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THINK TANK
Editor’s Note
Mario Benipayo Publisher
And We’re Off! Being in the music products industry for more than 15 years, I often wondered why a dedicated music gear magazine for Filipinos has never been published. I have read similar magazines of this kind in the U.S., U.K., Japan, even a country like Indonesia being sponsored, supported, and shared by their respective country‟s music suppliers and distributors. Likewise, you can go to your favorite mall‟s magazine stand and you will see localized versions of many international magazines for cars, guns, and consumer gadgets; but none specifically for music-related instruments and equipment. I find that a bit odd considering that we are a country full of passionate musicians, professionals and hobbyists alike, who are all surprisingly discerning about gear. Instead of waiting for another 15 years for manna to come from heaven, here it is: the first issue of „STiG magazine dedicated to the Philippine market for musical instruments, band equipment, and their related accessories. Duh, of course, we know. „STiG, or short for astig, is a Filipino generic term for anything cool or kick ass. You can apply the word to whatever you find awesome. The thing is, many of us musicians often just say ‘stig during conversations. Thus, it is only fitting to name this undertaking as such in deference to the creativity of our Pinoy badass musikos. Something significant also happened in 2010 that paved the way for „STiG magazine: the introduction of the Apple I-Pad and all the other similar tablet devices that are now being launched to compete with it. Reading PDF versions of various magazines on these new technological marvels rejuvenates the reading market. With just a click, you can now download your subscribed material through your laptop, smart phone, or tablet without going to your conventional magazine stands. This is the way of the technological future for which „STiG is committed to and we are more than glad to take this virtual distribution path. Lastly and important to most Filipinos, „STiG magazine is free. Just visit our Facebook page, http://facebook.com/stigmagazine and like the page. Thereafter, you may freely download any and all our upcoming issues through the provided link. With many in store, enough of this introduction. As musicians often say to one another: “shut up and play” or in this case, shut up and start reading „STiG magazine.
Bel Sayson Editor-in-Chief Jesso Montejo Staff Writer Paolo Memije Layout Artist Roland Bernaldez Robin Venturina Loren Tamayo Gear Coordinators Bert Aricheta Photographer Jerald Rabino Editorial Assistant Joey Dizon Guest Contributor
For comments and suggestions Email us at: stigmagazine@gmail.com
Visit us at: facebook.com/ stigmagazine
Bel
STG series
Vintage look and value! The STG Series offers exceptional value, they are easy to play and are available in a choice of pickup configurations. All models feature solid alder bodies, with maple necks and rosewood fingerboards. The Deluxe models feature active midboost circuit, great for soloing, pearl or tortoise pickguard and deluxe matt silver hardware. Our STG electric package includes everything you need to start playing in one convenient box. Make the right start with Aria STG series.
Free download at issuu.com Copyright 2011 Philippines. All rights reserved. Gear product photos used with permission. For advertising inquiries, call (02) 925-25-97.
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The Stagg Awards’ Successful Launch
After one month of online voting, the first Stagg Awards – Your Most Liked Musicians awarding rite was held at the Cinema 3 of Ali Mall, Araneta Center last November 2010. The Stagg Awards, with Stagg Musical Instruments from Belgium as its primary patron, is the new music awards show recognizing the outstanding Filipino musicians where the winners are voted by fans and fellow musicians alike.
Done through The Music Source‟s Facebook page (http://facebook.com/themusicsource ), the voting reached more than 40,000 votes cast, an unprecedented number for any online music awards poll, for its first year run.
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Among the hundreds of nominees, the Most Liked Bassist was Buhawi Meneses of Franco/Parokya Ni Edgar closely followed by Niño Avenido of Greyhoundz. The Most Liked Guitarist went to Caren Mangaran of General Luna with Ocho Toleran of Franco in second place. The Most Liked Drummer award had a runaway winner with Karmi Santiago of Novus Luna; while Most Liked Band Vocalist was given to Franco Reyes of Franco. Other recognitions given were the Fierce Competitor Awards for Bands both given to General Luna and Chicosci for having their respective band members garner Top 5 standings across all voting categories. Guitarist Francis Reyes and DJ Kim Marvilla hosted the premier event with live performances by bands Ozawa, Intolerant, Sleepwalk Circus, Novus Luna, and Chicosci. In cooperation with Tribal Gear, Pulp Magazine, and Ali Mall, Stagg Awards promises to be bigger and better in 2011 and the years to come.
PHOTOS BY BERT ARICHETA
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MAPEX Meridian Birch The Mapex M Birch has established itself as one of world‟s favorite drumsets. Tonally superior birch shells with a beautiful exterior 6-ply of maple, striking high-gloss transparent lacquer finishes, and double braced hardware. The best seller M Birch Fusion 5-piece model is composed of a 14” snare, 10” 12” and 14” toms, and a 22” bass drum.
The 2010 Drummer of Tomorrow winner - Bartek Pawlus surprised the crowd with his amazing drum solo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TtrEIaiBqM
Drummer of Tomorrow is a biannual multi-regional drum competition initiated by Mapex for drummers of all ages, first held in 2007. To date, three winners have emerged from the contest: Thomas Heinz from Germany for the 2008 "Groove" category, Julien Goepp from France for the 2008 "Technique" category, and this year(after the abolishment of individual categories), the 2010 overall champion Bartek Pawlus from Poland. Drummer of Tomorrow is not about playing harder, faster, and louder: as the namesuggests, it is primarily about nurturing the next generation of talent. Mapex offers promising drummers the opportunity to perform on stage in a professional environment, the chance to meet, exchange ideas, and share experiences with other musicians, and a ticket to a possible drumming career. The educational process remains the driving motivation behind the event.
http://usa.mapexdrums.com/drums/meridianbirch/index.asp
The 2010 Drummer of Tomorrow Finalists – from left to right: Manuel dI Camillo (Germany), Ben Clark (UK), Simone Morettin (Italy), Bartek Pawlus (Poland), Geoffroy Sourp (France)
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Bartek Pawlus was awarded the top prize. From left to right: Dom Famularo, Bartek Pawlus, Nelson Lan (Mapex Drums)
A great contest‟s final should be held in a great location and event. This year, Mapex selected MESSE Frankfurt as the perfect choice, connecting music addicts from all over the world to appreciate the magic of drums, and its crucial role in live music. The five finalists all each accompanied a live performance of a song, as well as playing a two-minute drum solo to try and impress the judges: all titans of the trade, including Dom Famularo, Mylious Johnson, Randy Black, Waldo Madera and Rashid Williams. In the end, the 20-year-old Bartek Pawlus stood out due to his exceptional performance. Check out the footage and witness this incredible young talent for yourself! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWaEjtneQD4&feature=related Previously, this contest has only been held in European countries such as Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, France, UK, among others; however, Mapex is now trying to expand the contest from Europe to other continents in the very near future. If you reckon you have the passion and skills, it doesn't matter if you're a young or young-at-heart drummer; this is something you can't miss! To find more, please go to http://www.youtube.com/user/DrummersOfTomorrow
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Toti Dalmacion
MY 6 COOLEST GADGETS 1. Imuffs Bluetooth headphones - One of the best sounding headphones I've tried that looks great and very reasonable in price.
2. iPad - I was foolish to not get one as soon as it came out thinking it's just a big iPhone. Well, it's not. It's my all around media device for reading, monitoring, watching, listening, creating and even for working (email and presentations) .
3. Ricoh GRD III camera Classic body design. Great for point and shoot. Amazing even in low light with no need to use the flash. Superb picture quality.
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4. I Phone 4 - I'm a fan of design and Steve Jobs certainly knows what tickles my fancy. The design alone already made this a must have (just like the past I Phones). This version is like a museum piece and I haven't even said anything about its performance which is pretty great for a smart phone. I update most of my networking sites from here and I've even done some flyers just using it. I rarely use it now to watch videos or movies after getting the I Pad but it still has its many purposes apart from the phone.
5. Macbook Pro 15"- My workhorse and acting desktop where I record mixes, edit audio and footages and do the bulk of my attempts at flyer making (out of necessity and cutting costs). It is also the machine I use when I DJ using Serato combined with actual vinyl.
6. Numark Classic 1975 Mixer PPD – A cool DJ gear for a long time. Recently, I lent mine to Lourd De Veyra of Radioactive Sago Project.
The man behind Groove Nation and the ‘Consortium’ parties in the 90’s (research kids),Toti Dalmacion switched gears and launched Terno Recordings by the turn of the new millennium, producing such artists as Up Dharma Down, Radioactive Sago Project, Orange and Lemons, among many others.
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Guest Reviewer: Joey Dizon
ARTEC TWIN HEAD Rating: 3 ½ out of 5 Verdict: For slightly mature players, not for the gain-hungry I‟ll say it once, and I‟ll say it again: there‟s more to life than mondo-gobs of distortion and over-processed gain, and there‟s a big difference between players who want a heavy guitar tone and players who choose to be conscious of their group‟s overall sound. With the Artec Twin Head stomp box, players just might be able to discover what they‟re really going for instead of just cranking everything to maximum capacity. First of all, before using this particular gain box, players must remember one very important thing: to be able to get that uber-chunky rhythm guitar tone ala Metallica, Pantera or Slayer, a stomp box is never the solution; stacks of big amps are, loaded with hotter-than-hell tubes and with volume – not gain– cranked to the full. Yes, it‟s a sad fact: most of us cannot afford to include that in our setup, but with the aid of a quality stomp box, we might be able to come close. Which is why the Artec Twin Head is a good choice for players who are a little more conscious with their tone: just enough hot stuff and gain for the crunch and sustain, but not too processed to sound like your run-of-the-mill digital effects processor. Think great British tone: perfect for classic rock n‟ roll if you juice up the level knob and don‟t be too modest on the tone, or maybe dial-in just enough punk power with the Amp Gain knob set to “crunch” and the bass and treble at equal modesty. And with a little know-how and familiarity of your regular amp which already has a gain setting of its own, you can set the Amp Gain to “classic” and combine the boost of the Artec Twin head to go for that Bay Area thrash metal tone ala early Megadeth and Metallica. Go a little even further with your amp‟s distortion, and the Artec Twin head can serve as a booster for your solos, and mimic the rhythm tones of any of your current metal heroes. But the real winning trait of this stomp box is the fact that it produces just enough gain for all your notes to ring clear, and for tamer guitars and setups (think Strats, single coil setups…), enough boost to get your fingers working, and ultimately, expands your understanding of how certain tones are achieved by NOT cranking up the dials. No matter what style you‟re into, be it cool blues, twangy leads and even shred, you‟ll find that this is a pretty versatile stomp box especially when paired with a pretty lethal guitar and amp setup. With an impressive low-end setting that doesn‟t crack, treble capacity without thinning and a less than modest level setting. Though most non-active pickups and single-coiled pickups would probably get a lot of noise and hum from the extra juice this box delivers, it‟s nothing a little noise suppression can‟t remove. Definitely not for the young metal aficionado, but for the seasoned guitarist who wants to do everything just right… technical know-how not included. No stranger to the Philippine metal scene, Joey Dizon is the lead guitarist of Intolerant, one of the sought-after trash metal groups in the country. He also plays for Skychurch, a premier metalcore band who recently released ‘Objectionable Pride’, a split-album with Loads of Motherhood, produced and distributed by Tower of Doom.
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If you are in the area of Sikatuna, Quezon City, Sound Quotient Studio is a good venue for your band to practice and record your first demo. Ian Dank Omero, guitarist for The Lowtechs, owns and operates the studio that offers a number of services: from band rehearsal, guitar effect repairs, drum repairs, to mixing your original tracks. Bands like Enemies of Saturn, Duster, Sandwich, and Techy Romantics have experienced rehearsing at Sound Quotient. They are open until 11:00PM and accept clients via appointments.
Equipment Listing: *Mapex Q-Series 5-piece drumset *Stagg and Sabian cymbals *Ashdown Electric Blue bass amp combo *Marshall and Peavey guitar amp combos *Wharfedale 12-channel mixer
Address: 154 Maginhawa Street, Sikatuna Village, Quezon City Contact them via http://facebook.com/soundquotientstudio
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