When you want to set up a small army of PA speakers in multiple rooms throughout a department store, shopping centre, restaurant, school or business, a 100-Volt system is a fitting solution. Since multiple speakers are connected to the same cable in parallel, it’s perfect for covering long distances combined with relatively low-powered speakers. As such, 100V systems are also used at sporting events, and in this blog, Bax Music product specialist, Bob is here to explain the basics and what to look out for when buying and setting up a 100V system.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably encountered a smoke machine at an event, party or gig before. You might also have wondered if it’s dangerous, or if the smoke it spits out is possibly a health risk. In this blog, I’ll tell you how safe smokes machines are and what kind of qualifications they need to meet. Let’s find out how much truth there is to “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

If you’ve recorded audio via a DAW or digital recorder before, you’ve probably come across terms like sample rate and bit depth. These are the most important factors when it comes to determining the detail in which sound is recorded. The sample rate determines the frequency range of the recording, while the bit depth controls the dynamic range. Read on to find out what settings you should use to get the best sound for your productions.

While it is possible, playing Rolling Stones classics like Brown Sugar and Start Me Up in standard tuning will most likely leave you utterly disappointed and forced into impossible finger positions. Granted, the rhythm parts can be played using simplified power chords, but that still won’t get you that signature Stones sound. So how does Keith Richards pull it off? Well, as someone who knows how not to take things too seriously, Richards is probably the first to admit he really isn’t the best guitarist ever to have roamed the stage. The trick here, is open G tuning.

So, you’ve bought a new microphone only to find out that it won’t work unless you supply it with phantom power. Condenser microphones in particular often require this. Fortunately, most mixers, audio interfaces and recorders have a built-in phantom power supply, the control for which is indicated by ‘Phantom’, ‘P48’ or ‘48V’. In this blog, I’ll tell you what to look out for when you want to use phantom power.

While the verb ‘to produce’ is used to describe the various, wide-ranging processes that are part of making music, it doesn’t exactly clearly explain the differences between a producer and an executive producer. Since few people actually know what a producer does, this blog aims to give you a little insight into their tasks and responsibilities.

Just like regular instruments, DJ gear is increasingly available in a purpose-built version for kids. From mixers and controllers to complete sets, young’uns have more and more to choose from every day. So what are the perfect introductory bits of DJ kit? In this blog, I’m going to tell you what your pride and joy needs to take their first steps into the world of DJing!

As the cornerstone of any studio production, vocals are often what listeners base their opinion on, whether consciously or subconsciously. No matter how fat your drums and synths sound, if the vocals are slightly off, the whole thing quickly drops in overall quality. No worries though, we’re here to teach you how to mix the most out of your vocal recordings using DAW software!

It’d be a shame if you avoided sharp (♯) and flat (♭) notes simply because you don’t know their exact meaning. However, this is important information to know if you want to play a wide variety of music using sheet music, chord progressions or another kind of music notation. As such, in this blog, I’m going to teach you the difference between sharp notes and flat notes, and how you should use them.

From newspapers and magazines to alternative-history science-fiction books, everything that originally came in a paper version can now be found online as well. The world of music is no exception. Paper is getting rapidly replaced by pixels and, while this is not always ideal, I’ve gone ahead and made a list of the pros and cons of digital sheet music and will tell you exactly where you can find online sheet music. After that, I’ll highlight various popular sheet music apps and their strengths, weaknesses and possible alternatives.

When you decide to upgrade your lighting set-up with a DMX controller, you’re going to need the right cables. And as a quick Google search will tell you, it’s all about two cables: DMX, and XLR cables. Here, we’ll explain the difference between both, and help you decide which one you need when, and where.

Whether you’re browsing the internet for a vocal microphone for the stage or a condenser for your studio, it won’t be long before you’ll run into the term ‘pickup pattern’, also referred to as ‘polar pattern’. You’re also likely to bump into terms like ‘cardioid’ or ‘omnidirectional’. In this blog, I’ll present you with the pickup pattern basics, include a few field examples, and tell you what you need to know when you’re looking to, ahem, pick up a new microphone.