Need a new bass amp? The Fender Rumble 30 is a 
great option that won't break the bank at $499.99! 

It should come as no surprise that when it comes to tone – there’s a lot more going on than simply your choice in pickups or guitar. Sure, your pups are responsible for the root signal which everything else is built upon tone wise but once you put effects pedals and amps into the equation, it’s a far bigger balancing act than most newbies are prepared for. The amp alone has so many little intricacies as far as tone is concerned that one can spend a great deal of time on them alone. For one, it’s not all about settings when it comes to their sound – the venue and placement of the amp will teak its tone as well, especially when it comes to bass, which is why today we’re going to spend some time breaking down some of the best ways in getting great tone from your bass amp in order to make sure that when you’re ready to rock, you’ll do so at your best!

Searching for the ‘Best’ Sound

At one poin...

The J48 is a popular active DI Box @ $199.99

How’s it going, everybody!? Hopefully all of you out there had a great holiday weekend and even got a few of those special items from your Christmas wish list to boot. But now that all but New Year’s Eve is left for us to celebrate in 2012, let’s get back to the important matters at hand – completing your perfect gear setup! In the world of music recording, performing, producing or what have you, there is a very important item that doesn’t get the attention it deserves. I’m talking about the DI box (for direct injection or direct input). Also known as a direct box, this little device’s main basic function is to convert the unbalanced high-impedance output of an instrument’s signal into a balanced low impedance one, which in turn allows longer cable runs without adding noise, among other benefits.

In their most basic setup, DIs are usually equipped with at least one input and two outputs; one being a thru-put for an instrument amplifier and the...

MBox Pro 8 Simultaneous Channel 24-bit Audio Interface w/ Pro Tools

Over the last few articles, we here at PAL have been focusing on the very deep but exciting world of home studio recording. So far, we have covered a lot of ground but there is still so much more that can be said. We have touched on several different aspects of home studio recording from tuning your drums properly to all the tips you need to know in order to lay down a great vocal track – along with plenty more!You can check out our past articles by hitting the link to our tips and techniques section right here.

Now last week, we discussed a few of the important things to consider when choosing a computer for your home studio. Why is this so important? Well, your computer is pretty much the main brains behind your whole setup but in more tangible terms, your choice in computer will not only affect the price and performance of your workstation, but might limit your choice in compatible software and devices. Not only that...

Marshall 1962 BluesBreaker w/ Celestion GreenBack Speakers

One of the things that stand out to me from being one of the younger guys in a given situation is that I always hear those old music veterans talk about how great things were back in the “good old days.” No internet, stuffed-crust pizza or Adriana Lima? I’ll pass, but I do have to hand it to the “old days” in one regard – their signature tones truly rock, even to this day. Yes, there are fewer sounds as familiar in the world of rock as the sound of a Marshall Bluesbreaker amp, a Les Paul guitar with a set of P-90 pickups or that Dallas-Arbiter Fuzz Face pedal made famous by one Jimi Hendrix. Although there are plenty of staples out there readily available, I still find myself bumping in to the occasional younger player who claims to be searching for that famous vintage sound but for some reason is buying a digital delay pedal and looking at solid state amps. Sure, some digital pedals out there can mimic analog pretty good and w...

AKG D-112 Dynamic Mic @ $199.00

Now, if a tree falls down in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Yep, that old gem, and while I’m not too sure just what kind of ancient philosophical secrets that overused riddle was trying to tell me, what I did get out of it was that unless you have the right tools for the job, it makes no difference. If there are no ears to listen to that tree fall, then whether it happened or not doesn’t really matter if you’re there, right? And now, let’s say you’re trying to create that perfect track – if you don’t have the right mic for the moment – the one that lets you truly listen to what you’re trying to record – then it’s pretty much a waste, wouldn’t you say? And while the use of microphones is so widespread to the point where most people carry them in their pockets (via cell phones mainly), there are still a good number of people out there who have no idea about the amount of variations among them, let alone how these suckers w...

MXR M-133 Micro Amp booster pedal @ $79.99

Here at Pro Audio Land, we tend to talk a lot about guitar effects pedals and it really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. Effects pedals are not only one of the most versatile and numerous pieces of equipment in pro audio, but they are easily well within the reach of any player’s budget. Whether it’s through our many reviews (which you can find here) or our massive product page (which you can find here), there is no shortage of effects pedal information if you feel like understanding a certain model a little better. Sometimes it can get a bit difficult trying to properly depict certain aspects of pedals to our newer musicians out there since much of music tends to be described in an intangible sort of manner which relies heavily the assumption of prior knowledge and personal tastes which is why we try our best to not get the pros out there the meat of the information they are looking for, but describe it in a way that players of even entry...

Yesterday, we brought our readers an article instructing them on how to either fix or replace an input jack. Not too long ago we gave detailed steps on how to replace pickups on a standard Telecaster. What I’m getting at is that both required the use of a soldering iron and general knowledge of how to operate one. The problem is more often than not, or unless you already work with circuitry, the newer musician has never come across the need to solder until something goes wrong with their gear. Although it’s not all too difficult to learn the technique, inexperienced persons can easily make mistakes that they are probably not even aware of, such as not tinning the tip or the actual placement of the iron. Anyways, if you are a musician who doesn’t mind a little DIY and wants the knowledge to be able to masterfully handle not only the outside of the guitar but the inside as well, then you’re going to have to learn to solder. Good news is that it’s not all that difficult but the bad news i...

One of the biggest leaps in digital music technology came in the form of the MIDI. Although professional players know the ins and outs of the MIDI like the back of their hand, mostly because they have to, most new players know almost nothing about it. Sure, they’ve heard the term and have most likely unknowingly dabbled in a bit of it when playing keyboards or messing around with a computer music program – it’s actually pretty hard nowadays NOT to come across it as a musician – but when asked something as simple as what it actually stands for or what it actually does, you’d sooner get a blank stare than a succinct response. For something as integral and important to modern music, the general concepts of the MIDI should definitely be known by musicians of all levels. With that said, read on and get to know the MIDI a little better. Find out where it came from, what’s it for, and what it means!

What is a MIDI?

Standard MIDI cable

First off, MIDI is short for Musical Instrument Digital Int...

FENDER FM-63S Mandolin

One of the best things I have found about attaining an understanding of the realm of music theory is that you can transfer your knowledge from one instrument to another with fairly consistent success, albeit with some elbow grease and plenty of practice. As a bassman myself, learning scales and rhythm went a long way in helping me better understand non-stringed instruments such as the keyboard or the flute (mixed results on the latter). Although it took time for my fingers to physically play the thing, my mind already knew what I needed to do. Over the last couple of weeks, we have been featuring a few guitar alternatives such as the banjo and ukulele in order to give musicians out there a bit of encouragement towards being a mighty and respected multi-instrumentalist.

This week, we keep things going with the history and mechanical basics of the renaissance era mandolin. Although the instrument itself is well over a few hundred years in age, musicians of all genre...