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4 Must-Have Gifts for the Music Fanatic in Your Life
You’ve eventually got to get creative when it comes to buying gifts for your music lover. They’ve got plenty of collector’s edition guitars, decorative tambourines to hang on the wall and tour merchandise from their favorite bands. You need to start surprising your audio engineer, music student or musician. Give them something amazing and unexpected, and they’ll start to think you’re the best in the world when it comes to choosing presents that really rock. Here are 4 awesome ideas to get you started that are sure to please any music fan.
The Mojave Leather Picker’s Wallet
Photo by matsuyuki via Flickr
Every guitar player carries around a guitar pick. They just never know when they’ll be invited to jam with local musicians, friends, or even famous people they meet while doing audio engineering jobs. A pick is as necessary to a player as cash, credit cards and a driver’s license. Most players keep their picks in their jeans pockets or tucked in their existing wallet with their insurance cards. These aren’t the most convenient places to keep something as tiny as a guitar pick, and they can easily be lost. The Mojave Leather Picker’s Wallet solves this problem by providing a pick pocket directly in the wallet. The pocket holds the pick securely and makes it easily accessible whenever it’s needed. This is a true gift of thoughtfulness and convenience for a music lover. $31.00
Recording the Beatles, by Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan
Photo by Affendaddy via Flickr
This multimedia book set is any Beatles lover’s dream. This is especially true if the Beatles lover in question is also a music engineer. This highly detailed book goes into exactly how the Beatles recorded everything at Abbey Road.Recording the Beatles is full of technical details you won’t find anywhere else. The technicality of the book makes it intriguing to someone attending an audio engineering school like Pinnacle College. With extras included like a slipcover with the appearance of an old EMI tape box, a poster of the Abbey Road mixer controls, a copy of the handwritten lyrics for “A Day In the Life,” this will be the present of the century for any music lover. $120.00
iRig Pro
Photo by nipotan via Flickr
Lots of today’s audio engineers like to record things on the fly with their iPhones or iPads. However, the sound quality often leaves something to be desired. The iRig Pro remedies this problem. It lets musicians connect any electronic instrument or microphone directly to an iPhone or iPad (4). It has a preamp that matches the output of whatever is plugged into it and also has phantom power for the most advanced instruments and microphones. It is the accessory for allowing crystal clear iPhone and iPad recordings, and your music lover will use it all the time. $150.00
TronicalTune
Many audio engineers and mixers are also musicians on the side. They like to record as well as play. The Tronical Robot Tuner will make playing a lot easier, and you’ll be their own personal Guitar Hero for getting this for them. The TronicalTune is high technology that attaches to the headstock and tuning knobs of any guitar. It then accomplishes the amazing feat of tuning the guitar automatically. It will even re-tune to alternate tuning settings instantly just by pressing a button. It makes playing on stage with a band much simpler and more fun. $330.00
This blog was contributed by Joseph Treece
Joseph is a reporter for an independent music network. He loves everything from shoegaze to top 40 pop to Japanese surf punk.
Lyle Workman
Christine Arylo
Luke Potter
Frans Johansson
Scott Fox
Judy Robinett
Dave Ulmer
EOS 3D: A Radical Step Forward for 3D Technology
In recent years, Three-Dimension (3D) technology has seen a steady increase in quality as well as quantity in our everyday lives. Ever since Honey I Shrunk the Kids provided the first interactive movie experience by combining rudimentary 3D film with other sense-tickling technologies, 3D technology has evolved to the sophistication of James Cameron’s groundbreaking film “Avatar,” which revolutionized 3D film. (It is worth noting that the making of the film was delayed 10 years in anticipation of how this evolving technology would enable the film’s intended effects). 3D has now moved even further, creating more interactive experiences in an attempt to render inanimate technology more “life-like.”
Various advances demonstrate this progression: Leap Motion, which creates an interactive cloud that reads hand movements, gestures, and grabs, allowing total control of what you are researching or creating on your computer; indoor Google Maps, which creates a 3D model of the inside of buildings, allowing for a far easier, more interactive option for finding a doctor’s office or mail room; and Google Glass, which combines social media with 3D technology, in effect documenting your life in a 3D platform for all your social network “friends” to see.
However impressive all these innovations may be, they have achieved interactivity only in the abstract sense. The film industry creates 3D entertainment; Leap Motion creates some Star Wars-esque cloud of interactivity; and Google Glass records and shares what’s around you – but none of these 3D technologies succeed in creating something tangible that can be held and beheld, in appreciation of the true genius behind the creation.
But all this has changed with the introduction of EOS 3D – which literally prints 3D objects. These machines are capable of “printing” in plastic, metal, and sand manufacturing, and the appeal to various industries – ranging from aerospace to medical and lifestyle products – is undeniable. Working with tool-less laser technology, EOS 3D manufacturing can produce light-weight yet high-tech components – and for cheap. For those of you who watch Orange County Chopper, the “printing” works in a way similar to how motorcycle enthusiasts customize various parts.
This technology marks a very interesting point in the 3D technology industry. While it may be true today that e-manufacturing relies on clunky, massive devices, the first computer wasn’t exactly pocket sized either – and if you hadn’t noticed, change tends to happen a lot faster these days.
Just imagine owing one of these e-manufacturing devices in the year 2020, a time when they’ll have decreased to the size of a toaster, and being able to materialize whatever you want without leaving the house. Need a screw? Print it. A pen? Print it. A sandwich? … Print it?
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, President, CEO of the All Access Group, LLC
PS: Subscribe to my FREE All Access Group Newsletterhttps://bit.ly/AAGNewletter
PSS: Listen to an entire library of intimate discussions with industry visionaries https://bit.ly/AllAccessPodcastSeries (Priceless)
How to Start a Rabbl: Tell Your Favorite Bands Where to Play, and When
With the advent of various personal music-creating and editing programs (from Audacity, to Garage Band, to Logic Pro) it has become increasingly easy, and more popular for individuals to dive into the independent music industry. Success stories of amateur musicians, making it big from small, at-home “studios,” are rolling in daily.
Girl Talk and Pretty Lights are two recent examples of established artists who “sample” their own music through independent editing, but the method extends all the way back to Dr. Dre. Today, the growing number of “independent artists” and the increase in popularity of underground music is creating fiscal problems for hopeful musicians. Due to widespread legal and illegal music downloads, many musicians have opted to release mix tapes and albums free of charge, using these releases as a sort of promotion for live tours.
The trend of releasing free music in the hopes of generating ticket sales raises new concerns for aspiring artists with small but growing fan bases, such as: Where should I perform? How much should tickets cost? Who will come? Will I make money? In essence, these questions boil down to just one: is performing fiscally worth it?
Enter Rabbl, a new service for hopeful musicians that seeks to “Help Bands Play to the Crowd, Long Before the Show.” Rabbl describes its services in 6 steps: create, vote, reach your goal, find a venue, book the show, and perform. These steps allow artists to choose a town or city and set ticket prices, with a specific goal of selling enough tickets to cover expenses. Fans cast their yes-or-no vote by reserving rights to a ticket. If enough fans “purchase” a ticket, everyone is charged; if not, the show is cancelled. If the gig secures enough attendees, the band moves on to locating a venue, booking the show, and performing. Rabbl holds the money obtained from ticket sales until the performance of the show is verified- by fans, again, on Rabbl- at which point the band acquires the ticket sales revenue.
Rabbl combines a “crowdsourcing” survey machine with the services of Ticket Master, resulting in a promotional database and management tool for aspiring musicians. By equipping emerging musicians with a promotional platform integrated with business analytics – and enabling fans to cast their votes – Rabbl has provided the perfect way to accelerate the growth of “up and coming” independent artists.
Keep your eyes peeled for their success stories – we just might start seeing more of them.
Until next time,
Kelli Richards, President, CEO of the All Access Group, LLC
PS: Subscribe to my FREE All Access Group Newsletter https://bit.ly/AAGNewletter
PSS: Listen to an entire library of intimate discussions with industry visionaries https://bit.ly/AllAccessPodcastSeries
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4 Must-Have Gifts for the Music Fanatic in Your Life
Lyle Workman
Christine Arylo
Luke Potter
Frans Johansson
Scott Fox
Judy Robinett
Dave Ulmer
EOS 3D: A Radical Step Forward for 3D Technology
How to Start a Rabbl: Tell Your Favorite Bands Where to Play, and When
Search Resources
Topic Areas & Guests
Categories
Join our mailing list
For insights on industry trends, and for details on special projects/events. We respect your time and your privacy.
Search Resources
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Join our mailing list
For insights on industry trends, and for details on special projects/events. We respect your time and your privacy.
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