Talking Shop: Worst Gigs
Sometimes, you play a great show. Other times…things go wrong. From smashed gear to horrific venues to audiences looking to really rage, these are tales from the shows we wish we could forget. Read these terrifying short stories if you dare, and share yours in the comments below! Mellow Against the Machine Shop One of […]
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. […]
Perfect Pairings: Kemper Profiler and ValveTrain PowerTrain Stage 50
Sometimes you gotta pair up two pieces of gear to get the most out of each. In this edition of zZounds’ Perfect Pairings, we’re partnering up a Kemper Profiler Guitar Amplifier Modeler with the ValveTrain PowerTrain Stage 50 to create a beastly amp stack overflowing with both versatility and muscular tube tone. Kemper Profiler Guitar […]
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 […]
Joe Perry Reveals New Signature Les Paul on Twitter
Yesterday, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry tweeted a first look at his new signature Gibson Les Paul. Sporting a tastefully relic’d gold top and single bridge humbucker, it also offers a few out-of-the-ordinary features. There are two knobs — a master volume and a Chandler Tone X control. This unique pot sweeps your midrange for a […]
