Rotosound Music Strings

Brand new Rotosound Guitar Tuner and Chord Finder

hannah_blogger — Fri, 18 May 2012 08:30:07 +0000

We’re really pleased to add our new Guitar Tuner and Chord Finder to our growing selection of guitar accessories. Like the existing Rotosound guitar tuners, this new gadget is intuitive to use and works simply by clipping the unit to your instrument where it picks up the string vibrations. When a note’s played the clear LCD screen displays how close you are to having that string in tune.

The built-in Chord Finder has an easy to use search function which allows you to search by chord letter name or chord root. Once you have found your selected chord letter, just select whether it’s minor, major, diminished, augmented or suspended chord and further options for 7th and 9th chord versions. With a huge library of chords, this handy finder is like having your own guitar tutor which you can take anywhere you go – who wouldn’t want that?! The Guitar Tuner and Chord Finder is fast, precise, highly sensitive, light and easy to carry about. As you’d expect from a Rotosound product, it’s designed and produced to the highest possible specification and is priced at an affordable £17.95.

Nick Beggs

hannah_blogger — Mon, 14 May 2012 09:03:41 +0000

Nick Beggs – bassist, Chapman Stick player and vocalist from Buckinghamshire. Nick’s path to popdom began ‘in the days of old, before the invention of Pt Noodle’, when he formed a band called Kajagoogoo. In his own words, ‘during our forays for inspiration I took a job as a dustman/ trash collector/ refuse technician/ garbage management operative and within 18 months of forming the group we signed a major deal with EMI records’. During Nick’s career, he’s shared a stage with the likes of John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin’s former bassist), Go West, Englebert Humperdinck, Tina Turner, Seal, Right Said Fred, Midge Ure and a whole host of other such well known names. In his spare time, between continuing to work with Kajagoogoo, Nick’s a member of the Kim Wilde band and is also a patron of the London based guitar and bass school, Guitar-X. He’s currently playing with The Steve Wilson band on their Grace for Drowning world tour where he’ll be playing to packed-old venues across the globe. Not bad really, for a refuse technician.

Image credit: kajafax.co.uk

Design a pick competition

hannah_blogger — Thu, 10 May 2012 10:26:33 +0000

Ever fancied seeing your own design available to buy in the shops? Here’s your chance to make your mark on the Rotosound brand. To celebrate the launch of our new guitar pick range, we’re giving you the chance to create your very own image to fit on a standard pick shape. Your design will need to be bright, exciting and creative and clearly show your passion for music. The winning designs will be a striking and imaginative concept, well executed and have an originality which makes it really stand out. Are you up for it?

We’ve got 8 categories for you to enter: rock, metal, blues, folk, punk, psychedelic, pop and jazz. Each category will have 6 winners, all of whom will have the opportunity to see their work put into production and go on sale worldwide, as well as receiving 200 of your winning pick designs to use/show off to your mates/create the world’s biggest pick display with as well as being able to bask in the honour of having your design on a Rotosound product. To enter, simply download the pick template from the dedicated competition page on our website (click here), design your pick and send your entry to Jason@rotosound.com or post it to Rotosound, Unit 3B, Morewood Close, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 2HU, including your email address, first and last name, address (including postcode) and telephone number. The closing date for entries is midnight on 30th June 2012. The winner will be chosen by a panel of judges including Rotosound CEO Jason How. Winners will be announced on 31st July. Good luck!

Asia

hannah_blogger — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:43:09 +0000

Three decades after their eponymous debut album, British supergroup (and Rotosound endorsees), Asia, are releasing a new studio album. Recorded with the original band line up (Geoff Downes, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and John Wetton), XXX has been hailed as Asia’s best album since their classic early 80’s material. “We’re very pleased with, and confident about, XXX,” says bassist and vocalist John Wetton. “It encapsulates, lyrically and instrumentally, the essence of the band today. However, it’s the same four people that gave you the original, iconic album 30 years ago. If you loved it then, you will love it now.” They’re celebrating the release of this long-awaited album with an anniversary tour which is one not to be missed for die-hard fans. The album’s due out on 2^nd July in the UK and was recorded using Rotosound strings.

Brand new Guitar Tuner and Chord Finder

hannah_blogger — Wed, 02 May 2012 12:40:27 +0000

The built-in Chord Finder has an easy to use search function which allows you to search by chord letter name or chord root. Once you have found your selected chord letter, just select whether it’s minor, major, diminished, augmented or suspended chord and further options for 7^th and 9^th chord versions. With a huge library of chords, this handy finder is like having your own guitar tutor which you can take anywhere you go – who wouldn’t want that?! The Guitar Tuner and Chord Finder is fast, precise, highly sensitive, light and easy to carry about. As you’d expect from a Rotosound product, it’s designed and produced to the highest possible specification and is priced at an affordable £17.95.

Florence and the Machine

hannah_blogger — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:18:58 +0000

Indie/goth/genre-of-her-own British female artist, Florence Welch of Florence and The Machine has a busy few months ahead. Having just released the epic track Breath of Life (recorded at Abbey Road Studios with a 110-piece orchestra), the first piece of new music from Florence since Ceremonials in October 2012. Breath of Life is the official theme song from forthcoming summer blockbuster, Snow White and the Huntsman. Florence has a unique approach to making music; “I want my music to sound like throwing yourself out of a tree, or off a tall building, or as if you’re being sucked down into the ocean and you can’t breathe. It’s something overwhelming and all-encompassing that fills you up, and you’re either going to explode with it, or you’re just going to disappear.” Florence says that she writes her best songs when she’s drunk or has a hangover. “You’re lucid, but you’re not really there. You’re floating through your own thoughts, and you can pick out what you need. I like those weird connections in the universe. I feel that life’s like a consistent acid trip, those times when things keep coming back.” Flo has recently been nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Shake it Out, one of three songs up for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Her live performances are fearless, electrifying and totally theatrical – catch her on tour over the next few months. Florence’s bassist, Mark Saunders, uses our Rotosound Swing Bass strings.

The Rock Show

hannah_blogger — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 15:47:02 +0000

Due to the serious amount of social media Rotosound is investing time in, it just can’t be avoided… being noticed, that is! So the very nice Jim Hussell of The Rock Show via the also very nice Alun of Cadno Music caught up with Jason How, Rotosound’s chairman, on air this week discussing all things musical and Rotosound of course… very nicely bookended by two tracks, Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd (Bike) and Jason’s own track See Judy Smile. Jason has just landed himself a publishing deal so happy to get this great tune out there!

For more about Jason’s music check out his website.

Catch the podcast of Jason’s interview here.

On stage with Guthrie Govan in France

hannah_blogger — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:06:56 +0000

Good friend of Rotosound took these photos recently,from a recent gig. Guthrie Govan pictured here with The Aristocrats (featuring Bryan Beller on bass and Marco Minnemann on drums) playing at La Scene Bastille in Paris, Guthrie was using our Roto Yellows. Good luck to him and the band for the rest of the tour!

Pop Will Eat Itself

hannah_blogger — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:26:27 +0000

A new era dawns for iconic band Pop Will Eat Itself, with a revival by principal songwriter and co-frontman Graham Crabb. Graham has faced the challenge of writing a classic PWEI album a full 25 years after the original EP release, and he’s done so creating sounds more exciting and relevant than most of what is being produced in 2012. Says Graham; “It had been my desire to revive Pop Will Eat Itself for a number of years but there came a point when it was clear the original band members wouldn’t be committing to any future project in the band’s name. I saw this as a sad waste, as I felt I had armed myself with the best batch of songs I’ve ever written, and felt I still had a lot to prove. I would like nothing better than to elevate PWEI to a higher level than before. That might be ambitious but that’s the way I am.” Armed with a new line up (Co-vocalist Mary Byker, drummer Jason Bowld, guitarist Tim Muddiman and bassist Davey Bennett), Pop Will Eat Itself will be touring the UK later this year. Bassist Davey Bennett uses our Swing Bass 45-105 strings. For more on the band, follow them on facebook or twitter.

Fylde Guitars

hannah_blogger — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 15:02:59 +0000

Rotosound’s chairman, Jason How has recently been back in touch with Roger Bucknall at Fylde Guitars. Roger is a highly skilled luthier who started making guitars in his father’s garage at the age of nine. Guitar making was a hobby until 1973 when Roger moved to the Fylde coast of Lancashire to set up full time manufacturing and has worked with some major household names since then. Jason’s father (and founder of Rotosound), James How, commissioned Roger to make him an acoustic bass guitar almost 40 years ago, which Jason still owns and plays – that is, until it fell victim to a shelf collapse in Jason’s studio leaving it in dire need of repair. Jason contacted Roger to fix the guitar, and Roger has featured the story in his own blog:

‘I’m a collector of co-incidence. I know that mathematically, there are any number of “chance” happenings going on all the time, and we only get to notice the ones that are relevant to us, but it is still fun.

Within a few days last year, I was contacted by Chris Gerolmo and by Jason How, both of whom own ” Sir Toby” acoustic bass guitars from the 1970′s, and both of which had sustained “damage”.

Here is Jason’s guitar. It is the very first acoustic bass I made, ordered for Jason by his father, James How of Rotosound strings around 1975. It was in Jason’s studio recently, when a shelf collapsed on it. It does look a bit sad, but there is hope, just give me time.’ Roger is currently working on getting this bass back to its former glory – we’ll keep you posted…