DARJIX

There is a great article on the Ukulele revival in the NYT. You can read about it here.

One of the things about flying every week is that I tend to leave things on the airplane. I’m most at risk from this when I am tired – late at night or early in the morning. Unfortunately, I left my V-Moda Vibe earphones on a flight home a few weeks ago.

I like the V-Modas. They have a decent sound to them, they are stylish, and their cord is balanced and doesn’t tangle easily. Oh, and they attenuate a fair amount of noise, making them much less bulky than noise-cancelingphones. They were really expensive; they were about a hundred dollars when I bought them. They can be found for about 80 dollars now.

When looking around for a replacement, I found that there are a ton of choices. Top of the list, in my mind, are the Etymotic ER-6i They are supposed to attenuate from 20 to 35db. The other pair I looked at are rated very highly by headphone.com.

I ended up buying Sennheiser CX-300-B. These are balanced-sounding, but they have some quirks. First, they have an asymmetrical cord style that takes some getting used to. Secondly, the cord is definitely more lightweight, and I am not sure how it will hold up over the long term. Lastly, they sit somewhat shallow in my ear, and I don’t think they attenuate as much sound as the V-Modas. The real selling point though is that a NEW pair is available for about 20 dollars on Amazon.com if you look in their New and Used section. Overall, I think they are a great value at that price point.

Yes, Magnetic Fields are playing the Somerville Theater on Valentines day this year. Unfortunately, I am scheduled to be in New Jersey working on a project. I don’t really need to introduce them. I’ve always wanted to see them live.

I haven’t seen a live show in months. I really need to find a way to get to see shows I want to see.

I used to play bass guitar on occasion. I liked learning the bass, and it really helped me learn some music theory. I sold my bass when I left Minneapolis, mainly because I never had time to play it.

The main thing I wanted was an instrument that I can play while watching TV and vegging out. I thought about a buying an acoustic guitar, but I started to get interested in another four-stringed instrument – the Ukulele. So, I just bought an Ohana CK-50 on Ebay. It was shipped to me from Hawaii, and I am very happy with my purchase.

So far, it is awesome. It sounds great, and I have a lot of fun playing it!

Uke Stats: Ohana CK-50 Concert Size Solid Cedar Top Solid Rosewood Back & Sides Solid Mahogany Neck 19-fret Rosewood Fingerboard Rosewood Bridge Pearl Dot Inlays Nickel Friction Pegs with White Buttons Aquila Strings

I picked up a pair of V-Moda Vibe earbuds. i was tired of flying without a “real” set of headphones. Overall, they are quite good.

There is a good review of them here. I have to agree with the reviewer that they provide a lot more bass than I am used to. The upside is that it actually sounds decent when I am in a noisy environment, such as an airplane. The downside is that sometimes I think that the music I listen to is sort of “muddy” since I am not used to that much bass.

I’m not sure if I would spend so much money on earbuds next time. I would probably even go for V-Moda’s cheaper model.

Also, as a side note, I really, really recommend “Bring it Back” by Mates of State.