Monday, November 14, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
Moving Premises and Company Expansion
By Eizaz Azhar
Hi guys! Most of you may know me as a teacher in the music store Mama Treble Clef Studio and in-house musician (technician/admin guy/IT department/repairman/brute strength lifting dude/the guy you turn to when everything goes wrong and want things fixed in the shortest time possible without prior notice) among other things. I've been given the task of chronicling events that will be going on for the next good month or two. So here I am, writing this on my (infamous red-flamed decorated Toshiba Qosmio that weighs 7kg) notebook in a new, empty lot that we will be moving in shortly. Thing is, we've been talking about moving and all for quite some time now as some of my students might be able to attest to, and it's finally coming around. This, however exciting and fun it may seem - and actually is, I assure you - poses a bit of an issue to some members of the team (okay only two), particularly Ray Lee (right) and myself.
And now we're moving for a third and possibly final time to this monster of a venue, enough to house all divisions of the shop, inclusive of a recording studio, performance stage, showroom, cafe and music classes (natural disaster relief spot, emergency gathering area - who knows what else, really).
Friday, August 19, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Flute Tutorial by Eizaz Azhar
Monday, August 1, 2011
REVIEW: Jaxville Custom Series II Electric Guitar Package
INTRODUCTION
Guitars come in all different shapes and sizes, forms and colors - and is arguably the most personalized musical instrument of all time. They also come in all sorts of price ranges as well, depending on the player, experience and budget. Today's review will take a look at the new range of guitars from the brand Jaxville; Demon, Hades, and Zeus. Basically a guitar catered to the entry-level market, each guitar is adorned with high-quality airbrushed images which make for a stunning display on stage or in the studio.
OVERVIEW
The Jaxville Custom Series II guitars are distinctive designer guitars with a penchant for the stage. There are 3 "themes" to choose from: "Demon" showcases a red-and-black theme of flames, "Hades", named after the Greek god of the underworld depicts a shadowy figure in the moonlight, and "Zeus", the King of Gods, has lightning bolts splitting the guitar apart. Each guitar is finished in hi-quality gloss finish, with matching headstock and neck. All guitars are based on a Fender design, with three single-coil pickups and a rosewood neck, 22 frets each. The review unit was packaged with a 10-watt amplifier, a soft case and an instructional DVD.
FEATURES
Construction: Bolt-on
Body: Basswood
Neck: Maple
Fingerboard: Rosewood
Hardware: Chrome, covered
Controls: 1 Volume, 2 Tone, 5 way pickup selector switch
Frets: 22
Pickups: S-S-S
Bridge: Synchronized Tremolo
Pickguard: Black
Finish: Hi-gloss
Each guitar features a 5-way selector switch, two tone controls and one volume control to shape your sound. Every inch of the guitar is coated in shiny, gloss black with no wood to be seen, augmenting the guitar's stage appearance. The pickups emit a glassy, clear tone as expected from a single coil; rhythm playing and accompaniment work very well on the guitar. When put through an overdrive pedal, the guitar responds like a Fender Stratocaster, making it suitable for rock and even country playing. The neck is in the shape of a soft "C" neck reminiscent of a Telecaster; this guitar would be suitable for players who are comfortable with their thumb on the back or side of the neck. The guitar is slightly on the heavy side, perhaps due to the full gloss finish but in no way does the it affect the guitar's playability and balance. As for the supplied amplifier, it does a good job of a first practice amplifier to learn the basics on, but will surely need to be upgraded once the player reaches a certain skill level. The included DVD is informative and runs through many beginner issues, and is of a great help to those just starting out.
CONCLUSION
After spending some time with these guitars, it can be said that the Jaxville Custom Series II guitars are truly catered for the entry-level player who is looking for a different axe to try out. The eye-catching design will surely attract the attention of those who want to stand out, and considering the market pricing of the guitar, it looks like a great bargain. The Jaxville guitar comes in a package as well, alongside an amplifier, soft case and instructional DVD. The guitar plays well, stays in tune and sounds decent. If you're looking for something unique and different for a first guitar, by all means go for it!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Artec Sounds from Korea
Salam! Baru2 ini syarikat Guitar Empire telah membawa masuk brak -ARTEC yang berasal dari Korea Selatan.Kita adalah sole distributors of Artec Sounds Korea.Sebelum stock nak sampai , kita pun dapat banyak tempahan kerana harag yang berpatutan dan quality yang tinggi telah mendorong semua penguasaha jamming studio di Seluruh Malaysia membeli brand ini.Jika dibandingkan dengan Marshall amp ini mungkin ada 80 % bunyinya serasi dengan Marshall, tiada 100%. Bunyinya yang mantap dan solid telah membolehkan Artec bersaing denga brand2 besar seperti Marshall , Fender dan Line 6.Artec juga dijual di serata dunia seperti USA, UK , Jepun , Korea dan Germany.Bunyinya adalah seperti Marshall , Roland dan Fender digabung .Distortionnya yang begitu licin dan garang sesuai untuk bermain lagu-lagu metal dan rock.Kalau nak qualitinya lebih baik , extra distortion ataupun gadget kena ditambahkan di Artec.Sementara waktu Artec baru bermula di Malaysia dan responnya adalah begitu mengalakkan.Amp yang paling laris adalah Artec Cubix yang berfungsi mutiple effect dan active Equaliser Amp yang mempunyai efek seperti Blues, Crunch,Heavy metal , acoustic dan clean.Kita telah pun memdapat tempahan 50 biji sebelum stoknya sampai .Cubix mempunyai keupayaan 15w dan mampu bersaing dengan Roland microcube (5W) yang dijual dengan harga RM 450.Teknologi Artec Cubix adalah setaraf dengan Roland dimana bunyinya adalah lebih kurang 90 % seperti Roland dan ia mempunyai bunyi dan keistimewaannya yang tersendiri.Bunyi blues yang seperti Gary Moore telah membolehkan kita jam lagu ini secara tidak formal dan heavy metalnya yang solid dan akustiknya yang manis telah membolehkan kita menikmati bunyi Cubix dengan budget yang begitu rendah.Cubix juga mempunyai ciri2 seperti berikut :
Analog 6 channel drive preamp
- High efficiency 'Class-D' DC amp
- RMS 15 watts output
- 'SSR' solid state analog reverb (G1R)(G2R)
- MP3/CD mixing input
- Phone/Rec line out jack
- AC adaptor include (DC15V 1A)
Sekarang pemain2 guitar di tanahair telah mempunyai pemilihan yang lebih-iaitu Artec selain dari Marshall , Roland , Line 6 dan Fender.
Artec adalah revolusi kepada dunia guitar amplifier kerana mempunyai quality yang baik dan harga yang rendah.Sila layari laman web Artec :
http://www.artecsound.com/amps/
Sekian terima kasih dan harap kedai jamming anda dapat pulangan untung dan rezeki yang banyak.