GadgetGreg.com & GadgetGuy.ca

Merchandising during tour just ducky with country star Paul Brandt

September 2, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

The most popular sale item on Paul Brandt’s music tours is a rubber duck

EDMONTON, AB Sep 1, 2015/ Troy Media/ – Merchandise is as much a part of the concert tour experience as the music for many fans. It’s also a much needed revenue generator for many performers.

When I asked platinum-selling country star Paul Brandt what the most popular sale item was on his tours, he hesitated for a moment, then let out a big “Ha,” and laughed. “I don’t know if I should be embarrassed to admit this or not, but I guess the fans have spoken. Bar none, over the last 20 years, it’s been a little rubber duck.”

While my mind turned immediately to my youth and Ernie’s Rubber Duckie from Sesame Street, it turns out Brandt was referring to C.W. McCall’s novelty trucking classic Convoy,from way back in the mid 70’s. I should have guessed immediately, having owned that classic 45-RPM record that encouraged me to get my first CB Radio. Read full article at Troy Media.

Filed Under: Business, GadgetGreg, Signs of the Times, Troy Media · Tagged With: Business, Merchandising

New Scosche boomBOTTLE+ rugged waterproof wireless speaker

September 1, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

Scosche Industries, the folks that brought you the boomBOTTLE, the rugged wireless water bottle-shaped speaker that we looked at here at CanoeTech Blog back in 2013, has upped the ante with the release of their new and enhanced boomBOTTLE+(plus). It’s still designed to be a good match for your bike’s water-bottle holder (or car’s cup holder), but it’s more rugged, more powerful and better sounding than the original.

The housing is made from TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane) that’s durable and shock absorbing. And while it’s no black box, it’s certainly designed to withstand shocks and drops. It’s also IP67 rated so it’s both dustproof, yes, even the speaker grilles and water-resistant to three feet. In fact, it should actually float in the event it gets dropped into the water. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, New Product · Tagged With: accessories, Audio, battery charger, New product

Renamed Apple Music Festival returns this month

August 27, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

As they’ve done for the past eight years, Apple will once again bring us a live September music festival from London’s famous Roundhouse. But for those of you who have faithfully tuned in to the festival over the years you’’ll notice it’s been blessed with a new name, will start later in the month and runs for 10 days – a much shorter time period than before. Regardless, it will still feature a world-class headliners like Pharrell Williams, One Direction, Florence + The Machine, Disclosure and more.

The former the iTunes Music Festival has been rebranded and now called Apple Music Festival to commemorate the recent launch of Apple Music. It will still be broadcast around the world for free or people can watch it live and on-demand via Apple Music. The beauty of it being provided through the new service, according to Apple is that music fans can get closer to their favorite performers as they are covered on Beats 1 giving them backstage news and footage straight from the artists the Apple Music Connect. Read more…at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Apple, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, News · Tagged With: Apple, Apple Event, music

Grammy nominee Ken Lewis launches MusicSchoolOnline

August 20, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

There’s a new music school launching in town, but it’s online and appropriately called MusicSchoolOnline.com (MSO). Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist and producer Ken Lewis who has over two decades of experience making music for major record labels is launching it today.

The new school is designed to provide easily accessible and affordable music lessons and resources for musicians, singers and aspiring individuals of all ages with an easy-to-follow streaming service, with prices starting as low as US $9.99 for a monthly subscription.

The video tutorials are created and delivered by Lewis and other award-winning instructors who are also top-level professional musicians. Lessons cover voice, individual instruments like piano, guitar, drums and bass along with rhythm section, extensive music theory and exclusive MSO Kids animated episodes. The school will launch with 400 music video lessons with more added every day. In fact over 200 more lessons have already been created. Read full post at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: Audio, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, In the news, Signs of the Times · Tagged With: education, music, School, video, virtual school

Speedo, Misfit partner in new swim tracker Speedo Shine

August 18, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

Misfit, the makers of Shine, the slim-lined activity and sleep tracker, has partnered up with swim apparel and accessories giant Speedo and have introduced the new Speedo Shine. The Speedo Shine takes a page or all of the pages really from the original Shine, incorporating all the same functionality plus new features designed with swimmers in mind.

Specifically, it adds proprietary lap counting algorithms, driven by its 3-axis accelerometer, embedded right into the device’s firmware. It’s designed to work for all stroke types and more accurate than general-purpose devices having been validated by Speedo in-pool testing. Olympic Gold Medalist and Speedo athlete and fitness ambassador, Missy Franklin, has also endorsed it. Read Full Post at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: accessories, Apple, Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, In the news, New Product, Signs of the Times · Tagged With: app, Apple, fitness, health, New product, tracker

IK Multimedia iRig Mic Studio digital pocket-sized studio quality mic

August 14, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

IK Multimedia, known for the iRIG series of hand-held and portable microphones for artists and podcasters has added yet another flavour to its line with iRig Mic Studio. It’s a large-diaphragm, digital desktop condenser mic designed for iOS and Android as well as for Mac and PC. It features an ultra-compact form-factor, smaller than their other handhelds that can actually sit in the palm of your hand.

What’s impressive, for it’s size, is it packs a hefty 1-inch diameter condenser, back electret capsule into an ultra-compact enclosure. It’s digital, so it has a built-in 24-bit audiophile-grade A/D converter offering 44.1/48kHz sample rates and a built-in low-noise, high-definition preamp all powered from whatever device you’re connected to. It has the capacity and sensitivity to capture a wide range of sounds from something that’s loud and proud to a soft whisper, making it very useful in a wide range of applications, including professional and broadcast quality recordings. Read full Review at G4TV Canada.

Filed Under: Audio, G4 TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg, Hands On, New Product, Product review, sound · Tagged With: digital audio, mic, music, product review

Virtual ticket to Toastmasters International convention marketing genius

August 12, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

The next best thing to being there

EDMONTON, AB Aug 12, 2015/ Troy Media/ – Toastmasters International’s mission is a simple one: to empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. But while this 90 year-old worldwide organization values and encourages face-to-face interaction, it isn’t always possible for its members to attend one of its annual conventions.

To overcome that obstacle, Toastmasters has created a virtual ticket for their 84th annual premiere event, The Toastmasters International Convention, being held from Aug. 12 to 15 at Caesar’s Palace and Casino in Las Vegas. READ FULL ARTICLE at Troy Media and listen to the Podcast at: Toastcaster.

Filed Under: Business, GadgetGreg, In the news, podcast, Toastmasters, Troy Media · Tagged With: Convention, On-Deman, toastcaster, Toastmasters, Troy Media

Epson EcoTank: Inkjet printers not dead yet

August 8, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

EcoTank printers can print for up to two years

Epson has unveiled a new line of printers under the EcoTank brand with such large reservoirs that right out of the box they can yield a comparable number of pages to their cousin the laser printer. And based on average monthly print volumes of selected models, the company claims that users should have enough ink to last for up to two years.

The new models include five new all-in-one printers under what Epson calls the “Supertank category” and when compared to a traditional inkjet printer, the ink in the new reservoirs would print roughly the same number of pages as 20 sets of ink cartridges. The actual yield, of course, would depend on the printer model, settings, environmental conditions like temperature and humidity and of course what you are printing. Read more…at CANOE TECH BLOG

Filed Under: Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, In the news, New Product, Signs of the Times · Tagged With: green, New product, Printers

Review: The Pop, Universal Pop Filter by Blue Microphones

August 5, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

If you’re a podcaster or record lots of audio, you just might need The Pop. No, it’s not the ultimate soda beverage or someone’s Dad; it’s a universal windscreen that helps eliminate those extremely annoying popping “P” sounds that can really ruin what could have been an awesome voice recording.

While The Pop is commonly used with the Blue Yeti or Yeti Pro desktop USB microphones by Blue Microphones, it can be used with virtually any microphone as long as you can find a way to attach it.

The Pop is an interesting looking gadget. It consists of a curved brass frame with embedded wire mesh attached to a pliable gooseneck that is then attached by thumbscrew to a steel bracket. At the end of the bracket is another thumbscrew, which is then used to attach to either the frame of the microphone, mic stand or desk. The general idea is that you attach the bracket to some sturdy anchor point then bend the gooseneck so that the steel mesh frame sits nicely in front of a microphone and in essence filtering out the popping “P” sounds as you speak, or maybe sing. Read the Full Review at G4TV Canada.

Filed Under: accessories, G4 TechTV Canada, GadgetGreg, Hands On, Product review, sound · Tagged With: accessories, Audio, microphone, podcasting, product review

Electrohome Retro Clock Radio set with motion sensor technology

August 4, 2015 by Greg Gazin · Leave a Comment

Clock radios as we know them aren’t dead they’ve just become a little bit more practical and high tech. This appears to be the case with the Retro Clock Radio by Electrohome. At quick glance it resembles a vintage alarm clock with a round face and stand, but that’s pretty much where the retro ends.

The Retro Clock Radio, model CR35, features a digital face with function buttons both on the front and on the side. And what looks like alarm bells, are two LED light bulbs which you can illuminate instantly by simply waving your hand in front of them, thanks to the unit’s built-in motion sensors. READ Full Post at Canoe Tech Blog.

Filed Under: Canoe Technology, GadgetGreg, New Product · Tagged With: home, New product, Retro