Archive for music

Emergency adapter kit for electronic musicians

Posted in Musical Instruments, music by Conner Flynn on December 24th, 2007

Emergency adapter kit for electronic musician’s

If you are a musician, there’s nothing worse then showing up for a gig and finding that you can’t plug instrument A into device B. Your whole act could be silenced due to one missing little plug or adapter. Well, this nylon bag could possibly be the musician’s best friend, and save the show.

It’s full of necessary audio adapters you might never need, but you’ll be glad you have them. Just in case. The idea came from electronic musician Liz Mclean Knight, who put the kit together. You even get a red LED flashlight attached to the drawstring which should help you find the adapter you’re searching for in those dark areas backstage.

Roll up synthesizer piano saves space

Posted in Musical Instruments, music by Conner Flynn on December 19th, 2007

Roll up synthesizer piano saves space

I’m not proficient at any musical instruments myself, but if I was I would be into this cool roll-up synthesizer. It’s completely flexible with a super compact design for storage and for moving. Which is probably why it looks like a Fax Machine spitting out Piano keys. With 61 standard layout piano keys, 128 different synthesized tones, 100 different rhythms to play with, you won’t get bored. It also has MIDI and Speaker OUT as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack.

It might look like just a gadget, but it’s not. All of these features make the portable piano synthesizer comparable to many high end digital pianos. But at a fraction of the price. The fact that it will save you some valuable space, makes it practical, since many of us don’t have room for a large Piano.

The Crosley songwriter LP/CD burner

Posted in CD Player, music by Conner Flynn on December 18th, 2007

The Crosley Songwriter LP/CD Burner

Some of us are old enough to have not only CDs lying around, but cassettes and maybe a few vinyl LPs as well. Or God forbid, 8-Track tapes. Despite the fact that the cover art was superior on those old records, by now it is time to bring them up to date so you can enjoy them more easily and put them away for safe keeping.

The Crosley Songwriter may not help with 8-Track tapes, but it will let you burn an LP onto a CD in style and it takes only minutes. Not to worry, it’s also a three-speed record player, so you can still play your old records if you are feeling nostalgic. The device also burns cassettes into CDs as well. The design is the perfect blend of old and new style and will cost you $400. If you have a ton of rare cassettes and records that are not available on CD, it will pay for itself in no time while you preserve your music.

Ion Dual rips cassettes to CD or mp3

Posted in MP3, music by Conner Flynn on December 7th, 2007

Ion Dual Ripping Cassette Deck

We’ve covered devices before that will update your old-school cassettes to digital, like the plusdeckEX. The plusdeckEX even has a great retro look, but the Ion Dual Ripping Cassette Deck with USB Output beats it hands down for an authentic 80’s design. This dual-ripping tape deck transforms your old cassette tapes into digital files, so you can listen to them on your MP3 or CD player. You won’t have to worry about those old tapes wearing out from years of play.

The device is compatible with both PCs and Macs and even features normal and high speed dubbing for cassette to MP3 conversion. I understand if you don’t want to admit to still using your old cassette tapes, but it’s time to get one of these and upgrade. Haven’t you lived with your horrible secret long enough?

The Jay Turser shark guitar

Posted in Musical Instruments, music by Conner Flynn on December 6th, 2007

The Jay Turser shark guitar

You’ve heard of card sharks and loan sharks.(Hopefully you don’t know the latter very well.) How about a Guitar Shark? The Jay Turser Shark Guitar is a fairly unique hand painted shark shaped guitar that would make any amateur want to play. It would even be perfect and maybe way over the top to have a shark guitar if you play your gigs on a beach.

It’s designed for young players of course and includes a strap and gig bag. This shark measures 37-3/4″ in length. A unique instrument like this is a great way to start that future rocker’s career. Years down the road, you’ll be wondering why his songs all seem to all involve fish. The amp is powered by a 9V battery so the guitar can be played anywhere.

Sick Brick: ITC One entertainment super-machine

Posted in Home, Xbox 360, iPod Accessories, music by Conner Flynn on December 5th, 2007

ITC One entertainment super-machineWe all want a single unit that has every form of entertainment in one box. SE2 Labs has an entertainment super-machine that tries to oblige, while looking like a mini-computer server. Design-wise, it’s looks are simply amazing. It’s called the ITC One and it boasts an Xbox 360, HD personal video recorder, surround-sound processor, ICEpower High End D-Class Amplifiers, 4.3-inch touchscreen, iPod dock, and remote control system all in a single unit.

The price for having so many goodies in one box? A whooping $19,900. Most people would prefer to get a rocking home theater system at that price. Or even buy a car. But if you like it’s design and the fact that it’s so compact, go for it.

The Thodio Box is an iPod Dock with class

Posted in iPod Accessories, music by Conner Flynn on December 3rd, 2007

The Thodio Box iPod Dock

The Thodio iBox is a very nice and somewhat retro looking iPod amplifier that is handcrafted from wood which is finished with quality high gloss lacquer. It will make your desk look much classier. The rechargeable battery provides 15 hours of juice, and the two speakers deliver 25 watts of power each.

It’s been a trend lately to recapture that look of old 1950’s Television sets with their woodgrain cabinets, and translate the look to these new devices. Anything looks at least a bit neater in wood, but with the Thodio, I think they got the design just right. Each case is handcrafted from 15mm of beech, oak, teak, zebrano or mahogany.

Wake the dead with coffin speakers

Posted in Speakers, music by Conner Flynn on December 3rd, 2007

Coffin It Up Coffin Speakers

These Coffin It Up coffin speakers would have been great for Halloween. Maybe you’re feeling Goth or just a tad emo, in which case they are perfect for year round use. Each coffin is made with melamine and houses 2 sets of speakers: 5″ 2 way and 6″ x 9″ three way speakers. Vibration dampening material inside helps create crystal clear sound that that will travel through your entire Addams Family mansion.

Each coffin speaker is 25.5″ long X 13″ wide X 8″ deep and comes complete with hand grips on the side for your poll-bearers to “carry that weight”. I suppose the only way these would be better for your music crypt, would be if a skeleton actually popped out with a guitar.

Casio makes printing CD labels easier

Posted in Casio, music by Conner Flynn on November 30th, 2007

Casio CW-E60 Title Printer

I never use labels. I’m in the habit of using a sharpie when I burn CDs. The problem is that my writing is terrible. Lucky for me I understand my chicken-scratch most of the time, but sometimes even I’m at a loss. Printing out labels is a hassle. So the Casio CW-E60 Title Printer looks perfect for me. We all want more professional looking CDs.

It features a 200 dpi print resolution and uses a thermal transfer ribbon to print the label on your disc. Plus it comes with easy to use software to design your labels. It will also let you choose from 8 different colored ribbons for your prints. The price isn’t too bad either at $60. Sure beats trying to decipher bad writing.

“Rock Band” sales strong despite PS3 problems

Posted in Games, Musical Instruments, News, music by Chetz on November 29th, 2007

Rock Band SalesHarmonix and Viacom’s “Rock Band” has made an impression at stores and stood guitar fret-to-fret with Activision’s rival franchise and latest entry “Guitar Hero III”. However we don’t know exactly how well the rhythm game is doing in sales. The only thing we have to go on are the enthusiastic reports on gaming message boards and what a representative of MTV Networks, owners of the game, said that the game has been “flying off the shelves” during the first week of sales.

“Downloads are going great, rockband.com is going great with people logging on and downloading stuff from there,” said Mika Salmi, a rep for MTV’s digital division. “It’s got a lot of legs, we’re in it for the long term.”

Sony’s NW-E013 Walkman for the ladies

Posted in Sony, Walkman, music by Conner Flynn on November 27th, 2007

Sony’s NW-E013 Walkman

Sony’s new NW-E013 Walkman is obviously geared toward the ladies and they are sure to be a hit. The design is certainly pretty enough and I imagine that women will find them quite appealing as far as mp3 players go. In fact, the more you look at them, they kind of look like high tech lipstick cases. They have 1-gigabyte of memory and come in sky blue, hot pink, and other girlly colors.

Sony even went so far as to create a set of little carrying cases with straps for these devices. It costs 10,980 yen or $101.52 starting December 19th. Considering what some women pay for shoes alone, I’d say that’s a bargain. It should also be noted that this would be a great Christmas gift that she should absolutely love.

The Lars & Ivan Hybrid iPod dock

Posted in iPod Accessories, music by Conner Flynn on November 20th, 2007

The Lars & Ivan Hybrid iPod Dock

Whoever Lars and Ivan are, one thing is clear. Well, two things. They know design and they sound like a swedish/Russian adventure movie duo. This PA-40Ti Hybrid iPod Dock is a true work of art, resembling something like a techno hammerhead shark or manta ray from some far off future. It looks as if it may even eat the iPod.(In a cool way) They even left the tubes exposed so you can see them.

They’ve skipped the built-in speakers entirely and instead focus on giving you 40 watts of stereo amplification that can power your speakers.

Mickey Mouse MP3 player with Swarovski ears

Posted in Disney, MP3, music by Conner Flynn on November 20th, 2007

Mickey Mouse MP3 player with Swarovski ears

Lately there has been a strange fascination with slapping diamonds or crystals all over our devices. Take the Mickey Mouse mp3 player. For some reason, someone saw fit to cover Mickey’s ears in tacky Swarovski crystals. We’re all old enough to know that crystal in this case is just a pretty word for glass. Even if these were diamonds, it would be over the top.

Iriver’s Mickey Mouse MP3 isn’t new, but the bling is. This was done for the Japanese market. Only 500 units are being made for the new pimped out edition and they are going for 16,800 Yen (about. £75).

Evergreen DN-DRK72 repairs CDs & DVDs

Posted in DVD, Home, music by Conner Flynn on November 20th, 2007

Evergreen DN-DRK72

The Evergreen DN-DRK72 wants to repair your CDs and DVDs. Just put the disk in the device and it does all the work. The disc that comes out is supposedly as good as when you bought it. Let’s face it, some of us still use our discs from time to time and if it has been well loved, chances are it’s also full of scratches. We probably should take better care of our things, but thanks to devices like this, we don’t have to.

No word on pricing or availability yet. Also no word on how many times it could potentially repair a disc. I am assuming this works by filling in the the scratches using heat and liquid.

The Gibson Les Paul robot guitar

Posted in Musical Instruments, Robots, music by Conner Flynn on November 13th, 2007

Gibson Les Paul robot guitar

Music and robotics have had a strange relationship. I have seen bands with robot singers, robots playing instruments and more. Now Gibson is taking robotics and applying them to the guitar. Thanks to integrated electronics and motorized mechanics, this instrument can automatically tune itself in various configurations.

This is big news for performers. With something like this they only need to carry one guitar with them instead of several differently-tuned instruments. They plan a limited first run, only available in select stores.





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