In 1982, The Ramones had already Bopped to the Blitzkreig and fully expressed their desire to be sedated. Hell, they had already moved on to working with Phil Spector and making a movie. Loud guitars and driving drums were nothing new, and you might be forgiven to think punk rock had come and gone. And …
What’s more gorgeous than the lush tone of an acoustic guitar? How about an acoustic guitar that’s two acoustic guitars! Well, it’s slightly more complicated than that, but that’s the basic idea of the 12-string guitar. As subtle and complex as music can be, sometimes it’s really as simple as “the same, but more!” Or …
Welcome to the 21st century. A phone that’s smaller than a bar of soap is a more powerful computer than we relied on to get to the moon. A magnetically-levitated train in China whisks travelers away at speeds north of 250 mph. Electric cars drive themselves. Decent battery-powered and portable bass amps exist. This last …
5 Best Lightweight, Battery-Powered Portable Bass Amps Read More »
When it comes to music, what exactly does it mean to be “soulful”? It’s not an easy question. It’s much easier to argue over the best mic for this or amp for that. But we don’t listen to music because gear moves us. We listen to music for that elusive feeling, that thing that stirs …
6 Best Guitar Strings for Bending (Updated 2022) Read More »
In this cold world, we seek warmth in the refuge of music. Perhaps that’s why Vinyl is experiencing what can only be described as a Renaissance, even cassettes are getting more love these days than they had in decades. Even though in music studios, a computer can theoretically, accomplish any task and run circles around …
I’ve noticed something in my time as a music producer. I’ve realized that whenever I see bands play in any setting- including tiny local bands playing in alleys- they just sound overall better than they used to. My personal opinion is that we are in the era of music producers. A music producer is not …
6 Ways To Dampen Cymbals To Reduce Ringing And Wash Read More »
Are you ready for the hot take of the millenium? Here it comes… The average acoustic guitar with a built-in pickup plugged in, amplified, and ready for live performance, sounds dreadful. Worse, it sounds un-musical. And the lack of a quality microphone for live performance is one of the biggest culprits here. Fine, it’s not …
6 Best Mics for Live Acoustic Guitar Performance Read More »
Being a musician these days is complicated. The most complicated part is that music technology has changed rapidly, and making music is suddenly a very different affair than it was in the past. Being a modern musician often means being a part-time producer and recording studio engineer at the same time. With all this new …
Do you remember being in class during a lecture, with the teacher just droning on? If you tuned out a little bit, the teacher’s words were no longer distinct. They seemed to run together. You looked around, and some classmates were doodling. Some were drifting off. And in the back, one student must have been …
The phrase “noise music” seems like a contradiction in terms, much like the idea of a “weed garden.” After all, the definition of a weed is simply any plant growing where you don’t want it. Yet a garden is an organized and intentional group of plants, so how can you have a weed garden? The …
