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Blogs

Welcome to NZ Rockshops Blogs section.

The blogs will range in content from specific product focuses to the latest and greatest releases from particular brands, along with clinic reviews, brand overviews and instrument tutorials etc. They will be written by leading NZ artists who are using the gear professionally and by product experts who can provide unique and informed insight. Make sure you follow our Twitter account, and are signed up on our email list.

We hope you enjoy them and if you have any feedback, fire them through to us as we’d love to hear from you.

 

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The NZ Rockshops have some of the most exclusive and respected brands in the world, we are also lucky to rub shoulders with some very knowledgeable people...

Latest Posts

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    Equipment Review - Behringer X32 Digital Console

    Paul Crowther is an electronics wiz, played drums with Split Enz during the Mental Notes / Second Thoughts Era, invented the HotCake guitar pedal and is a live sound engineer.  Paul also designed and built a synthesizer from scratch before they...

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    Equipment Review - Moog Model E1 Guitar

    Hey everyone! Six-String Samurai here again to talk guitars with you - and what a guitar I've got today! Half guitar, half synth - if it were a person, it'd be a Terminator of some sort. :: What's in a MOOG :: Moog Music was founded in the 50s, and p...

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    Equipment Review - Universal Audio Apollo Quad

    : UNIVERSAL AUDIO APOLLO DUO REVIEW : In this Blog Zed Brookes reviews the new Universal Audio Apollo Duo High-Resilution Interface with Realtime UAD Processing.Zed Brookes is a Producer, engineer and songwriter. "Creativity vs technology in the craz...

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    Tech 21 Character Series – the Gig Savers

    :: Tech 21 Character Series – the Gig Savers :: What happens if your amazing tube amp blows a tube or a fuse two minutes into your set, and you haven't got a spare? Don't fret (ha) - Tech 21 have got the answer. Analog, baby! Back in the day befor...

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    Future Sound Vol.1 - Gearing Up For Home Recording

    I have had a long romance with music, one that goes back far as I can remember. My parents have embarrassing photos of me as a toddler dancing to Rod Stewart records and in one way or another I can recall music always having an amazing impact on me. ...

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    Notes on Recording Pre-production and Choosing a Recording Studio

    : Recording Notes from York Street Studios : In our years of experience at York Street Studios, we have found that there are certain aspects of producing a recording that should not be overlooked. To maximize your budget and to help you to achieve th...

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    The term “DJ” covers so many basses these days…

    The term “DJ” covers so many basses these days…  You could be someone who just plays at home, on the radio or gets to move crowds.  You could be into hip hop, dance, country, reggae or just plain ol’ weirdness with sound.  It used to be th...

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    Pro Vocals Books

    It’s been an absolute age since my last (and first) blog!!  And I’d originally planned to make them a regular occurrence!! So my theory this time is to keep it very short and sweet! Hopefully that will mean write more of them more often!! Print ...

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    Bobby Kennedy - Roland SPD-S

    Roland SPD-S, KD8 & FD8with Bobby Kennedy - Op Shop We take a quick moment with noted New Zealand drummer Bobby Kennedy, from the chart topping Kiwi icon band Op Shop, to talk about how he uses the Roland SPD-S Sampling Pad. Roland SPD-S   ...

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    Ladyhawke - Roland Products

    Q: Your debut album was a huge success in both Australia and New Zealand and created waves around the world. What have been some of the highlights of the last couple of years? A: I spent the last 3 years living in London, which gave me so many opport...

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    An Intro To Lighting

    :: An Intro to Lighting :: Once you have yourself a band or DJ setup, a PA, a setlist and some gigs – the next thing you might want to think about is some lighting. Even if you play at a variety of venues that ...

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    Piano & Keyboard Cleaning

    :: Piano and Keyboard Cleaning :: Whilst it's not the most exciting blog topic in the world, one of the most frequently asked questions is : "How do I polish or clean my piano/keyboard?" And it's a good question too, because there are few things to...

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    Keyboards for Beginners - Where To Start?

    :: Keyboards for beginners - Where to start? :: "I want to play piano/ keyboard what sort of instrument do I need?" This is a question we hear a lot from parents and beginners alike. Because there are so many options, we ...

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    Home Recording 101 by James Lissette

    I have always thought that after you learn to play your instrument and then played a gig or 2 then the next thing to do is record your music. Now if you are not fortunate to live in Palmerston North where we have cheap ...

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    Darren Mathiassen - Sabian

    I chose Legacy series cymbals by Sabian. They are the best all round cymbals in my arsenal.. So good in fact, that my sound man went out and bought himself a set! A perfect balance of smokey...

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    Darren Mathiassen - Sonor

    Darren Mathiassen currently plays for Hollie Smith, Bella Kalolo, The Nok and Iva Lamkum, he also played for Trinity Roots. He is one of the country’s most in demand session and live players, being one ...

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    Darren Mathiassen - Roland

    :: Roland TD9-KX :: Darren Mathiassen The Roland V-Drums TD-9KX drum kit is my daily workhorse and essential instrument in my studio. There’s a plethora of outstanding on-board s...

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    Acoustic Guitar Body Shapes

    How does the shape of an acoustic guitar affect it's sound?   A question that people ask me a lot is ... 'How does the size and shape of an Acoustic Guitar affect the tone of the instrument?' A lot of guitar...

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    Line6 G30 Digital Wireless System - guest penned by Ben White (Dane Rumble / Sola Rosa)

    :: Line6 Relay G30 Wireless Guitar System :: This summer I have been lucky enough to trial the Line 6 Relay G30 wireless guitar system. After many years of playing guitar and experiencing wireless freedom very ra...

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    The Revolution is here ...

    :: The Revolution is here….low price, low wattage tube amps (and why you need to have one) :: One of the most interesting things about working in this industry is watching the way the market changes as new prod...

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