I’ve been a long time Mac user. In fact, I’ve only ever bought Apple computers. My first was the power pc back in the day. So for me when I was deciding which music player to buy, it was an easy progression into the iPod and iTunes because of their ease of use and reliability.

Why do I like it?

Which music player to buy?

It sounds great, easy to use, has many features and I like the touch screen technology.

Some features that were important to me:
• easy to use
• superior sound quality
• portable
• integrates with iTunes, which has the widest selection of new music at an average price of .99 cents a song or $9.99 an album.
• holds a lot of songs – up to 14,000 songs
• multi-functional – it’s a music player, gaming interface, video player, photo album, web browser, address book and with apps does hundreds of other things, too.
• multi-platform – can be use with Windows or Macintosh.
• radio apps – you can listen to new music to buy later.
• plugs into newer car’s aux jack

Why the 16GB iPod Touch?

I recommend the 16 GB iPod Touch or higher. They sell an 8 GB version but I have used up about 9 GB with all of my music, pictures, videos, podcasts and applications. I have pretty much everything I need on mine and can’t imagine going over 16 GB.

My iPod touch

Being a musician, I use my iPod touch to listen to my favorite music and analyze other styles of music.

But I also use it to practice my guitar and bass. To practice scales and songs to a tempo, I use either a metronome app or a drum beat I created from Logic. To practice ear training, I use the app Karajan to test me on intervals, chords and scales.

At home, I prefer to use my Sony MDR-7506 headphones instead of my ear buds. These headphones have a better, fuller bass.

When I want to play my songs through my home studio speakers while I’m in another room, my iPod Touch has an app for that (heard that before). It’s simply called Remote. From the iPod, I can see my complete library of songs on my computer and when you touch play it plays immediately.

Cons

My 5 year old daughter loves playing games on it just as much as I do. But, I’m not ready to buy her one yet. But I just might have to so I can enjoy mine.

You’ll probably need to get a case for it so it won’t get scratched up. I hear they have a new .99 cent case but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Feel free to share you opinions.

young Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was the best who ever did it and The Greatest of All Times! R.I.P. Michael

He had many jams but a few of my favorites are:

• Never Can Say Goodbye
• I’ll be there
• Human Nature
• Remember the Times
• Gone too soon
• She’s out of my life

Feel free to express any thoughts

There are a lot of artist who are extremely talented at singing, rapping and presenting poetry. These same artists would love to put their work out to sell to the public. The process of putting their work out is not hard. But putting together a project that the public want to hear and buy is another thing. Many artists know their craft but not the intricacies of music production. This is where a really good music producer can make a big difference.

Do I need a producer or not?

If you play all your own instruments, know how to compose and arrange, know how to record and mix, understand mastering and have a hell of an ear, then you may not need a producer. If you don’t, you need a good producer.

Why? you ask

A good producer can give you a great sounding song or album. They can also save you time and money by managing your recording project through their experience.

A good producer is very creative and knows how to give the public something new and interesting. They make your voice and ideas shine in an impressive way on your tracks.

They can save you money in the whole recording process. Many producers play an instrument themselves or work with really good musicians, they work efficiently in the studio and are very tech savvy knowing all computer the equipment, some mix and master themselves or know really good mastering houses.

How do they charge?

Some producers charge a set fee per song, some charge a percentage of records sold, others don’t charge anything and some charge a combination. The ones who don’t charge anything usually just want credit on a published album of a big name artist or to get their name out. They figure the exposure will get them more paying projects in the future. There prices vary.

I’m more of a songwriter/musician who has experience writing tracks for all types of artist in several genres.

When you are looking for a producer, its probably a good idea to listen to their work and try to determine if their style can produce some hit from your project.

My Guitar

Ibanez AEL10LEBK Guitar

What is it?
It’s a Left Handed Acoustic Electric Guitar made by Ibanez. Because its acoustic, its loud enough to play without an amplifier but you can still plug it up to an amp if you want. 

How much does it cost?
I got mine for around $300.

This guitar has a great and really nice full sound. The bass notes are fat and warm and the highs are crisp. I have 7 guitars and this was my first acoustic-electric guitar. it has turned into my favorite. I was surprised to find out that it sounds way better than my electrics guitars. I guess that’s because the sound from the strings gets to ring inside the body and the pickups get to pick up a fuller more acoustic sound. I’ve always played rhythm guitar on an electric guitar and have never seen anyone play R&B rhythm on an acoustic. But rhythm guitar actually sounds better on an acoustic. When I record tracks, it sounds so much better than my electric. It also has and eq slider to cut or boost the highs and lows.

Tuning
This guitar has a built in tuner which it really convenient. The other thing I love about this guitar is that stays in tune way better than any guitar I’ve ever seen. Some days I don’t have to tune it at all. Other days, I might have to slightly tune it. 

Care
I keep mine in a humidified room like Ibanez recommends. I clean it with damp cloth. It’s relatively low maintenance.

Pros
• has a built in tuner
• easy to play
• sounds great
• looks great

Cons
• Notes are really hard to bend. I think its because the strings are so thick. 

Conclusion:
For the money and the quality, I recommend this guitar to anyone.