MIDI keyboard

Hi.

It has been a crazy month for me and therefore I haven't made any entries to the blog. I decided to make a short entry now.

I will quickly go through an "instrument" I often use, rather always use, while I record and mix songs. This is the M-Audio KeyRig 49 midi keyboard/controller. When hocked up to the computer it can be used to record MIDI and program drums and virtual instruments.

I record within ProTools and in this program there are a insert called Xpand. In this insert you can chose from a number of sounds, pianos, organs, choirs, drums etc. All you need to make a song.

I have used this to record many of my songs. An example is in the bottom half of this entry.

The KeyRig 49 in its self is a 49 key USB keyboard. It includes the Key Rig software, but it can also be used with other recording software like ProTools, GarageBand, Logic, Cubase, Ableton Live etc. The keyboard has a pitch and modulation wheels, an assignable volume slider, octave +/- buttons and a sustain pedal input. The keyboard is USB-powered and works with both Windows and Mac OS.




I used only this keyboard to record the following song. Hope you enjoy it! Any question about the keyboard  will be answered if you leave a comment or send me a personal message in the Contact Me page.

See you later!

-Kianul

Review MXL 990/991 Mics

Hi folks! Long time no "see".

I thought I might review my condenser microphones that I use mainly to record acoustic guitars and vocals. The microphones I'm thinking of is the MXL 990 and 991 condenser microphones. These I purchased together in a package for about 100 dollars. The package includes a high-impact carrying case and mic stand adapters.

MXL 990

The MXL 990 is a large diaphragm condenser microphone with a cardioid polar pattern. This microphone is perfect for recording vocals due to the sweet high end and tight solid bass. This microphone is way beyond what you will get in this price range. You can purchase the microphone for about 50 dollars. If you buy the 990/991 kit, then you might get if for about 80 dollars. The quality of this microphone is so great that you could actually record your album in a professional way, at least with a good pre-amp.

Specifications

Tube type: Pressure gradient condenser microphone

Diaphragm: 6 micron gold-sputtered

Frequency Response: 30 Hz - 20 kHz

Polar Pattern: Cardioid

Sensitivity: 15mV/Pa

Impedance: 200 ohms

Equivalent Noise Level: 20 dB (A-weighted IEC 268-4)

S/N Ratio: 80 dB (Ref. 1Pa A-weighted)

Max SPL .5% THD: 130 dB

Power Requirements: Phantom Power 48V (+- 4V)

Current Consumption: <3.0mA

Size: 60mm x 130mm / 2,36 in. x 5,11 in.
Weight: 1,2 lbs / 544,3g
Metal Finish: Champagne

MXL 991

The MXL 991 is a small diaphragm condenser microphone. It is definately not the greatest small diaphragm microphone in the world, but for the price, it's going to be hard to beat! The microphone can be used to record acoustic instruments and drum overheads. I would recommend acoustic guitar. I haven't used this microphone that much due to that I prefer the 990 to record my acoustic guitar and vocals.

Specifications

Tube type: Pressure gradient condenser microphone

Diaphragm: 20mm

Frequency Response: 30 Hz - 18 kHz

Polar Pattern: Cardioid

Sensitivity: 15mV/Pa

Impedance: 110 ohms

Equivalent Noise Level: 20 dB (A-weighted IEC 268-4)

S/N Ratio: 78 dB (Ref. 1Pa A-weighted)

Max SPL .5% THD: 137 dB

Power Requirements: Phantom Power 48V (+- 4V)

Current Consumption: <3.0mA
Size: 22mm x 134mm
Weight: 0,35 lbs / 158 g
Metal Finish: Champagne

I use the 990 to record my acoustic guitar. You can hear it in the first video below!
I have also used it to record vocal. This you can also hear in the second video below!

If you have any questions about the microphones, feel free to comment in the comment section below!

-Kianul

Ibanez RG7321 7-string Electric Guitar

Hi again.

A new review for you! This is about my 7-string guitar, which is the Ibanez RG7321. It is an electric guitar, obviously with 7 strings, with a fixed tremolo. It's a great guitar that can be used for many genres, especially rock and metal.

Sound

I play a lot of different styles of music, metal, rock, blues etc, and the guitar fits all of those genres. The only thing is the fixed bridge which makes it more suitable for the heavier riffs. The guitar can't make dive-bombs and Satch squeals because it doesn't have a floating tremolo. But if you play mostly heavy riffs, then this guitar is right up your alley. The fact that this guitar is so versatile makes me love it so much more. If there is anything to complain about, it's that the low B string can be a little muddy. 

When I play this guitar, I use the same setup as I use for my 6-string Ibanez which I also wrote a review of here. The guitar has a 5-way level, and with that you can chose from a variety of sounds. Mixed with my amp and ZOOM-pedal, the result is so awesome!

Action, Fit & Finish

It has a nice black finish. No factory flaws. I have it tuned in the factory tuning, which is BEADGBE. But without the locking mechanism, tuning it to different tuning is very easy. When it comes to the action, it's set fairly low, which fits the players that has a delicate touch when they play. If you are a guitar player that hammers heavily on the strings, I recommend raising the action a little bit.

Reliability

The guitar is very stable with the fixed tremolo. It has a in-your-face sound that the RG-models are famous for, without the hassle of the locking nuts. The guitar is awesome! Have used it for years, and it still plays great, the neck is still straight, the pickups sound awesome and the finish is still free from any damage and scratches.

Specifications

- Neck Material: 5pc Maple/Walnut
- Neck Type: Wizard II-7
- Body: Basswood body
- Frets: Jumbo Frets
- Fingerboard: Bound Rosewood
- Inlay: Pearl dot inlay
- Bridge: Gibraltar Standard 7 bridge
- Neck Pickup: AH17
- Bridge Pickup: AH27
- Hardware Color: BK
- Finishes: BK

At the current time, I don't have any videos on youtube that I use this guitar. However, when I make one, I will share it with you so you can listen to the awesome sound!

Cheers!

-Kianul

Ibanez RG350EX Electric Guitar

Yo!

This entry will be about my Ibanez RG350EX. This is one of my two Ibanez guitars.

Finish and material

It's a guitar model that came out in 2005 and features a basswood body with the Edge III tremolo and Infinity pickups. It has an aluminium style pickguard that completes the finish of the guitar. It has a 24 frets long bound rosewood fingerboard with shark-tooth inlays.

As for the controls, it has one volume and tone control, as well as a 5-way lever that lets you choose the pickups you want active.

Sound

The pickups perform very well. I use a ZOOM G9.2tt pedal to a Randall RH50T head amplifier and a Marshall 1960A cabinet. This combo makes a loud sound and it brings out the nice sound of the guitar. This guitar fits for the multi-style guitarist, with the 5-way lever switch you get a big range of tone. The tone has plenty of crunch, but are still able to play the delicate sounds. Especially when having a great pedal as the Zoom G9.2tt and a great amplifier, the sound of this guitar shows its true nature. The result is great.

Reliability and Durability

My experience is that the guitar can take a lot of heat. You can play it for hours and hours and use the tremolo actively without the guitar getting out of tune. This is due to the locking mechanisms on the strings. I bought locking straps to this guitar which prevents the strap from falling off. I had some problems getting it tune in the beginning. This because this was the first guitar I had with a floating bridge.

A floating bridge mean that the bridge is not fixed to the body of the guitar, but it floats because of the tension of the strings of the guitar and some springs that is located inside the body of the guitar. These are accessible through a plastic cover on the backside of the guitar. By adjusting the tension on the springs on the backside of the guitar, you tighten the strings and visa versa.

Impression

To my use this guitar is perfect. It has a broad sound spectrum, it stays in tune when I use the tremolo a lot and the finish is great. I have had this guitar since the summer of 2007 and I'm very happy i bought it. it has been used for practicing as well as recording music. You can hear me play this guitar on my video on youtube which you can watch underneath. In this video I used direct input to record and the sound and tone bears notice of that. 

If you have any questions or comment, leave them in the comment section below or send me a message in the "Contact Page" here.

Hope you enjoy it!

-Kianul

Ibanez Electric Guitars

Hi people!

I have been busy the last couple of days and I haven't been able to post anything. As I am writing this, it's almost midnight here so I'm not going to post a long entry.

Tomorrow I will make a review of one of my guitars, the Ibanez RG350EX. This was the second electric guitar I bought, and the first Ibanez.

I have had this guitar for approximately 6 years and I have played it regularly since. It's a great guitar.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the full review!

-Kianul

Roland TD-9KX2

Hi

This entry will revolve around my electronic drum kit, the Roland TD-9KX V-Drums. I have had the set for a couple of years and it's very fun to play on. There are many neat functions like the play-along function, where you can play along with many prerecorded songs, in which you can change the tempo. There is also a quick record/quick play practice function which comes in handy if you are a beginner or even a seasoned drummer.

When you buy the set you get a box with the following content:

• TD-9 percussion sound module 
• PD-105BK dual triggering snare drum
• 3 x PD-85K dual triggering toms
• CY-12R/C three-zone cymbal
• CY-8 dual-zone cymbal
• CY-5 single-zone hi-hat
• KD-8 Kick pad
• 1 x FD-8 hi-hat pedal
• The drum stand

In the picture to the right you can see my set. Keep in mind that I bought and extra CY-8 cymbal.


TD-9 sound module is packed with hundreds of sounds which you can mix and match into your own personal drum-set. There is 3-way triggering available. The module has two extra jack inputs which mean that you can connect two extra cymbals, two extra toms or one of each. It also has MIDI connectors, a mini jack input and a USB port. The USB port is there so you can backup your settings performances and to play back WAV files.

The cymbals have a nice sound to them and they have the ability to choke the sound via the edge trigger.

Out of the four drum pads included in the kit, there are one that stands out. That's the PD-105BK. It's the largest and the coolest of the pads. It has very accurate sensing in the rim and head meaning that you can do both rim shots and cross sticking with ease. All the pads are fitted with Remo-manufactured mesh heads and they have a nice shell finish.

The kit is easy to set up, even if you have never done it before. The kit has so many different sound you can put together into your own drum kit. The mesh head pads makes the drum kit easy and quiet to play on. I have played this at home at 3 am without anyone complaining.

The drum stand is solid and sturdy. The cymbal mounts are strong with adjustable ball clamps and tilt mechanisms. This way you can adjust the position of every cymbal (and toms) freely for the most ergonomic setup that fits you as a drummer.

Underneath you can hear me playing the drum kit from some of my youtube-videos. If you find my videos interesting, you can subscribe or check out the rest of the videos here.

Hope you enjoy!

-Kianul

Liquido - Narcotic

30 Seconds to Mars - From Yesterday

Bowling For Soup - 1985

Dream Theater - Overture 1928

Taylor GS Mini Acoustic Guitar

Hello!

In the last blog entry, I said I was going to review my acoustic guitar, the Taylor GS Mini. And here it comes!

Taylor GS Mini

I have had this guitar since summer 2011, so soon to be 2 years. The previous acoustic guitar I had was a cheap 100 dollar guitar, which was large and not comfortable playing on. The fretboard was bad and It hurt my fingertips playing it. When I got this, it was like heaven compared with the old one. The Taylor GS Mini is very easy to play on, meaning that you don't need to press your fingertips that hard on the fretboard in order to play notes. Major plus in my book!

Over to some technical data. The Taylor GS Mini is really a Grand Symphony guitar in 3/4 scale. If you are familiar with Taylor guitars, it can be compared with the Big Baby and Baby Taylor guitars. The total scale length is 597 mm with 20 frets.

Taylor GS Mini Mahogany

The GS Mini is only 1,8 kg (4 pounds), which is fairly lightweight. It is made up by both solid and laminate wood. The top is Sitka Spruce, with the neck and sides being Sapele. Giving it an good sound over the entire sound spectrum. With the sides being laminated wood, it makes the guitar suitable for travel playing because the laminate is stronger and more resistant to cracks. It has chrome tuning pegs and comes with a truss rod, which makes in resistant to changes in temperature while on the road. A truss rod in a steel rod that runs through the neck of the guitar used to stabilize and adjust the lengthwise forward curvature of the neck, which is also called relief.

The sound of the guitar is awesome. This small guitar can play loud. It has a nice tone both with finger style and strumming. When strumming it has rich powerful sound due to the large sound hole. The tuning holds very nice, even when changing it often. I often play with standard tuning and DADGAD tuning, and it holds the tuning very nice.

The guitar I have is 100 % acoustic, but Taylor has pickup which is easily installed in 5 minutes. The guitar has a removable end pin where you can install the jack to the pickup. The pick is optional when buying the guitar, but it can also be bought later for around a hundred dollars.

Overall the guitar is awesome to look at, awesome to play on and awesome to listen to. I don't use it as a travel guitar. I used it as my main and only acoustic guitar and I play any kind of genre. And for its listing price, this is an excellent buy for any guitar player. It also comes in a Mahogany version with the Sitka Spruce top being replaced by a Mahogany top.

If you are interested in seeing the guitars size or hearing the sound of the guitar, you can watch me play Andy McKee's "Drifting" underneath.

Hope you enjoy!

-Kianul

Update

Hi people!

I have been very busy the last two days and haven't had the chance to write any. But not to worry. Tomorrow I will write a review of my favorite instrument! My Taylor GS Mini acoustic guitar!

Stay tuned and I will speak with you tomorrow!

-Kianul

Review Roland F-120 SBA

Hi.

I thought it was a good idea to review some of the gear I have. This for the purpose of letting others choose a suitable instrument/gear, but also so that you can get some insight in what type or gear I have and what I use it for.

I thought I would start with my newest instrument, the Roland F-120 SBA. Its a 88 key Ivory Feel-G keyboard. Ivory Feel-G with Progressive Hammer Action is a term that mean that the keyboard has the feel and touch of a true piano.

It has a space-saving cabinet. It is only 30 cm in depth, which makes it not so dominating in a smaller room, or in any room for that matter. In my opinion it is a really nice piece of furniture. It looks really good in your living room.
My cabinet is black (Satin Black to be exact), but it comes in white as well  It's lightweight (about 34 kg or 75 pounds), which makes it easy to move around. Specially if you mainly have it in your living room, but record with it in your studio in your basement or garage.

It has a folding lid that covers the entire keyboard and keeps the keys dust-free and clean. When the lid is raised, it acts as a sheet holder. Practical and clean design!

It has many features, for example the Twin-Piano-feature which splits the piano into two parts, both of them covering the same octaves. This is very ideal if you got a teacher or a friends to teach you how to play. You can then play side by side, and you can see and hear when you are practicing together. Neat!

The keyboard also features a metronome and a recorder. That way you can practice on keeping a perfect time and listen to your performance afterwards.

It has three pedals, just like a true piano, which dampen and sustains the notes (a Damper, soft and sostenuto). It has several connectors. It has an input jack which enables you to play along with other songs, or listen to a tutorial on youtube via a computer (mini jack). It also has Output jacks (L/Mono and R - 1/4 inch jack). If you don't want to disturb your family members, you can always use one of the two headphone jack (2 x 1/4 inch jack). The piano also has MIDI connectors, In and Out.

The thing I like the most about this keyboard is that it really feels like a piano. The hammer action is perfect, in my head, the design is outstanding and clever. It plays loud enough with its two 12 W speakers. It has 189 prerecorded songs, all of them classic songs - which I'm not going to go further into.

It has 4 piano sounds, 4 ensemble sounds, as well as 22 other sounds, covering strings, accordion, orchestra, organ and choir.

All in all, a great keyboard with many functions and sounds. Feels and sounds like a true piano. Fits piano-players in all ages and all skill levels. And at a low price! You should try it in your closest store!

-Kianul

Request

Hi!

I would appreciate it if you could request something in the comment section. You can request specific topic you want me to write about, questions you have about my gear or recording methods, or you can request a certain song you would like for me to upload to youtube and this blog.

All request will be answered and considered before making the blog entry or the recording of the song. There is also a possibility to ask personal questions although I might not answer all of them if they are too personal.

Look forward to hear from you!

-Kianul

My Recording Gear

Hello people!

I thought I might guide you through the gear that I'm currently using to record music and sound.

I use several guitars, both acoustic and electric. Two acoustic guitars (Woodrock and Taylor GS Mini)
and three electric guitars (Squier Stratocaster, Ibanez RG350EXZ and a Ibanez RG7321 7string). I also got a bassguitar (Cort), a keyboard (Yamaha YPG-235), an electric drumset (Roland TD KX2 V-drums) and an electric piano (Roland F-120 SBA).

I got and Marshall 1960A cabinet with a Randall RH50T Tube amplifier head and a Orange Crush 30W Bass amplifier. Usually only used when practicing.

I got a MXL 990 and a MXL 991 condenser microphones. To record vocals and acoustic guitars I used to connect the condenser-microphones to a mixer, which is the Behringer XENYX 1202FX, which was connected to the computer. But that was when I used Audacity as my DAW. The Behringer mixer has phantom power which is what you need if you're going to use a condenser microphone. The phantom power gives the microphone power. Without that it simply won't work.

After a while I bought an Mbox with ProTools 9, which is the DAW I currently use. The Mbox has two inputs for jacks and two mic/line inputs. The Mbox is only connected to the computer by a USB cable.

I also got a effect pedal that I connect to my Randall/Marshall stack. The pedal is a ZOOM G9.2tt. I usually don't use this when I record, but I use it when I'm practicing. This is because I don't mic up the amplifier when I record, I use direct input into the Mbox.

When I record in ProTools, I use a USB-keyboard called KeyRig 49 from M-Audio. It's a small bus powered 49-key MIDI keyboard that is easy to use. Bus powered meaning that it gets power from the USB-connection, just like a typing keyboard or a mouse on your computer. This keyboard is great to create music with virtual instruments. You can choose a variety of instruments in ProTools and use this keyboard to create the notes. If you're familiar with MIDI, you will know that a MIDI-keyboard doesn't create notes. It only tells the program what notes it should generate.

Under you can see a slideshow of some of the gear. If you have questions about the gear or how it's connected, comment in the comment section below.

If you want to see the rest of the gear, check out my videos on youtube here.

Enjoy!

-Kianul

                          

Without You

Hi again!

Here is a new video for you! This time its David Guetta ft Usher "Without You". This is the first time I have ever sung in a video and uploaded it.

It was easy to make. Only a USB-keyboard and a cheap microphone to sing in. Recorded it all on ProTools via my Mbox.

Hope you like it. Feel free to comment in the comment section below with any opinions or critisism. Also you can submit questions about anything you want answered.

Enjoy!

-Kianul

R.I.P

Sad to real that the founder of Sabian Robert Zildjian just died at the age of 89. RIP. Thank you for all yourself contributions you have given us!

If you want to read up on him follow this link.

-Kianul

20th century intro

Helle good people of the internet!

Here is a new video for you. It is a custom intro I made of the 20th century fox intro.
It is very easy to make, but the rendering takes about 6 hours to get completed.

I used a free program called Blender. If you want an intro for yourself, comment below and I will reply how you can make it.

Enjoy, and have a happy easter!

-Kianul

Drifting!

Hi again! 

Here comes a new video! This time its Andy Mckee's song "Drifting" that I made a little cover of. This song is very different from how I usually play on the guitar and so therefore I had to learn the way to play it. It took some time but after a while I got into it. The way to play this requires alot of concentration, but when you get a hang of it, your guitarplaying sounds awesome! It's almost like a one-man band. You got the low DADGAD tuning which turns the lower strings almost as a bassline. The tapping on the body of the guitar is percussion or drums.

If you play this to people they go nuts! And it's not even that hard to learn... All you need is patience and time.

Let me know what you think about the video in the comment section below.

Enjoy

-Kianul

New video

Hello good people of the internet!

As I promised in a previous post, here is another video that is on my youtube-channel (which you can access here).

This one I made in two versions, one instrumental version and a version where my dear sister is singing. Both of these I will post underneath. This was the second time I recorded and mixed a song together, and I was still using Audacity and direct input to do it.

Feel free to comment below on what you thought about these and also come with tips/critique on how to improve.

Enjoy!

-Kianul

New material

Hi folks!

I'm currently trying to figure out what I'm going to upload next on youtube. I wanna make a musicvideo, but I have no idea of which song I'm going to cover or what I'm going to play... Maybe put up a original song or a tutorial or something...

If you guys have any requests, comment underneath and I'll see what I can do! I'm always happy to hear from my followers!

Hope to hear from you!

-Kianul

Update

Yo!

I made a few improvements on the blog. I added a gadget in the right sidebar that enables you to view some of my videos that I have on youtube.

Later!

-Kianul

New blog - First video!

Hi!

This is a blog where I'm going to post my old and upcoming videos that I have on www.youtube.com.
Currently I have 11 videos on my channel. You can access them by pressing the link above. 

My videos mainly consists of coversongs played and edited by myself. But there are other videos aswell.

If you like my videos, subscribe and you will be updated if I upload a new video. You can also follow this blog or twitter.

Underneath you can view my first video I made and the first I put on youtube. It's a cover of "Narcotic" by Liquido.

I will post regularly the other videos once a week or often.

Talk to you later!

-Kianul