Music from around the world, and why our repairs are so good!

Ever wondered why repairs done by The Music Spot are of such high quality?

Greg with one of his repairs

It's because of our wonderful luthier, Greg. He has over 12 years of experience in Guitar repair and service, and his attention to detail is second to none. It never ceases to amaze us the variety of jobs that come through to Greg, and the quality of his work always impresses our customers. 

Here at The Music Spot we love to support local businesses, and Greg loves what he does - and it shows. He loves bringing old Guitars back to life, and has worked on such diverse repairs as broken banjo headstocks, to 8 string Polynesian ukuleles, to precise vintage guitar restorations.

Greg's state of the art workshop

So if you have anything needing to be done to your Guitar, whether a routine service, new instrument set up or some emergency work after an accident, come in and give him a test run - you won't be disappointed!

Guitar News

This week we are celebrating everything Ibanez Effects. We have a bunch of goodies currently in stock, which Sean found with much excitement.

Sean getting excited over Ibanez Minis

Sean is not the only one who gets excited over these pedals though: Chris and Johnny are also huge fans. Chris tells me he uses the Tubescreamer Mini Pedal.

"One of my favourite guitar pedals right now is the TS Mini. The best thing about the TS Mini is that it sounds indistinguishable from the bigger Tube Screamers. The rawk never dies!!"

Johnny loves the 850 Fuzz: "I love this amazing pedal, the Ibanez 850 Fuzz mini. Awesome selection of fuzzy goodness, providing tones reminiscent of 90's grunge to thick warm purple hazyness. And lets not forget the attractive price! :) "

With staff endorsements like these, you know you're getting a good deal - and you know our boys practice what they preach too!

Drum News

You know what else we love here at The Music Spot? Evans Head. It's a great place to visit, relax and unwind, catch a few waves.. oh hang on. Let me start again. 

You know what else we love here at The Music Spot? Evans Heads. They are a world leading manufacturer of heads for all types of drums - snares, toms, bass, timpani, conga etc etc etc. We have a wide range in stock, with products to suit any type of drum and any kind of drummer. Speaking of a kind of drummer, here's our personal favourite, Chris, with his opinion on Evans Heads:

Chris likes Evans Heads - the skins, not the beach

"I use Evans drumheads on all of my kits because they come pre tuned as standard with Evans' 360 technology. This means that the head always sits perfectly level on the bearing edge of the drum. Some of my favourite heads are the Heavyweight series and the EMAD2 kick heads. I also enjoy the versatility of the G2 Coated and Clear heads."

Again, if Chris says it's a good thing - it's a good thing.

Pro Audio News

This week we are looking at the Behringer X Air XR12 Digital Mixer. This machine is a powerhouse 12 input rack-mountable mixer for iPad and Android tablets, and is ideally suited for both live and studio applications, thanks to its 4 award-winning MIDAS-designed mic preamps, convenient integrated Wifi module for wireless control, plus USB connectivity for file storage, system updates and uncompressed stereo recordings via the USB Stereo Recorder. It also comes with rack ears and protective bumpers for added flexibility in your studio and stage applications. 

Dave hiding behind the Behringer XR12

Chris also has experience with this mixer: "The Behringer XR12 rack mount mixer is an excellent solution for any solo, duo or band who want to feel more in control of their sound live. The on board Midas designed preamps sound great both in live, and recording situations. As a live sound and studio engineer, I have had the chance to work with the new generation of Behringer products and have been consistently impressed with how they perform in a professional environment."

And yet again, we are convinced!

International Music Day

This weekend is a huge celebration - and not just because it's a long weekend here in QLD! (Although for that we are grateful - Happy Birthday Your Majesty!!)

Every year on the 1st of October we celebrate International Music Day - because, well duh, we love music! On International Music Day, the desired aim is to create a global atmosphere of music, a platform for people to come together with their diversities and mingle to make one unified whole. Kind of like us!

One big family! (and don't forget the Cornishman who is writing this blog! Onan hag oll!)

Music is such a worldwide phenomenon these days, it can be surprising to learn the origins of the instruments we play with every day. We all know the Guitar originated in Spain, and our beautiful Classical Guitars make amazing Flamenco music in the right hands. But did you know that the modern Trombone originated in the USA? And the Chinese characters on our Gongs might be a bit of a giveaway, but I was surprised to learn that the humble Harmonica first appeared in beautiful Austria. We are privileged to live in a multicultural country, and we are surrounded by instruments from all over the world every day!

Interesting origins of some of our instruments

So we hope you all have a wonderful weekend, whether you're in Queensland enjoying your Monday off at the beach, or in Melbourne taking Friday to prepare for the Grand Final - we are one, but we are many!

Until next time!

Pirates! And we're seeing double!!

If one has ventured near The Music Spot in Browns Plains in recent times, one may have had cause to do a double take. That strapping young lad with the man-bun, wasn't he just over there? Wait, there's TWO of them??

Chris playing a Baby Taylor

Introducing Sean!

No, there's actually not. We were lucky this week to welcome SEAN to the Music Spot Team, and although he does carry a style extremely reminiscent of a certain drummer we all know and love, we assure you, he is not Chris!

Sean is great with all things Guitar, and is pretty well known around Brisbane as the frontman of two great bands: Harvey Djents and Soul Solitude. He's also got five years teaching experience behind him, so if you have any Guitar questions, he's your man!

Keyboard News

Have you seen our Casio NLA Synthesiser? This thing is pretty impressive. It's a 61 key performance synthesiser with Casio's exclusive (HPSS) Hybrid Processing Sound Source. Providing screaming virtual analog monophonic leads and basses, drawbar organs, complex layers, stereo pianos, drums and more, the XW-P1 has the sounds and real-time control the performing musician needs.

Providing everything from pulsing dance grooves to animated synth textures and arpeggios, the Step Sequencer is the first of its kind. With nine tracks for drums, basses, synths and chordal parts, four controller tracks for adding panning, filter changes and other animation to existing parts and eight patterns make up each sequence; the user can build and mix their performance on the fly. Sequences can even transpose live from the keyboard, providing a completely interactive experience.

In addition to the solo synth and Hexlayers, the XW-P1 performance synthesiser is armed with an arsenal of gig ready sounds like stereo pianos, vintage electric pianos, strings, brass, guitars, basses, drums and more. It also has a new drawbar organ mode. Utilising the nine sliders on the XW-P1 you have full range control over each drawbar. The XW-P1 even has dedicated controls for key percussion and rotary speaker while also providing vibrato, distortion and more for the ultimate drawbar organ experience.

Utilising Casios exclusive (HPSS) Hybrid Processing Sound Source, a six oscillator monophonic solo synth is just one of the amazing sound engine in the XW-P1. The solo synth has the power to deliver classic analog sounds and sounds with an aggressive edge unlike anything else. Two virtual analog style oscillators, two PCM based oscillators, a noise oscillator and an external oscillator via mic and line inputs can be combined to make up a single solo synth tone. Each oscillator has an independent filter, envelopes, independent key tracking, portamento, two LFOs and access to master resonant filter. With impressive modulation and control capabilities at your fingertips, the solo synth is capable of a wide range of sounds and expression.

In addition to the solo synth, the XW-P1 also features HexLayer tones. A HexLayer is a single sound comprised of up to 6 components, allowing complex layers, splits and velocity switched sounds. The sliders on the XW-P1 can be used to mix sounds on the fly to create evolving pads and rich synth textures while key velocity can be used to create dynamic velocity switched orchestral sounds and more.

Sean and the Casio XW-P1 NLA Synth

The XW-P1 has powerful arpeggiators. In addition to typical arpeggio patterns, this arpeggiator can create polyphonic synth gated patterns, acoustic instrument emulations and is even fully programmable allowing you to create your own unique sounds. An additional phrase sequencer allows you to quickly capture any riff that you play on the keyboard and have it available on a front panel switch or triggered and transposed live from a range of notes on the keyboard. The combination of the Step Sequencer, Arpeggiator and Phrase Sequencer provides an endless array of sound possibilities.

The XW-P1 has 4 realtime controller knobs, pitch bend and modulation wheels, along with 9 sliders to provide control over internal sounds and external devices. Through standard MIDI ports and with a class-compliant USB port the keyboard can be used as a controller for other instruments, including computer software and iPad based software applications. It also includes an audio input allowing you to monitor an MP3 player, computer or other device without the need for a mixer.

Folk News

Are you a fan of Ukuleles, and Bass Guitars, and forever lamenting that you can't combine your two loves? Fear not, we have the answer!

Behold, the Kala Ubass!  

Chris loves the Ubass, arrr!

This revolutionary short (short!) scale bass produces the same pitches as a standard bass instrument with traditional bass tuning E-A-D-G. The Rumbler model is strung with proprietary strings that incorporate a great bass feel with balanced tension. It may look like spaghetti, but it is a true pleasure to play, with amazing tone.

Evan of StringTech fame

Our friend Evan (stringed instrument extraordinaire, you may know him from such enterprises as String Tech orchestral stringed instrument repair and set up) instantly fell in love with the Kala Rumbler U-Bass as soon as it landed in the shop, so he had to get one for himself.

In his own words: "I’ve been a guitar and bass player for more than 50 years now. Sounds like a long time but I never grow tired of the challenge and
the joy of making music. Sometimes, it can be a bit repetitive, same songs, same feel etc, but recently we added a Ubass to our inventory . What an amazing instrument. A little larger than a tenor uke, tuned just like a normal
bass, and with a warm rich tone. So much fun to play. I can’t tell you how often folks come over to inquire what it is I’m playing. It’s as versatile as a bass guitar but with some WOW factor. You should definitely try a Ubass real soon."

He's convinced us!

Band & Orchestral News

This week we are looking at Yamaha Clarinets. Schools are preparing their 2018 music programs and parents are being notified by enthusiastic young students that they will soon be hearing the wonderful sounds of choking geese and angry cats. Not really, but the beginnings of any music career always sound a little.. unpolished. So that's why starting off with a good quality student instrument is so important (after all, you don't want the choking geese and angry cats to continue for any longer than they have to - if you have a nice instrument, those nice tones will start to appear much, much sooner!)

Yamaha has long been recognised as the name in student instruments, and when it's a Clarinet you're after, you need to know that the brand you buy is one you can trust. Clarinets have many small moving parts, and if these are not made from the highest grade materials - especially in young, inexperienced hands - they will not last long, and your repair and service bill will quickly offset any savings you may have made by buying a cheap instrument.

Dave knows a good Clarinet when he sees one - even with only one eye!

We have two popular Yamaha Clarinet models on sale at the moment - the 255 Series and the 450 Series. The 255 is the perfect starting point for students, being a great price yet incorporating all the lessons Yamaha has learned from crafting their high-end models. Made of sturdy ABS resin, it is low maintenance and durable for inexperienced Clarinet owners, and it's easy-to-care-for V-Pads extremely resistant to damage.

The 450 Series is for those who want an excellent quality instrument or are a little more experienced in handling both the instrument and their sound. Made from Grenadilla wood this model offers a professional sounds with an easy response. The new bell design gives improved intonation and projection, especially in the all-important lower register, while the new barrel enhances the 450's response, flexibility and tonal focus.

Either way, with a Yamaha instrument, you're on to a winner right from the get go!

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Ahoy me hearty! So you may have noticed some of our staff looking a little.. different lately. 

Pirates! Not even Sherrinford could keep this scary lot out ;)

This week we celebrated International Talk Like A Pirate Day (Tuesday 19th September). In addition to dressing and speaking like weirdos, we were privileged to be able to support special needs children by helping to provide music therapy lessons and musical education, through our partnership with B1G1. 

B1G1 enables us to turn our customers' support into meaningful impacts around the globe

So far, with your help, we have made 286 impacts to people's lives around the world. It has been such an uplifting experience we have decided to launch Saturday Impact Day, where on the first Saturday of every month for each and every customer we serve, we will provide seven days of clean water to a family in Cambodia. Come down to the shop next month and be a part of something great!

Until next time, keep being awesome, arrr!

Boss, Natal and some Freaky Amazing Sticks

Chris is a great guy. He's the fount of all knowledge in the drum department, the Energiser Bunny of all the great ideas, and when he gets excited about something, you know it's going to be a winner. So when Chris comes screaming up to the Admin desk with a handful of drumsticks, talking at a hundred miles an hour about how cool they are, we listen ;)

Chris REALLY loves these sticks!

ProMark FireGrain is what they are called. It's the revolutionary heat-tempering process that makes them so amazing, turning drumsticks into precision tools with unprecedented durability, while keeping their original weight, balance and attack. We are sure Chris is going to have a great time bashing out some rhythms with these beauties.

Which brings us to the next bit of exciting news: there's a new band in town! TinyCastle was formed after a few late night conversations at the City's music bars, and can be described in one word as an anomaly. They have a sound that could be placed within any of the last four or five decades, with a relevance to the dreamers. 

Drawing inspiration from artists such as The National, Tom Petty, The War On Drugs, David Bowie, and Something For Kate to name a few, the group's music emulates and represents youth, regardless of age, a nostalgia that reminds us of the good times. Get out and about in Brisbane and catch up with James, Ben, Will and Chris at a gig - maybe at the Milk Factory on the 22nd of September!

Guitar News

This week we are celebrating all things Boss Effects, and Dave has singled out his three faves: the DD3, CS3 and the "old faithful" Metalzone MT2.

Dave with the Boss CS3, DD3 and MT2 (and Chris has to be a part of it too)

Out of the three, Dave's absolute favourite is the DD3: "I have been using this pedal since the late 90's. It is the soul of my guitar solo sound.  Low level delay swirling around underneath the notes thickens up my lead sound and takes me into exploratory territory. Great for cleans perfect for leads. job done."

The CS-3 Compression Sustainer pedal compresses louder signals while boosting lower signals, providing smooth sustain without degrading the original sound quality. This is the perfect pedal for guitarists and bassists who want to sound their best. 

And the old faithful Boss Mt-2 Metal Zone Effect Pedal is one of our most popular pedals. This stompbox provides some of the most over-the-top, insane distortion tones in the world with huge mids and lows and an ultra-saturated sound.

Drum News

Natal Snares have landed! (And yes Chris is excited about these too!)

Chris with our new Natal Snares

Natal Drums was the brainchild of British percussionist Alan Sharp in 1958, when he was unable to find the quality he wanted in the existing market, so he sourced the parts and created the instruments himself. Since then the Natal team has kept the quality and design second to none.

We are lucky enough to have four snares for you to choose from, all at great deals. We have the 14 x 5.5" Old Bronze Hand Hammered snare, yes that's right entirely hand hammered for that warmer, lower tone. If 14 x 6.5" is more your size, we have three: Bubinga Natural, Natural Ash, and the Clear Lacquered Aluminium. These will look great with any kit and have that genuine British sound and quality that every band is after these days (it's now officially true - every band wants to be British!)

Pro Audio News

This week we are having a look at the Yamaha MG10XU. It's one of Dave's Favourite Things, so best to let him tell you in his own words:

Dave LOVES this mixer!

"I use the MG10XU 3-5 times a week in my drum rehearsal space. 4 mics surround my kit to give me a great monitor reference. I have made full use of the app,  free from Yamaha to record the wav. file audio to sync to video. 

"It's just a big part of my progress and a such a great sounding mixer. Perfect studio quality reverbs and 2 channel compressors come in handy to squish the overheads.

"This mixer is awesome." 

If Dave says it's awesome, then it's awesome.

Spring Cleaning Time!

And Spring has sprung! Well there's no sign of the infamous SEQLD storms yet, but the flurry of spring cleaning around the shop has indicated a new lease on life. And if we do say so ourselves, we have never looked better!

Our nice clean guitar wall :)

Photos never do it justice, you will have to come down and check it out yourself. Browns Plains is a great place to spend the day, we are just a few blocks away from the Grand Plaza, and on our very own strip is Mr Toys Toyworld - but we think our toys are better ;)

See you at The Music Spot!

The Music Spot: Stability, Dependability, & Awesome Products

For the second time in 2017, we celebrated the 10th anniversary of one of our teammates: Tamara, one of the hardworking office staff. Just another example of the dedication our staff have to The Music Spot - we are here for you, for the long haul!

Happy Ten Years Tamara!

Another long term staple of The Music Spot is the high quality products you can expect to find here. Let's shine the spotlight on one of the sweetest Basses we have here: Cort.

Cort Basses in stock at The Music Spot

We have two Action Series basses, a 4-string and 5-string, with beautiful open-pore natural swamp ash bodies. These are a great price point for aspiring players who still want quality bang for their buck. 

The next step up is our C5 Plus 5 string bass. Features high end materials and components for the serious player, mahogany body with zebrawood/maple top in a tobacco burst finish. 

We also have a B4 Plus model - the modern bass with classic sound and features. Excellent quality for the more discerning musician, yet still under the $1000 mark. A great deal.

Top of the line is our Artisan Series A4. This is a neck-through-body design for superior tone and string vibration transfer, and features A Bartolini Mk-1 pickups and MK-1 EQ that delivers that organic piano type tone.

Yamaha DTX562 Electronic Drum Kit

Drums and bass just go well together, so let's have a look at one of our best electronic drum kits: the Yamaha DTX562K. 

This is a great deal at the moment, and features all DTX-pads for snare and toms and a 13 inch vertical motion hi-hat pad with stand and large 3-zone cymbal pads.

Outstanding playability and incredible sounds and features, this is the perfect electronic option for drummers of any level.

If you don't want to shell out all in one go, you can rent this beauty for less than $25 a week. All round, a great deal whichever way you look at it.

TurboSound IP500 & IP1000

Speaking of huge sound, Turbosound IP Column Loudspeakers are what keep us rocking all day in the shop - and let's just say, Taylor's new song has some BASS (and no we weren't ready for it).

The IP500 is designed for maximum portability, and the column sections and subwoofer fit neatly into their included carry bags. Setup is fast and easy; just attach the column section to the base and connect your mic or mixer feed and power. 

It's revolutionary Class-D amplifier technology provides 600 Watts of sonic performance in an easy-to-use, ultra-portable and lightweight package.

The IP1000 features an industry-leading KLARK TEKNIK Digital Sound Processing (DSP), Class-D amplifier and Spatial Sound technologies – plus convenient Bluetooth stereo audio streaming and iPhone/iPad remote control. Three channels of revolutionary Class-D amplifier technology provides 1,000 Watts of incredible sonic performance.

Casio Synthesizers - XW-P1 and XW-G1

Casio Synthesizers are probably the next thing the serious musician needs in his/her/their arsenal. We have the XW-P1 and XW-G1 in the shop right now.

The XW-P1 is a 61 key performance synthesiser with Casio's exclusive (HPSS) Hybrid Processing Sound Source. Providing screaming virtual analog monophonic leads and basses, drawbar organs, complex layers, stereo pianos, drums and more, the XW-P1 has the sounds and real-time control the performing musician needs.

The XW-G1 groove synthesiser is designed for the DJ and club performer providing an interactive step sequencer and a sample looper for digitally capturing performance patterns and external instruments. 

Gretsch G9460

This is all way too serious. This Mr Serious Musician likes to have some fun too, and this gorgeous Gretsch G9460 Dixie 6 String Banjo is the way to do it.

She offers authentic tone and appointments at an attractive price. Features a maple neck and fingerboard with pearloid dot inlay, maple plywood rim and resonator back, 24 brackets, Grover® Sta-Tite™ machine heads, dual coordinating rods, "no knot"-style tailpiece, nickel hardware, 25” scale and 1 11/16” nut. 

Doesn't that sound like fun?

While we're having fun, we have some good news too, especially for parents of school students that are at the very beginning of their musical journey - we were able to source another shipment of Nuova Band Instruments for the upcoming new school year.

Nuova Student Flute, Clarinet and Trumpet - making entry to the music world affordable for every family

Nuova is made by Jupiter Band Instruments, the trusted name in student music education. These budget instruments make it easier for every family to afford their very own instrument, which gives children a greater sense of ownership of their musical education. These quality instruments come in handy carry bags and still make beautiful sounds - so you can hear more than Hot Cross Buns earlier on in the journey!

And for the more advanced students and adult players, we also stock Jupiter and Yamaha Brass and Woodwind instruments, to cater to every sound and every level.

Although The Music Spot has a great reputation as Logan's best guitar shop, we have so much more than just guitars. You'll have to come down to Browns Plains and see for yourself!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! We have two of our own at The Music Spot:

Dave and Phil, our very own Music Spot Dads

So I thought the logical thing to do would be to ask them, what would you like to get this Father's Day?

Phil and the Mahalo Designer Ukes

Phil immediately went for these gorgeous new Mahalo Designer Ukuleles.

They come in all colours and patterns, ranging from cute to downright terrifying - to suit all Dads.

Dad can tuck these in the picnic basket and then regale his proud family with any number of Dad tunes in any number of public places - fun for the whole family.

Plus these guys are easy to wrap!

Dave with the Yamaha Electric Violin

Dave has more refined taste. He went straight for the Yamaha Electric Violin.

This amazing violin takes a classical instrument into the realms of pop, rock and beyond. Plug this in and project your sound to your live audience, or create beautiful music on your next recording.

It truly is a next-generation instrument and Yamaha's century-old reputation promises that quality and technology have met to create something that Dad would truly love this weekend - and you will love hearing forever more!

Phil and the new Yamaha Reface Synths

Phil also loves the new Yamaha Reface Synthesisers. Speaking of easy to wrap, these little guys pack a huge punch in a small space.

A great mix of old and new, Dad will love the sounds he can get out of these, and the range is almost endless: he can have Tangerine Dream or Pink Floyd in the YC, classic electric piano feel with the CP, seventies analog synth with the CS, or if he's a fan of the DX7 FM synth get him the DX.

Dave loves the Yamaha MGP24X

Dave has his eye on this new Yamaha MGP24X 24 channel hybrid mixer that just came in.

Apparently it has a digital heart with an analog soul, which Dads love? Either way Yamaha has a long and impressive history of producing top quality professional audio equipment, so this one's bound to be a winner for any Dad.

It features 24 mic inputs, 32 line inputs, 6 aux sends & 2 FX sends, 4 group buses & ST bus, 2 matrix out & 1 mono out. For the Dad who is seriously into creating music, this would be a great pick.

Phil gets the gong!

Phil eventually settled on the new attraction at our counter - everyone loves these Paiste Deco Gongs!

Three sizes - 7", 10" and 13", each with a stand and a beater and each with their own angelic voice. And if you decide not to wrap them, you could present them to Dad in a special pre-dawn way to really make his Fathers Day!

Seriously, if you haven't had a play on these babies, come down to the shop and give them a go. Love!

Dave really, really wants the Yamaha Transacoustic

Dave is a guitarist at heart (no matter how talented he is on every other instrument known to man - yes, he's one of those people!), so it was no surprise that he eventually settled on the Yamaha L Series Transacoustic Guitar.

This really is an inspiring guitar. It can make you feel like you're playing in a purpose built auditorium and there's nobody else in the room. It will bring out Dad's inner creativity and keep him occupied for hours.

It's extremely comfortable to play and the whole family will love the sound of it, no matter what Dad's style, preference or ability. And of course Yamaha's reputation for quality makes this a no-brainer when it comes to choosing something that Dad will cherish.


Make this Fathers Day one to remember - we are here to help!

Find us at 129 Browns Plains Road, Browns Plains QLD or call us on 07 3800 5229. We are open till 5:30pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 4pm on Saturdays, for all those last minute gifts.