360 DEGREES Weblog

Of all the images snapped during the original Woodstock weekend, one stands above all: a young couple huddled together in a blanket, standing alone in a sea of people lying on wet ground.
It’s an enduring image of love, care and protection that earned iconic status through its placement on the cover of the original “Woodstock” album in 1970, as well as on the movie poster.
Forty years later, the couple in the photo - Nick and Bobbi Ercoline, both 60 - remain together. They married two summers after the fabled weekend, and they still live less than an hour’s drive from the original concert site of Bethel, N.Y., and within spitting distance of where they both grew up.

Attention Beatles fans: it looks like you’ll have more than just The Beatles: Rock Band to throw down on over the next couple of months. The Beatles Box of Vision ($80; late August 2009) is a collectible storage box for your Fab Four collection, including a 200-page, LP-sized book containing all of band’s UK and US album artwork, a Catalography guide to the band’s albums, and a patented storage book for organizing and displaying your collection of albums, from Please Please Me through Love.

Audi Design Studio followed Porsche’s footsteps in designing a truly unique piano. And, it’s the legendary Austrian piano maker, Bosendorfer that is yet again responsible for bringing another auto manufacturer into trying their hands in designing a musical instrument. One of the most striking features of the Audi Design Wing is the lid, which extends without a break down to the base. When viewed from above, the lid is seen to be recessed into the main case, and in the side view, the curve of the treble side is not interrupted by a joint line. Besides, the keyboard has no wings at the ends, the cast frame is in gray instead of the usual bronze color, and the felt damper strips in natural white instead of wine red.

In the new landscape that is modern music a lot of musicians are ditching the traditional music company contracts and signing on with concert promoters. Well Aderra have come with a nice way to give live music fans a little bit more.

Aderra Live in a Flash do live recordings of concerts or events and produce USB flash drive or MicroSD copies that are for sale directly after the event. Using their proprietary technology they create a mix of high quality ambient audio with the direct audio feed and edit it all on-the-fly. Five minutes after the concert is finished, the USB duplicating begins and people can buy them.

This isn’t just a bootleg recording on a USB stick, the recording gear is top notch and these guys guarantee the quality 100%. Click through and have a listen, all the background music on the website are samples from their concerts and it sounds gorgeous. It’s not just rock concerts either, there’s plenty of classical recordings too.

Anything can be delivered on the drives, live audio, SD or HD video recordings, pre-recorded albums, artwork, photos, backstage stuff or whatever. Fantastic idea!

Michael Jackson’s last rehearsal was indeed taped, apparently in multi-track audio, with many cameras and in high def.

Of the rehearsal The Wrap writes:  “The rehearsal, which went on for several hours, included dancers, musicians and aerial performers. Three people close to the production said it had been captured by multiple cameras, and the audio digitally recorded in a manner that could be used to produce a surround-sound DVD and audio products.

The show — which was to kick off of a 50-concert series at London’s 02 arena — was planned as a spectacular performance. At one point, Jackson was suspended on a crane; at another, there was a 3D view of “Thriller”-style haunted mansion, that required the audience to put on special glasses.”

While concert promoter AEG is not commenting just yet, they are releasing images and the buzz about a possible album and extended video is growing.

Two years ago Prince shook the music industry when he gave away free CDs to fans who purchased either the UK’s Mail on Sunday newspaper or tickets to one of his shows. Picking up on that idea, American band No Doubt is doing something similar for those who buy top-tier tickets to one of the concerts in its summer tour.

Rather than just a single CD, however, No Doubt is giving away a free download of its entire digital audio catalogue, comprising more than 80 songs from the band’s seven studio albums. Tickets for the tour, which kicks off May 2 in Atlantic City, went on sale earlier this month, and pricing varies with the venue. The free download offer applies only to top-ticket price levels, however—those priced higher than USD 42.50 before applicable ticketing-related fees. In addition to the band’s past songs, the download will also include “Stand and Deliver,” a brand-new song that will be performed for the first time in May.

There’s no doubt the music industry is in transition, as it struggles to find a sustainable new model for the digital-music era. By zeroing in on premium-priced tickets, No Doubt takes Prince’s model a notch higher and turns the music into a perk for top-paying fans. Free love is always good, but when it’s reserved for your best customers, it can inspire brand love and come right back at you again!

Attention guitar heroes: your path to becoming a real guitar player may be on the way. Strap this Maestro contraption onto any guitar, load a music file of the song you’d like to learn into it, and using laser lights, it points out the frets you need to hit to play that song. Wow, guitar tech marches on.

Let’s face it. If you don’t have any talent, you’re probably not going to be a very good guitar player, no matter how many lasers you bring into the equation. Unless this Maestro design concept can also strum the strings, finger the frets, inject your soul with sweet rock and roll, and shoot you full of rhythm and blues, it might not do much good.

Even so, if this seemingly miraculous machine is ever actually manufactured, it might give real guitar players a quick way to build up a new repertoire. Times are tough, and this invention could come in handy if you suddenly find yourself playing on street corners because your day gig fell through. Hmm.

 

What a pleasure to unveil the incredible “Carbon Fiber Cello” from the house of Luis and Clark. The famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma played this high-tech carbon fiber cello designed to withstand the cold while taking the stage at President Barack Obama’s Inauguration. Covered with lustrous black layer of carbon fiber, the magical music instrument plays well in extreme weather conditions without losing the sound that the elite cello players demand. The futuristic material keeps the instruments unaffected from detrimental factors like the temperature and humidity. Unlike a wooden cello, the carbon fiber cello has a single-piece body, neck and peg box with no sharp edge making it more comfortable to play. You can also hit the cord at the carbon fiber Cello for $7,139.

 

At $420, the Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10vi are quite expensive for a pair of earphones. So, how does this pair of earphones compensate for the hefty price tag? Touting a triple speaker configuration, the Triple.fi 10vi earphones are claimed to be the sonic equivalent of sitting in the world’s best recording studios. Specifically designed for use with the iPhone and 3.5mm Blackberry, the Triple.fi 10vi comes with a multi-function button that answers/ends phone calls and controls music/video. The built-in tiny high microphone allows for hands-free phone calls. Other technical specs of the stylish earphones include frequency response of 10Hz to 17,000Hz, -26dB of noise isolation, 32 Ohms of impedance and input sensitivity of 117dB/mW. Now, I just need to make a choice between the Shure SE420 and the Ultimate Ears Triple.fi 10vi earphones.

 

Ultrasone, the firm that gave us the iCans, has now made available the few remaining Edition 9 headphones in the U.S. When it comes to sound quality and transparency, the Edition 9 headphones meet the demands of most discerning audiophiles. They boast an elegant design, thanks to the usage of the black chrome in both the ear cups and nameplates. Attention has been paid to every detail, with the ear pads and headband pad made from Ethiopian sheep leather. The Edition 9 is equipped with titanium plated drivers and polished MU Metal shielding for reduced magnetic field emissions. The Edition 9 headphones, priced at $1,799 are offered in a glossy metal case for safe storage and transportation.