July 23rd, 2008 admin
When buying anything, the first thing you ask is how you can find the best one. The same thought process applies to acoustic guitars. The answer is that there is not a “best” acoustic guitar to buy. Choosing the best acoustic guitar depends on the individual player and their needs.
Of course when you think about guitars, some common names come to mind immediately. Gibson, Fender and Ibanez are but a few of the ones that spring up. All have a quality instrument and each has low end models and high end models.
Gibson makes a really good guitar in all types. The materials, craftsmanship and overall quality are always there with Gibson, so based on a brand name only basis, Gibson would be a great choice. The same could be said for Fender and Ibanez as well.
There are other luthiers (builders of guitars) available like Takamine, BC Rich and Dean. Ovation makes a fantastic instrument in both acoustic and acoustic/electric models. Epiphone is a division of Gibson that uses Gibson trademark quality with a lower end price tag.
So with all these options and brands to choose from, what is the best acoustic guitar out there? As I said earlier, the answer to that question depends on the individual player. Like anything else, it is a pairing of souls you are looking for. In essence, you are looking for a musical soul mate.
The first thing you want to consider is comfort. To get this down, go to a music store and play a few of the best acoustic guitars. You will find some with wide necks and some with narrow necks. This depends on the size of the body. Body sizes are typically classified, in order, as travel size (small), dreadnought and jumbo. Try one of each on for size to get a feel for what you need to play.
Playing should be natural and comfortable. If you have smaller hands, perhaps a travel acoustic will suffice and there are some very good ones out there. Most times, the dreadnought is the guitar of choice, though.
The next thing you want to consider is tone quality. This is going to depend on the material the guitar is made from. There are lots of different materials and, yes, this does affect the price. Obviously, a guitar that has an ebony neck is going to cost more than a rosewood neck. I wouldn’t pay a whole lot of attention to the material. Just play it and listen to the sound of the instrument. A good tone will sort of ring to the ear.
One decision you will need to make is whether to use nylon strings or steel strings. Most of the time, nylon or gut strings are used for classical music. Steel strings are more common and provide a richer tone, in my humble opinion. Steel strings come in a variety of gauges from ultra light to heavy. The sound emitted is lightly affected by string gauge, but not dramatically. Other players will dispute this, but I have found this to be true more times than not.
Overall, you want to find an acoustic guitar that is comfortable to handle, has the right neck width and provides a rich, ringing tonal quality. The only real way to do this is to play them yourself. To pick the best guitar for you is entirely up to, well, YOU. You decide what is best for your playing style.
Don’t be pressured by big names and flashy displays. Most importantly, don’t just buy the first acoustic guitar you see. They are all pretty and will catch the eye. Focus instead on how the guitar feels, sounds and responds to you. When you find the one, you’ll know it. That sounds a little mystical and it is kind of mystical. There is a bond between the player and the instrument. It’s almost like looking for a mate.
Price is probably the biggest consideration, so here is what I suggest. Get a figure in your head on what you want to spend. Think economical and spend only what you can afford to spend. Acoustic guitars are available in a wide range of prices from as little as $150 to as much as $10,000. I have seen some $250 acoustics that sound just as good as a $1000 instrument. The idea is that you don’t have to blow your life savings on your best acoustic guitar.
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June 29th, 2008 admin
Taylor ‘Alison’ Swift - Born on the 13th of December, 1989, Taylor Swift was destined to a lot of fame and fortune from a young age only. Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, she was inclined to music and singing from the age of six itself. When she was barely ten years old, she had been singing and performing all throughout her home town at various occasions and festivals. With a demo tape of karaoke songs, Taylor swift moved with her family to Nashville for better singing prospects. She was only 11. Even though a lot of record labels to whom she had passed on the disc remarked that she was “talented†and had a “lot of promise†in her singing, no one signed her until a few years later when she eventually signed with Big Machine Records for her debut album. The owner had on a chance saw her singing in a local pub. And this deal was after she had rejected a previous record deal. It was in the October of 2006 that Taylor Swift finally released her debut CD – a self titled album, receiving much critical acclaim and new deals. The distinct feature of this album was that most of the songs had been written by her and some had been co-written with other songwriters. This is important, because these days, not many artists bother to write their own songs. They depend on other people and ultimately end up singing absolute trash. But Taylor Swift was fantastic. In fact, the album opened at the 19th spot on Billboard’s 200. This was a major accomplishment considering her age and the time that she had spent in the fiercely competitive music industry. From this album itself, she had delivered many hits such as Teardrops on my guitar, Tim McGraw and Picture to Burn. She is now going to release her newest album in late 2008.
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June 26th, 2008 admin
If you have ever missed out on a concert that you were so desperate to go, just because you could not get cheap tickets, you have surely underestimated the power of the web. Buying concert tickets online is as easy as opening the fridge for a bottle of beer. Believe me. No queues, no worries – all tickets, delivered to your doorstep at the cheapest prices, courtesy the internet.
I have this friend who wanted to go to a Coldplay concert but had madonna tickets to the Madonna one, which he could not give as he wanted to go to this one too. But he could find another ticket date for Coldplay and so guided him to buying cheap concert tickets online with a few clicks. There are plenty of sites and online directories which have the latest information on upcoming band gigs, dates, venues and ticket prices. Other than this, band websites have fan club where you can register to get promotional discounts periodically. Online forums, message boards, eBay and related sites are also great places to pick up cheap concert tickets.
Now Madonna has recently launched her latest album, Hard Candy and it would be a shame if you did not watch the sensational queen of pop, Live! Tickets.com and Ticketmaster are two other reliable sites for buying tickets to Madonna concerts and other famous and local band gigs. These sites are reputed and offer secure transactions to buyer with options such as seated, standing, hotel tickets etc available when possible and cheap deals usually accessible to members. This makes buying Coldplay tickets online an effortless job of seconds. Iconic British rock band, Coldplay is all set to set the stage on fire with their tour of the latest, and chartbusting album, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. One can easily pick up their tickets on various websites.
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June 13th, 2008 admin
Guitars are the primary instrument in many different types of music. They have played a key role in the music culture of the United States as well. Just about every young boy has wanted to be up on stage playing a guitar. It’s the rock and roll dream of many that only a small few have accomplished.
Guitars are either acoustic or electric. Both have their advantages but most big name musicians play electric guitars these days. Guitars can be made for left of right-handed players. Usually your dominant hand is the one that strums the strings. For most people that means it’s your right hand doing the most work. This is because musical expression (dynamics, tonal expression and color) is mostly determined by the hand that does the plucking or strumming. The other hand is usually the one used for depressing and gripping the strings.
The guitar’s roots can be traced back 1000’s of years. Of course, it is also known as a six string instrument, however, many people are unaware that four, seven, eight, ten, and twelve string guitars also exist.
Learning to play the guitar is not difficult but does take time and dedication. It can be daunting to teach your hands and fingers to depress the right strings in the right place while strumming at the right speed and strength. Once you have it down pat though, you will most likely be able to play the guitar for the rest of your life.
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June 13th, 2008 admin
The DJ (disc jockey) has been around in one form or another for centuries. In early days he played music at weddings using nothing but man-made instruments that would be laughed at in today’s high tech world. Today, however, he lives in a whole different world with a multitude of technology at his beck and call.
There are numerous types of DJ’s; the radio DJ plays music that is usually transmitted over AM or FM radio waves. Today many of those radio stations are streamed over the internet as well, increasing the audience by a vast amount. Club DJ’s select music that is piped into a bar or club. They often play a key role in keeping the crowd happy and coming back week after week. Mobile DJ’s travel from venue to venue, carrying all their equipment with them.
Today’s DJ has a wide variety of tools to choose from. High end turntables, like the ones made by Technics, provide stability and strength whether a DJ is mixing, scratching, blending or beat juggling. Numerous turntables are now USB capable too, meaning a DJ can play all his digital tracks yet still be able to mix or scratch with the turntable. It’s technology heaven for a DJ seeking the coolest gear in town.
When it comes to lighting, a DJ has the latest and greatest at his disposal as well. There are stage/club lights available that emit diodes allowing a DJ to create virtually any color via RGB color mixing. Traditional stage lighting uses simple filters in its lighting, limiting the true number of colors it can produce. Not today. These lights have over 150 LED’s in them allowing for massive color combinations. On top of that, they have been built to conserve energy using less than half the power of their older counterparts. No doubt about it; the DJ of today has a tech friendly job and a bright future ahead!
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