Music Gear

News, reviews and articles about musical gear and accessories.

Check your guitar or ukulele’s humidity levels with the Bluetooth Humiditrak

planetwaves humiditrak

Earlier this year I told you about Taylor Guitar’s TaylorSense module and app combo that can be added installed into a guitar to help you monitor the instrument’s health stats. Health stats for a wooden instrument like a guitar, ukulele, mandolin, violin, etc, are usually temperature and humidity ratings. When the air is dry like

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IK Multimedia iRig Mic Lav microphone review

iRig Mic Lav2 02

If I’ve said once, I’ve said it a hundred times:  One of the first rules in audio is to put the sound where the people are.  The same goes for microphone placement.  Sometimes, the microphone built in to your smartphone just won’t cut it.  The iRig Mic Lav microphone kit allows daisy-chaining two lavaliere microphones

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D’Addario’s NS Micro tuner keeps shrinking

ns micro soundhole

I’ve been using D’Addario NS Micro clip-on tuners on all of my ukuleles for a few years now because they are small enough to leave on the head stocks of my instruments without getting in the way of my playing or when the ukuleles are stored in their cases. D’Addario have a new version of

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IK Multimedia iRig BlueTurn page turner review

irig blueturn 5

Turning pages and scrolling through documents on your computer or tablet isn’t easy when your hands are otherwise occupied. For example, a guitarist who reads sheet music can’t easily turn the page without stopping their playing. A way around this problem is to use a hands-free Bluetooth page turning device like the IK Multimedia iRig

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IK Multimedia iRig acoustic guitar microphone review

IKMultimedia 5

I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for more than 40 years. Same guitar, but I’m hopefully a little better for the years of practice. A decade or so ago, I had my guitar retrofitted with an internal pickup, since I was playing regularly into a sound system. Recently, however, I’m more interested in getting that sound

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Mighty gives you Spotify music on the go without a phone

mightyspotify

Remember iPods? Stand alone music players were all the rage just a few years ago, but now that technology seems ancient compared to music streaming services like Spotify. The only advantage that iPods and other MP3 players have over streaming devices is that you don’t need to carry a phone in order to enjoy music.

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TaylorSense is a health tracker for your guitar

taylorsens

There appears to be no end in sight for the IoT (Internet of Things). First we had activity trackers for humans, cars, our homes, and our pets. You might think the trend would end there right? Of course not, don’t be crazy! I present to you, the TaylorSense guitar health monitor from Taylor Guitars. TaylorSense

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Musicians can tap their toe to turn to the next page of sheet music

irig blueturn

Cue the SNL grumpy old man voice… Why, back in my day, our sheet music was made of paper with real pages that we had to turn with our hands, and we liked it! Today, musicians display their sheet music on tablets and computers because it’s easier to read with a backlit screen and you

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IK Multimedia iRig Pro DUO Mobile Audio/MIDI interface review

IK irig duopro1

  As a musician who is better in my mind than in person, I love gadgets that help make me sound better than I am.  Plugging my acoustic-electric guitar in is one way I can do that, and the IK Multimedia iRig Pro DUO is an excellent choice for doing this.  The unit is small,

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Enjoy playing your unplugged electric guitar without an amp

delsonix

You’ve probably seen analog speakers for phones, and tablets that amplify sound not by electronic speakers, but by routing sound waves through a plastic funnel type device. Now you can do the same thing for your electric guitar. The DelSonix clip on guitar amplifier is a specially designed “speaker” for your electric guitar that doesn’t

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Wolfelele do it yourself ukulele building kit review

wolfelele 21

Have you ever wanted to build a guitar or a ukulele but felt it was completely beyond your capabilities, time and budget? Me too. That’s why I was very curious to try the Wolfelele kit when I saw it because it didn’t require tools I didn’t own, a huge investment in time and best of all,

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AirTurn Duo BT-106 hands-free wireless controller review

airturn duo 4

When I play music on my ukulele, I’m usually doing so in front of my computer, which I use to display the sheet music. I have a large collection of songs that are in .PDF and .TXT formats. There’s one problem that I have been trying to solve for a long time, how to flip

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iRig Acoustic is your guitar’s new best friend

irig acoustic

IK Multimedia who are well known for their electronic gear for musicians and hobbyists just announced a first. Their new iRig Acoustic is the first mobile microphone interface designed especially for acoustic guitars. If you’re an acoustic musician, you probably use a stand alone mic positioned in front of your instrument when performing or recording.

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Bias FX amp-and-effects processor app for iPad review

bias fx effects app for ipad 4

BiasFX, an iOS app from Positive Grid, promises to turn your iPad into a world-class guitar amp and effects processor. With dozens of high-quality amp simulations, stomp boxes, and rack-like processors, this software aims high.  Does it hit the mark?  This review is guest-written by my husband, Butch, who will help us answer this question.

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