Music Diary | Gear Diary

iRig Mic HD from IK Multimedia Now Shipping

Back in June I reviewed iRig Voice, which is a great fun microphone for amateurs with a solid feature set and a great price. Now they have released the iRig Mic HD, which steps up the features and sound quality and is more suited to budget-minded professionals and those seeking to make professional-sounding recordings. From IK Multimedia: iRig Mic HD is the only mobile digital condenser microphone designed for live handheld performance and recording. It delivers high-quality digital sound via an electret condenser capsule, a 24-bit audiophile-grade A/D converter (with 44.1/48 kHz sample rate) and a built-in low-noise high-definition preamp….

Music Diary, Reviews

Disney Karaoke: Frozen App Review for iPad

You’ve seen all the different variations and spoofs of “Let It Go” by Idina Menzel from Frozen, Disney’s animated film remake of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen story. Now it’s your turn to perform, record, and share your musical performance of the nine original featured songs in the Disney Karaoke: Frozen app on iPad.

Gear Bits, Music Diary

IK Multimedia launches iKlip Xpand and iKlip Xpand Mini

I reviewed the iKlip Stand for iPad and iPad Mini last year, and found them to be excellent solutions for the music studio. But then something happened – the iPad Air and iPad Mini Retina arrived and neither fit into the original stands. Oh well, that is just the way it works with accessories, right? Not anymore with iKlip Xpand!

Music Diary, Reviews

iRig Voice from iK Multimedia Hands on Review – Fun for Sing-Alongs!

My family loves to sing along with songs – it doesn’t matter if we hit the notes, we have fun. Our boys both sing in the high school choir and drama department, so they also like to sing along with songs they need to learn. iRig Voice lets them sing along, record, and have fun with all kinds of songs!

Music Diary, News & Features

Amazon Launches Prime Music Streaming Service!

Last month Carly noted some of the reasons that Prime Music as rumored – limited selection, older titles – made sense in the context of the other Prime offerings. Well, overnight Amazon introduced Prime with access to a million songs and hundreds of curated playlists. The depth and breadth are limited, but it provides a decent entry point.

Music Diary, News & Features

Marco Minnemann Announces Solo CD ‘Eeps’ on Lazy Bones Records

The first time I wrote about Marco Minnemann was in the context of Trey Gunn composing against a 52-minute drum solo by Minnemann in 2010. Then last year Minnemann was back as part of the Levin-Minnemann-Rudess trio, producing an incredible collection of music with appeal across jazz fusion, experimental and metal genres. Now he returns with a solo recording ‘EEPS’!

Crowdfunding, Music Diary, News & Features

Humble “Music in Schools” Bundle – Raise Funds for Music Education

In school systems across the country, arts programs are under budget attack – easy fodder in a system that is loaded with required functions and more attractive programs. Some schools still manage to provide arts education, and more efforts are being made to find alternative resources to fund these critical programs. The latest is Humble “Music in Schools” Bundle.

Music Diary, News & Features

IK Multimedia iRing Now Shipping, Review Coming Soon!

Every year at CES and NAMM IK Multimedia presents a bunch of great new technology for music and media aimed largely at the consumer electronics market. This year was no exception, and now we have gotten word from IK multimedia that the iRing music motion controller is shipping! We will have a review soon, but here are some details.

Events, Music Diary

Manchester Orchestra’s Cope Tour – Austin, Texas: Setlist and Photos

Manchester Orchestra is currently on tour to support their fourth studio album, Cope, which lead singer Andy Hull describes as ‘brutal’, ‘pounding’, and ‘unapologetically heavy’. That was a fair summation of their April 22nd show at Emo’s, which started strong and wrapped up perfectly.

Music Diary

Stream Manchester Orchestra’s New Album COPE Now!

Manchester Orchestra‘s album COPE will be out on April 1st, and their tour starts March 27; We’ve already got tickets for the Austin show (April 22nd), and now all that’s left is to enjoy their new album. While it’s not out for download yet, it is available for streaming via YouTube.

Game Diary, Music Diary, News & Features

‘rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes’ Begins North American Tour in April

rePLAY: Symphony of Heroes premieres in North America with a unique video game music concert series, executive produced by Jason Michael Paul. Specially chosen video game musical scores combine with professional theatrics, visuals and orchestral arrangements in this upcoming tour.The first show will take place at St. Petersburg’s Mahaffey Theater on April 19.

eBooks, Music Diary, News & Features

‘One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band’ Book Details Iconic Band!

For the true fan of music, genre doesn’t matter in appreciation of an iconic and legendary artist or group. This is true for Miles Davis, Beethoven, Michael Jackson, or the Allman Brothers Band. Alan Paul’s new book One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band seeks to illuminate their history for new and old fans alike!

Music Diary, News & Features

Roland Introduces the Aira Line and Four New Pieces of Synth Gear!

If you ask anyone involved with electronic music during the digital age to name an instrument – it would be the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer drum machine. The sounds appear on countless songs from the last 30+ years, and vintage systems sell for steep prices. Now Roland is back with the Aira line that is both classic and modern.

Music Diary, Reviews

Raoul Björkenheim Brings ‘eCsTaSy’ to Jazz Fusion Listeners Worldwide

Raoul Björkenheim is one of those artists who has been around for years, but has not seen the recognition he deserves. I first heard of him through work with Bill Laswell a few years back, and more recently with Scorch trio. Now he is back with his group ‘eCsTaSy’, and the results are powerful and engaging.

Music Diary

Spotify Grammy Predictions: How Did They Do?

So … did you watch the Grammy Awards? My family watched most, and with expectations set suitably low it was not a bad time. Spirited performances by Kendrik Lamar and Imagine Dragons easily offset the awful Katy Perry vocals, bland Taylor Swift showing, and plainly lip-syncing Pink. But the real question is … how did Spotify do predicting winners?

Gear Bits, Music Diary

Spotify Predicts Major Grammy Winners Based on Listener Data

This weekend the Grammy Awards present the music side of insular industry self-celebration and back-patting. Trying to figure out who wins in the post-Esperanza Spalding years is as much about who the industry needs to ‘reward’ as anything else. But the folks at Spotify have used data gleaned from their streaming service over the last year to make predictions!

Events, Gear Bits, Music Diary, News & Features

M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro announced at NAMM 2014

If you were to ask my younger son about his most elusive piece of affordable technology, it would be the M-Audio Trigger Finger from 2005. The popular controller was used by all of his favorite music producers but was discontinued. Now it is back and better than ever with the M-Audio Trigger Finger Pro announced at NAMM 2014! Here is what M-Audio is saying: Trigger Finger Pro is a fully encompassed performance instrument and software control station in the form of a portable, 16-pad (4×4 configured) instrument with onboard sequencing. Nearly a decade ago, M-Audio revolutionized the industry by introducing…

Music Diary, Reviews

Debut from ‘Thumbscrew’ Showcases Exciting Trio of Equals

When I reviewed Mary Halvorson’s ‘Illusionary Sea’ (which made my Top Music of 2013) I noted that there was a trade-off of intimacy for the larger ideas that are only possible with the broader palette of a septet. Now Halvorson is back leading the trio Thumbscrew in their self-titled debut recording, and it is simply amazing.

Music Diary, Reviews

The Best Jazz of 2013 and Other Great Albums, a Music Diary Feature

2013 is over, and it was an amazing year in music – cool new pop, a rap album from Kanye West I actually liked, Daft Punk returned and more. But my main area of interest is jazz … and there was TONS of great jazz! So I wanted to detail some of the best stuff I heard all year.

Music Diary, Reviews

IK Multimedia iRig Keys Pro Review

Just over a year ago I reviewed iRig Keys, the 37-note multi-platform mini-key controller. It remains in constant use by either myself or my son! Now IK Multimedia is has released iRig Keys Pro, featuring 37 full-size velocity sensitive keys, Lightning, 30-pin and USB cables, for universal compatibility with all models of iPhone, iPad, and Mac/PC.

Events, Music Diary

Infinity by Harman and Linkin Park Partner to Address Sound Distortion

Thursday night, Judie and I had the chance to listen to Linkin Park through a specially installed JBL sound system at the Hard Rock’s The Joint. The concert was a celebration of the relaunch of Infinity by Harman and a celebration of a partnership between Linkin Park and Harman International. Read on to learn more and see Judie’s amazing pictures.