News, reviews and articles about musical gear and accessories.
NEWS – Fretting notes and chords on the fingerboard is the most important skill when it comes to playing the guitar. Without that skill, you won’t be able to play your favorite songs. Practicing with an actual guitar is obviously the best way to improve your playing but for those times when it’s not convenient …
Improve your guitar playing skills without even making a sound Read More
REVIEW – Guitarists of all types want an amp at some point. Acoustic players want to be heard above the other instruments or voices they may be playing with. Electric players want to just hear the actual sounds, but also usually want to add some effects to the bare sound, which, until the age of …
Positive Grid Spark mini battery-powered amplifier review Read More
REVIEW – Do you still own CDs—like, a lot of CDs? I do. I own between 300-400 compact discs. And even though I now stream most of my music—I’m stubborn and not willing to give up music I physically own. I’m not parting with my CDs. So, if you own a bunch of CDs and …
REVIEW – One of the many hobbies I picked up during my pandemic downtime is the bass guitar. I’ve played guitar since I was a kid but was always a bit intimidated by the bass. Having been in the same band for about twenty years now (insert shameless Spotify plug here) I’d frequently pick up …
Donner DBA-1 15W Bass Guitar Amplifier review – Big sound in a little package Read More
REVIEW – Victrola joins the ranks of “Worlds Firsts” again by injecting their deep history with vinyl into a 21st century device: the Revolution GO Portable Rechargeable Record Player. Let’s give it a turn! What is it? The Victrola Revolution GO is a portable, rechargeable battery powered record player, capable of playing all manner of …
Victrola Revolution GO portable rechargeable Bluetooth record player review Read More
REVIEW – When I was very young, I discovered the music books that my mom had used when she took piano lessons as a child. I used those books along with very minimal help to teach myself to play a few songs on the Baldwin piano that we had in our living room. I later …
REVIEW – Guitar news typically focuses on the artists themselves (and why shouldn’t it) or the core equipment (guitars, amps, strings, pedals). However, there is an unsung component that rarely gets mentioned… the guitar pick. It could be that it’s just taken for granted, relegated to band merchandising or that everyone assumes a pick is …
Acoustik Attak review – Technical guitar picks that add unique qualities to your sound Read More
REVIEW – Learning to play guitar, and getting to a point where others might want to listen, can be a very large gap. Even when you sound really good, the required repetition to nail a lick can take a toll on anyone listening. Headphones have long been a great solution for this, but without good …
Fender Mustang Micro guitar amp review – Your guitar’s new best friend Read More
NEWS – If you’re a guitar player then you know that it’s hard to compete with the feel and sound of plugging into and playing through a good amp. Maybe you don’t have room for a 2x cabinet amp, or perhaps just want to minimize your gear. You might want to check out the Jamstack …
Jamstack 2 – Does your amp mount on your guitar? This one does! Read More
REVIEW – When you play stringed instruments, you spend a lot of time tuning their strings before you can even start making music with them. I’m all about efficiency and saving time, so is there a way to make tuning stringed instruments faster and more accurate than using a pitch pipe (do people really use …
Roadie 3 automatic instrument tuner review – Tightens and loosens strings for you Read More
REVIEW – I like to use YouTube to learn new songs on my ukulele, but it can be a pain to take my hands off my uke to rewind a video to see a certain section again. That’s where something like the Vidami Video Looper Pedal comes in so handy. It lets you control Youtube …
REVIEW – Have you always marched to your own beat? Are you intrigued by the idea of being a rockstar drummer, but for any of various reasons (space limitations, too-close neighbors, non-understanding spouse), setting up the skins just isn’t in the cards? AreoBand might have the answer you’re looking for with their new PocketDrum wireless …
REVIEW –The LuguLake Vinyl Record Player is a stylish record player with excellent sound quality and easy to operate controls perfect for all your vinyl-listening needs. What is it? The Lugulake Vinyl Record Player is a tabletop turntable with built-in stereo speakers, 3-speed adjustment, and auto-stop feature. It has a plug-in DC adapter, along with an …
REVIEW – If you are a keyboardist, one of the toughest things to do is to properly illuminate your keyboard and sheet music without over-lighting your performance location. BenQ’s new PianoLight is specifically designed to illuminate just your music and the entire width of your keyboard without spilling light elsewhere. Is this a bright idea, …
NEWS – Guitar players can take their music to the next level with the Guitar Ring from Muca. It might look like an ordinary ring that has been designed to be worn on your thumb, but it’s actually a percussive instrument. Check out the video below to see/hear what I mean. The Muca website doesn’t …
Thumb rings might look weird, but this one makes music Read More