Photo Basics 402 uLite Video Lighting Kit Get it now!

When this kit first arrived, I immediately thought it was the wrong item. The guitar player on the front threw me off for a second. Then I realized it was my green screen kit and they were showing what it could do.

Included in this package are two 500-watt photoflood lights, two collapsable softboxes, the 7 foot tall light stands, and a 9'x 10' green screen. It also comes with a 30 day trial of Adobe Premiere Elements 7. Additionally, you'll need your own camera (of course - video or photographic), a full version of some editing software, and a way to hang up the screen. Therein lies the problem: While its obvious you wouldn't expect a camera in the box, I do expect this package to supply a way to hang the screen and provide software to edit what I produce. It does advertise itself a complete kit.

So I have come up with some ways to hang the screen:
1) On my shower courtain rod with clips (very creative, but awkward)
2) Pinned to the drywall. You'll need a rather large wall for this.
3) Duct-taped to the drywall (not recommended).
4) Buy a real backdrop stand (obviously the correct way)

Overall, this kit is just short of excellent for the beginner. The ability to use it as a green screen works as advertised, assuming you have capable software. the included software is dated and will only work for 30 days. What excites me the most though, is now I want to use the flood lights and softboxes with a yet-unpurchased backgroud stand. This could easily be turned into a home portrait studio for the amatuer photographer. You just need some backgrounds and a background stand.Get more detail about Photo Basics 402 uLite Video Lighting Kit.

Audio-technica AT 92ECD - Phono Cartridge This instant

I got this cartridge to replace an older AT92E in my JVC turntable. My turntable is designed for P-Mount system and this one installs in a cinch. The description calls this an AT92ECD. I got a AT92E. It looks like NOS which is fine by me. It sounded great back then and it sounds great today. There will always be better and grander cartridges but it's hard to beat the value this AT92E gives. The output is strong and I would say crisp. It provides 90% of all obtainable quality for only 10-20% of the cost. I will always be comparing against this. My previous AT92E provided me with many years of service and I expect this one will too.

I replaced my old AT92E because the stylus was starting to get skewed off to one side. It only took about 16 years. :-)

Just be sure to clean your records!Get more detail about Audio-technica AT 92ECD - Phono Cartridge.

Shop For 3.5mm Stereo Coupler, Female / Female

Appears sturdy, and makes a nice click sound when cables are inserted. However the click is meaningless. The cable had to be stuck so far into the connector to make stereo contact it would not hold. I ended up with mono audio on my recording. If I ever use this again, I will wait for the clicks, then strongly tape the cables to the connector. I'm debating a return, but it's not amazon's fault and don't want them to incur the expense.Get more detail about 3.5mm Stereo Coupler, Female / Female.

Cheapest MONSTER XPCIBIG100 100 Feet Speaker Cable

This was just what I needed to complete my home entertainment system. Well that and a new TV but that is a purchase for another day. I have a 7.1 system and needed to get the cable back to the four rear speakers. I wanted the cables hidden and this cable fit the bill. After much research of both the products and the customers reviews I chose this cable. Not the cheapest but it definitely gets the job done and the sound is amazing whether watching TV or or playing Call of Duty. I would definitely recommend them.Get more detail about MONSTER XPCIBIG100 100 Feet Speaker Cable.

Korg nanoPAD USB Drum Controller, White Decide Now

When I received the product, I was very impressed with its design and it felt very sturdy and well weighted. As I plugged the USB cable in, I was worried I would break the plug because it is so flimsy and fragile. Once I got everything installed and loaded up, I tested the Nanopad in Reason, Toontrack, and Live and the pads simply do not function, straight from the box! Some of them stick when you use them and some of them just didn't work altogether.

My suggestion: Save yourself the money and the trouble, and buy something more durable. If you are looking for a pad midi controller with an X/Y pad, the Korg padKontrol is a very good alternative, is USB powered, and not enormous. The portability on the Nanopad is very tempting and it is a great idea altogether, but it simply does not function as it is supposed to. If you don't mind losing an X/Y pad, then go for the AKAI LPD8, but otherwise, avoid the Nanopad.Get more detail about Korg nanoPAD USB Drum Controller, White.

Shure SM57-LC Cardioid Dynamic Microphone Right now

I couldn't believe the improvement in the quality of my recordings. I use it to mic guitar amps and also for vocals. Truly a high quality all around microphone, priced for musicians on a budget.Get more detail about Shure SM57-LC Cardioid Dynamic Microphone.

Discount Blue Microphones Snowflake USB Microphone

I took my chance after reading other reviews and ended up with a non-working piece of junk. I tried on 3 different PCs (XP and Vista), changing USB ports and cables and non of the combination worked. I'm returning it. It's such a disgrace since Blue was a respected brand name in the audio industry - not anymore.Get more detail about Blue Microphones Snowflake USB Microphone.

Buy Korg nanoPAD USB Drum Controller, Black

oh my. so much fun. i have never used anything MIDI before so I was a bit skeptical about the learning curve of getting this thing to work and truthfully it did take a few days to really get it all going the way I wanted it. I wanted to use this unit to record drums, previously I had used a keyboard that had drum sounds but it went down.

So the first thing was to get the computer to recognize the thing, not too bad after downloading all the software and drives from the Korg website. Next i needed some drum sounds and software that would play the sounds. the nano comes with some Toontrack lite program that is lame. no toms, no ride...etc. so i downloaded the free version of FL studio (fruity loops) and then go to channels>add one>FPC and bang it loads up a drum set! sweet. from there you can change to the Tama or a Gretch and add a little verb and it sounds real good. now I play drums all the time. while sitting watching TV, while working with headphones on, or while recording actual songs!

The most fun toy I have gotten in years!Get more detail about Korg nanoPAD USB Drum Controller, Black.

Behringer C-1 Studio Condenser Microphone Immediately

Sadly, this mic arrived dead upon arrival, as did a Behringer FBQ2496 Feedback Suppressor/Parametric Equalizer.

The red light on my mic lit up so dimly, that I wasn't even sure it was lit or not. I literally had to scream into the mic to get anything out of it. Yes, I had Phantom power enabled, thank you for thinking I'm an idiot. :) Yeeesssss, I'm sure the Phantom Power was working, as my other four condenser mics were happy.

It felt very solid, well built, but unfortunately didn't work. If you get one that works, it seems to be a great value.

Naturally, Amazon sent me a pre-paid return label, but it was a snail mail label, and hasn't yet arrived back at Amazon nor been processed for a refund. I have no doubt I'll have my refund soon. (If the post office doesn't lose it)

This has really been a disappointment, as I have experienced and been blown away by 8 other Behringer products. When their stuff works, it works GREAT!Get more detail about Behringer C-1 Studio Condenser Microphone.

Buy 2 RCA Male / 3.5mm Stereo Male, 25 ft

I bought this cable to hook my imac up to my stereo (Yamaha home theater in a box). Perfect length at a low price! couldnt ask for more.... at least until I need another cable. ThanksGet more detail about 2 RCA Male / 3.5mm Stereo Male, 25 ft.

Shop For TASCAM DP-008 8-Track Digital Portastudio

So just as a point of reference, I'm an audio engineer. I went to school to be one and had my own ADAT based project studio for a while afterward. I was trained on buttons and knobs. Prior to, during, and after all that I had home gear that ranged from a boombox to 4-track cassettes, to the aforementioned ADAT, to PC recording. All the while as a musician as much as engineer.

That said ... I love the 008. It's not perfect, but I love it.

Features:
Brilliant. Compact, all the input options you'd need including phantom power, excellent decisions on what to have dedicated controls for vs. being menu items (save for the EQ, but that's a space hog, so I'm willing to accept the compromise), and potentially infinite memory.

Interface:
Considering my background, I'm generally not a fan of PC recording, I prefer the tactile nature of buttons and knobs over mice and pointers. And the 008 has instantly recognizeable tape transport control buttons. And clear single function knobs. Plus an aray of buttons that are mostly all clear and simple. So the familiarity with the basic controls makes things comfortable and easy. There are still somethings you have to scroll through menu items on the LCD for. But again, if you're at all familiar with the tools and terminology of recording, for the basics, it's simple, clear, and intuitive.

Sound:
Using the built in mics on just me and my acoustic guitar, I got a practically flawless sound. Seriously. On playback in decent headphones, my guitar sounded pretty much just like it does to me acoustically. I haven't tried the built in mics for a full on band recording. But I imagine they'd do fine so long as you placed it well, and kept the levels reasonable. As a preamp for a pair of large condensers, it worked equally well. This is how I got full band recordings. With a pair of room mics (strategically placed) running into the 008 I got a solid, accurate sound. In our quieter moments, the kick drum was actually one of the better sounding I've gotten in my years recording. Louder, things got a bit mushier, but still maintained it's quality. And that type of thing is more often the room than the recorder :)

After tracking:
This is where that one star gets lost. The 008 is designed as a multitrack recorder, not a field recorder. So overall these next steps make sense. They're just not intuitive, and despite being fairly easy to learn and eventually do, it required cracking the manual, reading and rereading, and sussing out some fairly non-intuitive practices. Essentially you need to 'export' your recorded stuff, whether individual tracks or after doing an onboard mixdown (which they call mastering) to a seperate partition on the memory card itself and then you can transfer that 'exported' file to a computer for putting to CD or MP3, etc. A clunky process, but again, it's designed as a multitrack, so the expectation is that you'll need to mix it down or get the raw tracks first.

Overall, this thing is a winner and most importantly it's convenience and ease of use will inspire me to record more. The best tools a musician can have fascilitate and inspire without taking over your time and energy. The 008 falls into that catagory.

Any issues I may have with it may be rooted in my more traditional background, and someone new to the art may not experience them because they aren't set in their ways. But either way, those issues are small, and definitely aren't deal breakers.

I can think of improvements for sure, but they'd just add to either the physical size or cost of the device. And really, the 008 falls squarely in that narrow gap of everything you need for a price you can afford.Get more detail about TASCAM DP-008 8-Track Digital Portastudio.

30 Pin Dock Extender Cable-50 cm in White

The product was sent to me fast and cheap, what more can you ask for. My issue was my car is integrated to work with an Ipod but I found that it was difficult to plug in so I ordered the extension cable and it solved the problem. This product is also good if you have your ipod in a case and you want to plug it into ipod speakers or something else this way you don't have to take the cover off in order to accomplish that.

Thanks,

Happy pod user :)Get more detail about 30 Pin Dock Extender Cable-50 cm in White.

Lowest Price Akai APC40 Abelton Performance Controller

It turns Live into something more than a creative piece of software, it makes it a musical instrument of a sort. It allows things, that aren't possible otherwise. I have anticipated some of the features, but having all this, arranged together, makes an instant arranger's station. The controller is of very nice quality, with solid feel to it and very sleek. Awesome.Get more detail about Akai APC40 Abelton Performance Controller.