Hey there, and happy holidays! This week, Chris and I took a look back at the predictions we made at the end of 2008. How did they stack up? Whose predictions were more accurate? And does it depend upon who’s keeping score? All these questions and more are answered in Monday’s episode.

On Wednesday, we published part two on our series about electronics. Chris and I talk about some of the basic elements you’ll find in electronic circuits. We give you the scoop on resistors, transistors, capacitors and more. By the time you finish listening to the episode, you’ll know why it’s incredibly dangerous to root around inside an old television set even if it is turned off or unplugged.

Keep an ear out for our predictions episode for 2010. After the massive success of our 2009 predictions show, we couldn’t resist trying it again. Will one of us predict that by the end of the year the human race will be working for a race of robotic overlords? What do we have to say about the Apple tablet? And what does Leo Laporte’s This Week in Tech have to do with our predictions? Stay tuned to TechStuff and you’ll soon find out!

Thanks for listening!

Bassman TV Twelve Review

The 50’s saw the birth of the first electric bass guitars by Leo Fender with the famous Precision Bass model. Inevitably, the first Bassman amps with their tweed covering quickly appeared on the market. To celebrate its non-birthday, Fender introduces a new amp series based on these pioneer models.

Fender has always made good use of the desire most guitar and bass players have for legendary instruments that are very difficult to get a hold of nowadays. Obviously, that also applies to bass amps. That’s why Fender introduced the new Bassman TV Series whose look and sound is very close to the Bassman amps of the early 50’s.

The series includes four models: the Duo Ten equipped with two “Fender Special Design” Eminence 10″ speakers, the Fifteen with one Celestion Green Label 15″ speaker, the Ten with one Celestion Green Label 10″ speaker, and the Twelve equipped with one Celestion Green Label 12″. We will test the latter in this review. For your information, both the Duo Ten and the Fifteen are equipped with casters which is a good idea considering their weight (61.3 lb).

As soon as you unpack it you’ll be immediately seduced by the old-fashioned tweed covering, the chrome chassis with mirror effect (so you can redo your hair), the black chicken head knobs… It isn’t missing anything! The Twelve, with its 12″ speaker, is quite heavy (44.6 lb) and bulky (20″ x 22″ x 12.75″). In other words, it’s huge! The manufacturing and finish quality leave no doubt about its sturdiness–it will surely withstand long rehearsals, studio sessions and live gigs without a hitch. The old Fender logo, the small red light and the cloth grill in front of the speaker round up this compelling Bassman TV. The plastic handle is the only minor drawback–we’d rather have a leather one.

Now let’s take a closer look under the hood….

…

Conclusion

Fender understood that nostalgia is not only a guitarist’s thing. Even though they, once again, combine some new with some old stuff, the look and the sound quality of this Bassman TV are a real joy. The amp is easy to use, has a personal look and an awesome sound. What could you not like about it? That it’s unique: it has a particular sound and personality and you won’t get anything else out of it. You either like it or not!

Advantages:

• Sexy look
• Manufacturing quality
• Great vintage sound
• Ease of use
• Musical and effective controls
• XLR output
• Personality…

Drawbacks:

• … but poor versatility
• The bright switch is inconsequential
• No standby switch

To read the full detailed article see:  Fender Bassman TV 12 Review

Discussions about amplifiers

amazing little amps

Two very overweight white guys on the train, one blond with gold hoop earrings and a weird face, the other dark with a full beard:

Dark: I mean, I’m not saying — you don’t need, like, sixteen channels, but you need more than four!

Blond: Yeah, I don’t kn–

Dark: –I mean, you have four channels, and then you have four people singing – you have no more channels!

Blond: Yeah, but–

Dark: –I mean, look, I’m just trying to figure out what kind of amp you need to get this shit done.

Blond: I guess I–

Dark: I mean, it’s not gonna be, because then, you just need a mixer–

Blond: Yeah, but I feel like I can buy a mixer. Mixers aren’t that expensive.

Dark: They’re not too bad.

Blond: So then–

Dark: –I mean, I have a mixer I can lend you.

Blond: I’m just concerned about the wires. Because when we, whatever space we have, the wires have to come to, like a single, elegant point. We can’t have wires–

[Train noise.]

Blond: the wires, and I just–

Dark: –I’m telling you, man, I think we’re basically on the same page about the wires! I understand about the wires, but it’s a non-issue!

Blond: It just, it has to be a non-issue, because I can’t have, like–

Dark: –It will be a non-issue!

Blond: It has to be.

Dark: IT IS!

xkcd – Spinal Tap Amps

Source:
http://xkcd.com/670

Website – www.musicproducerpro.net

Every day I hear somebody tell me they want to start a career in the music industry, they want produce musiclike what comes on ‘MTV’. They ask me questions about how the sounds are made, do you think they are using real instruments and loads more. They are really interested and all I can do is tell them the real deal.

If you want to become the next big producer like who you listen to, you need to get your music productionknowledge up. You need to find someone who knows everything about what you want to do and beyond, someone who knows where your coming from. They could be someone your age or older, they are going to be a mentor to you, almost like a manager how allows you to go on making music the way you want to and allows you to make your own mistakes. You need someone who can show you what music production software you need such as Logic Pro, Fruity Loops, Audacity and more. The hardware is just as important too to get real sounds, MPC’s, Mixers, Microphones, Amps & Audio interfaces are all very important things when you are producing music.

Are you sure you want to become a music producerbecause these things are available for you and if you are willing to work hard you have a good chance in succeeding in the music industry. But first you need to get your knowledge up and start studying today from home in your free time. There is a website that teaches you everything about music production and has everything you need to know and more. Everything about the music studio, it will teach you about mastering, dynamics, mixing and compressing all of your own songs. Finishing and mastering other peoples songs and you could make it big doing that. (Sound Engineers get paid!)

But as I have already said, get your knowledge up as much as you can. There are so many people everyday saying ‘they want to produce music’ and never do!

Good luck and get your knowledge up.

For more information - http://www.musicproducerpro.net

For over a decade, the state’s proportion of the cost of quality education in Wisconsin has declined leading to staff lay-offs, larger class sizes, cuts in programs and services, and rising property taxes. As part of the last biennial budget, things actually got worse when, in an unprecedented move, state aid was cut.

Our school-funding system is in crisis, and that crisis is leading to less education in our schools and higher property taxes on our homes. It is time to say, “Enough is enough.” We need to reinvest in our public schools as soon as possible to stop the loss of revenue and then follow through on our promise of comprehensive change in the funding system.

The Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools (WAES) is asking State Government to raise Wisconsin’s sales tax by one penny. “A Penny for Kids” will put about $850 million a year toward saving programs and services in our schools and holding the line on property tax increases. It only makes sense.

You can be involved in this important effort by going to the “A Penny for Kids” website and signing the petition to tell your elected officials you want them to do the right thing. Once you have signed, make sure you share this e-mail with as many organizations and groups as possible because the more people who sign, the more power we have to make sure lawmakers do the right thing for our children and our communities. Or, if your organization has its own website, Facebook page, or other networking site, make sure to include a link to www.apennyforkids.org.

Robert Godfrey

For years, it has been a general opinion that even cheap tube amps amplifiers sound better than solid state amps.

first off – what’s a cheap tube amp? An inexpensive tube amp is a sort of guitar amplifier that operates on valves ( or vacuum tubes ) instead of transistors. The sound you get from a cheap tube amp is hotter and fuller that what you’d get from a solid state amp.
Valve amplifiers range between a few hundred greenbacks to a few thousand dollars, so that the choice is truly confusing! If you’re studying this article, you have doubtless decided that it’s time that you want to crank your volume past the ten mark on your present practice amp or the tone just isn’t gratifying you anymore and you are looking for cheap tube amps to fill the gap.

Firstly, the type of music that you play, so that you can decide on the quantity of gain that your amp wants to have. What is gain? Gain is fundamentally a synonym for distortion. If you play mostly’clean’ music ( virtually, no quantity of distortion ), you will not need lots of gain. If you play metal, you’ll need a high-gain cheap tube amps.
The most prominent clean amp of all cheap tube amps history is the Fender Bassman, the holy-grail of clean sounds. Usually, you’ll want to look at Fender and Vox. Most tube amps have the quantity of gain necessary for blues or rock ( Marshalls, the expensive Buddas, the cheap Blackhearts ).

The second aspect of cheap tube amps, why many folks want them, is the dynamic. This allows a great quantity of expression. You’re going to have to hear an amp to work out if it has this quality. This is critical, otherwise you may sound all muddy. The best way to test this is to play some chords, even fewer amps possess this quality.
.

Here is more info on cheap tube amps !!!

Musicians Friend was started in 1983 out of a garage and is now a company that offers a huge selection of music products. Musicians Friend was also the first company to offer rock band gear. Many of the employees are musicians so when shopping for gear you know they will give you the best service. Not only can you shop at the store but online ordering is just as easy. They have everything any musician would need from Amps, Bass Guitars, Brass Instruments, Concert & Marching, Drums & Percussion, Folk Instruments, Guitars, Keyboards, DJ Gear, Lighting and Mixers. They even have used gear that has a 45 day satisfaction guarantee. Whether the gear you need is big or small they have it all. They offer 3 – 18 month financing with no payments or interest. They always have great clearance items and offer great deals on shipping. Musicians Friend is like the one stop shop for all those rockers out there.

AMP is aiming to join the big four banks and become a fifth pillar of the financial services industry with an audacious $11.7 billion bid for rival Axa in one of the biggest takeovers in Australian history…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: recession news. The blog is also related to: recession data.

Below are some of my favourite guitars to play.

I really like the tones and feel of the Danelectro and Rickenbacker models.

Also featured below the links are some pics of great guitarists and musicians that play Danelectro and Rickenbacker.

You may find what you’re looking for at these sites as well. I have found them to be very helpful and fun.
The Recordist

Aztechmusic.com

Guitarchordfinder

Playbetterbluegrass.com

Guitarmasterclass.net

Audacity

AX84.com

cheapguitarsreport

gettuned guitar tuner

haramps guitar shielding

harmonycentral guitar instruction

americanmusical.com

logue.net chords

Guitar Wheel instruction tool

Guitarnuts.com technical

guitarnoise.com

projectguitar.com intonation

mwcamerica.com

Tortoiseguitar.com

Mandolincafe.com tuning

fret2fret.com instruction tool

RogerMcGuinn.blogspot.com

rocknrollvintage.com

gonegator.com Tom Petty stuff

Enjoy.

What are your favourite guitars?

What type of music do you play?

Self taught? Lessons?

Play at home, with friends, family, live in public?

Record your playing at home onto a PC?

First guitar you owned/played?
Please leave Comments.

This Cort Effector model has built in effects circuits and sounds good for a low priced guitar. I have one like this, but all black. They were sold at Sears stores back in the 80’s. It was my first guitar.