Year: 2021

During COVID lockdown in 2020, I bought some music gear. Hey, it was “the end of the world” or whatever. I figured I had some time to learn some things and play with some stuff. One of the things I bought was a Line6 HX Stomp.

I can’t say enough things about this pedal. It works amazingly well. It sounds great. If you received some Holiday money and want to get into effects, I highly recommend it.

If you want a DEEP DIVE on this, and I have mentioned it before, but HornFX on Youtube has EXCELLENT VIDEOS on it. Like his channel is criminally under subscribed to and his HX Stomp videos have less than 200 views. WTF!!!

I came across this post this morning.

At Scoring Notes, we usually cover the latest products and news about music notation software and related technology. Music engraving, as we all know, dates back well before the computer age. Sometimes, though, it’s easy to forget that the computer-aided portion of the history book spans back a good long time, too. In this article, we’ll summarize that history and explore a few key moments that led us to where we are today in the field.

My first exposure to computer notation was when I used Logic on an Atari ST. My high school jazz band folder had been stolen, and I had to write out a lot of the parts, and decided to try to do it with a computer. It didn’t go so well.

I do have an old Etude book by Dan Higgins from 1982(?) that looks computer notated. I still use that book. I never got to use “Score”, but I did have some exposure to MOTU’s stuff in the 90s, and I think I used Electronic’s Arts’ Deluxe Music Construction Set on something…..

I also remember buying the “Sonata” font for Encore in the 90s (I think 1991/92) for use with Encore. That was when I was working on the II-V-I patterns using an older Mac SE/30. Like I can remember being on page 70 of that, and pasting stuff to new bars, waiting several minutes for it to complete the job, and then having it transpose something, and waiting. Lots of waiting in computers then.

Oh, I DO remember some of the OLD versions of Finale. I know I have disks somewhere for like version 3.5 of Finale, which is like the middle 90s I think. I don’t think I used 2.6.1…….

It’s a good memory lane article…..and interesting to see how the industry evolved.

Going into 2022, there are a plethora of wireless microphone systems out for the saxophone. There is the venerable Shure SLXD ($799), GLX ($689) or BLX ($449) systems. These you have to figure out what operating band works for your area. These are also solid, long range, tried and tested systems.

Another system that got traction in 2021 was the CloudVocal system. Their products use the 2.4ghz range, which a lot of new wireless systems are using. They kind of are pursuing the “all in one” thing, with their “receiver” base unit also being sort of an effects pedal (with some basic effects). I’m not a fan of these units. First, it’s as expensive as getting an entry level Shure system (which has an excellent microphone). Second, to use the effects pedal/mixer part, you need to keep it near you. And the mixer needs power. So…..you aren’t really becoming “wireless”. You still are tethered to several wires now (power and output to your band’s mixer).

So, the new entry (or at least new to me) is this very intriguing wireless system from NUX. The NUX B-6 for Saxophone seems like the perfect system that gives you mobility (i.e. wireless) and excellent sound with extreme portability. For $199, from the YouTube video out there, it sounds really good. Plus the case functions as a charger as well.

Now, this system also uses the 2.4ghz spectrum. 2.4ghz might sound familiar because everything wifi used to use that spectrum (and a lot of things still do). But the technology seems to have gotten a lot better, and interference from other things operating in that bandwidth seems not to be an issue. For example, I have been using a set of XVive U4 for in ear monitoring, and have yet to have any interference issues. In fact, 3 other band members are using the XVive U4s now as well. No issues. If you want to geek out about how 2.4ghz and musical stuff works, check out this article.

Though, I did get a 5ghz wireless transmitter/receiver for my EWI, and it works well, it DOES interfere with my iPad. I was at a gig, and using the EWI, and tried to use the iPad to adjust my level in the PA and my in-ears, and the iPad kept disconnecting from the mixer (though it was still on wifi). Come to find out, if the transmitter is like within about 2-3 feet of the iPad, it causes issues with the iPad. Oh well.

One last thing about 2.4ghz. For my band, the wireless system for the mixer is set at 5ghz. The 2.4ghz radio is off. Just to make sure there is no additional “pollution” in that spectrum.

So, if you received some $$$$ for Xmas, and wanted to get a wireless system, I think the NUX system is really the better deal and system. It’s more portable, and just seems a better value for the money.

Classic and Classy.

  Grown-Up Christmas List by Michael Bublé for Eb Instruments (112.7 KiB, 10 hits)
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  Grown-Up Christmas List by Michael Bublé for Bb Instruments (112.0 KiB, 8 hits)
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I came across this video of an old Tower Of Power performance with Lenny Pickett. And boy……can Lenny DANCE!

About a year or two ago I saw a few people start using Linktree. It basically is a site where you can put all your links on in a nice to look at page. Like a mini-bio thing, where you can put your socials on there (linkedin, instagram, twitter, email, youtube), and other various links. It’s a great idea.

However, their pricing model is really stupid. $6 a month for a PRO level, or they have a free level. While I would love to get SOME of the PRO features, $6 a month is too much for this. There should be a middle tier, a member tier, that is $10 or $12 a year where you can get more customization, fonts and styles and some other things, but where you wouldn’t get like Integrations with Mailchimp/Facebook, video links, etc.

I think the idea and the service are great. For a lot of people it would be a great substitute to having a “website”. Most people probably do not need a “website” as perhaps all their work is all over the internet. This service would allow them to consolidate all their things into one landing page. It’s a great idea, but I think is doomed to failure cause of pricing.

Anyhow, I am still using it. I love it. I would pay for it, but $6 a month is a little too expensive. Again, a scaled back version that is a yearly $10-$12 price would ensure that this service continues forward this decade. Linktree, you listening?

Some gift ideas of things that aren’t really music related, or software music related.

Luggage Tags – I love these aluminum ones. You can put your business card in them and affix them to your instruments or bags. They look great.

Business Card Holder – Speaking of business cards, if you have cards (which is sort of old school but….) these are great.

Apple Airtags/Tile Trackers – I have yet to get an Apple Airtag, but I have been a Tile user for a long time. I do sort of like the piece of mind I have that my items do have some sort of tracking with them incase they are stolen or lost. I do recommend you sort of hide them inside the case.

Label Maker – I am not really BIG into labeling things, but I DO label a lot of things that tend to get lost. Cables. Various items.

DYMO Labelwriter – Keeping with the above pick, take your labeling to another level with a thermal printer. I use labels made by these for all sorts of labeling tasks. Including making my QR Code luggage tags.

One of the things I think a lot of people do not do is label their equipment. Like your cords. Your bags. Your GEAR. There are a couple of things I use to keep track of my gear.

Number one is getting tags. I long time ago, I got some of these Aluminum Luggage tags that I can put my business cards in. They are great. However, the HACK part is that I also use a DYMO LabelWriter to put my contact info and my Linktree QR code on there. So then if someone DOES find my wayward item, they have additional ways of getting the item back to me.

Second hack is to label my cables or other items that tend to go missing. The Brother P-Touch labeler works great for that. It does cable printing as well (so it can wrap around a cable). I also have them marked with this multi-patterned colored electrical tape I bought at Staples a while ago. I can’t seem to find anything like it on Amazon. It’s sorta like striped? Something that everyone knows like it is your cable.

Yet another list for 2021. This time for software. This is iOS/Apple heavy, so……you were warned.

Logic Pro X – You need a DAW. To record. To make music. This program does it all. And it is ridiculously cheap. Apple updates it a lot. No subscription required. Tons of sounds. If you are a student or have access to get the educational discount from Apple, get it with Mainstage and Final Cut Pro for $199.

Transcribe! – This is an essential tool to help you figure out music. It runs on Mac or PC. I can’t tell you how much I use this (a LOT). Essential.

Amazing Slow Downer – Sometimes you need to SAVE things slower. Or put it in a different key. This program does that. Also runs on iOS.

Audio Hijack – When the pandemic hit, this piece of software has been essential. Lets you do audio routing, and apply plugins or effects to your audio. Makes teaching over Zoom bearable. Loopback is another item to consider as well.

forScore – This is THE iOS gigging music program. Make set lists. Sync them to your computer. If you use an iPad for music, you need this. Period.

Downie – Essential tool to get video or audio off the web.

iStroboSoft Tuner – There are a lot of tuners out there. And I have a TON of them. But this is the one I keep going back to. The Strobe tuner. Simple, effective, accurate.

Finale – Yes, there are lots of other software that you can use to notate music with. But Finale is really a mature, stable platform. I’ve been using it since version……2.5 I think? I have the floppy disks here somewhere…..

Band in a Box – Yes. This ALWAYS makes my list. This software is so much fun to use. And essential for any musician. I mean, you can throw it a chord progression, and boom, you have something to practice with. And it sounds GREAT.

Backblaze/Arq Backup– You NEED to backup your stuff. Most of us have laptops, so, it makes sense to back it up to the cloud. For those of us with ONE machine with a LOT of files, I’d recommend Backblaze. It’s $7 a month for UNLIMITED storage. So if you have terabytes of files, this is the one to go to. If you have multiple computers and UNDER a terabyte of stuff, I can totally recommend Arq Backup. I have my laptop, my mom’s laptop, and some other machines backed up with this. BOTH of these just do their work in the background, and hopefully the day will not come when you need to retrieve files from them. But it DOES happen (accidentally deleting a file perhaps), and on BOTH services, it is really easy to restore backed up files.