Music Gizmo

An electric guitar speaker is a loudspeaker specifically the driver (transducer) part designed for use in or with the guitar amplifier of an electric guitar. Installed in a cabinet with amplification and possibly multiple speakers. Typically these drivers produce only the frequency range relevant to guitars which is similar to a regular woofer type driver which is approximately 75Hz to 5kHz.

The range of sounds in terms of Hz which include the highs, middle range and low level sounds in a guitar speaker have a narrow range of sound compared to a stereo speaker. The two types of speakers are like comparing apples and oranges. In other words, their range and type of sound as well as the intended purposes are different and not interchangeable.

The cones of these drivers typically range in size from 6.5in to 15in with 10 and 12in models being the most popular. As with all loudspeaker drivers, the magnets are usually made from Alnico, ceramic, or neodymium with higher quality Alnico magnets reserved for expensive models. Continue Reading »

If you play the organ then you are probably familiar with bass pedals. They are also available as separate units and are known as MIDI bass pedals and you can use them with any keyboard that has MIDI ports. Just connect a MIDI cable from the MIDI out on the keyboard to the MIDI in on the pedal board and you can play any of your keyboard sounds from the pedal board.

Playing the pedals can be a bit daunting at first. I remember when I first attempted to play the pedals when I started to play the organ. I had learned to play the piano for fifteen years before I started on organ so music ability wasn’t the problem, but I could not get the hang of these pedals. Part of the problem is playing style; with a piano, you have a moving right hand and left hand, so to suddenly expect your left foot to start playing a pedal keyboard is asking a lot.

Ideally, you want your bass foot to be an extension of your left hand. So when you play a chord with your left hand, you play the root of that chord on the bass pedal. Continue Reading »

Saving our planet is important, but that doesn’t mean you have to live in a tree and forgo your gadget pleasures. There are plenty of gadgets out there that will help you live a greener life and while most LCD televisions don’t come with a way to turn them off you can get devices to help combat that. Here are some of my favourite ones.

Cranking MP3 player

With a 1GB capacity and a design that won’t win any red dot awards, the main USP for this new MP3 player is its green credentials. One minute’s worth of cranking will give you playback of 10 minutes - although there is USB charging too for when your arm gets tired. Including shipping, it’ll cost 55 euros, which is around 43 pounds, but consider what you’ll save on batteries.

Husqvarna solar powered automatic lawnmower

It might set you back a cool 2000 pounds but working autonomously, the lawnmower will cut up to 2300 square metres of grass and can be programmed to come on at certain times or days of the week. Continue Reading »