First things first: let me apologize to the fine folks at Keyport for my delay in writing this review. I received a set of Keyport’s Anywhere Tools all the way back in February. I put them on my keys, hoping to get some real-world use out of them before writing my review.
With the ever-growing vinyl boom gaining more ground among young music fans, there’s been no shortage of interest in vintage audio gear. Hipsters have been trolling through thrift stores in search of discarded stereo receivers, turntables, and even tape decks. Countless guides have been written about setting up a premium hi-fi setup—I even wrote one myself.
Two weeks ago, the tie rod on my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500 conversion van broke off (I was parking, so I was safe). After towing it to a mechanic, it was deemed too rusty to repair.
I’m a bit of a gear nut. My rig is filled with expensive pedals, vintage amplifiers, and more patch cables than God ever intended. My pedalboard is a source of pride. It does my heart great joy whenever I play a show and a crowd of gearheads gathers around my gear with their mouths agape.
When I looked into adding a synthesizer to my sonic palette, it seemed like the obvious choice was the ubiquitous microKORG. The microKORG is one of the top-selling synthesizers of all time, and with good reason—it features a wide variety of sound and features in an inexpensive, easy-to-use package. It’s been used by everyone from the Killers to LCD Soundsystem to teenagers in their bedrooms. But as I was researching, I discovered a number of limitations that soured my desire for a microKORG. The arpeggiator was rather limited, there was no built-in reverb effect (and I needs my reverb), and I was…
It’s a rare day when the Senate passes a unanimous vote—especially as polarized as our nation is right now. But last month, they managed to do just that when they passed the Music Modernization Act.
A few weeks ago, a Google rep called my wife’s business to talk about how Google Suite could help her with her business. As part of the experiment, they wanted to ship her a free Google Home.
Throughout my life, two interests have been constant standbys: superheroes and video games. So when Sony announced a massive open-world, PlayStation-exclusive Spider-man game, I had to have it. But there was only one problem: I didn’t have a PlayStation 4, and buying a new one wasn’t in the budget.
A few years ago, the following video started burning up YouTube.
I split my time between writing freelance, playing music, and helping my entrepreneur wife run her makerspace. So as you can imagine, I’m on the go a lot. I visit a steady rotation of local cafes, bookstores, and libraries — laptop and smartphone in hand so I can do my work, stay in contact with clients, and work on music.
I’ve been collecting vinyl records for around twelve years now. So as a musician myself, I’ve obviously always dreamed of putting my own music to wax. So when my band went into the studio to record our second album, we wanted to make that dream a reality.
I play in a band, which means that my daily driver is an old, huge van. Old, huge vans aren’t known for their stellar sound systems, and mine is no different. It has an AM/FM radio, a tape deck, and if I’m feeling fancy a CD player.
For a relatively new company, Strymon has built itself a massive reputation for premium performance. Go to almost any band’s live show, and there’s a very good chance you’ll see at least one Strymon pedal on the guitarist’s pedalboard. However, that performance isn’t cheap. The only Strymon stompbox with a list price below $299 is their OB1, a compressor and clean boost, and even that is about twice the price of similar pedals by other companies. But there are plenty of effects companies with pedals in the multi-hundred dollar range, but few of them are as ubiquitous as Strymon’s units….
I play a lot of shows. Okay, that might be an understatement. I play two or three shows every week.
A couple of weeks ago, I got a text message from an old family friend. “Hey—would you be interested in a keyboard? I have no use for this one.” The keyboard in question was a Novation Lunchkey 25 MkII, one of the most popular MIDI controllers on the market. It’s an offshoot of Novation’s famous LaunchPad series, which rose to prominence when this video by Madeon went viral. I don’t have very much MIDI experience, but I’m not one to say no to instruments (my wife agrees, gesturing vaguely at the piles of guitars and keyboards filling up most of our…
Over the last five years, I don’t think I’ve gone longer than a week without hearing about how 3D printing is changing everything. Manufacturing, medicine, gaming, food, you name it.
Few instruments are as versatile as the electric guitar. From the folksy licks of Fleetwood Mac’s Lindsey Buckingham to the two-handed tapping of prog metal outfit Scale the Summit to the otherworldy soundscapes of My Bloody Valentine, there’s almost nothing an electric guitar can’t do.
Few effects companies have had a more indelible impact on rock and roll history than Electro-Harmonix. Their effects were instrumental in shaping the sounds of bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, and Radiohead. Legend has it that EHX founder Mike Matthews collaborated directly with Jimi Hendrix to create the iconic Big Muff Pi.
I really like vinyl records. And I mean like, a lot. Most of my extra spending money goes to adding to my collection. I’m not typically a very organized person, but I have several spreadsheets cataloging my records, all sorted in different arrangements. I run a vinyl blog where I review every record I have in order. The only thing keeping me from starting a video review blog is all the headaches I expect from getting flagged on YouTube over copyright issues. But for all the talk of vinyl’s superiority as a medium, it has one weakness: dust.
I’m in a shoegaze band, and that means three things: reverb, reverb, and more reverb. But lately, I’ve been unhappy with the reverb pedal on my bass pedalboard.
My wife and I run a makerspace. We often describe it as a “gym for artists.” We have all sorts of equipment and resources that artists and makers can come in and use so they don’t have to make the investment themselves. We also had a few private studios to rent out for artists who wanted a dedicated space.