Tag Archives: products

Boss VE-500 Vocal Performer

Boss VE-500 Vocal Performer

Boss VE-500 Vocal Performer

The Boss VE-500 Vocal Performer vocal harmony/multi-effects pedal provides automatic harmony/pitch correction, plus effects that range from subtle sweetening to over-the-top, even robot voice sounds. Easily integrated into any pedal board, its three assignable footswitches offer versatile control, while stereo XLR outputs send vocal sounds directly to a PA mixer, stage monitor, or recording device. An automatic harmony engine detects guitar chords and key to generate smooth and natural two- and three-part harmony in real time. Users can edit sounds and save them in 99 user patch locations.

www.boss.info

wouldn't it be great

Loretta Lynn, Wouldn’t It Be Great

Released September 28
Legacy Records

One of the most personal albums of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) member Loretta Lynn’s career, Wouldn’t It Be Great communicates the universality of the human experience—love and heartbreak, as well as the transformative and connecting power of music. Comprising 13 songs written (or co-written) by the Queen of Country Music, the title song was the last song Lynn wrote for her late husband Oliver “Doolittle” Lynn. The album debuts new songs “Ruby’s Stool,” “Ain’t No Time to Go,” and “I’m Dying for Someone to Live For,” and new renditions of classics like “Coal Miner’s Daughter” and “Don’t Come Home a Drinkin’ (With Lovin’ on Your Mind).” “This new record means so much to me, but this last year I had to focus on my health and I decided to hold up the release,” she says. “I’m feeling good and look forward to it coming out. It was really important to me to be a part of it being released and I’m excited to celebrate with everybody!”

Yolanda Kondonassis

The Yolanda Kondonassis Collection

Yolanda Kondonassis

This collection of more than 30 harp solos features popular transcriptions and compositions from Yolanda Kondonassis. The wide variety of selections includes Bach, Handel, Telemann, Scarlatti, Vivaldi, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Sibelius, Puccini, Satie, Fauré, Debussy, and Respighi. The book comes with Kondonassis’s complete editorial markings and extensive performers’ notes.

The Yolanda Kondonassis Collection: Transcriptions, Arrangements, and Original Works for Harp, by Yolanda Kondonassis, Carl Fischer, www.carlfischer.com

last year's words, and next year's voices

Last Year’s Words, and Next Year’s Voices: Essays and Speeches from a Decade as Chairman of ICSOM

last year's words, and next year's voices

Author Bruce Ridge, a member of Local 500 (Raleigh, NC) served as chair of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM) from 2006 to 2016. During that time of economic upheaval and social change, when orchestras were besieged with lockouts and bankruptcies, many people questioned the symphony orchestra’s value to society.

To this environment, Ridge brought an eloquent, positive message, embracing connection through social media, highlighting the value of musicians to their community, and promoting the healing orchestral music can provide. These essays and speeches recount ICSOM’s expanded role under his leadership as an advocacy organization. He addresses topics both global and personal, from the role of arts education in society to the challenge of maintaining mental health in a stressful profession. This collection of writings serves as a remarkable journal of advocacy on behalf of our symphony orchestras.

Last Year’s Words, and Next Year’s Voices: Essays and Speeches from a Decade as Chairman of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians, by Bruce Ridge, www.lulu.com.

the british amp invasion

The British Amp Invasion

the british amp invasion

The British Amp Invasion chronicles how a minor offshore industry quickly became a world leader and the choice of British guitar heroes and American arena stars alike. The book features backstage histories, compelling stories, and photographs to tell the story of amps made by Vox, Marshall, Hiwatt, Orange, Watkins, Selmer, Sound City, and more.

The British Amp Invasion: How Marshall, Hiwatt, Vox, and More Changed the Sound of Music, by Dave Hunter, Backbeat Books,
www.backbeatbooks.com.

sound spike endpin

Sound Spike Endpin

The innovative and affordable Sound Spike Endpin was developed by Local 60-471 (Pittsburgh, PA) member Aaron White, a double bassist for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. It’s designed with a carbide tip, which will stay sharp and perform on almost any surface. Sound Spike’s corrosion-resistant rod is made of a super hard stainless steel to improve clarity and projection. An over-sized rubber boot provides a larger, stickier surface area and matches the notches on the rod exactly.  Bass endpins are available in both 10 mm and half-inch diameter at lengths of 8, 12, and 16 inches. Cello endpins are available in 8 mm and 10 mm diameters. Sound Spike Endpins make dull endpins a thing of the past.

www.soundspikeendpins.com

boss tu-03

Boss Tu-03 Clip-On Tuner and Metronome

The Boss Tu-03 clip-on chromatic tuner and metronome provides two essential tools in one device. The tuner allows users to switch between chromatic mode and dedicated guitar, bass, ukulele, and violin modes. Flat and double-flat tunings are also supported. Reference pitch is adjustable from 430-450 Hz and can be sounded through a built-in speaker. In metronome mode, TU-03 becomes an important practice tool, allowing instrumentalists to both hear and see the beat. It provides eight different patterns and 10 beat variations. Tempo is adjustable from 30 bpm to 250 bpm.

www.boss.info

songs for the saints

Kenny Chesney, Songs for the Saints

Released July 27
Blue Chair Records/Warner Music Nashville

Kenny Chesney of Local 257 (Nashville, TN) has long called the US Virgin Islands his second home. He even says his time spent there has shaped the man he has become. In 2017, when he began writing the songs on this album—“Song for the Saints,” then “Love for Love City”—he was worried about people in the Virgin Islands who were riding out a Category 5 hurricane. “I was so scared for a lot of people and places that I really loved,” he says. “I was anxious, and I was thousands of miles away. I needed to do something that would let those people know they weren’t going to be forgotten when the news cycle moved on. I had no idea it would be an album, but the songs were something they could sing.” Songs for the Saints features 12 tracks, of which Chesney wrote or co-wrote five. Local 257 member Jimmy Buffet, Ziggy Marley, and Mindy Smith also appear on the album.

rustic wreath

Deering Rustic Wreath Banjo

Deering Rustic Wreath is a stunning and affordable walnut-stained maple banjo that honors the heritage of the instrument, while taking on a sleek, minimalist feel. It retains older aesthetic features—the Golden Wreath inlay, prewar peghead shape, and iconic flange hole pattern. The tapered profile of the maple neck provides a comfortable playing experience and the deep resonator yields greater bass frequencies. It has an understated satin finish over a dark walnut stain, and single white binding on the resonator. It’s tone has a bright crack, thanks to a Deering 06 tone ring mounted to a three-ply violin-grade maple rim.

www.deeringbanjos.com

the tree of forgiveness

John Prine, The Tree of Forgiveness

Released April 13
Oh Boy Records

The Tree of Forgiveness is Local 257 (Nashville, TN) member John Prine’s first album of new music since his 2005 Grammy-winning album Fair and Square. Prine takes everyday themes like loneliness or heartbreak and creates humorous and quirky tunes, many of them co-written with close friends. Dave Cobb produced the album recorded in Nashville’s Studio A. The album was recorded on Prine’s own label, Oh Boy Records, which happens to be Nashville’s longest operating indie label, founded in 1981. Prine won his first Grammy for The Missing Years (1991). His self-titled album from 1971 was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2014. He was awarded the PEN New England’s Song Lyrics of Literary Excellence Award in 2016 and named Artist of the Year by the Americana Music Association in 2017, at age 70.