Musical Instruments

Considering buying guitar effect pedals can be a daunting task. With a myriad of different brands, copious advertising that seems to make impossible claims, and multiple effects and their variants it can be overwhelming to sort through. In this blog I will give you a brief overview of what various guitar pedals are intended to do and help you sift through to a general understanding that should help clear the path.

The XW-J1 DJ Controller for your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad is ideally suited to mixing music and videos. The controller is equipped with the latest functions and a number of effects, so even beginners can use it intuitively for successful performances.   As the controller is compatible with iOS, Mac and Windows, the product offers functions that are coordinated with the popular djay and vjay app from Algoriddim and Deckadance from Image-Line.

Boss answers the boutique pedal manufacturers by releasing 2 new (old) pedals under their WAZA Craft branding that retain their original analogue warmth while adding some nifty new features. The Boss DM-2W Delay and the Boss SD-1W Super Overdrive are re-imagined for the modern guitarist. In this blog I will talk about their hallowed predecessors, compare them to this new iteration, and put them through their paces to see how kind time has been.

As technology advances it often makes the things we want to do easier, quicker, and more efficient. It can also make things significantly more confusing. As we continue to add peripheral devices in our music making lives, you may notice as I did, that similar looking cords and cables are not always created for the same tasks. TS vs. TRS or Balanced vs. Unbalanced are just two of the differences we encounter when we look to buy or upgrade our music related cables. In this blog I will do my best to try and explain, as I understand, some of these differences so that getting the connections you need is less of a chore than it need be and you can get it right the first time.

There’s a lot to like and very few nits to pick with the Shure MOTIV line. Following up on my review of the MV88, I got to take the rest of the MOTIV line (MV5, MV51 and MVi) for a spin. These made-for-portable-recording devices are well designed, rugged and will get the job done… and get it done well.

I have a confession to make. The first time I went camping as an adult was two summers ago. Before that, I was seven and my parents shipped me off for the weekend with my Brownie troupe to learn all sorts of life skills and earn all sorts of badges. I cried the whole time. But when one of my closest friends convinced me to join her annual camping trip—which meant no electricity, no WiFi, and no plumbing—I decided to put my tiara away for a few days and suck it up; and as it turns out, it was one of the best times I’ve ever had.