If you want your acoustic or electric guitar or bass to sound and feel as good as it possibly can, you can’t overlook the importance of proper maintenance. In this article, guest-blogger Dean explains how to nourish your instrument, how to keep the humidity in check and why the right room temperature is crucial.

Everyone who’s privileged enough to have access to broadband internet and a fairly fast computer can launch a podcast or even an internet radio station of their own for a relatively small amount of money these days. However, the microphone built into your laptop isn’t going to cut it, and the acoustics of your soon-to-be studio space could probably do with a little treatment too – so read on to find out how you can get pro-grade podcast audio quality on a budget!

If you’ve already made it this far, then you’re probably already the proud owner of your very own cajon. You’ve seen or heard a cajon afficionado spitting beats and thought, “I can do that!” But now that you’re sitting astride your brand new percussion box, it’s already looking a little more complication than you first thought. Not to worry! Everyone starts somewhere, and since you’re here, this is where you’re going to start! In this friendly little blog, we’ll guide you through three awesome cajon beats that you can use as a foundation to expand your cajon-based skills. No theoretical knoweldge or the ability to read music required!

A full choir can be seen as an enormous, singular audio source, that sometimes spreads out its sound over tens of metres, making for a pretty unique job when it comes to recording. How do you make sure that every choir member is captured while the choir sounds like a cohesive whole? In this blog, I’ll explain how just two or three cleverly positioned microphones can result in a balanced and clear stereo-recording.

While recording an acoustic guitar might sound like a straightforward job, getting a clear and natural-sounding recording can depend on a number of factors. The kind of microphone you use, the way the microphone is positioned, as well as the way the recording space reacts to the vibration of the strings, all play an important role in the final recording.

In theory, it’s definitely possible, but in practice it can be a little bit cumbersome. The advantage of using a USB microphone is that you have a great all-in-one setup without needing to use an audio interface. But if you want to use more than one USB mic, things get pretty complicated for your computer. Also, hooking two USB microphones up to a computer kind’ve defeats the purpose of using a USB microphone. But, can it actually be done?

In this blog, we’re going to talk about playing the blues, show you which ingredients are needed to play typical blues-flavoured sounds on a piano or guitar, and take an in-depth look at blue notes, blues scales, blues-style chord progressions (including that well-known 12-bar blues), straight-versus-swing blues and various other important topics.

Despite the fact that setting up and teaching classes online is easier than ever in today’s digital age, there are lots of tutors, coaches and private teachers who struggle with the audio quality of their live-streams – even when their internet connection is working just fine. Since comprehensible speech is essential for getting any kind of message across, the sound needs to be spot-on. In this blog, I’m going to explain how you can take the audio quality of your online classes to the next level and, no, you don’t necessarily need to invest in a new microphone!

Ionic, dorian, phrygian, lydian, mixolydian, aeolian, and locrian: otherwise known as the church modes. These influential scales originated in the church music of the middle ages and are still used today in classical music, pop, jazz, rock, and even metal. So, if you want to try something new or take in a little musical history, it’s worth learning a few church modes. In this blog, you’ll get an idea of how these modal scales work, an impression of the kind of sound they can produce and learn to play them in any key.

A question we’re often asked is, ‘how do you connect a keyboard or digital piano to a mixer or keyboard amplifier?’ Maybe you’re preparing for your first ever live gig, maybe you’re figuring out how to make home-studio recordings, or your sonic instrument of choice needs more volume if it’s going to compete with your drummer in the rehearsal room. If you’re not familiar with them, the sheer number of different ways of connecting up your gear can be a little overwhelming. But luckily, it’s all pretty straightforward once you know how.

There comes a time in every musician’s life when they are forced to confront a mixer for the first time. To the un-schooled user, these chunks of equipment can seem intimidating and complex, and while mixers range from the super-compact to the desk-sized gigantic, all of them are based on the same set of principles and will offer the same basic set of functions and connection options. In this blog, we offer a step-by-step explanation of the ins and outs of mixers.

Say you’ve got a keyboard or digital piano and want to hook it up to a tablet or smartphone and see what it can do alongside the many sound-generating and tweaking apps out there. In this blog, we will find out if your keyboard or piano will be compatible, what kind of software you’ll need, and more!