World Class Music Education at GuitarCenter

If you are a music lover or more precisely own or play a musical instrument you are lucky if you have a music store that is near where you live.

Take for example the GuitarCenter Knoxville. They offer comprehensive repair services. Their techs are as passionate about your instruments as you are, with the experience needed to keep them performing at their best.

Not only do they have musical instruments that meet every budget, choice and style, GuitarCenter also has a wide array of new, used and vintage gear in stock that are plugged in and ready for you to play.

And not only do they carry lots of guitars, they also offer an incredible assortment of keyboards, drums, recording equipment, DJ gear and PA systems.

Here's something that might be up your alley if learning how to do recording is on your bucket list.

From Feb 18, 10:15AM to 11:00AM, Guitar Center is proud to offer this beginner recording group lesson for all of their newest GarageBand users. Every customer will get the chance to learn best practices for recording, in a fun and family-friendly environment. The “Press Record: GarageBand” is a 45-minute group lesson which starts at 10:15AM, is free, and for all ages. This is a Local Store Event.

Happy Chap Goh Meh - the last day of Chinese New Year

Like they say, all good things must come to an end.

Today is the final day of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration which started on January 28. How time flies when you are having a good time, doesn't it? Yep, I hope you all had a wonderful time this year.

There's a name given to this day, the last of the 15th. It is known here as Chap Goh Meh, literally means the 15th day in the Hokkien and Teochew dialects. Duh!

Chinese merry-making and activities relating to all things Chinese New Year ends midnight tonight, ie, as of tomorrow, we move on into the Rooster year like normal days - no more Yee Sang (the speciality raw fish salad dish), no more hong pao (red envelopes), no more lavish dinners (at exorbitant prices, I might add), done with hosting and visiting relatives, New Year decorations can be taken down, the human exodus back to the city would have been completed (perhaps a week ago), life is back to normal, you know what I mean.

So here's wishing..

To round up the Chinese New Year celebration, families will gather once again for a final round of Chinese New Year dinner feast - of Yee Sang and all food synonymous with the CNY.

Oh yes, there's one activity that's related to this Chap Goh Meh and that is tossing oranges into a lake or a body of water. This is only meant for single ladies and is a tradition from the old days in China.

This tossing of oranges is done with the belief of hitching up with a good partner ending in wedded bliss. In these modern times, contact information is also spelled out on the orange. This activity begins as night falls. It's done on a large scale in the Klang Valley, Penang and Malacca. But of course it can be performed anywhere where there's a sizeable body of water. It's fun to watch. (The cleaning up the day after is something else though.)

Let me update this post with a short video of an orange-tossing event that took place last night at a lake at Taman Jaya.


Here's the article that goes with the video from The Star: Tossing fruits in hope of finding love

ART Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp

If you are in the market for a tube preamp, for starters you may want to check out the Art Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp .

Like everything else in the market, there are good reviews and not-so-good reviews. From what I've read about this tube preamp, I can't help but believe that the pros outweigh the cons where this Tube MP Studio Mic Preamp is concerned.

Here's one example:

The beauty of this preamp is it's simplicity. It does ONLY what it claims. It takes what goes in and brings it up to a higher level for the following device to do its job easier. It can push an amp into distortion or increase its dynamic range. It will not safe the world, but it will amplify it without coloring it. if your signal is dirty, noisy, i.e. not pristine, it will not correct it. It will how ever make you aware that you need to clean up whatever you are using to cause the issue. It WILL make a bad signal sound worse and a good signal sound louder.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend



There you have it. Happy shopping!

Thaipusam in Kuala Lumpur

Source: Tourism Malaysia

Were you caught up in a traffic crawl yesterday or even this morning/today? The reason could be road closure and/or traffic diversion to facilitate the procession of the Silver Chariot from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H.S Lee to Batu Caves. This is in conjunction with Thaipusam, which is tomorrow, February 9.

Kuala Lumpur roads were closed from 10pm yesterday, February 7. The chariot began it's procession from the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple in Jalan Tun H.S Lee, Kuala Lumpur and is expected to arrive in Batu Caves at 2pm on Wednesday, i.e. this afternoon.

The 13 affected roads are Jalan Tun H.S Lee, Jalan Sultan, Jalan Pudu, Jalan Tun Perak, Lebuh Ampang, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Sultan Ismail, Jalan Ipoh Batu 15 and Jalan Batu Caves.

If you happen to be around the route, stop to take in the sights. The chariot does stop along the route for devotees to worship as well as for breaking of coconuts. It's quite a site to watch and the Silver Chariot is really a beautiful thing to see, certainly an extraordinary subject for photo-snaps.

The breaking of the coconut, in Hinduism, symbolises the breaking of the ego, and that anyone who wants to be spiritual or divine needs to first get rid of the ego. Devotees break coconuts from one to as many as thousands. In Penang, devotees have been advised to break just one. one will suffice. They have been encouraged to donate the money to charitable causes instead.

The roads will be closed again from 4pm on Feb 10 to 2am on February 11 as the procession returns from Batu Caves to the Sri Maha Mariamman Temple.

This time, 14 roads will be closed and they are Jalan Batu Caves, Jalan Ipoh Batu 15, Jalan Pekeliling, Jalan Ipoh, Jalan Raja Laut, Jalan Dang Wangi, Jalan Munshi Abdullah, Jalan Ampang, Lebuh Ampang, Jalan Tun Perak, Jalan Pudu, Lorong Pudu (roundabout), Jalan Cheng Lock and Jalan Tun H.S. Lee.

Here's the map of the route courtesy of The Star..

If you have read about a fourth staircase being constructed, it was built to ease congestion in Batu Caves.

Devotees carrying paal kudam will use the first staircase and kavadi bearers will use the second staircase.

The third and the fourth staircases are for devotees coming down from the temple,” he said.

Devotees have been advised to make way for kavadi bearers during the festival, and only traditional kavadi would be permitted.

272-step Batu Caves - Wikipedia
Old picture, no 4th staircase yet.

Happy Thaipusam!


More about Thaipusam:
- Thaipusam – A divine Hindu celebration - Tourism Malaysia
- Thaipusam - Wikipedia

7th Day - Happy Birthday to Everyone!

Source: Wikipedia

Today, Feb 3, is the 7th day of the new year of the Rooster. And today is officially the beginning of Spring.

The 7th Day of the first month of the lunar year is known as the common man's birthday. In Mandarin it is termed “renri” (人日), while in Cantonese it is 'Yan Yat'. The belief is that everyone becomes one year older on this day. Yes, that's an egg on the Chinese calendar.

Chinese restaurants will be fully booked for dinner tonight. That's a norm. We are only at midway of the 15-day Chinese New Year celebration and dinner gatherings are still ongoing until the 15rh day.

Many people are back at work but many will only return to work on Monday taking extra days off stretching it to the weekend for an extended holiday.

Shopping malls are enjoying a good crowd with their Chinese New Year decorations of phoenixes and lanterns. Here are some nice Chinese New Year decorations in Kuala Lumpur, Petaling Jaya (i.e. the Klang Valley), and Penang courtesy of Says.com.

A majestic phoenix at Pavilion KL
Image via Instagram @ndrewsnowdon

The Curve's imperial setup features the gorgeous carvings of Chinese and dragons, embellished in brilliant gold and deep red
Image via The Curve, Mutiara Damansara Facebook

Sunway Pyramid turned their concourse into a multi-level shoplot of yesteryears, complete with Chinese signage and a gigantic rooster statue
Image via Instagram @andrew_movez

It's red lanterns galore at 1 Utama Shopping Centre with a grand centrepiece for special performances throughout the festive season
Image via 1 Utama Shopping Centre Facebook

A scenic sight greets shoppers at The Mines Shopping Mall as they step into a traditional Chinese garden, complete with classic Chinese huts and a garden pond
Image via The Mines Shopping Mall Facebook

In line with the spring festival, intricate lanterns and floral motifs line the pathways of Mid Valley Megamall's CNY attraction
Image via Instagram @nic_kn9ck

In Penang, Queensbay Mall sets Chinese New Year in a winter setting to simply glorious results.
Image via Queensbay Mall Facebook

Lush greenery and blooming flowers surround a 20-ft tall phoenix at Gurney Plaza
Image via Gurney Plaza Facebook

The Mbox Mini You Are Looking For

Reward yourself this Chinese New Year perhaps...

Avid Pro Tools 9 + Mbox Mini

The professional-grade mbox mini ultra-portable audio interface created for solo musicians and audio creators allows you to record, edit and mix performance, and all that with stunning sound quality.

The third generation Mbox Mini is a 24-bit/48kHz, USB bus-powered 2 x 2 interface. It has an XLR mic/line combo input with 48V phantom power, 2 - 1/4” instrument inputs, balanced output, headphone out, a mix control for zero-latency monitoring, and monitor volume knob. Rock-solid drivers ensure hardware compatibility with most major audio software like the Pro Tools 9.

5th Day of Chinese New Year 2017 -Year of the Rooster

The night is still young, so they say, as today is just the 5th Day of the Chinese Lunar Year. We still have 10 more days of merry-making - of lo sang at dinners, of wining, of collecting/giving ang pows, of meeting up with friends and family, of card games and mahjong sessions, of visiting relatives near and far, and of just about everything else synonymous with this celebration of welcoming the new year.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful time, those of you who are celebrating this most important festival in the Chinese calendar.

Today is February 1. It is a public holiday for the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan which means offices and government departments in these three FTs are closed which allows for an additional day for festivities of the new lunar year.

Streets of Kuala Lumpur are still not as congested as usual but at the malls it's a different story. People come from near and far (even as far away as from Penang) to KL to check out the malls to take in the elaborate decorations put up. A great place for selfies and wefies, no doubt.


Today, let's take a look at how Chinese New Year is celebrated in some other cities around the world. By the way, did you know that there are an estimated 50 million Overseas Chinese?. This is the number indicated by Wikipedia for the year 2012. Thailand has the highest number at close to 9.4 million. Malaysia comes in second at more than 6.6 million and next is United States at about 5 million.

In Yokohama, Japan: A Chinese lion dance troupe performs at a park in Chinatown to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

The dragon dance performance in a street parade to mark the Lunar New Year celebrations of the Year of the Rooster in Hong Kong on January 28, 2017. - AFP

The Chinese dragon performance during the first Lunar New Year celebrations in Lumpini Park in Bangkok on January 28, 2017. The Lunar New Year marks the start of the Year of the Rooster. - AFP

Participants dressed up as roosters hold Spanish flags as they perform during celebrations for the Chinese Lunar New Year, marking the year of the Rooster, in Madrid's district of Usera on January 28, 2017. - AFP

Members of the Chinese community perform on stage during the celebrations of the Chinese Lunar New Year on January 28, 2017 in Rome. This Lunar New Year marks the start of the Year of the Rooster. - AFP

Children perform a lion dance using cardboard boxes on a street in Manila's Chinatown on January 28, 2017. - AFP

Yangon, Myanmar: A fire breather blows flames as a troupe performs a traditional dragon dance during the first day of Chinese Lunar New Year

In Kuala Lumpur - A Lion dance troupe performing at the MCA Chinese New Year Open House at Wisma MCA in Jalan Ampang.

Children gathered around the lion dance troupe at the MCA Chinese New Year Open House at Wisma MCA in Kuala Lumpur, on Thursday.  - AZHAR MAHFOF/The Star

Again..

Image source: The Star

Behringer Mixers

Behringer X32

Looking to buy a digital mixing console? Consider a behringer mixer. Behringer, established since 1989 in Germany, makes some of the finest musical products and they go on the market for the best prices.

Mixers make up the heart of a recording studio and the models Behringer offers today are of the highest quality including the X32 Rack Digital Mixer and the X32 Core. Other models include the NOX303 and the DDM4000 which are much favored by Club and DJ mixers.

Whatever your purpose for using a mixer, Behringer will certainly have one that suits your requirement and your budget.



s one that's ready to take on the challenge. The diversity of their equipment is one of Behringer's strong suits, so by taking your time to make sure you choose the best option for you, there's no doubt that you'll find exactly what you need.