Music

Samson’s Resolv RXA Reference Monitors

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Samson’s Resolv RXA 2-Way Active Studio Reference Monitors deliver the sonic elements that are essential to any studio setup. Featuring Samson’s newly developed Air Displacement Ribbon Tweeters, these monitors produce smooth, natural mixes that will sound great on any system. Sold individually in 5-inch and 6-inch models, Resolv RXA monitors can be used in pairs to provide precise stereo imaging for recording, mixing, mastering and other multimedia applications.

I talked to a few people at NAMM about these and they all liked them. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to check them out for myself.

One way to make money in the music business

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This guy picks the hot topics of the day and embeds them in short little songs. He writes up to 100 songs a day. He’s found a loophole in the system and he ekes out a living doing this.

This is a tough call. What he creates is his music, so hard for me to say he shouldn’t be doing this. And he’s pretty consistent, so you know what you are getting when you listen to his stuff. Just feels a little bit slimy to me.

Question is, is he taking money from other musicians? Certainly anyone who buys one of his songs knows what they are getting before they pay. Interesting.

Vox Soundbox mini multipurpose amplifier

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These type of multipurpose boxes are becoming more popular among amp makers. It gives them the chance to get an amp and a sound system in the hands of users, but I’ll be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about the trend.

Taylor’s compact T5z acoustic guitar

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Among the T5z’s distinctive design features are a 12-inch fretboard radius (compared to the T5’s 15-inch radius) and jumbo frets, which make bending strings easier. Otherwise the T5z retains all the great performance features of the original T5: a three-pickup configuration, five-way switching, tone controls that dial in a full-range of tonal flavors, from heavy riffs to delicate fingerpicking, and dual compatibility with acoustic and electric amps.

I’m heading over to Taylor to see this today.

Blackstar’s entry level amplifier

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Our new ID:CORE series are the ultimate entry level guitar amplifiers. Incredible tone and flexibility is accessed by a simple and intuitive control set and delivered in SUPER WIDE STEREO to give an immersive playing experience that will have you hooked on playing guitar.

I stopped over to the Blackstar booth at NAMM, but I didn’t get a chance to hear these yet. I’m interested in the wide stereo sound and how they pull that off while keeping a solid tone.

Vox amps Night Train G2

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Distinctive within the VOX amp lineup for its metallic mirror-finish exterior, the Night Train series provides an easy way to enjoy VOX’s traditional full-tube sound even in small private spaces, and now it’s been powered-up in a big way. High-quality reverb is a new addition on all models, making this the only unit you need to complete your sound.

These are badass amps.

Capo 3 and Sugarland

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Clearly this is a promotional video for Capo, but as a longtime user of the software, the video shows how people use the software in different ways. My workflow with Capo is not the same as theirs, but Capo is flexible enough to do both.

Liquid Rhythm beat creation software

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I stopped by the WaveDNA booth today and got a demo of Liquid Rhythm. This is some powerful software for beat creation—I was impressed.

VOX AC15C1 guitar amp

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The AC15C1-V-RD limited edition features a Celestion V-Type speaker, custom “British Garnet red” tolex and Bronco patterned Tygon grill cloth. This custom colour projects a powerful presence in any environment – on stage, in the studio, or at home. The V-Type speaker has been built using a carefully balanced ‘recipe’ of both old and new design techniques. It’s a sweet-sounding speaker with a superbly balanced tonal signature that imparts a vintage musicality with authentic Celestion tone that’s suitable for any playing style.

I want one of these amps. I love the Vox sound.

Line 6 AMPLIFi guitar amp and iPad app

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Line 6 on Thursday announced a new amp it is calling AMPLIFi. While the amp was just announced today, I’ve been using one for the past couple of weeks to test it out.

Logic Pro Expert coming Feb. 1

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This is a new site from Russ Hughes, the man behind Pro Tools Expert. Russ has turned Pro Tools Expert into the must-go-to site for everything Pro Tools and is now turning his attention to Logic Pro. Russ won’t be doing the new Logic site on his own—he’s turning to Dennis Van Den Driesschen, who is the founder of the popular Danski’s Logic Pro Blog. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see if Russ and Dennis can turn the new Logic site into something as big as Pro Tools Expert. With their history, I’m betting they can.

The story of Wish You Were Here

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Back in September, 1975, Pink Floyd released the album Wish You Were Here. My brother and I have always loved that album and it often comes up in our musical conversations.

Yesterday, my brother sent me a photo of Syd Barrett, one of the founding members of the band who supposedly suffered from a crippling mental illness combined with drug addiction. After penning some of the bands earliest successes, Syd left the band in April 1968. He meant a tremendous amount to the band and they missed him. He was their primary voice and they had to reinvent themselves after he left.

Wish You Were Here was an emotional reaching out to Barrett. This video tells the story of the creation of the album. About 53 minutes in, you’ll hear the story of Barrett’s return. If you don’t have the bandwidth to watch the whole video, jump there and watch for about 5 minutes and you’ll see the picture that Stu sent me.

If you are a fan of Pink Floyd, I think you’ll really enjoy this.

Transfer files from Pro Tools to Logic Pro and back again

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Everyone has their favorite DAW to work in, and most people are very attached to their workstation of choice, but eventually there comes a time when it becomes necessary to transfer the individual elements of a project to a different program.

Transferring projects has always been problematic, but there’s some good tips here.

Logic Pro X Skins

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I kind of like the default look of Logic Pro Pro X, but if you want a different look, the modding community has been hard at work.

Rickie Lee Jones using PledgeMusic to kickstart a new album

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As is the case with most kickstarts, if you make a donation, you get something in return.

I have been going through boxes that have lain unpacked for decades, and found some treasures. They are treasures to me personally, things I want to share with my fans because I want them to be with people and not in some storage unit.