Sweetwater inSync

Guitar of the Day

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:02 +0100

This particular Custom Shop Strat is one of our personal favorites, which is one reason we try to always have one in stock - you know, in case we have a weak moment and start reaching for our Sweetwater Musician's All Access Platinum Card. It's officially dubbed the (get ready for it...) Fender Custom Shop Custom Classic Stratocaster C-Neck (whew!). If you go to our amazing Guitar Gallery and have a look at this beauty, the first thing you're bound to notice is the gorgeous figured ash body finished in a deep, rich color Fender calls Bing Cherry Transparent. This color really shows off the distinctive grain pattern that ash is so famous for (and which Leo used on all the original Fender models). The lightly figured maple neck and fingerboard is a nice complement, and with the comfortable "C" shape and 9.5-inch radius, it's also a joy to play. If Bing Cherry isn't to your liking, we also have a Custom Classic in the trademark Honey Blonde with maple fingerboard. The Custom Classic Strat comes with Modern Classic single-coil pickups in the neck and middle positions, while a Hot Classic (with a custom steel inductance plate) sits in the bridge position, all of which have modern magnet stagger, so that a plain G string won't be so freakin' LOUD! The "aged" white plastic parts are over a 3-ply parchment pickguard. Controls include a 5-position blade switch, a master volume, neck pickup tone control, and a no-load tone control on the bridge and middle pickups. The deluxe 2-point synchronized tremolo tailpiece has polished steel saddles and the new-style pop-in arm (so there's no more screwing in the arm and losing the little spring inside the hole!). In keeping with contemporary tastes, the maple neck comes with a nicely polished satin urethane finish. The guitar ships in a deluxe black hardshell case with black, crushed velvet interior and all the cool Fender case candy. It even includes free FedEx shipping right to your door!

New In Stock At Sweetwater

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:01 +0100

Antares AVOX 2 - This new incarnation of the Antares vocal toolkit expands on the great processing capabilities offered by the original AVOX bundle, then adds several incredible plug-ins. AVOX 2 gives you ten astounding modules to let you mold and shape vocal tracks the way you want. This bundle not only gives you an amazing amount of control over everything from pitch to EQ to formants, it also provides a set of amazing effects that let you process your vocal tracks to give them stunning clarity or, if you choose, lets you boldly twist them into something otherworldly. Compatible with Mac OS X RTAS, VST, and AU, and PC RTAS and VST formats.
Roland Fantom-G8 - Roland's 88-key sampling synth workstation represents the company's most powerful live workstation ever. The Fantom-G8 features a full-sized weighted PHA II keyboard for incredibly natural feel and great expression, along with a comprehensive set of buttons and sliders, twice the waveform RAM, a large color display, and total control over its incredibly powerful sound engine. The onboard audio/MIDI sequencer allows up to 128 tracks (including 24 audio), and you get an astounding set of studio-quality audio effects. The ARX SuperNATURAL expansion bay lets you take the G8 to an even higher level of performance!

Guitar Rig 3 XE

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

If you're looking for an intro into guitar amp/effects modeling software, this is the product you've been waiting for! Native Instruments Guitar Rig 3 is well-known as one of the most powerful and flexible guitar modelers available, and the new XE version brings that power in at an incredibly low price! GR 3 XE includes five versatile amp models, 12 cabinets, and 21 effects units. Also included are dual "tape decks," metronome, tuner, and 150 included presets to get you started in whatever style you play.

Guitar of the Day

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:03 +0100

Over the past 20 years or so, Paul Reed Smith and his timber specialists always seem to find the best maple, so that even a PRS that doesn't have a 10-top or an artist-grade top will look and sound great, because there's a lot more involved in building a superb instrument than just a pretty top. Today's Guitar of the Day, a Custom 24, just happens to have a highly figured maple top and naturally that's the first thing you see. The top on this Emerald Green Custom 24 is in one of the company's most popular colors, while the back and neck are black. The deep figuring produces an intense 3-D effect as you view it from different angles. But as Smith himself reminds us, a great guitar isn't rated by the quality of the top, but rather how all the pieces work together acoustically. This one sounds wonderful even before you plug it into an amp. Once you do, you'll be grinning ear-to-ear because PRS always matches the finest pickups to each particular model, so that a Singlecut sounds quite different than a Custom 24 or a McCarty. PRS guitars are clearly about more than looks or specific woods. The sound produced by this beauty comes courtesy of a pair of coverless PRS pickups, which strike the perfect balance between vintage and modern tones. In the bridge position is the company's HFS (hot, fat, and screams) pickup, while the neck pickup is the company's Vintage Bass. The neck on this particular Custom 24 is a Wide-Thin carve, which is truly comfortable and blazing fast, and is topped with a premium rosewood fingerboard with trademark PRS abalone bird inlays. A 5-position rotary pickup selector lets you choose the warm, smoky crunch of humbuckers, but also splits the coils in series and parallel to give you the glossy sound normally associated with single-coil pickups set to the "in-between" positions. You also get the silky-smooth PRS vibrato tailpiece and gold hardware upgrade. Naturally, this Custom 24 ships in a deluxe, plush-lined hardshell case and includes free FedEx shipping right to your door!

New In Stock At Sweetwater

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:02 +0100

Roland Micro Cube Bass RX - This compact bass guitar amplifier packs a great-sounding modeling bass amp into a battery-powered package! Using Roland's proprietary FFP technology and a surprisingly lightweight enclosure, the Micro Cube Bass RX also includes an onboard stereo power amp, four 4-inch speakers, eight COSM amp models, six digital effects, and a built-in tuner. There's also a Rhythm Guide function, an aux input for playing along with your MP3 or CD player, and even a headphone out that doubles as a direct recording output. Did we mention that you can take it with you almost anywhere, thanks to its ability to run off either AC or battery power?
Lexicon PCM96 - From the company that practically wrote the book on modern reverb technology, the PCM96 lets you call up 28 of Lexicon's legendary reverbs and effects, all handled by 32-bit floating point processing. You also get reliable, hassle-free FireWire connectivity, which enables DAW automation via a FireWire streaming plug-in, and also acts as a hardware plug-in for almost any Mac VST and Audio Units software. The PCM96 puts world-renowned Lexicon reverbs where you want them, when you want them.

Receptor Is In-tune

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:01 +0100

Muse Research has announced that Antares' Auto-Tune 5 vocal pitch-correction plug-in is now officially supported on the Receptor hardware plug-in host.

Free Groove Transfusion

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Digidesign has released a free 3-month trial version of their upcoming Transfuser plug-in. This is a great chance to get to play with what is one of the most inspiring and exciting RTAS virtual instrument plug-ins we've seen in a long time. Transfuser offers unique tools for processing and playing audio, whether a Pro Tools track, a live input, or loops. There's real-time slicing, automatic conversion of loops to MIDI patterns and drum kits, sound replacement within loops, intelligent randomization, a wide range of real-time effects, drag-and-drop of Pro Tools regions and audio files, and performance-oriented features for creative arranging and live use of grooves and loops. The free 90-day preview version of Transfuser will be available for download from Digidesign through June 25, 2008.

Guitar of the Day

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:00:03 +0100

If you could somehow find a time machine that could take you back to 1958 to buy a Gibson ES-335, this is very much like the guitar you'd find waiting for you. Unlike later versions, this "dot neck" 335 has a big, fat neck. Well, once you start talking necks, you're likely to end up talking about designs that Gibson came up with in the late 1950s, like the iconic '58 Les Paul, which seems to epitomize the classic guitar with a big "tree trunk" neck. But it wasn't all alone! In 1958, Gibson released another legendary model that also sported a fat mahogany neck: the original ES-335. And by the way, for you lovers of guitar trivia, the model numbers on many of Gibson's early models were (as some of you already suspected) the list prices, so an ES-335 carried a $335 price tag when it was originally released, while the ES-355 cost $355. In any case, just like the Les Paul, the 335's neck got thinner, until by 1960, it had Gibson's "slim-taper" neck, which was built for speed, though some builders and players feel that a larger neck contributes to a bigger sound and more sustain. Today's Guitar of the Day, the Gibson Memphis ES-335 "Fat Neck," is not officially a specific reissue, but rather a combination of characteristics that made the original 335 so popular, beginning with that chunky '58 neck profile. It has a slightly slimmer body, which is closer to the '59 335 and the top, back, and sides are constructed out of a maple/poplar/maple laminate, which makes for a very sturdy instrument. (Despite what some believe, laminates are very good materials, particularly when you're talking about electric guitars.) To aid in producing a fat tone, Gibson has equipped this Dot Neck with a pair of '57 Classic humbuckers, which deliver the sweet, warm tone of the original PAF (Patent Applied For) pickups. Both the top and back, as well as the 22-fret rosewood fingerboard have tasteful, single-ply cream binding. Today's examples range from Antique Natural to Vintage Sunburst, Antique Ebony, and the quintessential Gibson color that became so popular in the 1960s, Cherry, which is called Antique Red here. Naturally, a deluxe hardshell case is included, as is free FedEx delivery right to your doorstep!

New In Stock At Sweetwater

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:00:02 +0100

Allen & Heath ZED436 - This console provides users with all the essentials they need for flexible live mixing: 32 channels with smooth, long-throw faders, 4-band EQ with swept mids, six aux sends, and four sub groups. You also get a direct output on every channel and master level controls on all outputs.The ZED-436 has a fantastic pedigree that comes from Allen & Heath's nearly 40 years of making mixing desks for the professional sound community. The padless DuoPre mic/line preamplifier is a new design that was first implemented on the ZED-14, and it delivers a high-headroom, low-noise signal. The EQ and low-noise summing amps are borrowed from the highly acclaimed GL2400.
electro-harmonix Stereo Pulsar - This pedal delivers a sweet vintage tremolo, designed to elevate your tone to new sonic heights! Expect undulating tremolo and panning that's perfect to both fill out and add dimension to your sound, both up on stage and in the studio. A switch lets you select between vintage triangle or square waves, so you can sculpt the right sound for each song. You can also shape control transitions from negative to positive sawtooth, and even adjust the pulse width for the ultimate in sonic control. If you're looking to add motion and depth to your sound, you need stereo tremolo!
Roland TD-9SX - The TD-9 sound module is the anchor of Roland's new mid-line V-Drum kits. With hundreds of new sounds, real audio songs, and patterns onboard, the TD-9 raises the bar significantly in its price range. Outfitted with a large, backlit display with accompanying oversized buttons and controls, the TD-9's friendly and icon-based interface makes editing sounds and customizing kits fast and fun. Drummers can play along with backing songs to build their own musical experience base. They can also use the USB port to play along to streaming audio files. "Quick Record" and "Quick Play" allows drummers to immediately record and play back solo drum parts, or parts performed with the backing songs.

Live Orchestra

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:00:01 +0100

Ableton has announced the release of the Orchestra Instruments sampled instruments for the Live DAW platform. The four sections of the orchestra are all represented: strings, brass, woodwinds, and percussion. The instruments were all recorded at a number of velocities/dynamics and articulations, and were played by world-class musicians. A new technology called "SmartPriming" is used to minimize the CPU power required to drive these instruments so large ensembles can be used without straining the host computer.

PLAY with RTAS

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

EastWest has announced that both Mac and PC versions of all PLAY products are now fully RTAS compatible. Existing PLAY products can be updated for free to inclue RTAS support.

Guitar of the Day

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:03 +0100

When Leo Fender first introduced the original Telecaster in 1950, nobody could have imagined how this $169 "plank"-body electric guitar would change the world of contemporary music - not any of the other guitar builders back then, and not even Leo himself! Some joked that the guitar looked more like a canoe paddle than a musical instrument. But most surprising is the fact that, even after more than a half-century, you'd have to agree that the "Tele" still looks as modern today as it did when it was first introduced. Considering the fact that Leo Fender wasn't even a guitar player, you have to wonder exactly how this "magic" happened. Over the years there were small upgrades to the Tele, but so brilliant was the overall design that today's Tele isn't all that different from the original. In celebration of Fender's 60th anniversary, the company introduced very special guitars, like this stunning Special Edition Telecaster, with a beautifully figured, exotic koa top, and a birdseye maple neck. If you've drooled over those fantastic Custom Shop Teles, but could never afford one, here's your chance to own a truly extraordinary guitar without taking on a second job. The Special Edition Koa Telecaster starts with a lightweight alder body, then adds a stunning figured koa top and a white pearloid pickguard. Koa is a rare wood that only grows in the Hawaiian Islands and is so revered for its tone and exceptional grain pattern, you typically only see it used on guitars that come with astronomical price tags. Next up there's a vintage-style bridge with three brass saddles, two special-design Seymour Duncan pickups, and a modern "C" shape birdseye maple neck with a rosewood fingerboard. These Special Edition guitars are made in very limited numbers, and we're thrilled to have this one available to ship right to your door! If you want a Tele that looks like a million bucks, but can be purchased for as little as $21 a month and includes free shipping, this is the one you absolutely must check out!

New In Stock At Sweetwater

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:02 +0100

Boss DD-7 - This is the latest incarnation of what just may be the best-selling delay pedal of all time. It has the best features of its predecessors, plus a handful of creativity-boosting new tools, the DD-7 will make you rethink what to expect from compact delay pedals. Among the new features is a Modulation Delay mode, classic modeled Analog Delay mode, external pedal control options, longer delay time (up to a truly amazing 6.3 seconds), stereo outputs, and more. In addition, Hold mode allows up to 40 seconds of input to be recorded for creating "sound on sound" performances.
Genelec SE DSP System Triple Play - This 2.1 system includes two of Genelec's 8030A digital monitors, along with a 10-inch SE72610 subwoofer that's expressly designed to work with the included GLM.SE software for total system control. This is an excellent solution for small recording and mixing environments, as the SE DSP System Triple Play is both easy to use and affordable. You even get Genelec's AutoCal, an automated self-calibration system that analyzes your room and makes appropriate adjustments to maximize the quality of your sound. The end result is a monitoring system that's optimized for the room you're working in - no tweaking necessary.
ART Pro-VLA II - Here's a tube driven, Vactrol-based compressor/leveling amplifier designed for tracking, mixing, mastering, live sound, or broadcast applications. By using an opto-electronic design, (as opposed to a more typical VCA-driven level detection circuit) the Pro-VLA II allows more compression to be added to an audio source with a more natural, musical sounding output and virtually transparent dynamic leveling. This low-noise design, coupled with a real 12AT7 vacuum tube in the gain stage, makes the Pro-VLA II an ideal choice for stage or studio.

Free Waves Presets

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:01 +0100

Waves is offering a free collection of plug-in presets from master producer/mix engineer Jack Joseph Puig (Green Day, John Mayer, Rolling Stones, U2, Fergie, Goo Goo Dolls, Switchfoot, and many more). You can also download presets from such iconic producers and engineers as Dave Pensado (Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Pink), Steve Lillywhite (U2, Rolling Stones, Dave Mathews), Thom Russo (Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, Macy Gray), Ross Hogarth (Ziggy Marley, Jewel, REM), Mike Hedges (Dido, The Cure, U2), and sound designers such as Scott Martin Gershin (Shrek, American Beauty, Kill Bill I & II) and Charles Deenen (Need For Speed, Fast and Furious, movie trailers)

Free AKG

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Digitech has a sweet deal going on their Vocalist products. Purchase a Vocalist Live Pro, Vocalist Live 4, or Vocalist Live 2 between May 1 and June 30, 2008, and you'll receive a free AKG D5 dynamic vocal microphone. You can download the redemption coupon, which can then be mailed with the product's UPC/Proof of Purchase and redeemed for a free mic. Complete instructions are on the back of the coupon.

Guitar of the Day

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:01 +0100

Today's Guitar of the Day is, if you don't mind us saying so, a sublime work of art. But then we've come to expect no less from the master builders at PRS. We're talking about the Paul Reed Smith Hollowbody 1 in Santana Yellow! Just look at that amazingly quilted carved maple top and tell us how that's not a 10-top. Hold it up to the light and you could get lost in the deep 3-D perfection of its unique pattern. But that's okay, since you're getting what sure looks like a 10-top but without the extra charge. Spin this baby over and have a look at the back. Unlike the Hollowbody 2, which has a matching maple back, the Hollowbody 1 has a carved mahogany back, and this one is pretty sweet! It's easy to see why the PRS Hollowbody was so successful right out of the gate. Naturally, it wouldn't be a PRS without those trademark rippled abalone birds on the premium 22-fret rosewood fingerboard. We love the feel of the wide-fat neck carve, which is exactly right for this beauty. Anything less wouldn't be right on a guitar that's a full three inches deep at the bridge, eventually spilling down the sensuously carved top to 1-1/2" at the sides. The Hollowbody 1 comes standard with specially voiced McCarty Archtop pickups. Yes, the same McCarty (first name Ted) that was at the helm at Gibson during the so-called "golden age" (if you ask us, we're smack dab in the middle of the true golden age of guitar making, but that's just our opinion). They're humbuckers, so you know you'll get a rich, smoky tone from either or both pickups. Plugged in, these can sound remarkably refined or burnin' hot! So no matter what kind of music you play, the Hollowbody delivers on the promise of superior sound. Sustain is guaranteed by the combination bridge/tailpiece, which is actually anchored to a thick piece of the carved mahogany back. Finally, oversized f-holes deliver the right combination of class and acoustic "zing." Don't like the Santana Yellow? That's okay, because we also have Hollowbody 1s in Whale Blue (with moon inlays), McCarty Sunburst (with the onboard piezo pickup option and bird inlays), and your basic Black (with moons). All include a deluxe, plush-lined hardshell case and free FedEx shipping right to your door!

New in Stock at Sweetwater

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Grace Design m101 - Thought you could never afford a Grace Design product? Well, think again! The Grace m101 is a single channel of the critically acclaimed Grace Design mic preamp, and it sports updated components inside and out. The former silver exterior has been replaced with a sleek black finish. With incredible bandwidth, headroom, and resolution, the m101 is remarkably natural, musical, and detailed. A 12-position gold-plated rotary gain switch with a high-performance output line driver and HPF amplifier are onboard. Also new is the ribbon mode, with plenty of gain and a relay bypass de-activating phantom power to protect your ribbon mics.
TASCAM GigaStudio 4 - TASCAM has done it again! They've redefined the high-end of sampling workstations with GigaStudio 4. This new version supports 64-bit operating systems like XP 64 and Windows Vista 64, allowing users to access up to 128 gigabytes of RAM for loading those massive sample libraries and compositional templates. GigaStudio 4 also Hosts VSTi And GVi virtual instruments, loading or stacking instruments alongside GigaStudio instrument libraries. Hundreds of enhancements have been made from GigaStudio 3, such as an all-new QuickSound database tool, additions to the QuickEdit interface and user interface improvements.

Word For The Day: Lyre Guitar

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

This is an instrument that dates to at least the first century A.D., but it was revived and popular in Europe, and particularly France, from approximately 1780 to 1810. Lyre guitars generally came with six single strings, although some had up to nine strings or six doubled courses (or a total of 12 strings). The tops of lyre guitars generally had two soundholes and there was typically ornamentation that varied from simple to remarkably complex. The instrument quickly lost its popularity with the introduction of the earliest commercially produced pianos.

Word For The Day: Synergy

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

This is the product name of a digital additive synthesizer produced by Crumar under the marketing name of Digital Keyboards. It was descended from research done at Bell Labratories into programmable digital synthesis and the original $27,500 General Development System (GDS). The Synergy was the first to have a 4-track sequencer onboard that allowed users to do overdubs, as well as the first synth that had the ability to control up to four sounds at a time, which is now known as layering. The keyboard also had a sophisticated system that would track a player's hands up and down the keyboard, plus six floating split zones. Finally, it was the first commercially available synth with 32 programmable digital oscillators, although in most cases, at least two oscillators were used to produce most of the sounds, thus reducing the polyphony to 16 notes. The Synergy was originally introduced in 1982 and eventually discontinued in 1985.

Word For The Day: ARP Avatar

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

This was the disasterous product that sunk ARP, one of the original builders of modular synthesizers and later such popular models as the Odyssey and Axxe. The Avatar was an ambitious attempt to build a synthesizer that could be triggered by an electric guitar. Although ARP had eight years of experience building keyboard instruments, and was thriving by 1977 after a rocky start, the Avatar was a risky move. The reasoning behind the project was that there were at least four or five times more guitar players than keyboard players, and thus a much bigger market. However, the company never managed to do the necessary market research required to see if guitar players were actually willing to drop $3,000 or more for a synthesizer. Those that did discovered that the Avatar could not produce a truly clean sound, due to the imperfections of the pitch-to-voltage converters. Ultimately, ARP sold only about $1 million worth of Avatars in the short, 2-year lifespan of the product. The company had sunk all its resources into the guitar synth, only to end up with one of the most spectacular failures in the history of modern music. On September 11th of 1981 - exactly 20 years before 9/11! - a trustee took over the company to oversee the liquidation of all its assets.

Word For The Day: Switchmaster

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

This model name refers to Gibson's 3-pickup ES-5 archtop guitar. The 1949 Gibson ES-5 was the first guitar ever made with three pickups. However, it originally had no pickup switching. Instead, each of the onboard black plastic, "dog-ear" Alnico 5 single coil pickups, which were designed by Walt Fuller, had its own volume control, along with a master volume. In 1955, the guitar was given a 4-way toggle switch that allowed players to select any of the three pickups or all three at the same time, and it was at this point that Gibson dubbed this guitar the Switchmaster. Although the pickup selector did not allow for other pickup combinations, such as the bridge and middle pickups together, the guitar still had three volume controls, along with a tone control for each pickup. Thus, with the switch position selecting all three pickups, the player could turn the volume down on any pickup, thereby allowing for a wider range of tones. In 1957, along with all the high-end Gibson guitars, the Switchmaster was equipped with three humbucking pickups. The last Switchmasters were produced in 1960 or early 1961.

Word For The Day: MPC

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

This is an AKAI abbreviation that originally stood for "MIDI Production Center," but has more recently come to be "Music Production Center" with the introduction of USB connectivity. The first device to carry those letters was the original MPC60 in 1988, which was designed by Roger Linn, who was then a product designer for AKAI. This was his "brainchild" from the start, beginning with the functional design, the front-panel layout and eventually the software and hardware specifications. The actually software was completed by Linn and a team of other engineers, while English engineer David Cockerell and his team handled the hardware electronics. The MPC60 was intended to be a powerful sampling drum machine and MIDI sequencer and drew heavily from Linn's own LinnDrum 9000. Today there are several Akai MPC models, including the 64-track, 32-voice MPC2500, the compact MPC1000, and the battery-powered MPC500

Tech Tip: Using Boss' Micro BR as an Effects Processor

Fri, 09 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

The Boss Micro BR - with its ability to record up to four tracks on top of the built-in rhythm pattern track - is a great addition to any gig bag. The COSM presets are extremely cool, offering pro-level modeled amps and effects in an easy-to-use and affordable unit. But did you know that you can use your Micro BR - along with your favorite presets - as an external processor for recordings to be done outside the Micro BR? All you have to do is plug your trusty axe into the Micro BR and run the 1/8" headphone output to the input of an external recording device (an adapter or 1/8"-to-1/4" cable may be required depending on your setup). Plus, this same technique can be used to feed any rhythm tracks you've created inside the Micro BR into a DAW or workstation, through an appropriate interface, of course.

Tech Tip: Burning Dual-layer DVDs in Toast 9

Thu, 08 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Occasionally when you're trying to burn a dual-layer DVD using Toast 9 Titanium you might encounter some rather cryptic errors (along the lines of "lost communication with drive" and such) if you're running Leopard as your OS. If you encounter these errors, one workaround we've found is to build your Toast session as you normally would, but instead of burning the disc, create a disc image (the "Save as a Disc Image" button is in the lower right-hand corner of the Toast window). Then open a new session, set it up to burn a dual-layer DVD using the disc image as your source material rather than dragging the individual files or folders into the Toast window and it should burn trouble-free.

Tech Tip: Optimizing Settings for Longer iPhone Battery Life

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Apple's iPhone has been a huge success for the company, but like any battery-operated device, there are a few things you can do to maximize battery life. For example, depending on how they are configured, a few features will certainly decrease your iPhone's battery life. If you're a lucky iPhone owner, check the following:

Turn off your Mail auto-check feature, or at the very least, increase the auto-check interval. To turn auto-check off completely, from your Home screen choose Settings > Mail > Auto-Check, then tap on Manual. To increase the interval, go to Settings > Mail > Auto-Check and tap "Every Hour." This is a global setting that applies to all active mail accounts except for push mail accounts (when this is enabled).
If you have a push mail account, turn it off. Go to Settings > Mail, choose the push mail account, then click on Advanced, and change Use Push Mail to "Off."
Auto-check fewer Mail Accounts. You can do this by turning off a mail account or simply deleting it.
If you rarely use the Wi-Fi feature, turning it off saves a significant amount of power.
Turn off Bluetooth if you rarely use the feature.
Dim your iPhone's brightness, since the brighter your screen is, the faster it sucks up battery power!
Applying an equalizer setting to song playbacks decreases battery life. Go to Settings > iPod > EQ and tap off.

Tech Tip: Maple Neck Colors on Fender Guitars

Tue, 06 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Q: I have noticed that some Fenders being made today have darker necks, fingerboards, and headstocks than others. Is this caused by aging? Will my new American Standard Strat's maple neck get darker with age? I like how it looks now. A: Generally, the maple necks (along with the fingerboards and headstocks) on most modern Fender guitars won't get darker with age. Vintage Strats and Teles often have maple necks that have turned almost a dark amber color. This occurs for two reasons. First, older Fender guitars (i.e., those from the 1950s and '60s) had a nitrocellulose lacquer finish that tends to darken with age. This is accelerated when a guitar was played consistently in smoke-filled clubs and halls. Today's Fender maple necks usually have either a polyurethane or polyester finish. These provide excellent protection for the underlying paint or stain, but won't significantly change over the long run, so in most cases, what you see on the guitar today is what you'll see a few decades from now. However, on some special edition models or reissues, Fender does use a nitrocellulose lacquer finish for the sake of authenticity, and you can certainly expect that to darken somewhat over the years. However, we're living in an age where most clubs and halls ban smoking, so that will not contribute to the overall coloration over the long haul. With that in mind, Fender has applied what is called an aging toner to some models. This is an oil finish with a slight tint to it. Once the final nitrocellulose coating is applied, the toner will help make the neck and fingerboard even darker as it ages. Sometimes you'll see a Fender guitar with a dark amber headstock, but a lighter neck and fingerboard. This is because, for a while, the headstocks continued to be finished using lacquer, while the rest of the neck got a polyurethane or polyester finish. Again, Fender has released several reissues and limited editions with this combination.

Tech Tip: Thicken Up Emulated Tones!

Mon, 05 May 2008 12:00:00 +0100

Amp emulators are undoubtedly a valuable tool for getting great guitar and other tones quickly and easily, but what if you need to inject a little something extra to really get the instrument to stand out in the mix? One of our favorite tricks: plug the emulator into a tube-powered direct box, like Groove Tubes' heavy hitter, dubbed The Brick. Recently we had a band in the studio and when it came time to lay down the harmonica track, we plugged in our trusty harmonica mic into a amp emulator. The sound was totally usable, but the harp was the main instrument and it needed to really cook. We plugged the output of the emulator into The Brick, adjusted the gain, and the sound was just there. The end result was perfect for the track and sounded great. The tubes added just the right amount of grit and warmth and really made the track come alive and sound like there was an amp there in the room. While this trick was used on harmonica, it could be used on any direct source - from guitar to bass to synths - anywhere you want to add some "vintage" flavor to your direct recording.