Ryder Calloway

I have spent the last three months testing compact, true analog theremin modules side by side in a home studio, and I want to share what I found. The classic Moog Etherwave still rules the professional end of the market, but most working musicians and hobbyists I know actually start with smaller, battery-friendly modules they … Read more

I bought my first ocarina in college because a friend in the campus folk ensemble needed a second player for a Zelda tribute night. I assumed any instrument would do. Within ten minutes of trying to play a chromatic passage, I learned the hard way what every professional ocarinist already knows: a cheap Amazon ocarina … Read more

Looking for the best 12 hole ocarinas for beginners in ? After three months of side-by-side testing with eight different models, our team found that the sweet spot for a first ocarina is a 12-hole alto C in either plastic or kiln-fired ceramic. We tested for tuning accuracy, breath response, comfort in adult and kid … Read more

The best triple ocarinas for collectors are multi-chamber ceramic, porcelain, or purple-clay instruments that sound harmonies and chords from a single mouthpiece, spanning 21 chromatic notes from A up to high G. After spending three months testing and cataloguing handmade triples from Taiwan, China, and artisan studios, I narrowed eight pieces that stand out for … Read more

A studio without humidity control is a quiet disaster in slow motion. Wood is hygroscopic, so a Martin dreadnought, a $4,000 Taylor, an oboe, or a violin all shrink, crack, or sprout fret ends the moment indoor RH drops below 40 percent. After 90 days of side-by-side testing in a home studio in Denver and … Read more

Your viola is one of the largest and most fragile wooden instruments you will ever own, and finding the right case is the single most important accessory decision you make. A poorly chosen case lets foam press against the body, lets humidity swing wildly, or weighs so much you stop bringing your instrument to rehearsal. … Read more

Recording clean vocals in an untreated room is one of the most common headaches for home creators. Echo, reverb, traffic noise, and the neighbor’s dog can ruin an otherwise perfect take. A microphone isolation shield solves most of these problems in minutes. After spending the last 60 days testing 8 of the most popular shields … Read more

If you’ve ever spent a Saturday afternoon in a customer’s living room watching laminate chips scatter across the subfloor from a tired miter saw, you already know why flooring installers reach for a laminate cutter instead. I’ve been on enough jobs to see the difference firsthand, and so has our team: after comparing eight of … Read more

Running a club, gym, association, or loyalty program without proper plastic membership cards is like trying to verify members by shouting names across a lobby. I learned this the hard way when our yoga studio grew past 200 members and our printed paper cards started disintegrating in people’s gym bags. That is when our team … Read more

If you run conferences, trade shows, or corporate events, you already know that the registration line can make or break the attendee experience. I learned this the hard way at a 600-person summit where our badge printer jammed at 8:47 AM. We spent the next two hours handwriting name tags while attendees streamed in frustrated. … Read more