Archive for November, 2009

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Sound Gigs and Holiday Dinners

11/28/2009

Well folks, if you haven’t noticed, I have neglected my post as blogger. I have a valid excuse though; I had a sound gig for a band on Wednesday night and needed to take the day to get set up for sound-check by 4:30 pm. We didn’t actually get to do a sound-check before 4:30 though because some of the band members were not there at that time however, everything went off without any catastrophes to speak of. I set up the sound system for a 6 piece band and amplified everything to fill the large room with adequate sound and it actually sounded pretty good considering I had some problems with my Dual 31 band EQ. I was only able to get 1 channel of the 2 working properly so I opted to not use it at all and just did what I could using the parametric EQ’s on each input channel of the mixer. It worked out but I feel it could have sounded better. Anyway, the holidays and craziness aren’t. After getting home at 4:30 am on Thursday after the gig, I slept until 8:40 am, got up, drove an hour to one thanksgiving party then had to drive an hour home after being there for only a few hours. Now, tonight I have another party to attend right after work, then tomorrow, my band and I are playing a show in Iowa and have a 3 hour drive to look forward to. It has been a crazy week for me and it isn’t over yet. That’s about all I’ve got for you right now, other than the fact that we just added some Electro-Voice Power Amps to the American Musical Supply website, so go and check them out! Have a great weekend everybody.

-Ryan

Posted in Live-Sound | Leave a Comment »

Bring on the Thump!

11/25/2009

There really is a shortage of good and powerful subwoofers in the powered area. Many of them are both good and powerful but also sit in the “very expensive” area. Now, you get all the benefits of a solid, sonically robust and affordable subwoofer in one single package thanks to the Mackie Thump TH18S Powered Subwoofer. This 18 inch powered subwoofer pounds when connected to your PA providing a powerful low end that brings the massive Thump you’ve been craving for your PA. Matching the design of their SRM450v2 mains, Mackie’s TH18S utilizes a ported bass reflex design producing incredibly tight low end. Thanks to the onboard lightweight, ultra-efficient Class-D Fast Recovery power amplifier you can push 1000 watts peak power while reducing any chance of thermal overload. The TH18S brings powerful bass in a lightweight, portable and affordable package.

-Ryan

Posted in Live-Sound | Leave a Comment »

Weekend Plans and using New Gear

11/21/2009

Happy Friday everybody, it’s a good weekend indeed as I have a DJ gig tomorrow evening for a wedding reception. I actually have a little custom work that I need to do in order to mount my American DJ M500L Mirror Ball Kit to the 2 inch truss which will hold all the other lights. As you are probably aware, Mirror Balls are absolute necessities for any good dance party so I have made it a priority to build a mount using a steel mounting bracket from an old Par can. Not only am I slammed to make a mount for my disco ball, I also have to go through the playlist I received from the groom to make sure I have everything they want. It’s going to be a long night tonight and a fun one tomorrow. That’s all I have for today, have a great weekend folks!

-Ryan

Posted in DJ | Leave a Comment »

Phat Tube Tone for your Bass in a 4 Pound Package

11/19/2009

Notice how I spelled fat, I mean phat. Yeah, that means it is fatter than the standard spelled fat. Anyway, gather around bassists, you’re going to dig this entry. If you are like other bassists on the everlasting quest for great tone but don’t have a huge vehicle to lug a gigantic rack case full of equipment and amps, then maybe you need to check out the Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 Bass Guitar Amplifier Head. Now, I realize that I will probably get some grief for this entry from the players that still believe you need a case weighing 100 plus pounds to achieve great tone but I don’t care. The world needs to know about the Shuttle 9.0.

Providing the same great tube tone and compact head design as its predecessor, the Shuttle 6.0, Shuttle 9.0 adds additional power with exceptional headroom and responsive feel. Featuring a Class D amplifier and SMPS module, the Shuttle 9.0 is further enhanced by Genz Benz’ Patent Pending P.H.A.T. (Proprietary Heat Abatement Technology) topology, delivering robust and reliable, high output performance in a compact 4 lb chassis.

-Ryan

Posted in Bass | Leave a Comment »

Add Simple Compression to Sweeten up your Solos

11/18/2009

I must get at least 3 people a week calling in to ask the question, “How do I get more sustain out of my guitar?” Well, if you have already tried the obvious, changing the strings and making sure your instrument is adjusted properly; the next thing to try is a compressor pedal. The problem with just offering this as a suggestion is that most compressor pedals have more knobs than the inexperienced user wants to mess with. That is where the Whirlwind Rochester Red Box Compressor Pedal comes in. Built to be rugged, simple and effective, the Red Box is as smooth and subtle or as fast and obvious as you want it to be with a single knob to adjust the amount of desired compression. The basic idea here is that the sensitivity knob is your buddy. Turning the control clockwise applies more compression resulting in increased sustain by limiting the loud peaks and boosting the soft parts of the signal. Add some much needed sustain to your guitar sound, simply!

-Ryan

Posted in Guitars | Leave a Comment »

Record and Duplicate your Projects on your own Terms

11/17/2009

The industry has changed quite a bit in the last couple of decades. Most artists are producing and recording their own material thanks to the advancement in technology, making it simpler and more affordable for everybody. The one thing that has still been difficult to achieve without much invested time and money is CD duplication. Granted, there are consumer CD/DVD duplicators out there and American Musical Supply has them available to you but they require a lot of babysitting of the machine itself. Now, thanks to Diskfaktory and AMS, you can get your project duplicated easily and at very affordable prices. Check out the Artist Services we have available to you!

Simply said, through the new AMS Artist Services, we enable Indie-artists like us and you to develop better content, create a professional looking album, and promote your talents on a variety of digital and physical distribution formats that are available today.

  • No Set up Fee
  • Artist Development Services
  • Disc Production Services: Graphic, Mastering, Disc, Packaging, Fulfillment and Distribution
  • iTunes Distribution
  • Low quantity & On-Demand Fulfillment Services
  • FREE viral musician community and social networking

CD and DVD Products
CD and DVD duplication is now available through our easy to use portal. Just choose the quantity and presentation (jewel case, cd wallet, cd jacket, etc) followed by uploading your artwork and audio. Once your disk is complete, you can submit your order and have it shipped right to your door. Options include individual UPC codes, CD Text Encoding, Shrink Wrapping and much more. Finish off your project with style, flare and a much-needed professional touch.

-Ryan

Posted in Recording | Leave a Comment »

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