Blog

If you want to start playing banjo, the first thing to sort out is which one to actually buy. Here is how to decide by the number of strings, by whether you want a resonator or an open back, and by how much you want to spend, plus what you need to get alongside it.

You hear a Precision Bass on most records of the last 70 years without realising it. Here is how it came about, who played one, and whether maple really sounds different from rosewood.

Chameleon by Herbie Hancock. Sir Psycho Sexy by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Higher Ground by Stevie Wonder. Behind that quacking sound sits one box that was left over from a dismantled synthesizer. In the first episode of StompStory, bass player Matej Krivánek explains where the envelope follower came from and plays you everything we have in stock at Muziker, from sixty-euro tiddlers to the Aguilar.

The djembe is a West African hand drum you can play a first rhythm on straight out of the box. We go through the four decisions that drive both price and sound: size, head, shell material and tuning system.

A cajon is a box you sit on and play at the same time. We go through how it works, what it is made of, what size you need and which brands and models are worth a look.

Most people know the classical guitar as the first one they learned on. It is also called a Spanish guitar and music schools still start on it. We go through what size a child and an adult need, and which strings you are allowed to fit.

August was a rich month for new gear. Two names the whole world had been waiting for arrived, along with three brands we never carried before and a new generation of Yamaha mixers. These are ten pieces from August you should know about.

You have the kit and the sticks, and the whole thing still sounds cheap. Nine times out of ten the cymbals are to blame. They are the most expensive pieces of metal a drummer buys and the first thing an audience hears.

You are sitting at the computer with a project open in your DAW, clicking notes into the grid with a mouse. It works, but it takes forever and the result sounds like clockwork. This is the exact point where most people buy their first MIDI controller, also known as a MIDI keyboard.

A tuner is the first thing a guitarist needs. Before the first chord. We compare clip-on tuners, pedal tuners and phone apps so you know what to buy first.