Santa Claus wearing headphones

5 Easy (and Lucrative) Holiday Merch Ideas for Musicians

The calendar has turned, the seasons have changed, and the holidays are quickly approaching. While you are preparing for your holiday shows and trying to find that Jager-soaked Santa hat for the private party you booked, your band needs to be preparing for retail...

Ignore The Big Knobs: All You Need to Know About Compressors

Here’s the thing about compressors: they’re not always used for what you think they’re for!  And, how you think about using them fully determines the results you’ll get from them.  Most people are taught, or assume, that compressors are for controlling the level of a...
photo by Dejan Krsmanovic

Record Killer Lead Vocals in Any Home Studio: Tips From The Pros

Editor’s note: In the recent Vocal Chain Issue, we shared some tips on recording vocals in a home studio. Here is another take, and some additional perspective on the process. Not every approach will work for every artist, so we’ve taken the opportunity to present a...

REVIEW and VIDEO: Donner Essential D1 Performance Beat Machine with TRISHES

We recently sent the amazing musician and spoken word artist TRISHES one of the brand-new Donner Essential D1 Performance Beat Machines to test out and review in her home studio. She produced the two videos below highlighting her favorite features, and even treated us...

Take the Guesswork out of Shopping For the Right Insurance Policy

WHY PLAY GUESSING GAMES? Sure, as fans we expect you to be an expert at your instrument when you’re up on stage, but realistically no one expects musicians to be experts when it comes to selecting insurance policies that cover them in case of misfortunes while out on...

Gear Reviews

Taylor GS Mini-e Bass Review

Taylor GS Mini-e Bass Review

Proving that great things come in small packages, we take a closer look at the Taylor GS Mini-e Bass in our latest review.  Acoustic basses can be large and ungainly, but to produce decent enough low end, it typically needs to be big. Taylor’s figured out how to get...

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Rainer Maria live in Philadelphia

Rainer Maria live in Philadelphia

Performer caught up with Rainer Maria live at Johnny Brenda's in Philadelphia on August 11, 2015 At the end of a tautly played hour, Rainer Maria exited a sold out Johnny Brenda's. Someone yelled out, "play some more, please!" Maybe it was the tone, maybe it was the...