It’s often only after the sun starts sinking that your house or garden party starts getting truly atmospheric. From that moment on, you’re in control of the light. Guest blogger Menno is here to tell you about the do’s and don’ts of party lighting, spanning everything from simple birthday get-togethers to all-out dance and karaoke parties. Menno covers atmosphere, designated areas, LEDs versus light bulbs, and the use of effects.

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably encountered a smoke machine at an event, party or gig before. You might also have wondered if it’s dangerous, or if the smoke it spits out is possibly a health risk. In this blog, I’ll tell you how safe smokes machines are and what kind of qualifications they need to meet. Let’s find out how much truth there is to “where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

If you’ve recorded audio via a DAW or digital recorder before, you’ve probably come across terms like sample rate and bit depth. These are the most important factors when it comes to determining the detail in which sound is recorded. The sample rate determines the frequency range of the recording, while the bit depth controls the dynamic range. Read on to find out what settings you should use to get the best sound for your productions.

While it is possible, playing Rolling Stones classics like Brown Sugar and Start Me Up in standard tuning will most likely leave you utterly disappointed and forced into impossible finger positions. Granted, the rhythm parts can be played using simplified power chords, but that still won’t get you that signature Stones sound. So how does Keith Richards pull it off? Well, as someone who knows how not to take things too seriously, Richards is probably the first to admit he really isn’t the best guitarist ever to have roamed the stage. The trick here, is open G tuning.

So, you’ve bought a new microphone only to find out that it won’t work unless you supply it with phantom power. Condenser microphones in particular often require this. Fortunately, most mixers, audio interfaces and recorders have a built-in phantom power supply, the control for which is indicated by ‘Phantom’, ‘P48’ or ‘48V’. In this blog, I’ll tell you what to look out for when you want to use phantom power.

While the verb ‘to produce’ is used to describe the various, wide-ranging processes that are part of making music, it doesn’t exactly clearly explain the differences between a producer and an executive producer. Since few people actually know what a producer does, this blog aims to give you a little insight into their tasks and responsibilities.

Just like regular instruments, DJ gear is increasingly available in a purpose-built version for kids. From mixers and controllers to complete sets, young’uns have more and more to choose from every day. So what are the perfect introductory bits of DJ kit? In this blog, I’m going to tell you what your pride and joy needs to take their first steps into the world of DJing!

As the cornerstone of any studio production, vocals are often what listeners base their opinion on, whether consciously or subconsciously. No matter how fat your drums and synths sound, if the vocals are slightly off, the whole thing quickly drops in overall quality. No worries though, we’re here to teach you how to mix the most out of your vocal recordings using DAW software!

Whether you play an acoustic or digital piano, in most cases, the stand or cabinet comes fitted with three pedals. If not, then you might be lucky enough to have the option to connect up a separate set. But what exactly do you do with these mysterious pedals? Bax Music product specialist, Marc will now illuminate everything!

To make great recordings and mixes, good monitoring is absolutely essential. With the combination of a set of good studio monitors and studio headphones, you can get a clearer image of how your masterpiece is going to do in the big, wide world. The position of your studio monitors and the layout of your studio is therefore just as important. Here, we offer some golden rules when it comes to placing your monitors, so you can get nothing but the very best out of them.

When playing the guitar without a plectrum, you use your fingers. This playing style is also known as ‘fingerstyle’ or ‘fingerpicking’. A great advantage of playing in this way is that you can play multiple strings with more precision (plucking is the better word for it). Also, you get a much warmer sound out of your guitar. In this blog, I’ll take you through the basics of fingerpicking: which fingers to use and the best playing position, and whether you need to play with your nails or with your fingertips. If you’d prefer to just play with a plectrum, then check out our purpose-made plectrum blog.

In this blog, I’ll be taking a look at the four most important drum rudiments you need to raise your drumming game. Rudiments are short drum pattern made up of a small number of strokes. Drill these rudiments every day, and you’ll not only watch yourself grow as a drummer, but you’re likely to find that playing your drum kit becomes much easier. This is simply because the most complex of rhythms is actually made up of rudiments. In this blog, we’ll talk about the four most common patterns, and since they’re the most-used, they’ll stay with you for the rest of your drumming life.