Blue Man Group Keyboard Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I own 3 of these keyboards and they are the greatest electronic musical instruments I have ever come across. There are preprogrammed tunes to play with. You just wave your hands over the tubes and different instruments chime in. You can also control the tempo and volume by waving your hands over the tubes...almost like an orchestra conductor. There's a hookup for your ipod or mp3 player that you can play the music through this instrument and the speakers are great. You can use the keyboard to play tunes that you know and change the instruments from piano to trumpet,drum, organ, guitar, tuba,etc. WooHoo! I love them and so do my grandkids.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Blue Man Group Keyboard

Inspired by the ever-popular Blue Man group, this tabletop electronic keyboard provides the perfect introduction to music making. New technology interfaces give it an edge on other keyboards of its kind, and keeps beginners excited about music.
The Blue Man keyboard features savvy styling, unique play patterns and engaging musical interactions. Furthermore, it's MP3-compatible, meaning you can play music on top of your favorite MP3 tracks. Keyboard plays pre-recorded songs, and lets you record and play back your own musical masterpieces. Requires 4 "AA" batteries (included). Measures 11.5"L x 25.75"W x 7.75"H.

Click here for more information about Blue Man Group Keyboard

Read More...

Guitar Pro 6 Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Hey music lubbers. I wanted to write this review anyway but even more so that GP6 has received some tough criticism. Much of the dissatisfaction is from owners of previous versions of Guitar Pro. Since I'm new to the product I have a different perspective, one not colored by certain expectations. By the way, I'm also a software developer so I can add that to the equation as well.
From my "dual point-of-view" GP6 is both a great musical tool and a well-done piece of software. The slams it's gotten for being unresponsive, hard to use, buggy, etc. are a bit exaggerated. I believe those who have trouble with it don't have computers with the required firepower; it does ask for a fairly modern machine and it's not kidding! Though I've had it crash a few times, this is certainly no worse than Firefox; moreover, the program does very frequent updates that happen hemidemisemi-automatically.
It has a rich and satisfying palette of tools for painting your musical masterpiece. It has a plethora (oh yes El Guapo...a plethora!) of RSE2 instruments to fill up your canvas. Some of them sound great (fine oil paint), some are "good enough" (acrylics) and some are like throwing a crayon into the dryer (uh, don't try this!) Strangely, the best sounding ones are guitars and similar stringed instruments; oh wait, this is *Guitar* Pro, not Bassoon Hero!
I also love the effects/amps you can use to shade and enrich your tableau. They really make a dramatic difference to the sound, just as they do in the real world. You can try out effects you don't quite understand instead of "Daddy, what does a phaser do?" "Well son, it's used to kill Klingons." Yeah, dad's a trekkie, not a musician.
You probably already know that there are thousands of GP-based tab/chord downloads out there; unfortunately, it's hard to find sites that use the new .gpx format at this time. Regardless, GP6 can import all of its predecessor formats and others such as Power Tab. It also does a nice job with many ASCII tab files, which surprised me somewhat.
As nice as all of these features are, composition/playback is the heart of the package. Let's just keep it simple here. You can represent just about any musical notation and the scores are easy to manipulate. You'd likely go bonkers trying to figure out how many possible built-in scales there are, and what each term means; learn Latin and Italian if you really want to know what these are (c'mon, you really just wanna impress chicks--I know you!) The playback will let you set each track individually so you can use it for backing while you play...say...your bagpipes. And if you want to input via something other than a computer keyboard, voila, summon the useful (albeit slightly hokey) virtual fretboard/keyboard. Better yet, attach a MIDI piano/synth and do a live 'captcha'.
Anyway, you can find all of this out yourself, I'm just letting you know what I find impressive about Guitar Pro 6. Get a copy and let's all paint some great scores together!

Click Here to see more reviews about: Guitar Pro 6

Guitar Pro 6, a Win/Mac hybrid, is the ultimate toolbox for the guitarist! It includes all the tools you need to improve, compose and accompany yourself on the guitar. This simple and intuitive multitrack tablature editor is specifically designed for guitar, bass or other stringed instruments.

Guitar Pro 6 features the newest in playback technology including RSE - Realistic Sound Engine. RSE gives you real time playback of your scores with realistic sound samples taken from high quality guitars and real time effects such as wah-wah. Advanced notation features add drum notation, vocal notation and tablature support for any stringed instruments with four to seven strings. The newest version, Guitar Pro 6.0, includes over 40 new features while improving on those that have made it the most popular guitar tablature editor available.

Known for its ease of use, Guitar Pro allows you to enter notes by using keyboard keys, mouse clicks on an on-screen fretboard or directly through a connected MIDI device, all in just a few minutes. This revolutionary software can handle up to 256 tracks and you can switch from tablature view to standard notation for viewing or editing scores. With automatically calculated rhythms, Guitar Pro works out the note durations for you, and when you play the score, the music scrolls along with you, rendering guitar-specific effects like bends and slides.

Also included in Guitar Pro are a digital guitar tuner, a chord diagram engine, and a scales tool. You can easily import and export MIDI and ASCII tab formats allowing Guitar Pro to be used with a limitless number of songs. Tens of thousands of Guitar Pro format files are available on the Internet. The WAVE Export allows you to convert a Guitar Pro file into an audio file which is playable without Guitar Pro and can be burned onto an audio CD.

With its ease-of-use, versatility and variety of tools, Guitar Pro will have you creating music in no time! Features:

Multitrack/monotrack display, horizontal or vertical scrolling, the screen display adjusts to your preferences and score types.
Chord Diagram editor allows you to easily add chord diagrams to your score. Ask for any chord in any tuning and Guitar Pro will show you every diagram possible.
Scales Tool allows you to view and listen to a large number of scales, from the most common to the most exotic.
Digital or MIDI Tuner allows you to tune your guitar for every tuning possible, from 4- to 7-strings.
Fretboard (or Keyboard) allows you to view and enter notes on the score. It is able to show the notes of the current beat, but also the notes for the next beat, the complete bar or the selected scale.
Metronome gives the tempo while playing a score or even without playing it.
Professional Quality Paper Printings can be monotrack or multitrack. This way you can print several views of the same score, perfect for a band.

New Features for Guitar Pro 6:

Over 50 pedal effects and numerous sound banks (guitar, bass, drums, piano, orchestral etc.)
A New MDI User Interface (including full screen mode)
Piano Grand Staff
Rhythm slash
Simile marks
Multi-rest
Concert tone
Parametric equalization on each track
Configurable tones
Tap tempo
Jazz fonts
Anacrusis

Guitarist Magazine: "Guitar Pro is an intelligent, simple, clear and precise tool … the standard of its field."

Guitar Part: "Complete and easy to use … for a very low price considering its possibilities…"

RIFF Magazine: "Guitar Pro is unquestionably the best that can be found in the field of tablature editing for the PC."

Get 17% OFF

Click here for more information about Guitar Pro 6

Read More...

Yamaha YPT210 61 Full-Sized Key Keyboard with 375 tones Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Untill few weeks back I was an absolute 'monkey with a piano', I decided to take some lessons and my teacher recommended me a Yamaha with a metronome. I grabbed this one from a local Circuit City and I've been quite pleased with it since then.
Pros:
- Nicely priced
- Keys feel good when pressed (doesn't feel like cheap plastic)
- Built in metronome (you need it if you are new to piano/keyboard)
- Decent display that can display the musical notations as you play along
- Great learning features with lots of inbuilt songs (keys are displayed on the screen as you play along - works at your speed and can be split into either right or left hand or both - nice way to learn)
- Around 370 built in voices
- 61 keys (enough to start practicing with)
- DVD included which tells about basics of this piano (features of this piano NOT how to play)
- Light weight if you want to carry it around
- Input for sustain pedal (need to buy it separately)
--Overall nicely designed with other features)
Cons:
- Doesn't sound like piano but then I'm just learning
- You cannot control loudness/softness, I mean in a piano if you strike a key softly the sound produced will be different from when you strike the same key hard (loud), in this Yamaha there is no such distinction, sound produced is always the same irrespective of the way key is pressed (this should not matter much to a beginners)
- Power adapter not included, you need to buy it separately
- Notes(music) for inbuilt songs are not included, it would have been very nice if you can have them - makes practicing easier.
Overall, this is a nice keyboard for beginners but as you practice along and you are serious about learning you will outlive its usability and may need to upgrade to higher model or a piano :-) .... but if are a beginner like me look no further.
Also, if you are serious about learning piano try this book:
'Alfred Basic Adult Piano Course Level 1" with CD.....great book for beginners.. good luck

Click Here to see more reviews about: Yamaha YPT210 61 Full-Sized Key Keyboard with 375 tones

Portable Grand: One Press To an Amazing Stereo Grand Piano Voice You're never more than a button push away from the most realistic piano sound in portable keyboards today. One press of the Portable Grand button resets the entire keyboard to a stereo-sampled piano – perfect for when it's time to practice. Yamaha is known around the world for the quality of our acoustic pianos and this attention to detail is evident as you enjoy the warmth and clarity of the YPT-210 Portable Grand piano. And of course, the keyboard includes a Sustain Pedal jack on the back for practicing and playing piano pieces.Yamaha Education Suite' (Y.E.S.): Learn How To Play Now! The YPT-210 has 102 built-in songs for you to learn to play, using the Yamaha Education Suite. The songs are separated into left and right hand parts, providing 7 levels of lessons plus a convenient chord dictionary.Three keyboard lessons for each hand:Lesson One – LISTEN & LEARN the melody or rhythm of a selected songLesson Two – TIMING mode allows you to play the melody or chord by pressing any key using the correct timingLesson Three: WAITING mode stops the playback of a song until you find the correct note and then continuesLesson Grading – monitors your progress as you practice each lessons two and three and gives you a grade.Chord Dictionary – shows you how to play chords and tells you which chords you are playing by displaying the notes and chord name on the LCD screen.Sound Effect Kit: Have Some Fun! If your kid doesn't think playing keyboard is cool, wait 'til he hears this keyboard! Get the world of Hip Hop and all the hottest sound effects in your Yamaha keyboard. Push the Sound Effect button, hold down a key with your right hand, and you're groovin'!Computer Connectivity: General MIDI (GM) Compatible The music pathway to your computer and the Internet is MIDI. It's the way that keyboards communicate with computers. And because the YPT-210 is both General MIDI (GM) and XGlite compatible, you have access to thousands of MIDI song files on the Internet.Sound Quality: Real Stereo (Not Just 2 Speakers) Some keyboards have two speakers but aren't stereo. Don't be fooled. Just because a keyboard has two speakers doesn't mean that it's truly stereo with two separate amplifiers. All Yamaha Portable Keyboards feature stereo-sampling technology.32 Note Polyphony and 16 Part Multi Timbrel In electronic keyboards, the more sounds made at the same time – polyphony – the more memory is needed. Obviously, more is always better, because too little polyphony can cause dropouts in dense passages of music. Some keyboards at this price point have only 12-note polyphony. The YPT-210 has 32 notes of polyphony and will play back 16 different parts or sounds at once (16-part multi timbrel); enough for the most demanding needs.Auto Accompaniment Styles In addition to the 102 songs mentioned above, the YPT-210 also has auto accompaniment styles that "follow" your playing. Simply select a style of music from the 100 built-in Styles (example Rock), play a single note or chord on the left side of the keyboard and play your melody on the right side. The YPT-210 will create a backup band (bass, drums, strings, guitar etc.) and "follow" you through the song. You can play your songs and try different genres of music. It's both fun and entertaining.Voices The YPT-210 has a large selection of professional sounding Voices called XGlite. The result is amazing sound quality and 375 Voices for you to choose from, offering compatibility with both 3rd party and Yamaha XG software. Just some of the great sounds you'll find in this keyboard are trumpets, violins, electric pianos, harpsichord, organ, guitars and bass guitar.Connectivity The YPT-210 features MIDI In/Out, Sustain Pedal jack and a Headphone jack for private practice.

Click here for more information about Yamaha YPT210 61 Full-Sized Key Keyboard with 375 tones

Read More...

49 Keys Kids Musical Electronic Keyboard - Silver Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)I ordered it in black and was shipped blue, but other than that it is a great keyboard for the money. I am not sure who has more fun playing with it- my daughter or my husband and I.

Click Here to see more reviews about: 49 Keys Kids Musical Electronic Keyboard - Silver

This 49 keys keyboard is perfect for children or beginners. It comes with features like Rhythm Programming / Record /Play / Auto Warn. It includes the following demonstration songs: 1) American Patrol, (2) Fly Me to the Moon, (3) Caplown Races, (4) Besame Mucho, (5) Little Brown Jug, (6) Song Of Spring, (7) Music Box Dancer, (8) Nocturne. Also features Large Scale Integration/ Matrix Controlling Logical Circuit. Includes external speaker, double channel output. It also includes: Auto bass chord/ single and fingered chord, Tone Area: C2 ~ C6, Output: 1W x 2

Get 64% OFF

Click here for more information about 49 Keys Kids Musical Electronic Keyboard - Silver

Read More...

PIANO MADE EASY: "It's Piano Lessons in a Box" Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)bought PIANO MADE EASY for my kids and they LOVE it!!! teaches how to REALLY play the piano. very user friendly and easy for kids to set up and play themselves. (don't know why that other reivewer complained about the game not being midi, the instructions say that its not midi). 5 stars.

Click Here to see more reviews about: PIANO MADE EASY: "It's Piano Lessons in a Box"

WIt's Piano Lessons in a Box! Winner of Creative Child Magazine Top Toy of the Year Award; Family Review Center Platinum Award; iParenting Media Award; National Parenting Center Seal of Approval; The Toy Man Award of Excellence; and National Parenting Publications Honors Award - visit their sites for independent reviews of PIANO MADE EASY. Learn how to play the piano with PIANO MADE EASY! This computer adventure for beginners teaches how to count rhythm and the keys on the piano. With the help of zany Bill the zookeeper and his dog you'll learn how to play music on your own PIANO MADE EASY piano. Up to 4 people ages 7 to adult will make your way through a beautiful zoo learning a new piano concept at each stop. Hidden in the zoo are 57 pieces of orchestrated music plus 10 rhythm and keyboard games. Kids and adults will have a great time learning to play the piano with PIANO MADE EASY's fun piano lessons. PIANO MADE EASY is a 49-key piano keyboard with power adaptor and instructional CD-ROM game for use on a PC computer with Windows 98 2nd Edition, XP, or Vista.

Get 18% OFF

Click here for more information about PIANO MADE EASY: "It's Piano Lessons in a Box"

Read More...

Teach Me Piano Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Having just purchased a used piano for my daughter, I decided to attempt to learn it also. At the age of 35, I didn't want to take beginning piano lessons so I purchased the above software, Teach Me Piano. When you consider the average cost of weekly piano lessons, this software really does pay for itself after a few lessons. I found it easy to use, however I would strongly recommend you only buy it if you have your computer relatively close to the piano in question. Laptop which you could sit on the piano would be preferable. The interactive portion of the lesson really requires a good quality microphone. You must be self-motivated to get anything out of this.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Teach Me Piano

Teach Me Piano provides a full course of piano lessons from beginner through intermediate skillsSystem Requirements -Pentium 200MHz or more (Celeron 400MHz or more for Windows 2000 or XP) 32MB of RAM (Windows 98 or Me) / 64MB (Windows 2000 or XP) 13MB of Hard Drive Space Windows 98, Me, 2000 Pro, or XP 800x600 High Color (16-bit) Display 16-bit DirectSound-compatible Soundcard w/ MIDI port 4x CD-ROM Drive

Click here for more information about Teach Me Piano

Read More...

On Stage KT7800 Plus Keyboard Bench Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)The legs remove completely from the bench by squeezing in two pins on each arm of the "X". There are knobs you can tighten to hold the pins in, which is handy because otherwise it would require a lot of hands to set up the bench.
I would not recommend this bench if you plan to set it up and take it down frequently. The rails on the bottom of the bench are too close together on mine and that makes one end very difficult to remove. It also takes a bit of fiddling around with both ends to ensure all 4 pins seat in the holes in the bench rail. If you were in a hurry it would be easy to only wedge the unit together and have it collapse when you sat down.

Click Here to see more reviews about: On Stage KT7800 Plus Keyboard Bench

The KT7800 PLUS keyboard bench offers incredible comfort and outstanding affordability to players of any experience level.If you play extended gigs, or just want a bench that is more comfortable, you will love this padded keyboard bench. This professional-grade, top-of-the line keyboard bench has no equal! The design combines a 3 inch cushion, which provides deluxe comfort for hours of play, with a spring-loaded double deadbolt locking system, which provides deluxe safety for peace-of-mind.

Get 56% OFF

Click here for more information about On Stage KT7800 Plus Keyboard Bench

Read More...

Casio SA-75 Keyboard with Headset Microphone Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)For just a little more than a toy keyboard you can get something that really works. This keyboard can do up to four notes at once, so children can learn about both chords and melodies. The sound quality is better than I expected considering the price, and it run on nice cheap AA batteries that can be bought in bulk. Battery changing is easy.
The one downside is that the lowest volume level isn't all that low. It's impossible to just play this quitely at a volume level low enough so that only the one playing can hear. Also, it comes with a microphone, and when that is plugged in, the sound can be heard all over the house with the volume set to it's lowest level.
Edit Jan 21 2011: And yes, it comes with a headphone jack just in case the volume won't go low enough. So, since that's my primary gripe with this thing, I changed my review to five stars.
So, it's a nice way to introduce children to music, but it's a loud way because it doesn't allow a truly low volume setting.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Casio SA-75 Keyboard with Headset Microphone

Casio SA-75 Keyboard: Fun for the Whole Family
Designed for the young or beginning musician, the Casio SA-75 Starter Musical Keyboard provides enough features and functions to get anyone to enjoy and learn to play music without having to invest a lot of money. The SA-75 is an economical way to introduce a child to keyboard playing. It is small-in-size and fun to use with sound and features that will surprise you.
Designed for the beginner, fun for the experienced player.

Get 29% OFF

Click here for more information about Casio SA-75 Keyboard with Headset Microphone

Read More...