Guest Blogs

Whether you’re getting a shop-fresh model or a more played-in hand-me-down, no bass guitar ever comes perfectly set up specifically for you. We’ve all got a unique style and preferences to match, and there’s nothing wrong with that. In this blog, guest-blogger and bassist Cor Vos presents a basic guide to setting up a bass guitar. It’s completely beginner-friendly too, meaning we’re not covering more in-depth tweaks like pickup swaps and nut-filing. Depending on your bass, all you’re going to need is a good ol’ hex-key and a phillips head screwdriver. Let’s get started!

If you want your acoustic or electric guitar or bass to sound and feel as good as it possibly can, you can’t overlook the importance of proper maintenance. In this article, guest-blogger Dean explains how to nourish your instrument, how to keep the humidity in check and why the right room temperature is crucial.

Just as important as finding your perfect ukulele is finding the right set of ukulele strings to go along with it. Although all ukuleles come with strings already fitted, they may not necessarily be the best fit for your own personal playing style or preferences. It’s important to know what strings are available for you to consider. The subject of ukulele strings can become a never-ending rabbit hole, but guest blogger Matthew Quilliam shows that it doesn’t have to be so complicated.

A songwriter’s dream come true: an original, fresh, new melody jaunting into your mind while you sleep. Guest blogger, Caro, explores this dream phenomenon. Be it a ‘jingle dream’ or ‘symphony nightmare’; how can we coerce a dreamt-up, freshly invented melody from our sleep and bring it to the forefront of our minds? To kick start, you need to reach REM-sleep (Rapid Eye Movement), dream a melody, and then recall it. It’s fun, efficient and free! What’s not to love?

Accompanying a vocalist on the guitar is a skill that is sometimes overlooked by guitarists, especially when the attention is usually on playing the fastest shred licks possible or how many effects pedals one can fit on their pedalboard. One skill that’s very important as a performing guitarist, and is something that will lead to many more gigs, is the ability to make a vocalist feel comfortable and supported, especially in the context of an acoustic duo which will be much more stripped back than a full band setting, and be more exposing for all parties. In this article, guest blogger and professional guitarist Cameron Hayes tells you all about how to achieve the skill of accompanying a vocalist.

In this blog, guest-blogger Marc offers a step-by-step guide to swapping out the passive pickups of an electric guitar. Here, you’ll find out what tools you’ll need, why you would want to change the pickups in the first place, and discover that the whole process is actually much easier than you might think. In fact, anyone with the right tools and a little patience will be able to do this. So why not replace those knackered old pickups or treat your guitar to a sweet upgrade?

In the music industry, it can be pretty difficult to get things done. With a long schedule of items to accomplish, productivity and a strong work ethic can often be extremely hard to obtain. In his work as a marketing manager for Moon Jelly Agency for multiple artists it’s Guest blogger Jeroen‘s duty to make sure all the requests of labels, events and the media are taken care of by the artists without them getting overwhelmed by the amount of tasks. A strong work ethic and an efficient workflow are key. So, in this article, we’re going to discuss how to improve your work ethic so that you can achieve your ambitions.

Guest blogger Guy Burton shares some points to consider before diving head first into the diverse universe of iPad music apps.

Music production is a long and tedious process. Writing a song can take anywhere between two weeks to two months. But while artists aren’t releasing music, keeping fans’ interest engaged can sometimes be difficult. However, as a music producer, your music isn’t the only content you can offer your fans. With the ability to create mashups, mixes and various other forms of media, it’s important that you use all your resources to give fans incentive to persistently keep up with all things, you.

Guest blogger Guy Burton asks us to worry less about the technical details or equipment specifications, and focus on finding gear that fits your workflow, your space, and your personality.

Ghost production is something that is often frowned upon within the general EDM community. But with artists in other genres considering it to be a routine part of the music business, Guest Blogger Jeroen Hillebrand from Moon Jelly Agency decided to take a look at how being a ghost producer can benefit your career in order to raise funds to achieve your ambitions. At the end of this article, the aim is to remove part of the stigma surrounding ghost production and to teach you methods of making money from it. And for those of you who are unaware, ghost production is essentially an agreement in which somebody pays a producer to create a track, and release under their own name. Typically, it’s done in the form of a flat fee.

More and more people within the music industry are looking to turn their current endeavors into a full-time job. Whether it’s music production for vocalists, music licensing to TV and radio, or even live touring around the world, there are hundreds of ways that artists can make a full-time income from their career.