy on the tour posted some pics and coverage.

Lo and behold there is Dave Skinner from Long and McQuade in Charlottetown in the midst of the group.

Dave is the manager of Long and McQuade in Charlottetown and a darn good salesman. He must have won the tour for his good efforts on behalf of his employer, who actually owns Yorkville Sound, the Canadian Gibson distributor.

Quel surpris!

Continue reading →

VoiceLive Touch coming in August

Posted on by
Reply

VoiceLive gets touch interface, easy access and looping

VoiceLive Touch

The folks out in Victoria BC at TC Helicon have done it again – the VoiceLive Touch was announced this week. Essentially what they have done is put the best features of the VoiceLive 2 in a smaller form factor, added vocal looping and a touch screen.

This is going to be a must try if not must buy toy for the singer/songwriter.  VoiceLive Touch is expected to ship August 2010 and has a MRSP of US $695 or €470.

The best part of the VoiceLive Touch is it mounts on a microphone stand or sits on your desktop. Second best feature is touch control. Third is voice looping.

I love the VoiceLive 2. What I don’t like is bending over to tweak the settings. The VoiceLive Touch is right where you need it – at your fingertips. Awesome.

The Touch feature will interesting – to adjust effects by touch. We are all getting used to touch with the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. It will be cool to see how Kevin Alexander and his creative team are in the implementing of touch for singers and singer/musicians.
Continue reading →

Ultimate DAW is homebrew MIDI controller

Posted on by
Reply

Made by a musician it takes electronic music making to a new level

Engadget - While programs like Ableton Live (and Sonar, Garage Band, etc.)have truly democratized electronic music making, most hardware interfaces can’t hold a candle style-wise to traditional instruments (or even the MIDI gear of the Awesome 80s).
Rather than merely bemoan this depressing fact, however, a musician from Zurich named Zander has built his own controller — and it’s truly a thing of beauty. Based on the uCApps.de MIDI hardware platform, this thing employs custom acrylic knobs, colored LEDs, and a whole bunch of buttons to bring his DAW controls into the real world — while kicking the ass of controllers like AKAI’s APC40 in the process. Beats and Things.

Getting the best deal at Long and McQuade

Posted on by
4

Knowing competitive pricing can save money on musical instruments and gear

When one business dominates a market, customers often end up paying higher prices. Competition and product knowledge are your keys to saving money.

Within the past few years, Toronto based Long and McQuade has become the largest musical instrument and gear retailer in Canada. With 42 stores across Canada, they are the 800 pound gorilla of music retailing.

L&M own Yorkville as well which makes them a dominant wholesaler of  amps, PAs and brand names like Gibson guitars.

The company has a good reputation for service, product selection and pricing. Now they are so big some people are concerned they might use almost monopoly power to control the music equipment business.

Continue reading →

Unique bundle for Gretsch G5120 guitar

Posted on by
Reply

Tom Lee Music has guitar plus all the Gretsch memorabilia anyone could want

Gretsch 5120G Special Package

When Fred Gretsch Jr. convinced Chet Atkins to endorse his guitars, the best years of the Gretsch guitars followed with great hollow body guitars, including the classic Country Gentleman. My old guitar teacher sold his two years ago for more than $6,000.

The single cut 5120G isn’t quite the Country Gentleman but it also goes for a more affordable price – generally around $700 to $900 for a new one. The guitars are made under license by Fender in Japan and Korea. They get generally excellent reviews from guitar players. There is no mistaking the twangy sound of a Gretsch electric hollow body guitar.

I was intrigued by a bundle of the Gretsch 5120G with the hard shell case for $1,199 at Tom Lee Music in Vancouver, BC. No one else has this deal.

For $1,199 you get the guitar and case plus: autographed Fred Gretsch photo, 24 inch bar stool, bolo tie, 200pc poker set, fire trucker hat, pint glasses set of 4, Ride ’em strap, license plate and mug. That’s it! Everything you need in one package. The case is the Hardshell Gretsch Cowboy Case. The case with the guitar equals the price. Oh, and  it comes with the Bigsby. The memorabilia is free. Video after the break.
Continue reading →

Roland releases V Studio20 for Guitarists

Posted on by
Reply

Cakewalk joint project show cool gear for guitarist / singers who want to create their own demos

Cakewalk Roland V-Studio 20

Cakewalk Sonar is great digital audio recording software but a complete setup can be complex and expensive. The merger with Roland has produced a single box that allows a guitarist. The V-Studio 20 is the third in the series that includes the VS-700and VS-100

The V-Studio 20  is part guitar modeler and part recording control surface.  It mates COSM technology and BOSS guitar effects. Plug in a mic and you have a recording surface.

The unit can work on its own or connected to a computer or laptop. The computer screen allows the modeling software to be seen in full screen view.

The specs show 24 bit processing, 44.1 kHz, 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+0/-3 dB), 90 dBu or less residual noise (not real quiet but this is a compact box). They don’t give headroom so that’s hard to tell but if you are recording bass and electric guitar it should be able to handle anything.
Continue reading →

Free Gibson app for iPhone

Posted on by
1

Tuner, metronome and guitar lessons on iPhone

Does Nickelback tune with an iPhone? Chad Kroeger with Gibson app

Unlike millions of people who pay for iPhone apps, the only one’s I like are free. Added to the short list is the new Gibson Guitar iPhone app.

Now your iPhone can include a tuner, metronome, and rudimentary chord guide. Included for good measure are some decent video lessons and a link to the Gibson site which is pretty slow.

The weird thing is the graphic of a Gibson guitar headstock is not included.

The tuner works in a reasonably quiet setting, which is a limitation of iPhone audio. It would be handy for practicing acoustic guitar or tuning a banjo, mandolin or other instrument. No 1/4″ plug in so it is not going to work for your electric guitar.

Continue reading →