Peter Hook on His Unique Playing Style and New Yamaha Signature Bass
We recently chatted with Peter Hook, the legendary bassist for Joy Division, New Order, and Peter Hook and the Light. Watch our interview above for insight into Hook’s career, how he became a bassist before learning the difference between bass and guitar, and how Yamaha synthesized the best of his much-loved BB1200S and BB734A basses […]
No Excuses: Four Ways to Record Drums with One Microphone
You’re down to your final input on the audio interface after miking guitar, vocals and bass, but there’s an entire acoustic drum kit you still need to mic. Or maybe your interface only has a single input and you’ve got drum tracks to record, what do you do? That’s easy, you use one microphone. Though […]
Monophonic vs. Polyphonic vs. Paraphonic Synths
Monophonic, polyphonic, paraphonic, what do these confusing and occasionally overlapping terms really mean? There’s no need to be scared of all the jargon — we’re here to give you the lowdown on all that noise! The components inside synthesizers that generate sound are called oscillators. Synths assign oscillators to different notes depending on what keys […]
Six Great Books for Guitarists
As someone who consumes a lot of documentaries, interviews of my favorite musicians on YouTube, and being an all-around nerd about guitars and guitar history, I thought I’d share some of my favorite books for guitarists. These books cover everything from guitar history to autobiographies to lessons. Give your eyes a rest from the screens […]
Akai MPK Mini MK3 Video Demo
Create hair-raising, goosebump-inducing music wherever you go, with Akai’s MPK Mini MK3 — an ultra-portable battery- and USB-powered MIDI keyboard with a reimagined Gen 2 enhanced dynamic keybed made for the world’s finest keyboard players. Make all the music you want, with the expression you need, on eight backlit MPC pads that trigger your favorite […]
Numark Mixtrack Pro FX Video Demo
The Numark Mixtrack Pro FX is compact, portable, and jam-packed with features! With two 6-inch capacitive jog wheels, 8 performance pads per deck, and two paddle triggers to operate the FX section, it’ll have you ready to start DJing right out of the box. The FX paddles let you trigger Echo, Reverb, Flanger, Phaser, High […]
Bose L1 Pro vs. Bose L1 Model II, 1S, and Compact
When Bose first announced their L1 “Cylindrical Radiator” loudspeaker system back in 2003, it was considered a radical approach to a live PA system. Over the years, as musicians increasingly adopted the new design, countless competitors began to launch column-style PA systems of their own. When Bose retired their original L1 Classic and L1 Model […]
Legends: Parliament-Funkadelic
Exactly what kind of band is Parliament-Funkadelic? Although the focus of our video above is their totemic single, “Flash Light,” the brains behind it — George Clinton, Bootsy and Catfish Collins, Bernie Worrell, Eddie Hazel, Junie Morrison, and Garry Shider, among many others — were always one group. To distill every nook and cranny of […]
Line 6 HX Stomp: The Ultimate Idea Machine
Today it’s easier than ever to get a musical idea from your head bounced out to a great-sounding recording in a hurry. And as the quality of gear climbs higher and higher each year, that means good news for all. This is where the Line 6 HX Stomp comes in. An all-in-one stompbox, interface and […]
