Musical Instruments

Shure is a foundation brand in the microphone and pro-audio realm. Their foray into USB and now iOS compatible microphones was inevitable and they’ve come up with a new line that sets a very high standard. I’m going to be sad to see this microphone go back once this post is published. It’s a small little device, but surprises you with its features, capabilities and above all, sound quality.

The iRig Pre 2 by IK Multimedia is a handy little tool to allow you to use traditional microphones for your content creation needs.

The Fender booth was a treat for us. Why wouldn’t anyone like strolling through a large room full of iconic guitars, basses and amps.    There are some new things from Fender that will please both their established clientelle as well as their new ones. We got treated to a look at a couple of the Fender Amps that will be carried by Best Buy.

We dropped by the Fender booth to visit some familiar faces, listen to some guitars and amps and learn about some new products and promotions they’re planning for the coming year.

Blue Raspberry Microphone is an amazing portable USB condenser mic capable of recording crystal clear audio in any environment. Come see why I recommend it!

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.

Ever evolving technologies is putting unrivalled control and affordability in the hands of regular consumers and hobby music recording techs. IK Multimedia has been at the forefront of this in recent years and with their introduction of the iRig Acoustic and iRig Pro Duo devices, they are giving users the option to play and record their musical ideas without being tethered to a desktop computer (although they will work with those too).

Casio had some great presentations at the NAMM Believe in Music Week, highlighting some of their awesome keyboards.

Any meaningful discussion with an recording engineer will inevitably morph into a discussion about microphones. Just as a closet full of shoes is never enough for a lot of the women I’ve known, a closet full of microphones is rarely ever enough for most recording engineers. There are a lot of different types of microphones and there are a many, many brands, shapes and sizes to pick from. I hope to at least get you started with a road-map of what to look for in microphones and I apologize in advance for setting you on this path! If you’re set on recording as a hobby or career, there’s a very good chance that you’re going to get slightly obsessed with microphones.

NAMM is BIG and LOUD. Along the way to giving you a sneak-peak at some gear that Best Buy is going to offer you, my francophone co-hort and I came across a few things that gave us pause, made us stop and look or were just … plain weird.