It ain't no picnic trying to make it as an artist in The Big Apple. Sound designer Matt Hubbs drops some science on Gearwire, and clues us in on what turns him on, what turns him off, and why he thinks Plutarch was a poseur [that part got edited out].
Bill Holland continues his project with the PreSonus FireStudio Project and Ableton Live 7 to show how you can do inventive things with the guitar even if you don't know how to play one.
Belgium is known now for two things: waffles and the Percussa AudioCubes. DJ Puzzle opens up his just-delivered package from Belgium, wondering which of the two he has received.
Paul Smith plays drums for Dengue Fever, and in this interview, he talks about his Rogers Drums kit, Zildjian cymbals, and the fact that on tour, you're not always playing your own kit.
Sabian displayed the APX Guillotine at Winter NAMM 2008, and due to its popularity, the structure [a 12 foot tall guillotine with an APX cymbal instead of a blade] will be going on an international tour, so everyone can see.
Fender has updated their California series acoustics for 2008. They aim to bring back that cool 1965 feel, making these acoustics great guitars to play when you're . . .
DJ Puzzle continues his exploration of the Alesis Bitrman, an intuitively designed effects box that allows you to get a number of experimental sounds through permutations and combinations of six effects in six configurations
J. Irving Giles has always wanted a replica statue of Keith Emerson, which is why he initially joined Second Life. Then, he realized that it might be possible to play his favorite nineties jams with his Vox AC-15 and BC Rich Warlock and make some cash at the same time.
With the 8th Annual FORTUNE Battle of the Corporate Bands approaching, office workers everywhere are getting ready to shed the monkey suit and shred more than just evidence of tax evasion. J. Irving-Giles shares his picks to win.
The Alesis Bitrman is a Mod FX processor that gives the user five funky effects types to work with. DJ Puzzle demonstrates the sounds attainable in this video.
Avantone's new Active MixCubes, self-powered versions of their mini-reference monitors, are now available. These portable bad boys give you the straight dope on how your mix will sound coming through an average listener's system.
Offsite Link: Visit the official Avantone website for more information
Ask Angus Young -- all you need to know to write a song on guitar is three chords. In this video, Bill Holland tops that with a fourth chord, throws in some plug-in effects and demonstrates how to spice up simple strumming.
Famed amp designer James Brown's new Kustom Double Cross amplifier puts three channels of tube driven power on the market. The Double Cross features unique shaping options to alter your gain, EQ and attack stages of the preamp section.
Offsite Link: Visit the official Kustom website for more information
We examine the Wave Arts TrackPlug LE channel strip plug-in's compression controls. With the equalization already handled in part one, Bill Holland sets his parameters and we get to hear the results.
Offsite Link: Visit the official Wave Arts website for more information
Gearwire headed a mite south for the 16th Annual Chicago Vintage Guitar Expo in Alsip, IL. In this video, Patrick Ogle talks to Fort Madison Guitars' Chance McFadden about Danelectro guitars, their history and their reissues.
Admittedly, Bill Holland is not a guitarist, but that doesn't stop him from using guitar to create tones in Ableton Live with plug-ins from the PreSonus FireStudio Project. Here, Bill displays how to set up your ax to record some tracks.
Wave Arts TrackPlug LE is another one of the fine plug-ins that is included with the PreSonus FireStudio Project. Gearwire's Bill Holland overviews this equalization plug-in in this video.
Offsite Link: Visit the official Wave Arts website for more information
Germanium: sure, it sounds made-up, but it's actually been used in transistors since the early 1950's. I know what you're thinking: "is that the same element that Dmitri Mendeleev predicted to exist as a missing analogue of the silicon group?" Yes, it's that germanium! And Bill Harden uses it to make awesome distortion pedals. Famous!
Hammerax warns that their new Whipcrash cymbals are pretty freaking loud. And knowing Hammerax's tricks, that's not all that's great about it. Hammered Microcups allow drummers to rake the cymbal for a variety of strange tones.
Urban Twang's guitarist Max talks about playing in his band's unusual schematic. For one, his ex-wife Trish is Urban Twang's singer, and even rarer, the band's drummer listens to his advice.
So . . . what's this thing? Picture this: Antebulem Alabamy, Grandpaw Chalmers McGee is killin' the midday hours pickin' on his four-string banjo, chompin' on a run of reed, and stompin' his hoof to keep time. Did you read that last part, about stompin'? This is what the Porchboard Bass seeks to recreate!
Steve Benford's one-of-a-kind guitar was made specifically for a raffle that will benefit Guitars for Vets, a NPO dedicated to providing our nation's vets with instruments.
When it comes to guitars, Rockin' Billy is a jack of all trades. Under Harden Engineering, Rockin' Billy makes the Switchblade line of guitars, but in addition to that, he also repairs guitars and deals in guitar lessons.
We love freeware. We especially love freeware that delivers what it promises to do. The new SuperDrum FX may not be a KONTAKT or Battery Drum Kit, but it's darn good for being a freeware application for windows that's designed for use with e-drums.
What's that sound? Is it the thunder of a million migratory mammals running direction-less from a hungry predator, trampling flora and fauna that happen into their way? NO! It's the countless of our nation's youths clamoring to recreate The Noise, made first [maybe] by Eddie Van Halen, and imitated by countless wanna-bes in online videos. Leave it to Gearwire to separate the wheat from the chafe in our Elephant Noise YouTube Shootout!
GuitarsForVets.org is an organization that puts guitars in the hands of war veterans who have experienced physical or mental trauma while serving their country. Hopefully, music can provide these veterans with a naturally therapeutic aid on the road to recovery.
