Imagine if Paul McCartney or John Lennon forgot the melody to ‘Hey Jude’ or ‘Strawberry Fields’. The world would be deprived of masterpieces. Musicians out there need a backup so that their masterpieces don’t slip into the ether. A Gibson Memory Cable ($150) records up to 13 hours of music to Micro SD cards. Plug it into a guitar, PA mixer or any cable output and never worry about losing a great idea.
Not every person who wants to play the guitar wants to devote their life to it (there’s a marriage metaphor in there somewhere); and yet many people who wanna dabble want more than just a few rounds of Rock Band 2. Fender and Apple are tapping into this market with a new USB-equipped Squier Stratocaster ($199.99) that’s meant to thrive in GarageBand. You get a standard 1/4-inch output jack, a 30-pin connector cable that works with older iOS devices, plus cables that let you hook up directly to a Mac or PC.
It’s hard to believe, but turntable DJs – once the epitome of cutting edge cool – are now settling into that “grumpy old fogey” category. Technology like the Philips FWP3200D DJ-Dock has many of them whining about “kids these days” and whatnot. Just plug a pair of iPhones into the twin decks and you’ll be mixing (but not scratching) like a pro–a pro who spent 20 years and $14,000 to hone his craft. Damn, maybe he has a right to be cranky.
Playing an instrument is one of those things that – despite its girl-magnet factor – can be just too damn daunting for the average dude who has Call of Duty games to be played and Doritos to be ingested. But the AlphaSphere could be the instrument to buck that trend. With 48 pressure-sensitive pads just begging to be pressed, this thing is as fun to play as it is to look at. Load the Sphere with your own sounds or connect it to your computer with the intuitive software. You can trigger, loop, and manipulate audio files, and if the responsive LED lighting doesn’t get you some tail, well, you didn’t want her anyway.
“Bring over your amp” is the kinda request that you normally can only make of a good friend–like a friend who you once sucked the scorpion venom out of his hairy neck mole for. If you did that for him, the least he can do is lug that monstrosity over to your place for the monthly jam session. But now, thanks to the Yamaha THR, your venom-sucking days are over. The THR delivers rich, deep tones and wake-the-neighbors volume via Yamaha’s exclusive Virtual Circuitry Modeling (VCM) technology, all in a compact retro-styled case that no 98-pound weakling can balk at. Factor in some fun effects controls and the ability to run it via batteries and you’ve got a guitarist’s new best friend–just without the sucking power.
Musicians are a nomadic sort. One night, it’s a bar gig in Boston, the next it’s a Bar Mitzah in Boca Raton. So streamlining the equipment is key for today’s creative mavens, and the Orange OPC does just that, combining a PC with an amplifier in a funky orange shell. Built-in software (minus the bloatware) lets you play, record, and mix multiple tracks, and kick them out via two stereo 6.5″ full tonal JBL speakers. The PC portion boasts a bevy of inputs including HDMI, while the amp offers 1/4″ jacks inputs/outputs, and EQ controls. The dual-core i3 OPC goes for $1300, while the top of the line quad-core i7 runs $1600.
