My Visit To Guitar Center

 This week I spent some time in the Hobby Lobby of Music, Guitar Center. I am a musician, so I do stop by here quite a bit, but today I'd like to share some feedback about equipment I use or recommend that I have purchased here. 


Favorite Keyboard at the Moment

Korg SV-1

 This simple looking set of keys is not you average digital piano. Fellow musicians who have also played guitar understand that each and every guitar has a unique personality and vibe. The SV-1 is a perfect example of such an instrument. This keyboard does in fact use digital samples much like other digital pianos, but the electronics of this instrument is what sets it apart. The SV-1 contains all of the mechanical parts that an amplifier uses, including a valve and a built-in tube. This gives it a true vintage sound of an old rhodes or electric piano by capturing those overtones for the purest effect. It is currently going for $1,499 but truly worth every penny in quality.

Portable Recording Equipment
 

Tascom DR-05

Zoom H4N

To the left is a Tascam Dr-05 portable, digital recorder that I myself recently purchased to record covers and original songs I'm working on. I bought this item because I wanted something inexpensive, but better quality than the usual handheld voice recorder. I found the built-in microphones to have very good sound quality. I am not enough of a professional audio engineer to rate the sound quality on an extremely technical basis, but I do have a fairly good pair of ears, and according to them, I am very happy with the sound quality of the DR-05. The Zoom H4N is reasonably better with bigger microphones and a three track output, but at $399 versus   $99 and my current needs, I went with the Tascam.

Blue Ribbon Woodpecker Studio Mic

This is a high-end microphone that I was personally able to test at my friend's recording studio. The sound quality is amazing, but I mostly wanted to highlight the rich detail it has in this pic. Pretty fancy for a mic!  (and no, not because I'm a Pecker myself.)  There is a cool proximity effect that, if used properly, can really enhance the bottom end tomes nicely. It already has a dip in the middle of its response curve, so you don't need to overdo it on the equalizing. It can run you around $1,299 so it's not quite on my Christmas list but someday, we can hope.

There are countless amounts of toys I could talk about from this place, but I am currently just working with the Korg SV-1 and Tascam for my YouTube/social media purposes. Other than that, just practice, practice, practice. What type of instruments or equipment do you use? Why do you prefer it? If not related to instruments, what kind of gadgets excite you when it comes to music, such as speakers, music downloading websites, stereo systems, record players, etc.?

Q&A Student and President Pizza Party

UTA President Vistasp Karbhari (left)

First off, I must apologize to my fellow music fans for taking my emphasis off of music in this particular post. Because of a misunderstanding, I am going to share what the president of UT Arlington discussed during a Q and A session today on campus. You can see my live tweets on the spot at https://twitter.com/soundlot

 UT Arlington President Karbhari held an open discussion this afternoon in the Palo Duro Lounge allowing students to ask questions about current and future issues at the university. The main incentive, of course, was free pizza. But surprisingly, many students did stick around and stretch it out to an hour long session.

The president began with a brief introduction and then went straight into questions. Although the questions were not the most original, they highlight some new additions on campus. 

Topics of discussion included:

• Q: Will the university be providing more bike accessibility? A: Karbhari said that in addition to the newly added bike lanes, The university is planning to add more bike lanes as well as more bike racks.

• Q: Why is a UTA football team not being funded? A: Karbhari answered by saying that a football team requires millions of dollars to fund and operate, and the risk of its success would fall upon charging students/faculty more money to access the university included tuition, parking, food, etc.

• Q: Because of such a high student population, is the University planning on adding more classrooms, labs and dining facilities? A: The president replied with a yes, but also said that this too, depends on more funding. He said that if one new area is to be improved, another particular area might be affected negatively.

• Q: UTA is supposed to be smoke free. What can be done about smokers that still smoke on campus? A: Because the university is so large and the university police must attend to so many issues, officers are not able to patrol the campus just to catch smokers in the act. The best way to help the university out in these situations is for students to tell or encourage students that are smoking to not smoke on campus. If an officer does catch a smoker, however, the smoker will face the appropriate warnings and disciplines.

• Q: Can rest/nap areas be considered for commuting students? A: As of right now, no designated rest areas are available on campus, although nothing in particular prevents a student from resting in certain areas provided they aren't disturbing anyone. Rest areas can be considered if enough students requests them.

My fellow UT Arlington students, what questions would you have asked? What kind of concerns do you have about the university this semester? What things would you improve?

The Sound of Music: Naked and Exposed.

 Exploring what makes us love music 

Photo Credit: www.devosacademy.com

My intention of creating "The Sound Lot" is to review, learn and discuss my perspective of today's music, popular (and unpopular) works, artists, composers, and even some of my own personal writings and interpretations. As a piano, vocal and writing hobbyist, I am inviting other music enthusiasts to discuss what motivates the artists of our time and what kind of person they are through their musical expressions. I also want to highlight, compare and discuss artists that are not as well known in mainstream popularity.


What makes a good song?

Music is quite the conundrum in that it can be expressed in so many ways. According to a YouTube video posted on gizmodo.com in 2012, a particular song has an almost finite amount of possibilities in which it can be composed, From Johann Bach to Tupac Shakur, it is quite obvious how different music can be interpreted, while still relying on the same principles created many centuries ago. As a classically trained pianist, I have had the pleasure of knowing how it feels to express a composers interpretation by instrument, But what further ignites my passion in music as a writer, is the way lyrics  can apply to harmony and  create a story that can take you from tears to joy, or vice versa, in five minutes or less. Unlike many written stories, music fashions a necessity in our mind to listen to our favorite songs again and again, embedding them into the forefront of  our unbound subconsciousness.

                                        "Will We Ever Run Out of New Music?" Credit: Vsauce via YouTube

Understanding and appreciating what we know, together

In the following posts to come, I will be covering the latest artists that I have come across and write my opinion  as to the the cleverness, beauty and creativity of the composition. The genres I cover will sometimes be broad, again depending what sounds inspire me to discuss. What I would like is to share suggestions from your individual tastes so that we can compare and contrast for an even deeper learning experience. Next week,  my first artist spotlight will cover the virtuoso and contemporary violinist Lindsey Stirling, with insight from her latest album and concert experience.