Legacy Classic Collection

We’ve got the latest range of Classic electric guitars from Legacy now in stock! These guitars are incredible value for money with many features  similar to guitars twice their price. The Emerald series of guitars feature the new “N-Tune” built-in electronic tuner for the amazing price of $799. The Diamond series models feature Seymour Duncan Pro Pick-ups with stunning gold hardware and flame maple tops for the crazy price of $899. We’ve also got the “Immortal” models which are very similar to the Gibson SG’s at about a quarter of the price!

These Legacy electric guitars have to be seen to be believed…check out the entire range here!

Casio AP80

We are proud to announce in conjunction with Casio Australia the 2008 release of an exciting new range of keyboard and digital piano models. To celebrate we are holding a Saturday afternoon “wine and cheese” presentation at our Springfield store. Don’t miss your chance be able to see and hear these new models first-hand. Casio representives will also be around on the day to answer all your questions and to demonstrate the latest ground-breaking features Casio have included in this 2008 range.

If that wasn’t enough, we have arranged for a very special guest performance from local piano prodigy Jasmine Fisher. Jasmine has to be seen to be believed, at just six years of age she has already been featured on national television in New Zealand.

We plan to commence from 4 pm on the 18th October and we anticipate a 6pm close. Don’t forget that this event is going to be held at our Springfield store which can be found in the Springlake Metro Shopping Centre. To avoid any disappointment, call or email to reserve your place.

Casio CTK-4000

The very latest electronic keyboards and digital piano’s from Casio are now in stock!

New Casio keyboard features:

• New AHL sound source - AHL stands for Acoustic & Highly-compressed Large-waveform - What does this mean to you?Simply, better sound!
• Piano Style Keys - Gives you a better feel and playability than standard style keyboard keys which makes a big difference when learning to play keyboard.
• iPod/MP3 player connectivity - Connect your portable music player to your Casio keyboard and sample your favourite music from the player directly into your keyboard.
• Intuitive Step-Up lesson system - Listen, watch, remember. A revolutionary and intuitive ear training learning system.
• Larger LCD displays - The new Casio keyboards now have larger LCD displays, some are also back-lit.
• Casio Plug, Play & Create Technology - You can plug your Casio keyboard into your Mac or PC computer via USB and instantly start creating music in your favourite music recording program.

Check out the latest Casio CTK Keyboard range here

D.I.Y. Recording Workshop Part Two

We’re pleased to announce Part Two in our series of D.I.Y. Recording Workshops, scheduled for 7pm on the 22nd September 2008 at our Springfield store. We expect a great deal of interest in this next event following the success of our debut recording workshop last month. This next workshop will delve a lot deeper into the recording and mixing fundamentals and to allow everyone the opportunity to get “hands-on” with the equipment and software we have limited the number of attendees to a maximum of eight. Some of the topics covered will include equalization (EQ), effects and compression, mixing and basic mastering. This intensive mini-course is sure to “fast-track” your recording and mixing skills all for the low-cost of just $50 per person!

Because of the limited places we recommend that you call or email ASAP to secure your spot and avoid any disappointment. All bookings must be paid for in full and in advance. We look forward to seeing you there!

Radio Riff 2008

The 96.5/Best Music Shop “Radio Riff” competition for 2008 is now in full swing! We have some amazing prize packages up for grabs kindly sponsored by Yamaha Music Australia and Roland. It’s as simple as just recording and uploading your own original 30 second version of the Australian National Anthem for your chance to win the $5000 recording package! The highest voted “Riffs” on the Radio Riff website will be selected as finalists and then a winner and runner-up will be chosen.
All entries must be in by the end of Sunday 21st September 2008. Get your Riff in now!
What are you waiting for? Don’t miss your chance to win this incredible first prize package…go to our Radio Riff website to enter immediately!

Microphones

Choosing the right microphone for your needs has become increasingly difficult with the splurge of options available today. You must first consider the main purpose you’ll be using the microphone for eg. live performance and/or studio recording.

The two most common types of microphones are:
Dynamic Mics:

• Cheapest option.
• Don’t require a power source.
• Will produce better results in a noisy recording space because they aren’t as sensitive as the condensor type.
• Work well on louder signals such as drum kits, guitar speaker cabinets & vocals (especially for live vocals). The Shure SM57 and SM58 are two very popular options and there are many generic versions of these microphones available on the market today.

Condensor Mics:

• They require power from either an onboard battery or phantom power from your soundcard or mixer
• They record from greater distances
• Capture higher frequencies
• Work well on stringed instruments, vocals, acoustic guitars & drum overheads

If you are planning to use the microphone for live performances only, then you should seriously consider the dynamic type. Condensor microphones are best suited for studio recording but they also require a very quiet recording space as they are extremely sensitive.

Condensor microphone polar patterns:

• Cardioid
• Figure-8
• Omni-directional

Condensor microphones come in a variety of polar patterns. The most common pattern is the cardioid type which captures sound mostly from the front of the microphone. The “figure-8″ pattern captures sound from the front and back and is useful for certain types of recording situations. Omni-directional microphones pick up sound from all directions and are ideal for capturing the full room sound. Some microphones have one fixed polar pattern while more expensive microphones have the ability to switch to two or more different polar patterns.

Check out our range of microphones for both studio and live purposes

D.I.Y. Recording Workshop - August 2008

We’d like to thank everyone who took time-out to participate in our D.I.Y. Recording Workshop. This was just the first recording workshop in a series we have planned which are aimed at educating keen home recording enthusiast’s of all levels. In this workshop we focused on the basics of home recording including computer and music equipment recommendations and basic audio tracking.

A big thanks to Lee from Innovative Music for his informative segment on microphones and the awesome Novation Nio sound-interface.  Thanks also to Hamish from Music Link who demonstrated the incredible versatility of the Line 6 Variax guitars.

Please feel free to contact us with any suitable suggestions you may have for our future recording workshops. We will keep all email subscribers posted on these up-coming events.

Guild DV-6 Acoustic Guitar

We have just received our latest shipment of Guild acoustic guitars which includes both the GAD series and the recently released American-made DV-4 and DV-6 models which are priced at under $1900!!! These particular Guild guitars are nothing short of “astounding” and could easily hold their own against any other brand of guitar on the market up-to twice their price. If you’ve been searching for a high quality acoustic guitar without a pickup then the Guild DV models are a definite “no-brainer”.

Check out the Guild DV models here

Crate V18-212 Valve Guitar Amplifier

We have just received the latest shipment of Crate guitar amplifiers which includes both the FlexWave and V-Series tube amplifiers. Crate have managed to re-invent the old style solidstate amplifier with their “modern” sounding FlexWave models. All the FlexWave models feature a built-in electronic tuner, 3-channel operation, 18 DSP effects with separate controls including delay and reverb and a CD/MP3 player imput. Anything from a nice clean crystal tone through to an ear piercing high-gain distortion is possible on these amplifiers.

Also in stock are the new Crate V-Series tube amplifiers which will definitely catch the eyes of the more “old-school” guitar players. Ranging from a neighbour friendly 5 watt combo amplifier right through to the not so neighbour friendly 1oo watt head! The V-Series all feature Class A all-tube circuitry, 3-band EQ and spring reverb.

Plug into one of these incredible amplifiers today!