It’s been a year since my last post, and over 2 years since I started this site. In the process, I have realized that I do not enjoy writing so much, but I do enjoy making videos, and I have reached the greatest audience online (greater than I could have ever imagined!) with my youtube videos. I will update this site with any new youtube reviews I do (and I have a couple almost ready to upload), but I probably won’t be writing much from now on. Video is the future!

This was to settle an argument, but you might find it useful
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Back-to-School season is coming up and retailers are preparing to sell boatloads of new laptops to students. The price for mobile systems has fallen to the sub 1000$ and even sub 600$ range which has made them a realistic options for even the most budget-conscious of computer user. Some manufacturers have unfortunately made some compromises to their systems to lessen costs, and some could learn a thing or two about system design. Pay attention to these 10 issues when shopping for your new system! Read the rest of this entry »

There have been some problems with the server the last few days, it should be cleared up now. I bought a zoom h4 portable recorder last week so look forward to a very in depth review coming up. I’m also using the recorder to create my own podcast, which should be appearing soon. Stay tuned!

Considering the amount of feedback I get from people who are new to the music producing world, I thought it would be helpful to share some basic tips I have picked up over the years. Most of these tips have helped me a great deal. In this post I will explore the benefits of having a good pair of headphones, how to be patient when learning music, why you should be adventurous, why you shouldn’t just follow trends, and the principal of K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid!) Read the rest of this entry »

When looking back at my latest year producing experimental music, I realized I always had trouble getting drums to work in my songs. This is due to my ineptitude at writing a decent drum loop and the lack of control you get when sequencing drums live with software, which greatly impairs the pace of one’s experimentation. When I laid hands on my band mate’s drum machine, a Korg ER-1, I was reminded how great an external sequencer can be. The ER-1 is a must have by itself, and in the age of computer driven production can be a terrific asset. Read the rest of this entry »

The 24 inch imac blurs the line between a stylish home system and a compact workstation. With its large display and equally large price, this is apple’s attempt at a powerful prosumer system. Is it worth it? Read the rest of this entry »

Behringer is a company known for their affordable gear, and it is common to find at least some of their products in a project studio. If you do any recording, a preamp is an absolutely essential piece of equipment. Generally external units are superior to the built in preamps found in sound interfaces or mixers. A single channel preamp can cost as little as 50$ and as much as 2000$ or more. The Ultragain Mic2200, which features 2 channels, is on the lower end of the price spectrum, costing about 150$ CAD. Is it a good value? Read on to find out. Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, a friend of mine lent me one of his midi controllers, the M-Audio UC-33e. I’ve had the opportunity to fiddle with it, perform with it, and discover some of its quirks. I’m glad I did, because now I can tell you why I wouldn’t recommend it.

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