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BOSS Your Tone: Overdrive and Distortion

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Overdrive and Distortion: What’s the Difference?

What’s the difference between overdrive and distortion? Learn the difference and how to get great tone with either stompbox.

Get Great Tone OverDrive and Distortion

Get Great Tone With OverDrive and Distortion

As guitar players, what are we all after? What do we struggle to describe, work to attain, but always know when we hear it? And what is all that gear out there for? The answer to all three of these questions is the same: great tone. With so much equipment available today to help in creating tone, how do we go about making it do what we want? Let’s take a look at some simple and effective ways to get killer tone with overdrive and distortion. More

Richard Vission Talks INTEGRA-7

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INTEGRA-7, the Best Sound Modules All in One

Electronic dance music DJ and producer Richard Vission discusses his use of the INTEGRA-7 in his remixes and original music productions.

Richard Vission has been a preeminent house DJ and producer in Los Angeles since the late ’80s. His musical career started when DJ culture was first taking flight in Los Angeles, becoming known for a freewheeling mixing style that cycled through dozens of records per hour. He took the same frenzied sound into his production career, scoring big in 1992 with the sports-anthem classic “Jump” as a member of The Movement. More

On the Road with Netsky LIVE!

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Michael Schack talks V-Drums and SPD-SX

Netsky Live at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles CA.

Netsky Live at the Fonda Theater in Los Angeles, CA.

A celebrity in his native Belgium and growing in popularity worldwide, Boris Daenan—better known as Netsky—has received numerous awards and accolades for his new-school brand of drum and bass. In 2009, Hospital Records signed him to an exclusive deal, and his first release with the influential UK label was the highly successful single “Memory Lane,” followed soon after by the chart-topping debut album “Netsky.” In 2012, sensing that he could take his show to another level, the DJ and producer put his turntables aside and unveiled Netsky LIVE!, an EDM stage show featuring a complete band. More

Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp Dealer Drawing

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And the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp Winner is…Wes Faulconer of Explorers Percussion

Wes and the Mob Dawgs with Sammy Hagar at Rock n Roll Fantasy Camp

Wes and the Mob Dawgs with Sammy Hagar at Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp

At the 2013 Winter NAMM Show, Roland Corporation U.S. invited its valued dealers to enter a drawing for the opportunity to attend an all-expenses-paid weekend retreat at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in Las Vegas. Wes Faulconor, the owner of Explorers Percussion in Kansas City, Missouri, had his name drawn randomly from the many entrants, winning a three-day experience at the camp’s permanent home near the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on the Vegas Strip. From March 7-9, 2013, Wes enjoyed a jam-packed schedule of rehearsals, performances, recording sessions, and clinics, topped off with the chance to drum with legendary rockers Sammy Hagar and Steve Vai. More

Recording with AUTO-SENS Technology

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Roland AUTO-SENS sets recording levels automatically

Have you ever been frustrated setting the input levels for a recording session? Getting the levels “just right” can be time consuming and gets in the way of the creative process. To solve this problem we developed AUTO-SENS technology for our audio interfaces. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or new to recording, this technology will save you time, headaches and even stream line that all-so-coveted creative process. Roland’s STUDIO-CAPTURE, OCTA-CAPTURE and QUAD-CAPTURE all feature AUTO-SENS technology which automatically sets the recording levels for optimal recording into your DAW. More

Get Great Tone With BOSS Distortion

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BOSS Distortion – The Orange Ones

BOSS Distortion

BOSS Distortion

A distortion pedal usually goes beyond the amount of gain and harmonic crunching typical of an overdrive. They tend to get more distorted, are usually (but not always) louder than typical overdrives, and often have multiple gain stages for abnormal amounts of sustain. The BOSS MT-2, probably the best selling distortion pedal ever, is a good example of a distortion pedal with those features. Since distortion pedals tend to be louder and have more inherent distortion than overdrives, it is a little trickier to use them in conjunction with the amp’s own distortion sound. It might be what you want, especially if you’re after a nu-metal, super heavy, or very grungy sound. If you use your pedal this way, you are distorting distortion. This can get pretty ugly, but sometimes it’s just the thing. Set your pedal similarly to using an overdrive to use it this way: For example, set the BOSS DS-1 level up, the distortion somewhat down, and the tone for neutral.

What’s the difference between Overdrive and Distortion? Find out! More

TD-4KP V-Drums Portable Wins MIPA Award

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V-Drums Portable earns top ranks for the electronic drums category

Roland V-Drums just won a Grammy! Well, maybe not exactly a Grammy, but in our industry (musical instrument industry), a MIPA award is just as prestigious. MIPA stands for Musikmesse International Press Award, and it’s determined by more than 100 members of the music industry press from all over the world.  They get together each year and vote for the best musical instruments and audio equipment in more than 40 categories. This year, Roland’s TD-4KP V-Drums Portable drum kit was honored with a MIPA award for the electronic drums category. More

Roland V-Drums World Championship 2 – Watch Live Online

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16 Contestants Compete for V-Drums Crown

Roland V-Drums World Championship 2

Roland V-Drums World Championship 2

Roland’s annual V-Drums® World Championship contest gives drummers a premier opportunity to explore their musical passion. Nearly 5,000 participants competed during the preliminary rounds in 2012! Each year, thousands of performances around the world feature musicians using TD-30KV, TD-15KV and TD-11KV drum kits and the OCTAPAD SPD-30 digital percussion pad. This year’s grande finale event will be streaming live on the V-Drums contest website, Thursday, April 11, 2013, starting at 10:30 a.m. PDT. The live broadcast will feature 16 international V-Drums finalists, behind the scenes interviews, expert judges and a performance by The Intersphere. More

New Products: FP-80 and FP-50 Digital Pianos

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FP-80 & FP-50 Debut at Musikmesse 2013

Roland FP-80 Digital Piano

Roland FP-80 Digital Piano

Roland has revamped its popular FP-series lineup with two all-new models, the FP-80 and FP-50. Compact and stylish, these instruments feature the acclaimed SuperNATURAL® Piano sound engine for superior tone and 88-note Ivory Feel keyboards for the authentic touch and expressiveness of an acoustic grand. Both pianos are equipped with built-in sound systems, with the FP-80 incorporating multi-channel Acoustic Projection technology for an even more natural sound. More

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