In this post, DIYRockAndRoll.com reviews the Yamaha FGDP-50 finger drum machine. Could this rechargeable, battery-powered, textbook-sized gadget be the perfect tool for DIY rock recording? We break it down in detail with video demos and audio samples, gathered from eight months of using the product. Spoiler alert: the Yamaha FGDP-50 has cowbell!
Get your hairspray, tight pants, and T-Top Camaro ready, because DIYRockAndRoll.com is setting the proverbial volume to eleven. That's right, for this DIY Rock Experiment, the fifth so far, I decided to create my own hard rock recording. When I dreamt up the idea for this quirky do-it-yourself rock music blog, one of the first projects I thought of doing was hard rock. But as someone with background in acoustic music and Americana, I assumed that creating a piece of hard rock would stretch my skills to the absolute limit. It's one thing to pivot from acoustic blues to blues rock or from country to rockabilly, but it's another to pivot to hard rock. Or is it? Let's find out!
Well, it's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nomination season again. In this post DIYRockAndRoll.com reflects on one of the most glaring omissions from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame--the King of the Surf Guitar, Mr. Dick Dale. DIYRockAndRoll.com believes that Dale belongs in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame due to his influence, talent, and continued relevance.
Every songwriter should be entitled to at least one tell-off song. "I Hit the Brakes (She Hit the Beer)" is mine--a fanciful piece of comeuppance set to a rowdy, roadhouse shuffle. Stylistically, it's a blend of Texas blues and honky-tonk country that resides somewhere on the metaphorical, musical highway between Lightnin' Hopkins and Lefty Frizzell. (With apologies to both, of course!). Listen to the song here, and read about the equipment used in creating it!
Buckle up do-it-yourself rockers, because it's rockabilly tow truck time! Yes, that's right! DIYRockandRoll.com is proud to release its most requested project to date: an article on how to make an original rockabilly rave-up about a tow truck driver in Vermont. If you're one of the legions of readers who requested that, read on, because the time has come!
Why review a current production guitar when you can give the people what they really want? That is, a review of a relatively-obscure electric guitar that has been largely out-of-production for over a half-century. Here DIYRockAndRoll.com fulfills that important duty with a historical profile and review of the infamous Fender Coronado.
DIYRockAndRoll.com is excited to announce the release of "Lonesome Valentine." This is our third DIY experiment, and the hardest rocking to date. Read on for a brief history of blues rock and the creative process of converting an acoustic blues song into a raucous electric guitar workout.