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gear I recommend
The iRiver T30 is surprisingly clear for interviews and catching song ideas. Usually MP3 players are very very cruddy for recording. But this little one is a beauty.
I recommend this for songwriters, authors, and PhD studentsgathering oral histories. The you can download it ‘ZAP’ to your computer for editing.
Getting a bit stuck in your guitar practice? Wanting to increase your skill in playing stronger rhythm and lead guitar? Here’s a light-hearted approach to help you practice your guitar playing that actually gives you some energy. Improve your playing by regular jamming through a new amplifier with built-in rhythms. A fantastic way to get your rhythm guitar playing rock solid and get those lead breaks in time. Oh joy! Anything to increase the pleasure of endless practice!
By Jessica Deets
There’s a great fun little amp that can help you over those playing plateaus you may have been experiencing. I’ll tell you about it in a moment.
You see… I’ve been playing guitar for a while, and sometimes it just gets to where I play the same songs over and over again. Some of the songs are ones that I was playing 10 years ago, even 20 years ago.
I’ve got an EVH Wolfgang and a VOX Valvetronix AD60vtx and they just go great together, but it felt like sometimes I’d play and have fun… and sometimes things just wouldn’t come together (couldn’t play worth a darn, couldn’t get the right sound, or it just didn’t feel “right”). Have you ever had times like that?
But I found something simple and easy that has renewed my enthusiasm… and expanded the depth of my guitar playing. Don’t laugh… but I’m going to tell you about the Fender G-DEC.
Fender G-DEC Guitar Digital Entertainment Center
I know it looks more like a kids toy than a serious amp. Afterall, you can’t get much out of 15 watts… or can you?
I found the amp is great for beginners and even for those that have been playing for a while. The box says it’s got the “Drummer and Bassist Included” and all that is need is you. It’s true. My wife got it for me for Christmas (yes… I opened it early) and I can’t stop playing it. In fact, my legs want to give out from the hours of standing and playing this week.
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When using digital equipment for recording there is one element you must not overlook; the incredible warmth brought to your recording by tube amplifiers. Tubes and tube amplifiers have a very powerful contribution to make to the heart of your sound and music. And when you look at a tube working you can clearly see why; the sound is going through warm glass. Little fires.
Take a look at tube equipment to see what I mean. It’s magic! And you can feel the difference
Looking for a musical instrument to inspire you?
There are so many beautiful musical instruments around for musicmakers. I have a soft spot for baby instruments - beautifully crafted, easily stored and surprisingly cheap.
These small scale instruments - often called travel instruments, baby instruments or mini instruments - offer intimacy and easy handling to songwriters and musicmakers at the day job, crooners on the back porch and dreamers in small bedrooms!
The lower prices of baby instruments suit both professionals wanting a unique sound and beginners wanting a small instrument to play often
Take a look at my selection of baby instruments.
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GUITARS
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TakaMini Acoustic Travel Guitar
Its small size lets it go anywhere easily and Takamine craftsmanship gives it full-sized sound. Features a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, a natural finish, and great Takamine tone. Includes gig bag.
Click Here for more on the Takamine TakaMini Acoustic Travel Guitar
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TakaMini Acoustic-Electric Travel Guitar
Play it straight or plug it in. Its small size allows total portability and Takamine craftsmanship produces full-sized sound. It features a solid spruce top, mahogany back and sides, built-in electronics, a black finish, and a great Takamine tone. Includes gig bag.
Click Here for more on the Takamine TakaMini Acoustic-Electric Travel Guitar
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Little Martin Acoustic Guitar
Comfortable to play, tonally viable, affordably priced, environmentally responsible, and compact! The perfect choice for travel, practice, and beginning students. Small, modified 0-14 Martin body. Gotoh nickel plated tuners and C.F. Martin script logo adorn the headstock. Includes gig bag.
Click Here for more on the Martin LXM “Little Martin” Acoustic Guitar
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Little Martin Acoustic-Electric Guitar
Comfortable to play, tonally viable, affordably priced, environmentally responsible, and compact! The perfect choice for travel, practice, and beginning students. Mini Q electronics by Fishman deliver big sound from a small body. Modified 0-14 Martin body. Gotoh nickel-plated tuners and C.F. Martin script logo adorn the headstock. Includes gig bag.
Click Here for more on the Martin LXME Little Martin Acoustic-Electric Guitar
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Martin Backpacker Guitars
Built for portable durability . . . and great sound! Don’t let its diminutive size fool you. A braced, solid tonewood top with a solid mahogany neck, back, and sides gives this cool little guitar a surprisingly rich and loud tone. Built to withstand the rigors of camping, hiking, and off-road traveling.
Click Here for more on the Martin Backpacker
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Click Here for more on the Martin Backpacker Electric
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Click Here for more on the Martin Backpacker Guitar Left
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Click Here for more on the Martin Backpacker Electric Guitar Left-Handed
Well I was warned about the net. And I will go looking… And this is what happens! I find weird and wonderful musical instruments. Return to this Crikeymoses page often to marvel at…. god knows what! My appalling trawling?
Here is an ever-growing selection of weird and wonderful musical instruments available online - theramins, autoharps, silent cellos, strumsticks, banjoeles, twin necked guitars, dulcimers, sitar guitars, duolians, electric banjos and more..
Bookmark this page and watch it grow!
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ESP Devil Girl Guitar.
This one-of-a-kind limited-edition guitar features a red plastic composite molded body with 24-3/4″ scale, set maple neck, and rosewood fretboard with 22 frets. Tune-o-matic bridge with string-thru body; EMG-HZ H-4 pickups; and volume, tone, and 3-way toggle controls. Flames and devil tail inlays and black hardware add to the wicked looks.
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Angel Guitar
Well it’s not for sale and it’s mind bending and worth a look!
See the angel guitar
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When buying your musical instrument I recommend that you have several criteria at work. Which selection criteria you give the highest priority to will depend entirely on your values and preferences.
It does help to have a system when shopping for musical instruments. Because, as you know, once you step out with your coin purse, there are a lot of beautiful musical instruments out there begging to borrow your annual rent!
Making a decision happens in stages. Most of us make the mistake of thinking we’re making a decision when we’re only collecting the info.
So begin by asking questions and gathering options. At this stage you don’t have to know what you want. You’re working that out through this process.
And, take your time. There can be quite a gap between the info gathering stage and the decision-making stage.
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COMPUTER MUSIC MORE TO TASTE?
Look at these MIDI CONTROLLER options. They have NO sounds of their own.
They trigger the sounds from your computer sound software or sound sample libraries. A little too complex to get into here. Just know if someone wants to make music with their computer, these are what they’ll need.
Compact, versatile, powerful, and affordable!
Quality keyboard, 16 MIDI-assignable controllers and built-in MIDI interface - and we’re only talking 6 pounds. You can power Radium49 from the USB bus or batteries so that you can play, compose, record, and mix with ultimate mobility.
M-Audio Radium49 49-Key USB MIDI Controller
The perfect USB MIDI controller keyboard for getting started with music on your Mac.
Class-compliancy with OS X means true plug-and-play operation and the included Maximum Audio Tools software bundle is designed to get you playing immediately. 49-note full-size, velocity-sensitive keyboard; built-in MIDI interface; pitch and modulation wheels; and sustain pedal input. Sleek, compact, and USB bus-powered. Compatible with most educational and studio software.
M-Audio Keystation 49e USB MIDI Controller Keyboard
A totally integrated and amazingly affordable way to track and mix professionally.
Lexicon has taken a whole-system approach to desktop recording. OmegaStudio is an integrated computer recording system that includes the Omega 8×4x2 USB I/O mixer, ProTracks Plus 32-track recording software, and Pantheon world-class Lexicon reverb plug-in. Omega Studio contains all of the components necessary to transform your computer into a professional 24-bit recording studio. Whether you are a guitarist, keyboard player, vocalist, instrumentalist, or an audio engineer, Omega Studio provides all the I/O mixing, recording, and effects you need to make your next project sound like it came from a professional studio.
Lexicon Omega Desktop Recording Studio
And a Laptop of Course!
Apple PowerBook G4 12.1” TFT/1.33GHz/256MB/60GB/SuperDrive Laptop
Having done your research, gathered your allies and located the options [see 4 Questions When Choosing an Instrument] it’s time to kick into the selection procedures.
And you can have a little system to ease you out of impulse buying. Try these 8 steps.
1. Eliminate what doesn’t please you or fit your Shopping Brief. There will always be an amazing instrument that costs your annual income. Close behind it will be a (usually) hyper person who’ll want to get you to buy it.
2. Get your selection down to a maximum of three instruments.
3. Pull out your Shopping Brief to check if you’re in the area. Be strict here! You don’t want to break the bank and not be able to use some cash for integrating the new instrument into your life.
4. Try them one after another in close succession. If the shops or houses are close scoot between the two in time for the physical sensation of playing them to be still fresh. Better still if you can get them in the same place.
5. Eliminate one more that feels YUK or is just too much mula. Have it removed from your field of vision.
6. Try closing your eyes and playing. Try walking around with it. Check in the mirror to see if you make a good match.
7. Walk away and have a talk, coffee. Give yourself a good twenty minutes. Talk to a friend about it on the phone if you have to. What you’re really doing is listening to yourself speak your preferences out loud.
8. Walk into the shop/house and buy one out of the two that you love.
Buying an instrument is a medium to short-term relationship. You CAN sell it after a while. You won’t die from the wrong choice. And you’ll probably make a lot of beautiful music, the two of you, in the meantime!
Here’s a little list of instruments in the Musical Instrument Starter Packages range. These are ideal for that about-to-be-gifted musical person in your life. Might be a kid. Then again, it might just be you! If you have a learner, a weekend warrior or sea-change in your household here’s a selection of the best all in one plug in-and-go musical instrument starter packs for special (real special) gift giving. Begin your dream playing now with a musical starter pack for acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass guitars, banjo, keyboard, steel pedal guitars, autoharps and more…
ELECTRIC GUITAR STARTER PACKAGES
Ibanez IJS40 Jumpstart Electric Guitar Pack
Learn how to play electric guitar today! You don’t just get an affordable starter package with the Ibanez IJS40 Jumpstart Electric Guitar Pack — you get brand-name Ibanez quality that you’ll still want to play after you get good! This electric guitar beginner pack includes an Ibanez GRX40 electric guitar, IBZ10 amp, headphones, gig bag, cable, tuner, strap, pouch, DVD, book, picks, and chord chart.
Ibanez IJS40 Jumpstart Electric Guitar Pack
Behringer V-Tone II Electric Guitar Pack
It’s a box of ROCK! The Behringer V-Tone II Electric Guitar Pack has everything an aspiring guitar player/enthusiast needs to learn how to play electric guitar. The pack contains an extremely playable black double cutaway guitar with 3 single-coil pickups, 5-way switching, vintage vibrato bridge, and a 22-fret maple neck. The 15W modeling amp provides 3 classic guitar amp models, 3 speaker simulations, 3 gain modes, and an 8″ speaker. Behringer also includes a cable, guitar strap, 3 picks, chord chart, and padded gig bag.
Behringer V-Tone II Electric Guitar Pack Black*
Squier Strat Pak with Frontman 15G Electric Guitar
Ready to rock! Convenience and value is the name of the game with the Squier Strat Pak with Frontman 15G Electric Guitar all-inclusive package. Get into the rock region with this awesome starter package. Includes a Squier Affinity Series Strat with rosewood fingerboard, padded gig bag, Fender Frontman 15G amp (15 watts of great Fender tone, 2 channels including normal and drive, a headphone jack, and an auxiliary input for CD, tape, or drum machine), The Fender Guitar Method book, chromatic tuner, strap, cable, a set of strings, and picks.
Squier Strat Pak with Frontman 15G Electric Guitar Metallic Red
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BASS GUITAR STARTER PACKAGES
Ibanez IJSB190 Bass Jumpstart Pack
Get thumpin’ with this shortcut in a box. Pound for pound, the Ibanez IJSB190 Bass Jumpstart Pack is where it’s at. Learn to play bass guitar with this all-inclusive starter pack, complete with an Ibanez GSR190 bass guitar, Ibanez IBZ10B bass amp, gig bag, tuner, accessory pouch, strap, headphones, cable, and instructional DVD featuring Gerald Veasley
Ibanez IJSB190 Bass Jumpstart Pack Transparent Red
Drive WildFire Electric Bass Combo Pack
The perfect setup to getcha going. This affordable starter pack has everything you need to start playing bass: black WildFire bass guitar with gig bag, B15 practice amp, cable, digital tuner, strap, picks, and an eMedia instructional CD-ROM. Bass has a 29-5/8″ scale length, easy for small hands to play.
Drive WildFire Electric Bass Combo Pack Black
Squier Bass Pak
Everything the beginning bassist needs! The Squier Bass Pak with Rumble 15 Amp gives you a great value for the money. The Affinity Series P Bass is the world’s best-selling bass because of its unmatched value. With its comfortable neck, solid alder body, and classic tone, it conjures up the sound of thousands of famous recordings. The small but mighty Rumble 15 combo amp features 15W power, 8″ special-design speaker, 3-band EQ, headphone jack, and black Tolex covering. The Pak also includes gig bag, fully enclosed headphones, instructional video, strap, and cable.
Squier Bass Pak with Rumble 15 Amp Metallic Red
Fender Rumble 100 Bass Combo
Get ready to rumble! Fender has designed the Rumble 100 Bass Combo to meet the needs of the beginning bassist. By building in all the essentials then holding the line on price, they’ve made it accessible to most anyone.
Fender Rumble 100 Bass Combo
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ACOUSTIC GUITAR STARTER PACKAGES
Daisy Rock Acoustic Guitar Starter Pack
A high-quality instrument and everything else your budding guitarist needs to get started on a great musical adventure! This 25-1/4″ scale guitar makes learning and playing a fun and comfortable experience with proportionally smaller neck and body shapes. Full-color instruction book is a vivid, inspirational introduction to music, guitars, and guitar goddesses
Daisy Rock Acoustic Guitar Starter Pack
See more of the Daisy musical instruments range for girls
Yamaha GigMaker Guitar Pack
Everything you need to take to the stage. The Yamaha GigMaker Guitar Pack is built around the F325 acoustic guitar with die-cast chrome tuners and a spruce top. Also includes a gig bag, digital tuner, strap, extra strings, picks, and an instructional DVD to kick-start your playing.
Yamaha GigMaker Guitar Pack Natural