Sometimes, you come across instruments that have a pretty special origin-story, a unique design or even a weird sound. Companies that develop and produce percussion instruments often bring out some weird and wonderful sound-making tools designed to create a specific sound effect. In this blog, we take a closer look at some of the more remarkable percussive instruments out there and see how they can be deployed to mimic the sounds of nature, so you can build your own organic soundscapes.

With the release of the Yamaha Reface synthesizers, the Japan-based music-gear-makers bring back a stone-cold slice of music history. Here, we chart the origin-stories of these superheroes among synths.

Hans Zimmer is one of the most well-known film composers of our time. The Lion King, Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean are just three films that thank their extremely recognisable soundtracks to Zimmer who, believe it or not, actually tends to keep the core of his compositions very basic. In this article, I’ll show you how you can easily recognise Hans Zimmer’s style and apply it to your own productions or film score.

Can you imagine? You’re about to perform on stage and suddenly your signal drops out because the cable broke. Fortunately, every gigging musician’s worst nightmare can be easily avoided. Here’s five tips for preventing cable breakage.

As we approach the end of the year, the radio starts to light up with all of the classic festive treats, penned by the likes of Mariah Carey, Paul McCartney, Wham and Slade. If you think you can do any better than these jolly-holly Christmas giants, then read on to find how Christmas pop and Christmas carols work and how you can start making your very own Christmas music!

In our other blog about modulation effects, three mod-based taste-makers were conspicuously missing and, even despite their instantly recognisable sound, these effects are used more often than you might think. If you want to take your guitar sound a little further than your more standard modulation effects can, then why not consider throwing a little tremolo, a bit of vibrato or a rotary effect into the mix?

While most people play a musical instrument because they simply love making music, it’s worth pointing out that starting out at a young age has several positive side-effects on the brain. In other words, that starter kit that you got your kid for Christmas last year might yield some unexpected results in the long run!

Acoustic drum kits are often configured to match a specific style, which is why rock-based drummers usually opt for a rock-configured kit, while jazz drummers are more likely to go for a little bebop kit. That said, there’s no reason why you can’t lay down jazz patterns with a rock kit or vice versa. Besides, a good drummer will always make sure that the sound of their kit matches the style of music, no matter how the kit is configured. Want to pull a more jazzy sound out of your kit? Read on for a few tips and tricks.

While the sound of nothing but your guitar and amplifier is undeniably awesome, sometimes you might want to be able to throw in a touch more variation. By sticking a few effect pedals between your guitar and amp, you can put a whole world of sound at your feet. But do you go for a bunch of separate stompboxes loaded onto a pedalboard or would you prefer a more one-stop-style solution in the form of a multi-effects unit? In this blog, we take a look at both, so you can kit yourself out with exactly what you need, whether you’re a guitarist, or a bassist who wants to be more than just part of the rhythm section.

It’s always a great excuse when composers and songwriters are struggling to put pen to paper: writer’s block! Within the space of a short blog, I want to show you that writer’s block might just be a choice, not an affliction, and that you’re actually capable of inspiring yourself to force out ideas and unclogging your own creativity. We’ll just cover five simple tips. Try them all out and I promise, you won’t be disappointed.

If you like going for a walk with your headphones on, the first thing that you probably do every time you step out of the door is turn the volume up to drown out the sound of traffic. But if you’re doing this regularly, you actually run the risk of causing hearing loss or worse. Thankfully, technology has paved the way for noise-cancelling headphones and noise-cancelling in-ears, which actually eliminate the need to turn the volume up to max. Time for a closer look.

Re-amping is a studio recording technique that’s been picking up more and more speed. Compared to recording electric guitars, guitar amps, drums and other instruments the traditional way, re-amping offers a number of benefits which I’ll tell you all about by using guitarists, who re-amp the most out of all musicians, to illustrate the idea.