Ken Hamberg's blog

Piano lessons are still a sort of familial rite of passage in many households, and the image of the family grouped around the piano singing along or listening while Bud, Sis, or Dad performs, has become a resonant cultural icon.

In the age of the digital music download and the pervasive presence of tiny portable MP3 players and earphones as the listening method of choice, Howard Bardach enjoys a unique position as both a proponent and purveyor of the true audiophile tradition among music enthusiasts. The man loves his work, and his enthusiasm for the sound quality and musicality of classic analog gear and recordings borders on the evangelical.

So you've made the rounds holiday gift shopping for your loved ones and friends, and now it's time to treat yourself to some useful toys for your home recording studio. Whether you've got a small songwriter demo setup or an elaborate multi-track facility, you're still a studio owner, and by definition that means you're always looking for a good deal on recording gear. What we've done is scour our inventory for a selection of products available at B&H for our customers, and we've compiled an equipment list below representing that elusive combination of quality, value, and functionality that you'll be using on a daily basis for as long as you're using your studio.

Wondering about a gift for the musician in your life? We've compiled a list of items representing practicality, value, and the occasional bit of indulgence. These products are meant to be enjoyed -- not collect dust. The solutions we've included serve a variety of music performance, engineering, and production needs, guaranteeing much use and pleasure without blowing your bonus check.

The electric guitar is a compelling musical instrument with a complex, ear-arresting and immediately recognizable sonic signature that has continuously evolved, on record or in concert, since someone attached an electro-magnetic transducer to a big, hollow archtop acoustic guitar more than 75 years ago, during the Big Band era.

The sound of plucked-string acoustic instruments, from the mandolin to the ghimbri, has enlivened thousands of recordings in nearly every genre of music since the invention of the gramophone. The acoustic guitar enjoys the most prominent and ubiquitous presence of them all, particularly in Western classical and popular forms, possessing an organic, soulful quality and texture that adds an insistently human dimension to any mix, whether as a solo or ensemble instrument.