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Comment on UK Bargain Inspired Instruments YRG-1000 You Rock Guitar Best Price by zotch

zotch — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:48:53 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Is it a toy?, 5 July 2011

This review is from: Inspired Instruments YRG-1000 You Rock Guitar (Electronics)

This guitar looks like a toy, feels like a toy and plays like a toy. The built in sounds sound a bit low fi and the mute didn't work without modification- (using aluminium foil).
The headstock is missing and affects playing technique to some extent. You can order a headstock but they seem to be out of "stock" ;-)
HOWEVER
I plugged it into my korg synth and had a lot of fun playing guitar arrangements using instruments other than guitar.
Slacken the strings off and adjust your technique slightly and you can make music on this thing.

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Comment on UK Bargain Inspired Instruments YRG-1000 You Rock Guitar Best Price by oldgeebee

oldgeebee — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:11:34 +0000

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

more than a guitar, 30 Jan 2011

oldgeebee -

This review is from: Inspired Instruments YRG-1000 You Rock Guitar (Electronics)

This is a fun product that will take some getting used to to get the best out of it. I bought it as another instrument (and midi controller) rather than a games controller but I normally play acoustic guitar (finger pick style) and there are some things this won't let me do - like pulling off onto an open string. I can pull off to a fretted string but not open. Hammer-on and slide work fine. The lack of a headstock takes some getting used to and I've looked around the web to try and find one but strange enough haven't found one yet. Some chord shapes have my hand sliding round the top of the fretboard and whilst not a show-stopper is a bit uncomfortable.
The trigger levels are adjustable but even on most sensitive, I find that some notes don't sound when finger-picking. I'm not sure if this is a real issue or my style of playing but will need correcting if this is going to be used for laying down tracks. Triggering was pretty hopeless on batteries but improves when powered by the USB cable.
The built-in sounds allow a fair bit of experimentation to combine guitar and synth sounds and get some interesting sounds and this is what makes it more than just a guitar. Hooking it up to a PC running synth software extends this even further. The built-in backing tracks are not my style but will give the budding rock guitarist a good base to practice with.
I have some small gripes with the tuning options - the numbers don't seem to match the lists in the handbook and I was disappointed with the banjo tuning (I also play 5-string banjo) which didn't have the high G for the short 5th string. The PC software provides an easier interface when starting off and experimenting and seems to offer the options for custom tuning but so far I haven't been able to make this work.
So, I'm still learning and finding out how to get the best from this but it's giving me a lot of fun finding out and some of the issues raised above may well disappear as I adapt my style to suit. Great for novices and might just sing in the right hands.

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Comment on UK Bargain Inspired Instruments YRG-1000 You Rock Guitar Best Price by Newtonia

Newtonia — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 20:53:36 +0000

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

Playing Guitar Just became a thousand times more fun!, 12 Aug 2010

Newtonia (Essex, UK) -

This review is from: Inspired Instruments YRG-1000 You Rock Guitar (Electronics)

I couldn't help thinking that this thing was too good to be true, but it looked amazing on you tube, so I ordered one. Took ages to arrive (I see that they're still as rare as a wii on release week.) and when I first fired it up I thought that I'd make a hideous mistake! It played nothing like a guitar, and just seemed to make uncontrollable bleeps. However once I looked up the forums, downloaded the free set-up software to change the sensitivity of the strings and loosened them off a bit. (Easy to do, just see the website) then I really clicked into how the thing works.

Let me just say that I've played guitar for over thirty years, I'm not great, but moderate and a home recording nut who drooled at the thought of a properly playable guitar midi interface. I can't review it as a game controller as I haven't used it as one. So I'll give it two mini reviews in the capacities that I wanted it for; As a portable practice guitar, and as a guitar midi interface.

As a portable practice guitar, it sure can't be beaten on portability and flexibility. It'll fit in a rucksack with lots of room for other stuff and as you can see from the specs, it comes with every tuning under the sun, (and a very easy method to put in any others you can make up), has loads of modeled sounds and plenty of synth and instrumental patches, all of which work great off the batteries straight into your headphones. (Of course if you use it play your own patches and libraries they sound as good as they can be.) Some of the sounds are pretty good. I've got a variax acoustic modeling guitar and some of the acoustics can match up to that. The metal models sound great too especially with lashings of whammy bar. It has to be said that further up the neck, the lack of resampling shows and they can sound a little syn-thy, but nothing that will stop you having a great jam perched by the pool or wherever you whip this thing out. Playing wise, there's good news and niggly news. Good news, it's fully polyphonic and the frets, being scaled down and crossed by virtual strings mean that it's a dream to spank up and down the plank, turning even a clumsy tripover merchant like me into a frenzied semi-demi-hemi-quaver scattering fiend.

The niggly news;- What you have to remember however is that these are not strings, they are switches which give on/off messages, so when you take a finger off the note stops immediately, no ringing after. This sounds worse than it is, and you soon get used to it. (in fact it's making me a much neater player altogether). It just means that you get used to keeping one finger on until the last moment when strumming and switching chords. The other thing is that of course you cannot hammer off onto an open string or bend a note unless it's with the whammy bar. That said, it's still a very convincing and enjoyable playing experience once you quickly get adjusted and the makers have indicated on the site that they are thinking of adding a mode to a software upgrade that will work out this small inconsistency between this and playing real open strings. Other improvements to the control software in beta at the moment include adjusting the sensitivity of individual strings.

Now the really good bit. If you have spent a long time futzing with your limited keyboard skills and dreamt of the day when you could vamp that rhodes with that devil may care fluidity or play that violin solo with the heartwrenching nuances that really make the instrument worth laying down, well that day has come. It's even given me convincing pedal steel guitar! This thing has worked seamlessly and instantly with every DAW I've thrown it at and hooked up to a good set of samples it sounds gorgeous all the way up to the last fret. This baby has a fabulous thing called a tap button, which takes out the need for a right hand and basically turns it into a keyboard that you play like a guitar! It's completely changing the way I look at guitar playing and giving my tracks a looseness and feel that I could only dream of. Now I don't have to sequence absolutely everything but the guitar parts, I can perform it. And all for 200 notes. This also leaves the other hand to wrench all the expression and modulation you could possibly want out of the joystick and the whammy bar. Believe me, this thing may (does actually) look like a toy, but it's freedom!

Oh yeah, and you can play Guitar Hero with it, but I can't see me coming out of the DAW long enough to try it.

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Comment on UK Low Price Auna AMP-2540-S 5-Channel Home Cinema Hifi Amplifier 400W In Stock by Ian C.

Ian C. — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 19:31:13 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Auna Amp, 3 April 2011

Ian C. (England) -

This review is from: Auna AMP-2540-S 5-Channel Home Cinema Hifi Amplifier 400W

To be honest this is a nice amp,but unfortunately i needed to boost the speakers from my tv;to do this you need a sub woofer to boost the bass.I should have read more on the amp,because this is not a criticism at all.

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Comment on UK Sell Stentor 1448/A Full Size Canvas Padded Cello Bag for Sale by L. Tatam

L. Tatam — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 06:38:33 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

cello case, 1 Jan 2011

L. Tatam (uk) -

This review is from: Stentor 1448/A Full Size Canvas Padded Cello Bag

A good quality case at a reasonable price. If you are looking for something more substantial than a soft case but cant afford a hard case this is ideal

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Comment on UK Cheap PowerDirector 10 Ultra (PC) In Stock by K. L. Wren

K. L. Wren — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:47:55 +0000

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

The best version - and worth upgrading from v7/8/9, 18 Feb 2012

K. L. Wren (Herefordshire, UK) -

This review is from: PowerDirector 10 Ultra (PC) (CD-ROM)

Customer review from the Amazon Vine™ Programme (What's this?)

I've used previous versions of Power Director - versions 6, 7, 8, 9 and now version 10 so have a good working knowledge of the program and found all to be very easy, highly intuitive and enjoyable to use. Usually there are very few instantly obvious changes between versions and the improvements made tend to be minor, but this time the changes are clear and the improvements are much more major and beneficial.

On opening the program which, this time, does not require uninstallation of previous versions, the user is presented with three options:-

Full Feature Editor
Easy Editor
Slideshow

- and can also choose between 4:3 format or 16:9 widescreen

* Full Feature Editor - ie the main program
The user interface once in the full-editor is virtually unchanged from the program of the earlier versions. The user simply imports media files and drags them onto the timeline. Transitions from the generous selection supplied are then dragged onto the media-clips, effects added, an audio track can be added eg using the `smartsound albums supplied and then the video/slideshow is ready to be exported as a file or written to CD or DVD.

The content/effects, ie picture-in-picture, particles, titles, effects, transitions have been greatly improved by simply grouping them into themes - such a simple yet obvious step but it makes the program so much easier to use and more can be downloaded free of charge. Further, each section has been expanded and the elements available in the earlier versions, ie v8 and v9 are also included so can still be accessed when importing an older project into the newer version.

Pros
Very easy to use
Highly intuitive
User-guide included
Excellent user-interface (probably the best of all video software packages)
Wide range of effects (titles, picture-in-picture, transitions and more are downloadable)
A big improvement over previous versions
Very fast rendering on a 64-bit machine
3D mode

Cons
It froze on me twice during 13 hours of intense testing (I now set it to autosave every 3 minutes to ensure work is never lost)

* Easy Editor - this is the renamed `Magic Movie' wizard mode:
This is easy-editing at its best: Simply import media files, select a style template, add a backing track if desired (and adjust video length, eg to match soundtrack) and the wizard will produce a video to your chosen length. This is good for making a video quickly without getting involved in any editing and will run in the background while you do something else. However, this process is fully-automated and doesn't allow any user-input other than selecting video clips backing track and length BUT, at the final stage, this version of PowerDirector offers the optional benefit of switching to the Full Editor mode. This means that, now the time-consuming work of editing footage has been undertaken automatically with next to no user-effort, the produced video can be edited and fine-tuned so that unwanted clips can be removed, new transitions added and the full features of the full editor mode are available giving the user the best of both modes - ie the easy and the more advanced. Cyberlink earns a gold star for this.

Pros
Very easy - no editing involved
Very fast
Fully-automated to quickly output a video with transitions
Can switch to full-editor mode to make changes to the output video

Cons
Limited theme templates (but more can be downloaded)
Templates and transitions can be a little tacky - depending on your personal taste...
Inflexible - but have option to switch to Full Editor at the final stage.

* Slideshow mode:
A very easy wizard to produce a slideshow - just import the photos to be used, select one of the 12 themed templates and the slideshow will be produced in minutes. Just like the Easy Editor, this can be edited following production.

Conclusions:
Rendering video is described as `blazing fast' and I agree - on a 64bit system it's the fastest rendering and disc-burning I've known. 3D rendering is also available (i7 processor recommended) and 3D specs are included.

I've used most current video-editing software packages and always been impressed with the ease of use, user interface, speed and general enjoyment of using Cyberlink Power Director which always seems to get better with each version, although changes tend to be minor. This time, however, it has surpassed itself and is a major improvement over previous versions and, I feel, definitely worth buying the upgrade.

I don't often give 5-star ratings unless I am really impressed by a product, and this time I am. Power Director is always a good product and now it's even better!

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Comment on UK Cheap PowerDirector 10 Ultra (PC) In Stock by J. Wright

J. Wright — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:43:55 +0000

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent!, 14 Nov 2011

J. Wright (Whittlesey, England) -

This review is from: PowerDirector 10 Ultra (PC) (CD-ROM)

This is my third version of Power Director and I can honestly say that I am not disappointed, does what it says on the tin etc. But to get the best out of it make sure that your system is up to the job, I have just upgraded to an i7 with 8gig of ram and it flies, rendering is so quick. Add to that 'Director Zone' with all its freebies and this is such great value. If in doubt give it a try with their 'demo' version. Recommended.

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Comment on UK Cheap PowerDirector 10 Ultra (PC) In Stock by Colin Gibson

Colin Gibson — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 07:10:40 +0000

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

Power Director 10 Ultra (64bit), 19 Nov 2011

Colin Gibson (England) -

This review is from: PowerDirector 10 Ultra (PC) (CD-ROM)

Every computer review should give the hardware being used so the viewer can see if they match or nearly match the spec of the reviewer, or perhaps aspire to his system. So here we go:

Motherboard...Asus M4A89GTD Pro (x6 core) Socket AM3, 940 pin.
CPU...AMD Athlon Phenom II x 6 core 3.3Hz 1100T (Black Edition).
Memory...4 x Kingston DDR3-10600 modules (16G total).
Hard Drive...WD Caviar Blue 1Tb SATA III,8G/b, 32MB, 7,200 RPM.
Graphics...Nvidia Geforce GTX 560Ti.
OS...Windows 7 Pro 64 bit system.

Right so down to the nitty gritty, I have used PD8, the upgraded to PD9 and just over the past few days upgraded again to PD10. So I do consider I speak with some authority on PowerDirector.

If you have used previous software or not, installation is a breaze. Various options to load wave and sound extras, just say yes and you you are up and running in 10 minutes. As part of the registration process you can link to PowerDirector Online, do this...its great, you can download loads of additonal images/video's/menu's etc from similar friendly users.

Cannot believe previous reviewers have not stated some fundamental changes to the software package in version 10:
(a) Look at that manual for a start - You can now go to bed and read up on what you can do, and how to transform your work into a really great work of art!
(b) The speed and superiority of this software is just awsum. I just about gave up on v9 given the speed of cutting a disk (about 8 hours I reacken on my system). The new version cut a BluRay disk in just 23 minutes - whoooo!!!

In v8 and v9 I did have several problems of campatibility and rendering was awful, while this is early days, I am really impressed so far no fails, no issues what-so-ever and amazing quick rendering to disk.

The menu's, templates and other stand-alone image providers are great and really add that professional touch.

I have not really tested out the 3D sections as I am still a 2D profile person, but you get a really cool pair of 3D specs with the pack and you can even review/edit (SOME) of your work in 3D mode. [Looks really cool, stand out'ish).

Just been working on the package for 24 hours but really impressed so far, a million miles advance of v9. Look out as I will post updates as I get to grips with this software ongoing.

Thanks Colin.

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Comment on UK Sell Behringer Pro DJ DDM4000 Digital Pro Mixer 5-Channel with Sampler & 4 FX Sections In Stock by Kevin

Kevin — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 04:49:03 +0000

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Superb for the Price, 18 Feb 2011

Kevin -

This review is from: Behringer Pro DJ DDM4000 Digital Pro Mixer 5-Channel with Sampler & 4 FX Sections

Firstly, do not let the Behringer name put you off buying this mixer. The manufacturer has a reputation of making a lot of cheap products but they are beginning to vastly improve and they have done so with this 4-channel mixer. I wouldn't normally touch a Behringer mixer especially, but the DDM4000 is a solid piece of kit and an absolute bargain for the price. You'll be paying a 4-figure price for The equivalent of this mixer by Pioneer, but this too has reliable optical channel faders and good EQs, not to mention the Effects - the amount of effects it has and the 2 effects processors. Plus sampling capabilities.

It also has the facility to use it as a fully MIDI controller for use with software like Traktor. With 4 channels, you could use 2 upfaders as upfaders and the other 2 for pitch sliders, as well as a host of other buttons to control other functions of the software.

Prior to owning this mixer I had a Pioneer DJM400, and I'm yet to see many differences in quality and the overall feel between the two. The Pioneer didn't allow you to headphone mix between the cued and playing track which the Behringer does, plus the Pioneer was lacking some extra RCA outputs (booth etc) which the DDM4000 provides. Compared to the 4-channel mixer from Pioneer though, yes it is industry standard, better quality and the effects especially are better and more advanced, but I suppose it all depends what you want from a mixer. I use Traktor's effects/sampling/looping etc so the DDM4000 does the job and does it well for me.

The only slight problem I have with the mixer personally is that the upfaders feel a bit loose - in that they're so easy to move up and down but other than that I can't find a major fault with it. You get what you pay for and you get so much from this mixer.

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Comment on UK Low Price TT-200 DJ Turntable for Sale by Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 16:23:10 +0000

TT200, 30 Dec 2008

Lee S. Bradbury "Lee Mardock" (Nottingham) -

First looking TT200 its a very stylish piece, Probaly one of the most good looking turntables on the market today. The turntable feels solid and heavy which means it will probaly last a few years.

I can tell you I have mixed on quite a few turntalbes in my time, but this one feels pretty good. Of course you can not beat the SL1200/1210 because I say they have the best for twenty years.

So if your leaning how to mix or at a intermediate level, This could be the turntable for you!

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