Music Gear

News, reviews and articles about musical gear and accessories.

Convert your old cassette tapes to MP3 files with this Walkman-sized device

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cassette tape to mp3 converter

This audio cassette to MP3 converter from Hammacher Schlemmer makes converting your old analog tapes to digital files almost as easy as pressing “play”.  The Best Audio Cassette to MP3 Converter guides you through the conversion with step-by-step instructions appearing on the screen of a connected PC or Mac running the included software.  Users say the Best […]

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ChordBuddy Guitar Learning System is training wheels for your guitar

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chordbuddy

The ChordBuddy Guitar Learning System is designed to help you learn to make chords as you learn to play guitar.  The ChordBuddy attaches to the neck of electric or acoustic guitars and guides you through learning basic chord fingering positions.  It works in the key of G and makes the G, C, D, and Em chords.

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Agate guitar picks resonate in a way plastic cannot

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agate guitar picks

These agate guitar picks are handmade in Pennsylvania by Seth Maranuk, a jewelry designer and craftsman.  When he randomly found a tumbled stone chip that was shaped like a guitar pick, he began working to develop a “carefully shaped pick with just the right contour that allows for precision picking”.  These agate picks 1.2″ long

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Make music anywhere with IK Multimedia’s new iRig Keys I/O production station

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ik irig keys

The iRig Keys I/O production station from IK Multimedia is a music controller that is available in either a 25 or 49 key version. This ultra portable music production station is compatible with iOS, Mac, and PC and features 24-bit audio with up to a 96kHz sampling rate, a combo input jack for line in,

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Reconfigure your guitar effortlessly with a Somnium modular guitar

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somnium 2

A lot of people who enjoy playing guitar for fun and profit don’t just own one instrument. They are always seeking something new, better and different. The problem is that owning multiple guitars takes a lot of money to buy them and a lot of space to store them. Somnium guitars look like they could

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Wind chimes that can play the notes of your favorite tune

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windchime

We have several wind chimes hanging from our front porch including the one shown in the image above. I love the relaxing sound of a wind chime as the breeze blows against it. But my wind chimes don’t play a recognizable tune. They make more of a tinkling, pinging, dinging, and donging type of sound.

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Cling On is a magnetic guitar tuner and not an alien species of warriors

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cling on tuner

There hasn’t been a whole lot of innovation in stringed instrument tuners in the last few years if you don’t count that they continue to shrink in size like the D’Addario NS Micro which clips to the edge of a guitar or ukulele’s sound hole. That’s why I was surprised to hear about the Cling

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Fender shows some love for Android guitar players

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fender tune

Fender, the iconic guitar manufacturer, has released an Android version of their Fender Tune guitar and bass tuner application. Larry talked about the iOS version of this app last summer, and now it’s available for free for Android devices. The app uses the mobile device’s microphone to listen to a plucked string’s pitch and then

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ROLI BLOCKS is a modular system that lets anyone make music

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roli2

If you’ve ever wanted to create music but felt you didn’t have the aptitude or ability to play a physical instrument, the BLOCKS system from ROLI looks like a simple and fun way to make your dreams come true without needing a huge budget. ROLI BLOCKS is a scalable music creation system that connects together

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SumSonic Bluetooth Speaker review

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Sumsonic BT speaker 2

Sandworms.  Admiral Ackbar. Dual-lens Camera. These are a few of the things folks said this Bluetooth speaker looks like. I thought the speaker market was nearing its endpoint with different designs, but this tubular doughnut came out of nowhere. SumSonic calls it the LLX-01 – which is not helpful in imagining what it looks like. But, the

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This guitar stool/stand is for the guitarist with deep pockets

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fillingham guitar stool stand

This beautiful stool with built-in guitar stand is handmade in the US by fillingham, an Etsy store.  The Guitar Stool/Guitar Stand is made to order from “wood, walnut, ash, felt, cork, and yacht braid.”  fillingham says:  “Hardwood surfaces (walnut and ash) are finished with a custom, hand rubbed finish that improves with age and use.

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IK Multimedia announces iRig HD 2 for iPhone 7, iPad, Mac & PC

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irig hd2

We like to cover IK Multimedia products because they consistently offer powerful tech music accessories that are fun and easy to use. Today they announced the iRig HD 2 pro-quality digital guitar and bass interface for iOS. The iRig HD 2 features 24-bit analog-to-digital conversion and 96kHz sample rate. The device connects directly to your

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Mogees turn any object into a musical instrument

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mogees

The Mogees sensor will turn a table into a drumkit, a skateboard into a harp, a shovel into a guitar, etc. The sensor is a contact microphone that connects to an iPad or iPhone and creates music from the vibrations within a variety of materials such as woods, metals, plastics, and glass. But it gets

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When playing guitar hurts your fingers too much

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fingerguards

Wow, now I think I’ve seen everything… Apparently, fingertip protectors for playing guitar, ukulele and other stringed instruments is a thing. The protectors come in a package of four and are made of food-grade silicone material that stretches to fit the size of your index through ring fingers. Each fingertip protector has an opening in

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Make them swoon with the new Fender Tune iOS app

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Fender Tune

Fender music, you know the folks who make cool guitars and amps, have entered the mobile app market with the new self-produced Fender Tune iOS app. This free app has been designed for beginners and seasoned players alike and offers an auto-tuning mode, pre-set and customizable custom tuning options. The Fender Tune app also has

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Skoog tactile music interface review

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Skoog 2

As some of you may know, I love to tinker around with making music on my iPad. I have bought, traded and reviewed a number of products that allow me to interface with programs like Garage Band on my iPad to create and record music. I have had various amounts of success with these products,

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