Some Excellent Cyber Monday Recording Accessories

We all love a deal and Cyber Monday is the day for it, so I decided to put together my own list of cool gear especially for musicians and engineers. Here are some accessory items that make great gifts for any musician or engineer (even yourself).

Etymotic Research ER20 Earplugs – I keep trying others and keep coming back to the ER20s. They reduce the volume yet don’t change the frequency response. I don’t know what I’d do without them. You’ll use them more than you ever thought. Simply the best! Black Friday deal around $12.

 

Blocklite – This goes under the category of “Why didn’t I think of that?”. Blocklite is a simple LED add-on to any 9 volt battery that turns it into a flashlight that’s perfect for checking all those dark spaces during a session or show. Cheap too at only $7.95!

 

 

Monoprice 8323 Hearphones – Tired of spending big money on replacing trashed headphones? At $25 you won’t find a cheaper and better sounding replacement.

 

 

Lynda.com Online Training Tutorials – Have you ever wanted to learn a piece of software, but hated the “how-to” videos you found on YouTube with bad audio and lighting and people that barely know what they’re doing? Try Lynda.com, with more than 1500 courses with super high production values by experts and in small digestible bites. Check out my courses, and get 7 days free of unlimited access to lynda.com.

Snark SN-1 Guitar Tuner – We’ve all gotten used to using software guitar tuners, but when you want to tune as fast as possible, this is the best tuner I’ve found. It clips right onto the guitar so you don’t even have to plug it in, and it even has a built-in metronome. At $9.95 each, it’s unbeatable.

Shop Amazon for Cyber Monday deals in musical instruments.

 

Remo Active Snare Dampening System – Designed in conjunction with drumming heavyweight Dave Weckl to get rid of unwanted ringing without the tape. Once fitted to the drum by attaching it to the rim, you can adjust the amount of dampening by either moving the Dampener from the center to the edge of the drum head, or by sliding the O ring up or down. Genius! And just $29.

 

Primacoustic VoxGuard VU – Like other vocal isolators only better in that it adds a 3 inch by 7 inch Plexiglass window so that the vocalist can see the rest of the band or receive cues from the producer (among other things). The unit fits on to a common microphone stand and an extender clamp allows you to fit the microphone holder. It’s also adjustable so that you can move the mic closer or further from the vocalist. Just $99.

 

Radial Engineering Reamp JCR reverse direct box – has all the features needed to make the operation happen both quickly and easily.The Reamp JCR is actually a reverse direct box in that it takes a signal from your recording device via an XLR cable, then sounds it out to the amp via a 1/4″ jack. The $199 box also features phase invert and ground lift switches on the input side, and a filter control switch, mute and level control pot on the output side.

 

 

String Strecha – New guitar strings sound great but it takes so much time until they stretch out. String Strecha will allow you to stretch each string by the same amount every time. This thing is a favorite of top-flight guitar techs everywhere, and you should have one in your guitar case or in the studio at all times. Well worth the $12.50.

Books By Bobby Owsinski – Okay, so I’m a little biased, but if you’re looking for a book for someone in the music business, you’ll hopefully find one of mine that will hit the sweet spot. There’s something for everyone, including books on production, mixing, recording, recording drums, mastering, being a studio musician or a touring musician, improving your band, navigating the new music business, social media for musicians, studio building, guitar tone, and making videos. From about $16 to $30.

 

The X-Clip – If you want to mount an SM57 and a small diaphragm condenser mic right next to one another and keep them in perfect phase, then the X-Clip is just the thing you need. Get one for $19.95, or the Studio Bundle of 3 for $49.95.

Have a happy Cyber Monday!

Shop Amazon for Cyber Monday deals in electronics.