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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    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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    Print Music

    Rachel's Print Music Blog Welcome to my first print music blog … My name is Rachel and I’m the Print Music Product Manager for NZ Rockshops. I have been working for the Rockshop for over 10 years and I admit it...

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    Tuning / Guitar Mechanics / Other Good Stuff

    :: Tuning / Guitar Mechanics / Other good stuff :: One of the most common problems for any guitarist are the challenges associated with keeping an instrument in tune. There are a huge number of issues that can co...

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    Brass / Woodwind

    :: Jupiter Brass/Woodwind :: When one of the company directors asked for my input in establishing the Rockshop as a respected supplier of brass and woodwind, I said ‘Sure. What brand are we going to be doing?...

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    Distortion and Overdrive and Boost .... oh my !!!

    :: “Distortion” and “Overdrive” and “Boost”…..oh my!!! ::   I’m quite excited about this post – I reckon 30% of people reading it will be like “yeah, I knew that” but the other 70% will (ho...

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    EMG Goes Vintage

    :: EMG goes Vintage :: So for my first article, I wanted to tell you about a recent epiphany (Epiphone? – sorry music retailer joke) I have had regarding EMG pickups… I’ve always thought the EMG Humbuckers...

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