How-To Guides 1
How to Integrate Triggers Into an Acoustic Drum Kit
Ask a drummer what makes the perfect drum kit and they might say “wood, metal, a little plastic and a blanket.” Keep it simple, stupid. But we aren’t as stupid as we look and we as drummers want to stretch the limits on our sonic profile behind the kit too! Electronic drum triggers are a […]
Important Akai MPC Updates
Lately, Akai has been releasing some incredible updates for the MPC Live and MPC X. There’s been little talk of these updates, but they are truly game changing and I would like to discuss their importance in case you haven’t hit that update button yet. Update 2.3 When I purchased the MPC Live, I was […]
Changing Electronics on a Semi-Hollowbody Guitar
An important idea came up in my previous post about guitar nuts that can be summed up to something like “a good luthier respects the work enough to ask to be paid more for it.” Legendary theme park entrepreneur John Hammond might say “we spared no expense.” Chances are playing and repairing instruments will not […]
Finding the Right DJ Setup for You
Choosing gear that works best for your goals is just as important as learning the basic techniques of DJing. To help get you started, I’ve provided some of my top picks for four different levels and types of DJ. Each pick includes important features that will make the transition between each of these categories seamless. […]
How To Back Up Your Vinyl Collection
Welcome to Beat Connection, a series dedicated to promoting modern and vintage dance styles the only way we know how…by providing you a musical starting point to help you create that beat. In the majority of our recent posts, we’ve been taking you on a journey to what I’d dub “foundational beats.” These are standard […]
The Devil Went Down To Georgia (Or Maybe Nashville)
What the heck is a fiddle? Recording violin (aka the fiddle) is something that I feel was a lot more prevalent throughout mainstream music history than it is now. While “fiddle” can mean a few different instruments – the lyre, hardanger, viola/kontra, the cello (aka the “big fiddle”) — it’s most commonly associated in modern […]
Cymbal Anatomy Part 5: Cymbal Cracks
The dreaded cymbal crack is an issue that plagues drummers of all sects, and also plagues their bank accounts. This article will cover some basic dos and don’ts as general guidelines (and not a rule book). Cymbal Stand Height and Angle One of the best things I ever did for my drumming was lowering my […]
JHS Overdrive Shootout
We here at zZounds were fortunate enough to receive a small bounty (no pun intended) of old and new JHS drive pedals for a shootout. Since JHS offers a wealth of drive options for players, I figured a demonstration of the tone of each would be a worthwhile pursuit. As an added bonus, the JHS […]
UAD-2 Preamp Bass Overdrive Shootout
Ever since I picked up my first electric guitar, I’ve always loved the sound of overdrive. Now, of course, when I first started playing, I thought that distortion was an effect or a sound only reserved for guitars, and preferably generated from a monstrous tube amp. As I grew older, I started aligning myself more […]
