Hi there,
The Sound Junky came about from my passion for sound, all sounds, guitar, piano, violin, bands, singing, music through a great stereo, I love them all.
However, I do draw the line at crying babies. 🙂
While I am the owner and editor of “The Sound Junky”, I do not write all the content, I have some highly qualified writers and musicians, pointing you in the right direction.
Our Contributors
Welcoming the Magic Instruments Team!
In August 2020 The Sound Junky group acquired magicinstruments.com and welcomed the following authors and musicians to the team:
Davis Wilton Bader is a professional guitarist/writer based out of St. Louis, MO. He plays in the bands Lumet and The Outskirts.
Fiona is a musician and writer. When she’s not working, she’s either playing the ukulele or finding another instrument to add to her collection.
For me, music is a form of magic. It has the ability to transport you to another time and place with just a few soft notes, drifting on the wind. It can invoke joy, excitement, sadness and even fear. Music can strengthen communities and bridge cultural differences. Our lives are truly enriched by the music entwined within them and I look forward to helping make your musical journey a magical one.
“Nasa is an amateur game enthusiast with an addiction to cinema soundtracks. She can be found warring on a mobile MMORTS as often as immersing in a PC RPG. She admits to dungeon crawling to the beats of Linkin Park or the sweeping sounds of Hans Zimmer.”
Andrew “The Real Musician” Muller
If you want to learn how to write music in a bathtub, uncover ways to unlock your creative beast or have a burning desire to understand every line of the album ‘De-Loused In The Comatorium‘
I’m your guy.
I do lots of great things like write articles, design lessons, reviews, and pretty much most of everything.
My favorite color is green. But not that lame green that older couples who only have a single child would use (With ugly flower wallpaper on the top half of the wall). I’m talking about some nice, warm, vibrant greens.
Also, I’m allergic to pretty much everything on the planet. I’m talking about some major crazy allergies, like Milk, Sugar, Corn, Apples, Oranges, and Beef. I have about 24 other allergies (not including the ones above), so needless to say I eat so healthy that the yoga instructor that you like but don’t have the guts to ask out is jealous of my great diet.
I don’t have a degree in music, and I don’t work for a record label. I didn’t study BS subjects in school to make myself seem like I know what I’m talking about.
But I’ll tell you what I do have…
…I actually play music.
That’s right! Is that shocking or what? I feel that it’s a musician who is qualified to teach other musicians, just as the carpenter can teach his apprentice.
In case I didn’t let you know already, I play the Guitar, Drums, and Piano. I sing in my band as well as play the Lead/Only guitar; and I plan on learning some wind instruments very soon (starting with the trombone, sax, or bass clarinet).
Of course, I’m slightly more diverse than just a musician. I’m also well known for such philosophical endeavors as…
…playing video games!
The Sound Junky’s Mission
Creating music magic is no easy task. It may come to some of you quite naturally and to others, every step is a learning hardship. Well, our team wants to minimize the hardships for the fledgling dilettantes as well as to provide fresh ideas for the more experienced musicians.
Our expert team has come together to provide the most transparent, epigrammatic, and forthcoming reviews of various instruments in a humorous and charming manner, just for you potential rock stars of tomorrow.
We also have some epic guides to help you on your musical journey.
From the guitar to drums, keyboards, and more, we’ll delve into every nook and cranny of the best instruments so that we don’t leave any musician out!
With our reviews, you’ll know every curve and bend of every sensuous musical instrument you might want to lay your hands on, or your lips! You won’t have to spend any pocket change to get up close and personal with our top pick instruments!
Our reviews help the amateurs get geared up with the terminology, the anatomy, and a basic foundation of the instrument. They also provide in-depth knowledge that only intermediate and expert musicians would pick up on to provide fresh and new ideas for creating their signature groove.
But, why does our team go through all the trouble of compiling such vast and valuable information? It’s simple. As artists, singers, and musicians of today, we’ve pledged ourselves to ensuring the next generation can rise up and reach their full potential in their love and passion for music tomorrow.
When there’s love and passion in it, you’ve got great music baby!
Skip to…
- What do the Reviews Mean?
- What is a Buying Guide
- How do we Pick the Instruments You Want?
- How we test
- What if I’m on a Budget…?
- Do You Review the Newest Instruments & Accessories?
- We Answer to the Musicians & Audiophiles!
- Full Disclosure
What do the Reviews Mean?
The idea of the reviews is to help you waste as little time as possible in choosing the right instrument for you. We filter out only best among the tares to help the buying process run along fast and smooth.
Overview
First, we’ll give you a concise and revealing description of the instrument.
Benefits/Drawbacks
We’ll strum it down one by one with what’s super trendy about it and even what’s not so cool. Be aware, there might be some “boo” moments in there!
Customer Reviews
To see what everyone else in the world thinks about the instrument, we check in with the masses to ensure it’s an instrument worth investing in. If the crowd says “hell ya”, then it’s two thumbs up from us and for you.
Popular Questions
A series of popular questions about the product will be answered here to tie up any loose ends.
Features
Lastly, we’ll keep things simple with some helpful, need-to-know specs of that instrument.
It’s a full-on review that gives you everything you need to know in a matter of minutes. Say “no more” to googling action for hours at a time! We’ve got your back from top to bottom when it comes to picking only the best!
What is a Buying Guide?
This is your ultimate source of additional info you’ll need to know about the musical instrument you’re interested in. Do you need extra accessories? What body type, wood, metal, pedals, and styles do you prefer? Would you be better off with a different type of instrument? Will you be performing onstage in front of a frenzy, frantic, and crazy crowd where you need to be heard?
The Buying Guide our team has put together serves many a purpose.
- Give you advice, tips, and tricks of using the instrument or product.
- Provide insider info and any super cool facts about it.
- Lists specs, styles, budgets, and features of the product and instrument.
- Instrument and product comparisons.
- Recommendations for additional, necessary tools and gadgets.
- Provide 100% buying confidence!
How Do We Pick the Instruments & Audio Gear You Want?
When we recommend something, we’re putting our stamp of approval on it, so our vetting process is intimate and even grueling at times. Not every “best seller” or your buddie’s “I swear it’s the best (insert any instrument here)” is going to earn a spot on our reviews.
Simply put, we will provide a wide range of instruments with a plethora of fundamental data to help aspiring musicians buy the instrument they love. Because when there’s love, there’s music magic baby!
To keep things transparent, we consider many factors in our filtering process that includes:
- Value, cost-effectiveness, and price
- Relativity and practicality
- Popularity in conjunction with its functionality
- Maximum benefits and advantages of that instrument or product
- Feedback from current users and past buyers
- Personal experience with demo products and owned instruments
If there’s an instrument or product you haven’t seen us review yet, feel free to strum and key up an email and send it our way. We’d love to see what we can do for you!
How We Test
Some products we personally test, in a retail store or if we are lucky, by owning them ourselves!
Others we heavily research by looking at the available verified reviews from a variety of authoritative sources – from the manufacturer’s website to third party retailers, customer feedback sites and individual reviews.
Either way, we do our absolute best to provide you with non-biased information about a range of instruments, one of which might just be the missing ingredient you need to create a little magic of your own!
What If I’m on a Budget & Can’t Afford the Top Pick Product?
When we pick a number of the best and top pick products and instruments from our vetting process, we cater to a variety of styles, types, skill levels, and budgets to cater to all kinds of musicians with unique circumstances. Our reviews will be categorized according to an appropriate classification.
Some examples of our categories are:
- Best Cheap (product)
- Best (product) for Beginners
- Best Electric (product)
- Best Acoustic (product)
- Top (product) for Traveling
- Top Small/Mini (product)
- Top (product) under $200
And, so on… Our reviews are often categorized this way to cater to the different demands of aspiring musical artists. While some top picks can tow a hefty price tag, there are many other options that our team reviews and perhaps even mentions that sports a budget-friendly price tag.
Do You Review the Newest Instruments & Audio Gear?
Without sounding snobby, we review what’s awesome, not what has a brand name behind it, a million dollar advertising sales pitch online about it, or what was just barely released. If it passes our vetting process and happens to have all of those factors, then all the more power to it!
But, our team’s goal is to focus on what is the most functional, relevant, and cost-effective buy for you. We don’t care if it’s been on the market for a few years with an attractive price tag. We won’t discriminate either if it’s so new its sheen can rival the sun’s rays and the cost will blind you for life. If it’s awesome, we’ll write. If it’s not, we’ll stay silent on the matter. Kapeesh?
We Answer to the Musicians & Audiophiles!
As a public service website to musicians and audiophiles, we answer to you guys. This means that we encourage a two-way street relationship. We rely on you to provide feedback, positive or negative, so that we can be the ultimate and most engaging source of information for the beginner player to the veteran musician! Be sure to bookmark us and strum by often to see what we’ve got lined up for you next. Stay tuned!
Full Disclosure
When budget is a critical factor for our expert researchers, we will disclose that every instrument and accessory reviewed isn’t personally owned or handled by our team. However, the reviews have been compiled through extensive investigation via personal use, reviewing the company website, analyzing public opinion and feedback, and researching retailer advertising and related media sources.
Skip the Fluff!
Skip the fluff and duff of what’s considered a viral affliction on the Internet today. Instead, trust our advice as we help you carve out your own path in today’s multimedia music world with what helps you get inspired and to drive the music you love. Because, when there’s love, there’s great music!