You’ve just picked up your first guitar and you’re already itching to start learning to play some songs. Whether you want to impress your mates, serenade your soulmate or more importantly, start making some music, our Guestblogger Alexousky is here to guide you through six classic pop tracks that you don’t just know already, but are actually really easy to learn. Have a look through, pick something that works for you, and get to grips with a nice and short, classic little riff or an immediately familiar set of chords that you can get your mates singing along to.

If you’re a music-maker as well as fan, then being parted from your instrument for even a day will be unthinkable. Of course, you’re not going to lug your expensive vintage guitar or hefty digital piano all the way to the campsite, so allow the venerable Bax Music experts to make some more appropriate suggestions. Here, we line up ten musical instruments, each of which is 100% festival-proof and easy to cart about.

Whether you’re making pure electronic music, indie-rock or pop, the humble synthesizer is near-indivisible from the modern music landscape. Since synths are only getting cheaper, it’s likely that you’re already busy twiddling knobs and pushing faders, but what if you want to actually record the sound of your synth? Here, our Guestblogger Melvin Rijlaarsdam explains what’s involved and how to get the best out of your synth in the studio.

Any drummer will be all-too-familiar with that feeling of mounting horror as they helplessly watch their bass drum slowly shift further and further away from them during the gig. It’s maybe the most annoying thing that can happen on stage, or even in the studio or practise space, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be solved. Here, we take a look at what you can do to help stop your kick drum from wandering off into the far distance.

Guest-blogger and multi-instrumentalist Nigel Hubée reveals how he bumped the foot percussion of the acoustic duo he’s one half of (The Tickets) up to the next level with a mix of self-contrived drums, a fresh take on an old-school hi-hat, and modern digital technology. Read on and learn!

One moment you’re happily pounding out beats, the next you’re looking at a hole in your drumhead. While this is something that will eventually happen to every drummer, it’s usually a bit of a scare for beginners. In this article, we’ll take a look at some quick-fixes that can get you up and drumming again in no time.

In this blog, we’ll answer the question: “What are drum triggers?”, hopefully expel the myth that sticking a bunch of triggers on an acoustic drum kit is reserved for metal drummers, and tackle the almost criminal assumption that using triggers is cheating!?

A good sound engineer is absolutely essential for any gigging band. Whether you’re lucky enough to have your own live engineer or you’re working with the venue’s, the person that sits behind all the buttons and faders is essentially the person that’s ultimately responsible for your band’s sound. This means that, as a band member, you’re only partly responsible for the end product, so you’ll want to make sure that everyone on stage and out front is doing their job and getting along.

Mic bleed is the bane of many-a recording engineer’s existence and can easily throw a spanner in the works for mixing engineers and producers. After all, hearing the hi-hats on a snare take or having guitars inadvertently mixed in with the vocals are issues that require a lot of time to fix. Want to know how to avoid, remove or even use mic bleed to your advantage? Then read on!

In the world of studio controllers, synthesizers and drum machines, the terms ‘x0x’ and ‘MPC’ are all over the place and refer to different interfaces for creating note sequences. In the revolutionary case of MPC, there’s one brand that started it all: AKAI. Read on to find out how it all began and ultimately resulted in the brand-new MPC X SE Special Edition.

Plenty of solo guitarists and artists want to back up their live gigs with a beat, but simply tapping your foot in time simply doesn’t cut it. You could set up a cajon and kick pedal, but for most musicians, this might feel a bit unnatural and start hindering the show. To solve this problem, Ortega offers a new and innovative solution in the form of their Stomp Box Series

Maybe you’ve already picked through our Synthesizer Buyer’s Guide and been left wondering what exactly FM synthesis is. If so, you’re in the right place. Basically, FM synthesis is a sound-creating method that, according to a lot of people, isn’t the easiest of methods to work with and is best avoided. But anyone who does avoid it, is really missing out. Despite its tricky reputation, FM synthesis is well worth getting to know, and the more you know it, the more you’re likely to love it.