Musical Instruments

I’m a gear geek. I’ll admit it.   When I was asked to cover NAMM for Best Buy Canada, I was on cloud nine. The show was busy and we had a lot of appointments with vendors with a focus to get a first look at the exciting gear that Best Buy will be offering you.   Along the way, I HAD to take a look at the gear that I’d love to take home to my studio. Here are some of the products I saw that had me checking my bank account.

 As more of us either use, or are considering using, our iPads or tablets in a live music or studio setting, you know how precarious it can be to have it be both secure and within easy reach. Well, worry no more because the iKlip Xpand from IK Multimedia is here to alleviate your concerns with an incredibly handy and secure method of mounting your tablet to a mic stand or desktop for use on stage or in the studio.

If you name any prominent rock guitarist, there’s a pretty good chance that they have played or do play a Gibson guitar. Gibson has a long history as an instrument maker and is celebrating their 120th anniversary this year.   To mark the 120th year milestone, Gibson has released their 2014 models with features that help with playability and look great too. 

In June of 2013, Roland announced a revamp of their popular CUBE line of guitar amplifiers. The CUBE line has been around since 1978 and has been the bread and butter of many practice and recording sessions. Randy Rhoads, Joe Walsh and Ritchie Kotzen are some of the artists who have used the amplifiers in the studio and on stage.   Roland has been a solid brand in the music industry for decades. The CUBE line of amplifiers has a great history and has served many guitarists well. Of all the smaller practice amps out there, I have to admit that the offerings from the CUBE line sure look cool. From what I heard from them at NAMM, they also SOUND great too.