Swag Alert! Vic Firth Stick Bags for New LAMA Drum Students

Legendary drum stick manufacturer Vic Firth, always very supportive of music education, presented these wonderful gifts — brand new stick bags —  to the new drum students at LAMA. All the drummers were absolutely psyched to get this swag to help kick off their school year. Thanks again Vic Firth!

-LAMA Staff

What Kind Of Computer Should I Buy For College

During the dark ages of the early 90s, all you needed to bring to college was clothes, air freshener, your brand new portable CD player and some spending cash. My how things have changed. Since computer technology is a giant part of your daily college routine now, let’s explore your options before making any decisions:

TRADITIONAL DESKTOP

What used to be a very viable option for students is now a relic in the college dorm room or university apartment. But desktops (especially PCs) tend to be extremely cheap and powerful enough to run Pro Tools and GarageBand. You can get a brand new top of the line PC for a few hundred dollars where as other options are usually not as powerful and cost quite a bit more money. With cloud technology, USB flash drives, and document sharing it might be a bit easier to stay connected with your desktop these days but don’t plan on taking it to class unless you have the most awesome handcart 🙂

LAPTOP

Laptops have become the computing device for college with Apple taking 1st place. College students are transient by nature so it would make sense that ease of portability would be important. Going home to see your parents? Throw your laptop in your bag. Need to take notes in class digitally? Ditto. LAMA musicians love the MacBook‘s ease of use and can easily do their recording on it. Laptops can get so darn pricey especially if you want an Apple. Go for quality — your laptop should be able to last your entire college career so divide the price by the number of school years to help convince your parents for some extra dough.

NETBOOK

Enter the Netbook, a smaller version of the laptop. They are cheaper and lighter as well. The goal is that you need something portable that you can type on and do light browsing with. This is perfect for class because for note taking it is extremely efficient. Students at LAMA are probably weary about this option because it won’t have the horsepower that a musician needs to run ProTools or a similar program. And what’s the point if you take notes, browse the internet and run programs like GarageBand on an iPad…which brings us to:

TABLET

The Ipad, Samsung Galaxy, HP Touchpad or a similar tablet is a bit of a riskier choice for the college student but it does have some rewards if you are able to pull it off. For one – the ease of carrying around a tablet just can’t be overstated. The slim nature and light weight make this a dream for carrying to class or really carrying anywhere. Also the price tag is usually comparable to or less than a laptop. Taking notes in class is not a big deal — especially if you connect a bluetooth keyboard. You can also wireless connect to a printer or email the document to yourself. For leisure purposes, words can’t even express how great it is to watch HD television shows, play addictive games, and use innovative apps. For musicians – the Ipad is now offering a version of GarageBand but recording on these devices are still in the early stages. Remember, many websites are flash based (ya…still) so you won’t be able to see any of that content on your Apple device.

OR…DON’T BUY ONE

Check with your college and see what kind of computers they have for shared use. LAMA for example has Apple computers at your disposal for anything you need, be it writing a paper or surfing the web. They are also all equipped with Pro Tools for recording. If you are comfortable working outside of your home or apartment it is possible to rely on public computers. Like anything free, there are negative drawbacks such as you won’t be able to work from home and you have to share a public computer lol.

Our suggestion is to visualize how you see yourself working while at LAMA. Where will you be, what will you be doing, what do you need from your technology? This might help paint a picture of what you should be looking for. Have an older brother or a friend who went through college already? Ask them what worked for them!

What do you prefer – desktop, laptop, tablet? All of the above?

-LAMA Staff

Top 5 Guitar Pedal Demo Videos

If you don’t remember trying to buy guitar pedals in the 80s and 90s (or weren’t even born yet), let’s refresh your memory: First you would grab your favorite guitar magazine and then read about how amazing each new pedal sounded. Next you’d go down to your local music store and hope that they just so happened to carry the particular one you wanted so you could try it out for a few minutes. Golly, such hard times for musicians! Enter YouTube…where anyone can check out virtually any instrument by watching the video demo about it. Guitarists! We’ve gathered a few great guitar pedal demos here…what do you think — make you want to buy one? Have you seen any others we should definitely watch? Let us know in the comments below.

1) Way Huge “Swollen Pickle Fuzz”

2) Analog Man “Chorus”

3) MXR Carbon Copy Delay pedal demo M-169

4) Real McCoy Custom RMC6 Wheels of Fire Wah

5) Electro Harmonix Micro Synth

-LAMA Staff

Marshall Fridge is Here!

Marshall Fridge w/ random model via Facebook

The only question we have is, how did it take this long to come out with a Marshall cabinet fridge??

Some of the features probably won’t matter to those who already know they want this Marshall fridge:

• Jim Marshall signature authentic Marshall logos and facing
• Control knobs that go up to 11
• 4.4 cu ft of space
• “high-efficiency” freezer

It’ll only cost you a cool… $299…  they won’t be shipping until October 1, 2012. But you can reserve a spot in line to get yours here: http://marshallfridge.com/?kid=75JW

-LAMA Staff

Neat, New Gadgets for #Musicians (like #Ipad Drums)!

There may be no other group of people as gear obsessed as musicians. We buy guitar pedals, replace tubes, get the newest drum skins all in our quest for having the coolest sound. The last 10 years have been fascinating as the merging between computer technology and music gear has married happily.

Recently Fox News ran a great piece on some of the newest gear out there.  Check out the Ipad drum set shown in the video. We love the idea of being able to travel with a real-life practice pad. As any drummer knows lugging your “kit” around is one of the few downsides of providing the rhythm. Now if your band needs to run through a song all you need to bring along is your Ipad!

Click the image above or here to view the video.

-LAMA Staff

Black Eyed Cars

Will.I.Am makes us think of flashy outfits and catchy music (the kind you love or hate). Could car designer be next? According to a recent article in the Huffington Post Will.I.Am is starting a car company called “IAMAUTO”. The musician appeared on Jay Leno who is no stranger to cars himself to promote it. “Mr. I am” says that he wanted to start “IAMAUTO” to “bring jobs back to the ghetto that I came from”.  Will.I.Am grew up in the infamous “Estrada Courts”   housing project in Boyle Heights which is usually known for being predominantly Mexican.

via Huffington Post

Think this is a car story and not a music story? Think again! If you are a musician you MUST BE thinking of alternate revenue streams. The sale of recorded music is at an all time low so it is great to see a musician thinking WAY outside the box. We also noted that Will.I.Am naturally announced Beats By Dre technology would be providing the car audio. While we don’t know if this news has Detroit shaking in our boots we can’t wait to see how it all plays out.

-LAMA Staff

10 Tips: Buying Used Musical Instruments

Musicians amaze us. They might not have a car, home or food (Top Ramen doesn’t count), but check out their gear i.e.: an amazing vintage amp, deluxe pedals, an incredible axe. One thing musicians rarely cheap out on is musical instruments.

Why spend decades practicing your musicianship only to play on sub-par equipment? The secret that most musicians know is that you don’t have to buy gear brand new. Much like a car, it loses too much value when you “play it off the lot”. Also, for vintage gear, often times the only place to find it is on the used market. Here are 10 tips for buying used gear. Are we missing anything?

1) STAY SAFE
The most important tip before we get started is always keep yourself safe. When going to meet someone off the internet, always bring a buddy, and let someone know where you are going to be. A terrifying story recently happened in a San Diego Craigslist scam – http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/Craigslist-Murder-Suspects-Identified-in-Court/GOX3gdx6qkGtzi9ulIEKvg.cspx. Also, remember the old adage, if it is too good to be true it probably is. In other words, if someone says they are giving away a Ludwig kick drum for free, be very suspicious!

2) DO YOUR RESEARCH
Before you even think about going to the store or online, do your research on what you actually want to buy. Pick several pieces of gear that may interest you and read everything you can on them. The internet has an amazing wealth of information for this kind of stuff. There are forums dedicated to Vintage fender amps, Moog synths, old pedals– you name it. Try to get the exact name of the piece of gear and get to work on Google. Start to get familiar with price range. Ebay’s “Completed Listings” section is great for this. Knowledge is power musicians.

3) CRAIGSLIST
Craigslist has been the premier used gear source. For you lucky LA Music Academy students, you can have access to LA, Orange County, Inland Empire and San Diego gear which will double your chances of finding a great deal. Everybody will put the piece of gear’s best info in the ad but the true test will be when you play it in person, which you can read more about below. Be wary of anything that may sound like a scam! Craigslist works best when you pick one piece of gear you want, search for it, bookmark the page and check it several times a day.

4) EBAY
Ebay has one thing going for it — accountability! And when you are dealing with used gear, this is a huge plus. Negatives involve high shipping prices, and in most cases, not getting to play the gear before you buy it. The best perk is that Ebay runs on a user feedback system so if a seller sells something that isn’t great, you will hear about it. Also, it is connected with Paypal, so if something does not go right, you can bring down the might of Paypal and your credit card on them.

5) CHAIN STORES
Similar to how car dealerships got into the used car market, large chain music stores are turning to used gear to boost profit. Guitar Center Used (http://used.guitarcenter.com/usedGear/index.cfm) is the premier store doing this sort of thing. They update their website with lots and lots of new gear. One really cool function is that if you see an amp you like in Wisconsin they will ship it for free to the Guitar Center closest to you. And you get a 30-day return policy! It may be cooler to say you traveled the earth looking for that used vintage gear, but going to a chain store is way safer.

6) PAWN SHOPS
Some of the coolest and rarest used instruments and stolen gear can be found in pawn shops. People either sell or pawn their items for cash and have a month or two to buy it back before it gets sold. You never know who might be hard up for cash and have to pawn a great piece of gear. Visit a pawn shop and if you are looking for anything specific, let the people at the store know to call you. Be safe! Pawn shops often attract a “seedy” clientele so go during the day and bring a friend.

7) PLAY IT IN PERSON
Actually playing the gear in person is a great way to test out gear. If possible bring some of your own equipment; if you are checking out an amp, bring your own guitar in; if you are buying a keyboard bring in the keyboard amp it will be attached to; make sure to play at different volume levels…Turn it to 11, pound on that snare. You want to hear every possible flaw that might be there. Don’t feel like you need to make a quick decision either, spend hours with the piece of gear really thinking it over. Be considerate of the seller however…probably don’t want to overstay your welcome!

8) REPUTATION
While playing gear in person is important, remember that same person can also sell you faulty equipment. And, good luck trying to find them again! With sites like Ebay and Guitar Center you have accountability that does not exist on Craigslist (unless of course you are familiar with the seller).

9) BRING AN EXPERT
As stated earlier, we suggested that you always bring a buddy with you when buying used gear to stay safe. Why not bring someone who knows more about gear than you do? Especially with electronics, this can be a great idea. Someone who really understands vintage bass amplifiers, for instance, could simply unscrew the back and within in a few minutes tell you if it is worth the asking price.

10) THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE
You never truly own music gear, you borrow it, until you sell it again for something new (or when you need rent money). This is important! Consider whether the item has maintained its value over a long period of time or whether it is just something hot right now. There is nothing worse than losing 50% of its value when you try to sell it in a few years.

So there you have it musicians! Get calling, emailing and visiting. Remember: just because you go and play a piece of gear, it doesn’t mean you have to buy it. Feel free to say you need to think about it for a day and go home. If it gets sold, there will always be another one the next week. Stay safe, stay cheap, stay knowledgeable — and you will succeed.

-LAMA Staff