How-To Guides 5
The ’70s Are Back: Here’s How to Get a Fat Snare Drum Tone
Since the dawn of popular music, fat snare drum tones have been highly sought-after. From thunderous John Bonham drums on Zeppelin records to R&B, neo-soul, and hip-hop tracks from today, that thick, fat, ’70s-esque snare tone can elevate an entire song. Read on, and we’ll show you how to get that thick snare goodness from […]
Big Little Victories
Victory amplifiers are some of my favorites as of late. Most amps can’t beat their versatility, raw tone, and ease of use. When the UK brand began releasing compact pedal versions of their amps I knew I had to try them, and they did not disappoint. If you’re curious about the differences (and similarities) of […]
How to Connect SoundSwitch With Virtual DJ
It’s very exciting to see that SoundSwitch lighting control software supports a variety of DJ software. In this post, I’ll show you how to connect SoundSwitch with the world’s most popular DJ software, Virtual DJ. If you haven’t looked at my previous post about what SoundSwitch is and what it does, check that out first. […]
Martin DJr-10E Review
One of Martin’s newest offerings is the compact and comfortable DJr-10E. Don’t be fooled by its size — this guitar sounds a lot like its bigger counterparts in the Martin dreadnought range. The DJr-10E is given the Streetmaster treatment with a broken-in feel, which inspires you to play a little differently from how you’d play […]
Beat Tools: Multidimensional Control
Here’s a koan for your day: How do you express multiple dimensions when you’re stuck in only one? A few companies like ROLI, Expressive E, Sensel, and stellar designers like Roger Linn, Keith McMillen, and the late Don Buchla (to name precious few) have tried to answer this riddle in the musical realm. With devices […]
MXR Dyna Comp: Get the Most From Your Compressor Pedal
Before buying the MXR Dyna Comp compressor pedal, I did what any musician would do: I scoured the Internet for reviews of all kinds. I came across a few demo videos on YouTube and noticed something interesting: This pedal was only being shown in one light. The people demoing the Dyna Comp were using it […]
Take Control of Your Lighting With SoundSwitch
SoundSwitch is a powerful tool that can be used to send DMX lighting signals from software on your PC or Mac. Way more than just a digital lightboard, SoundSwitch gives you the ability to create a custom light show to your music library, or it can automatically apply auto light show analysis. There are two […]
Analog vs Digital – Is It Time To Make the Jump?
The prevalence of digital guitar amp and effects processors has exploded over the last few years. Although the technology is not brand new, it’s clear that manufacturers have really locked in on the quality and sound that professional musicians require in both live and studio settings. Like many guitarists, I recently found myself at the […]
Two Drum Miking Techniques for Four-Input Interfaces
When most musicians think of miking a drum set, they often picture four microphones right off the bat. One for the snare, kick and a pair of overheads — beautiful simplicity. But where do your overheads go? Where do you mic the snare, or the kick? Today in the studio we’re down to 4 inputs […]
