Musical Instruments

I was both excited and skeptical when I heard that Roland was releasing the F-20. I was excited because of the sub-$1,000 price point for a weighted-action, 88-note digital piano. I was skeptical for the same reasons.   The appeal of a digital piano is unmistakable – especially for families who want to start piano lessons, but are hesitant to invest in an expensive instrument. The Roland F-20 seems to make the commitment to music a bit less painful.

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.

If you've ever thought about getting a set of electronic drums, whether to learn drums, practice without annoying those around you, or to augment a home recording setup, it has been a cost prohibitive option for most. Carlsbro's CSD130 is about to change that.

Do you want to learn how to play a musical instrument? Now is the perfect time to get started! Enter this contest for a chance to win a keyboard, drums, or a guitar.

It was really only a matter of time before Fender would introduce USB connectivity to their Stratocaster line.  Why would you want to have a USB port on your guitar?     It really comes down to convenience. By putting a small USB port (and an A/D converter) in your guitar, the guitar signal is digitized locally and then transmitted to your computer (or other device) over a USB cable.   The guitar retains all its standard analog capabilities BUT outputs to USB as well.

Shure Microphones are dependable and solid. They make arguably the most popular dynamic mics. Model Numbers like the SM7B, SM57 and SM58 are the bread and butter of any major studios’ microphone closet.   Shure has some great new offerings for not only the professional musician and studio owner, but the home studio owner and weekend warrior.

The Korg B2N is an interesting choice as a first instrument or a simple, but great-sounding, stage piano. This is thanks to an excellent feel and good tones.

Blue Microphones has released the new Yeti X USB microphone and is providing the opportunity to have professional level audio without professional level costs.

Pocket voice recorders are nothing new. They've been around for decades. However, the H1 Pocket Recorder by Zoom is in a class of its own. With criss-crossed mics for stereo recording, long battery life and huge recording functionality in a tiny package, this is the best recorder I've ever used.

The PrtyRckr is an awesome way to amp up your holiday get-togethers this year. Check out the full review of this portable karaoke machine.