Vintage Audio

So for all of those people who are just so into all the vintage audio gear, I hope you guys are all aware of the site vintage king http://vintageking.com/ I would say that they are one of the most well know sites that actually sells vintage gear that is analog and also well known for the digital gear they sell. So they have a pretty old vintage AKG C60 condenser mic, small diaphragm and also come’s with its original power supply the N60A. The price of this mic is a lot but I am pretty positive that this mic sounds amazing. The price they are asking for is 3,095.00.  There is all kinds of vintage gear sold online always and if you are one of those people who love vintage gear than this one of the sites you must check out. If you are also wondering well I bout all of this vintage gear where can I get it fixed. I may have a solution for you and that is called Sounds Classic http://www.soundsclassic.com/. They can fix preamps, effect processors, headphones, speakers, musical instrument amps and much more. So this way of your vintage item decides to crap out on you, you do have a way to get fixed.

KRK gen3

So KRK is a pretty well know studio Monitor Company with a great reputation that follows the name and who are also part of the Gibson brand. But I am here to talk about the latest studio monitors they have out and they are the Generation 3 of the Rokit’s. These monitors are some of the best out there in my opinion. And they are not that badly priced at all but they are also not cheap. It does look like all the sites I have been on they have them for the exact same price the one I was focusing on was the Rokit 8 which are going for 249.50 each not for the pair. Here are some really specs for the KRK and remember you can always call these sites and haggle for that price, don’t be scared!

- Configuration: 2-Way
- System type: Active Monitor
- HF Transducer: 1" soft-dome tweeter
- LF Transducer: 8" Aramid glass composite woofer
- Freq. Range (-10dB): 35Hz - 35kHz
- Crossover Frequency: 2.0kHz
- Total Power: 100 Watts
- HF Power: 25 Watts
- LF Power: 75 Watts
- Peak SPL: 109 dB
- Auto-Standby: 30 minutes
- Cabinet Material: MDF
- Connectors: Unbalanced 7kOhm RCA, Balanced 10k Ohm 1/4" TRS and XLR. Pin 2 & Tip = Hot\Positive, Pin 3 & Ring = Cold\Negative, Pin 1 & Sleeve = Ground
- Controls: HF Level Adjust (-2dB, -1dB, 0, +1dB) LF Level Adjust (-2dB, -1dB, 0, +2dB) System Volume (30dB to +6dB)
- Product Dimensions (D x W x H): 12.4" x 10.8" x 15.6" (315x275x396mm)
- Product Net Weight: 24.6 Lbs. (11.2 kg.)
- Fuse Rating: Slow Blow type, 5mm x 20mm

Authorized Dealrs

So there are a couple of things you have to look for when you are shopping online for all of your audio gear needs. And of those things you have to watch out for is that the web site you are buying all your gear from is an authorized dealer of that specific brand your item is.  There are a couple of reasons you have to watch out for this, one of them being that if you purchased your specific item from a shop that is not an authorized dealer and then may need some warranty fix, that name brand company may turn you down and then you wont be able to get your item fixed or replaced and that would be a really big disappointment. Another reason you want to get your gear from an authorized deal Is if you do like to haggle for prices, most bigger name competitors only price match authorized dealers so if it is not from one most authorized dealers will just turn you down and say sorry but we can not price match that item because it is not being offered by an authorized dealer. So make sure when you are shopping online and you see your items on their web page do a little research and make sure that company is an authorized dealer or in the end you may have some bad luck down the road with your gear then want to get it fixed and they will turn you down.  

Payment options!

Times are still pretty rough out there for a lot of people, they are just not spending as much as we used. Then trying to apply for a credit card to get the thing we want are a lot harder to get approved by the banks, it is just way to rough now a days. All of this I am refereeing to the broke musician or hopeful audio engineer, most of the equipment is just really expensive and just do not have a steady job. Well I have found a better solution for all of those people who are broke. Now it is not a guaranteed solution but it could definitely help you out. So there is this great company out there in the Internet called zZounds and they are doing something I have not seen with any other gear site out there. They do not have a house credit card or make you sign up for a card as well. They have some great options to get the instruments and equipment that you want to get now and play later. So they have 4 different options that are available, just depending on the product. So what they have to offer is called Play as you Pay installment plan. The options include a 4, 8, 12 and now introducing a 18 month plan, but that 18 month plan just includes Gibson and Fender but on items 1,700 and up. So if you do get approved for the plan you get your equipment and just make a payment each month until it is paid off and a great thing about this is there is no interest.  So get out there and check it out.

Orange

Well I am going to be talking about a great product I have recently have discovered and made by Orange Amp’s. You may be asking yourself what does this have to do with purchasing equipment online? Well so far the only place I have been able to finds this certain product is on Orange’s web site. The product I am speaking of is called the Orange OPC by far probably one of the coolest computers I have ever came across. If your asking yourself what does this have to do with audio gear? It is very simple this computer that is put together by Orange for those who wish to do some home recording. So here are some cool specs on this really awesome computer. Well if you’re not a windows fan this may not be right for you, It comes with Windows 8.1, IK Multimedia AmpliTube 3, IK Multimedia AmpliTube 3 Orange Custom Shop, PreSonus Studio One Orange Edition, Mixcraft 6, Toontrack EZdrummer Lite, LickLibrary Guitar Lesson Center, all sounds pretty good so far right? Some of the audio specs: Audio Features: 5.1 line out, coaxial S/PDIF out, optical S/PDIF out, 2x 1/4in TRS outputs, 2x 1/4in TRS inputs, 2x 1/4in TRS instrument inputs, 2x integrated 6.5in JBL studio monitor speakers. There are 3 versions of this computer one is called Orange OPC MKIV Studio, Orange OPC MKIV Professional and Orange OPC MKIV Ultimate. Here is the link directly to the OPC https://www.orangeamps.com/products/opc-series/orange-opc-mk4/#tab-id-1  With prices starting at $1,399.00.

Cheap Gear

So as you hopefully know now is that I just started a new job working at a great company downtown, which is filled with musicians and engineers. It is absolutely a great work environment! But I am not here to talk to you about that, I am here to see if I can save you some money. So usually when you to Guitar Center or any big box store and you see the instrument or gear you want and you go to the check out and you try and haggle a little bit and then the store employee pretty much just laughs in your face because you can’t do that at a big box store. Most of the times the price on the tag is what you get and get changed no matter how hard you try. Couple of great things I have found out working with this new company if you do any kind of phone orders with them you can actually do so haggling with the sales repressive. Al you really have to do is say hey I saw this cheaper from guitar center or sweat water etc. can you give me a better deal on this gear most of times the sales rep will lower that price for you or you can even price match as well which is really cool. Anther great initiative to purchase with this company that I have not seen with any other is there payment plans. So it almost like getting approved for credit for this site without having a credit card and not having to front all the money on one payment, how great is that!!  Try it out and see how it goes!!!

Taxing

So here are some interesting facts supporting those online shoppers out there. So lets say you finally have that income to finally build your own home studio or just see some really cool instruments or you are just in need of new hardware. Buy online especially if you know already what you need and you really don’t have to look at the equipment or even test it out, depending where you are purchasing your item from you can actually save some money. If you’re wondering how, it’s because you will not be taxed on your purchase. Depending where you are living some states don’t require for you to pay a tax, as long as the company you are purchasing from does not have a physical presence in your state. For example they don’t have a warehouse where they ship their entire products from or have employees working in your state. There has been an act that is trying to be passed currently to all the states called The Marketplace Fairness Act and with this act in place it will allow your state to tax you on your online orders no matter from what source you a purchasing from and or where they are located. Now some states have not passed this yet. For example in Connecticut the Commissioner of Revenue said that any Connecticut shopper must still pay their 6.35 percent even if the website did not charge them for tax. Also states such as Arkansas, California, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Vermont passed a so called “Amazon Tax” law this requires online retailers to still collect sales tax even if they do not own any property in your state or have any in state employees. If The Marketplace Fairness Act was implemented on every state the government could collect well over 1 million in tax Internet sales annually. You be surprised to find out that Amazon is actually on board with this act, but may people still feel that it is just something else for our government to collect money from us. How do you guys feel about this?