Reviews: Backstage Mag

Les Paul Traditional Pro Review

Features & Design
Neck: A solid piece of Grade-A mahogany & 60’s profile
Fingerboard: Bound rosewood
Frets: 22
Scale: 24-3/4”
Body style: A two piece mahogany body & hardshell case
Headstock: 17 degree angle

Sound
The Les Paul Traditional Pro is able to cater to a wide range of musical styles, from blues to hard rock. The interior has weight relief cavities allowing for a louder acoustic sound and increased sustain. The angled peg head also offers enhanced sustain. A great, clean sound is cranked out of the Les Paul, with good bite.

Reliability and durability
Les Paul’s are infamous for their neck cracks so it always recommended that you take when storing the guitar. The standard Gibson strap buttons are poor, the top one slipping frequently, so it is advised that you add strap locks. However, the binding is great for protection, and the wiring is of a high quality. An extremely solid instrument which is reliable enough for constant touring.

Price
$1500-2000

Verdict
This guitar fills the gap in the Les Paul market, offering sounds that will blow you away. The Traditional Pro has great flexibility, enabling the user to play a plethora of different genres. This guitar is ideal if you are looking for a guitar that fits all.

8/10
- Jul 04 2011 Tweet
Yamaha P95 88-Key Digital Piano Review

Technical Specification
Number of keys: 88
Voices: 10
Piano voice: stereo
Preset songs: 50
Reverb: 4 types
MIDI: In/Out
Pedal Unit: Yes

Piano
This keyboard allows musicians to experience the high quality sound and piano response they expect from a Yamaha. The piano also features a dynamic speaker system built in to the slim design. The sensitivity of the Yamaha P-95 can even be adjusted to match each individuals playing style.

Design
The Yamaha P-95 is an extremely slim and lightweight design, making it ideal to transport. It occupies hardly any space, and will suit any interior. The matte finish of the black keys gives the keyboard a real luxury feel.

Sound
The built-in speaker system allows the Yamaha P-95 to really pack a punch but keep the light weight of the keyboard. The Yamaha is ready to be played whenever you are, and 6 watts per channel is an added bonus.

The Yamaha P-95 features Advanced Wave Memory (AWM) which allows the digital instrument to create a realistic acoustic sound by recording samples of a number of playing strengths. The sounds available on this Yamaha include those commonly found on most digital pianos: grand piano, electric piano, organ, harpsichord, vibraphone, strings and Jazz organ. There is also a selection 50 preset songs for you to listen to, either just for pleasure or for reference.
- Jul 04 2011 Tweet
Pearl Joey Jordison Signature Snare Drum Review

Overview
As the Slipknot drummer, Joey Jordison is one of the most successful and respected drummers in the industry. This signature snare drum is able to produce the sounds most associated with Joey. The design is simple but elegant, black with an engraved “S” logo on the shell.

Technical Specification
Model: JJ1365
Size: 13” x 6.5”
Shell: Steel/Black
Hoops: SuperHoop II/Black
Lugs: CL-65B
Rods: 10
Tension Rods: SST-5047
Strainer: SR-017B
Snares: S-029N

Sound
As a drumming legend, Joey has one of the most recognized drumming sounds in the world, and although we can’t expect a piece of kit to replicate his talent, this snare gets you pretty close. His trademark retort is possible due to the narrow diameter and depth of the drum.

Reliability & Durability
Pearl is one of the most famous names in drums so this signature snare from Joey Jordison does not lack any of the high quality found in the rest of the Pearl range. This snare drum could last years when taken care of.

Pros & Cons
The JJ signature snare is perfect if you are looking for that metal sound and as designed by the drum master himself, the drum sounds delicious if that hot Joey sound is what you want to achieve. However, this is also where the snare falls down. It is difficult to create any other sounds due to it sounding best when tuned up.

Price
This is not really a drum for a beginner, coming in at around $350-$400, this snare is better suited to someone with the budget to be paying around $2000 for a drum kit.

Verdict
The Pearl Joey Jordison Signature is the ideal snare for Slipknot fans or anyone drumming in a heavy metal band. The JJ sound is easily achieved. The price is not too steep for anyone wanting to indulge themselves with a great quality, hardy snare. However, not the best choice if you are looking to play a wide range of music styles.
- Jul 04 2011 Tweet
Chris Brown: F.A.M.E

Even you can’t name a Chris Brown track, or sing along to one of his songs, you have probably heard about his conviction for the assault on Rihanna back in 2009. Brown has taken the launch of his new album to thank his fans over the last couple of years by naming the record “F.A.M.E” which stands for “Fans Are My Everything”, or perhaps more honestly “Forgiving All My Enemies”.

Prior to the conviction, Brown’s music showed a lot of promise and the start of a legacy perhaps not too dissimilar from Usher, but this record doesn’t offer anything new or exciting. Most of the tracks feel like they should have been release a few years back as this is all stuff we have heard before, particularly “Deuces” and “No Bullshit”.

Of course this doesn’t mean that the songs aren’t any good, they are catchy and you could continue humming them for the rest of the day. We all know that Chris Brown is excellent at churning out club tracks, but does he have any diversity? Unfortunately, if he does, this album does not demonstrate any of it. One of the better tracks on the album is scheduled to be the fourth single and was leaked onto the internet prior to the album release. The problem with the upcoming single is that “She Ain’t You” is so good due to Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” sample, with Brown’s lyrics doing nothing for the song.

We know that Brown hasn’t released a record for some time, with mix tapes keeping him afloat since the conviction, but surely he could tell that this album was too long? The deluxe version consists of 17 tracks, plus the bonus iTunes track “Champion” with UK artist Chipmunk. This was actually the best song from the album and coincidentally only featured Chris Brown? Back to my original point, the album was pretty bland and tiresome to listen to the first time around. The second time I found myself skipping through at least half of the tracks.

Now to the very few highlights, “Up 2 You” produced by The Underdogs has a great current sound and seems a lot more musical than the rest of the album, plus “Wet The Bed” featuring Ludacris has a more appealing classic R&B sound.

There have been a few really interesting collaborations on “F.A.M.E” including UK producer Harmony/H-Money and Timabland who worked on “Say It With Me,” “Oh My Love”, and “Paper, Scissors, Rock”. However, their hard work seems to go to waste when Brown adds the soft lyrics to the tracks.

Overall, this was probably not the thumping return to the music scene that fans were expecting. Many of the tracks on the album have been heard previously, meaning that there would be few conversation topics which rather ironically will draw people back to talking about the Rihanna incident. There are few signs of the old Chris Brown lurking behind some pretty awful songwriting but not enough to interest me. At only 21, I’m sure Brown will step up for his next album and produce something stunning, but this time maybe he just tried too hard? If he had simply concentrated on the fantastic pop-R&B we know he can produce, he might have had a hit on his hands.
- Jul 04 2011 Tweet
Bruno Mars: Doowops & Hooligans

It wasn’t that long ago that no one had heard of Bruno Mars, so little did we know that he was lurking in the background as a producer and songwriter long before his name hit the lips of every pop loving music fan.

Prior to the launch of “Doo-Wops & Hooligans”, Mars appeared on B.oB.’s “Nothin’ on You” and Travie McCoy’s “Billionaire” – both of which he co-wrote. Mars and the Smeezingtons (his production team) were also partly responsible for Cee-Lo Green’s hit “F**k You”.

The album was released in October 2010 and has proven itself to be one of the most popular albums of the year. Perhaps this is down to the fact that each track has been carefully formulated to hit a target audience. Mars spoken to Idolater and let us in on his plan “On this album, I have record that women are going to relate to and men are going to relate to. So doo-wops are for the girls, and hooligans are for the guys.”

This crafting of the ten-track album could explain the lack of innovation, creativity and general feeling of ‘safety’. Mars hasn’t taken any huge and that is no way any disrespect to the well-written songs which fill up “Doo-wops & Hooligans”.
Although Mars hasn’t ventured into unknown territory, he does make use of a number of musical genres. “Just The Way You Are” is a fantastic pop song and reached No. 1 on the Billboard chart, and “Grenade” is very similar.

For a slightly different direction, Mars uses “Our First Time” to explore reggae, and this style is carried over to “Liquor Stores Blues”. For those looking for a harsher tone, “Runaway Baby” has a punk feel to it but it just isn’t quite right. My favorite track on the album is definitely “The Other Side” which features Cee-Lo and B.o.B, artists which Mars has previously collaborated with.
- Jul 04 2011 Tweet