Jeff's own Back-to-School Essential Gear

As any teen fashion mag or geeky gear forum would do, I will join everyone in making a unique list of things you just have to have as you go back to school, or to work. Or neither. Whether you are a crazed gear OCD head, or a minimalist who has that one almighty vintage piece that symbolizes your very existence, there's sure to be something on this list for you:

In no particular order:

M-Audio MidAir 25

$249.99 MAP


For those who yearn for free-spirited production, perhaps recording a melody from the quad, or for that quick bassline enroute to lunch, this has been made for you. I'm quite sure the techies who first utilized MIDI decades ago never thought all their hard work would eventually consist of no external connections whatsoever, besides a 9V adapter and USB/MIDI connections through the transmitter module. I think much of the music industry was stunned that M-Audio could pull this off, but they won't be more stunned than your dorm mates when you break out into a keytar solo and crowdsurf out the window.





Ableton Live 6

$499.99 MAP (download) $599.99 MAP (boxed), free and low cost upgrades ranging from $99-$249 for previous Live owners


For those who want to be ahead of everyone else. I am a bit ticked at Ableton for announcing the release of Live 6 just a few days after I bought Live 5.2 (therefore I must pay $99 for the upgrade). In any case, Live 6 has been talked about alot, with its new features like video support and the new Sampler instrument. What makes Live different from most other DAWs is its unique capability to produce a song start to finish, all in one intuitive environment. It is hard to explain in words really, just how it is so different. I'd recomment watching some of the videos on the Ableton website to check out what it is like, and download the demo to see for yourself.




Roland GR-20
$595.99 MAP with divided pickup, less without


For those guitarists who always wanted to secretly have a sax solo or do orchestral work- without putting down their axe. Every Full-Sail dropout at Guitar Center will tell you how great this thing is, which is true, but don't take their word on everything. Roland pulled this one out of nowhere- shows you what a huge amount of crazy R&D will get you. Simply put, this is a MIDI capable guitar synthesizer, that can transform your clean tone into a plethora of sounds. I will personally attest that it does live up to its glory, but only with the GK-3 pickup. The regular pickup is not as good, so pick the GK-3 which allows for more expansion of sound modules.