L&M Blog Opens New Tab
Recommended
Portable PAs: Big Sound in a Small Package
Recitals: A Little Something for Everyone
Maximizing Your Practice Time
NAMM 2016: Roland - New Analog and Digital Synths
Data Driven Fretwork
8 Thing You Need to Know Before Starting Music Lessons
Are you looking to find your start in music as an adult? Maybe you're rekindling a long-forgotten hobby. Find out what you should know before getting started!
Read More Comments
Drum & Percussion Month Livestreams
Be sure to check out our online drum clinics that will be featured throughout the month of May!
Read More Comments
5 Reasons Why Steel Drums Are the Perfect Choice for Students During a Pandemic
Move over, recorders. Students have another option when it comes to basic music education, and it’s more sanitary than many other options! Steel drums are a low-touch, high-performance instrument for kids to learn music during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Read More Comments
Drum Muffling Part 2: Bass Drum Muffling
In many ways, bass drums define the sound of the drum kit. Only you can determine the appropriate bass drum sound for the music you are making. However, it is good to experiment and learn how to modify the sound of your bass drum. You may be surprised by the range of sounds available to you without buying another kit.
Read More Comments
Drum Muffling Part 1: Gels and Rings and Tape, Oh MY!
Muffling is used to eliminate unwanted overtones or to focus and/or fatten a drum's sound. In this blog, we guide you through different products and methods you can use to muffle your kit to get the best tone.
Read More Comments
The Heart of Your Drums: A Guide to the Sound of Different Shell Materials
One of the best ways to decide what drum set you want to see yourself behind (aside from which model has the coolest finishes!) is by choosing what sort of materials you want it to be made of. This quick guide gives you a basic rundown of the most common, and even some rarer, materials used, the sort of tone they produce, and the best musical setting to use them in.
Read More Comments
The Vibrant Experience of Amateur Piano Competitions
In the world of classical piano, it can often feel like all the opportunities to perform or compete are exclusively for young prodigies and the pros - especially here in Canada, where we don't appear to have any established Amateur Competitions. But if you think you've missed the chance to showcase your talent on stage as an adult, you need to talk to Glenn Kramer!
Read More Comments
Play Along Recordings for Jazz
If I could, I’d practice every day with a live rhythm section, but this is impossible so I settle for the next best thing: Play along recordings. This is not only handy but also a fun way to learn and practice tunes.
Read More Comments
Make it Shine! A Drummer’s Guide to Cymbal
Clean cymbals under bright lights can be the most eye-catching instruments on the stage. They also often represent the largest portion of a drummer's gear budget. It is, therefore, no surprise that many drummers go to great lengths to keep their cymbals as shiny and new-looking as they can.
Read More Comments
Beating the “Load-Out Blues” - Ten Tips to Make Moving Your Drums Easier
Nothing compares to the thrill of playing live music in front of an appreciative audience. Similarly, nothing can dampen that excitement as effectively as the thought of packing up your drum kit and hauling it to your car at the end of the night. Here are some tips to help make that job easier!
Read More Comments
In Defence of the Stick Spin
Live music is entertainment, and anything you can do to raise the level of excitement for your audience is positive. However adding a visual flair to drum performance is a lot like adding spice to a dish...context is everything and individual tastes vary.
Read More Comments
The Right Cymbal For You
It can be quite intimidating to walk into a music store and see rows upon rows of different cymbals hanging on the walls. You may ask yourself, “How do I know what I am looking for?” Here's a guide to help you understand cymbals a bit more.
Read More Comments
6 Things to Consider BEFORE You Sit Down to Practice
It's the new year and you've made some resolutions. Maybe one of them was to start learning a new instrument or to play your instrument a bit more. Here are 6 things you should consider before sitting down to practice.
Read More Comments
Sympathetic Snare Buzz...Symptoms, Causes And Cures
You're getting ready for sound check at your biggest gig of the year and everytime you hit your tom, your snare sizzles like a pan of frying bacon. What do you do? Find out what might be causing the buzz, whether you should fix it, and how you can in this article.
Read More Comments
Choosing Cymbals: A Guide for the Beginner
In some ways, choosing your cymbals is a more complex endeavour than choosing your drums. While carefully choosing your drums is very important, the types of cymbals you pick will really help you to define your "voice" as a drummer.
Read More Comments
NAMM 2016: Sonor Drums
Take a look at the new Red Oyster Vintage Series kit, bass drum brackets, burnt walnut limited edition snares, and more. This article is from our Namm Show series, where we focus on new and upcoming products in the world of music.
Read More Comments
NAMM 2016: Yamaha Recording Custom kit, alloy snares, and DTX electronic drums
Sean Browne shows off Yamaha’s Recording Custom kit re-issue, as well as 7 new metal alloy snares, the new DTX-760K electronic kit with larger tom pads on the toms, and mutable three-zone cymbal pads.
Read More Comments
NAMM 2016: Paiste Cymbals
Let's talk about the new Black Label Big Beats cymbals, Danny Carrey ride, Formula 602 crash, and more. This article is from our Namm Show series, where we focus on new and upcoming products in the world of music.
Read More Comments
NAMM 2016: Mapex Drums – Storm and Saturn V Series Kits.
David Lawrence of Mapex demos the company’s latest Storm Series poplar drums kits, which replaces the Voyager series. Living Colour drummer Will Calhoun talks about what he loves about his Mapex Saturn V drums.
Read More Comments
NAMM 2016: Gretsch Drums - New Kits and Snares
Here is the new 2016 lineup, including black hammered steel, bronze, and copper models, Catalina Club and revamped Renown RN2 kits. This article features products from our latest Namm Show series.
Read More Comments
Top 5 Gift Choices for Drummers
With the holidays fast approaching, a common question we hear behind the music shop counter is "what do I get my little drummer boy or girl?" Here are some gift suggestions for drummers that are both useful and fun!
Read More Comments
Hybrid Drumming
Hybrid is hot right now. Everything is a hybrid of some kind. Add a sample pad to your kit. Trigger your bass drum. These little steps will take your playing and your band to a whole new level. Let’s take go back in time to the experimental time of the 1980s
Read More Comments
How To Drum Without Risking Eviction
It is 10 pm. You are bored and there is nothing on TV. You eye your drum kit that is set up in the corner. Your heart rate goes up, palms get sweaty. You grab a pair of sticks and proceed to play the groove from the song Sober, by Tool.
Read More Comments
Long & McQuade
Performance Assurance
Buying a new instrument is an exciting event and we want to ensure that every instrument we sell comes exactly how the manufacturer intended it to be. That is why Long & McQuade performs a quality control check for every stringed, brass, and woodwind instrument over $99 ordered online at Long-McQuade.com.
Our team of experienced staff will unbox your instrument and perform a detailed inspection to ensure it leaves our warehouse looking and playing great with our QC card signed and dated for your peace of mind.
We work hard to source the best instruments from around the world from the finest brands. It is important to us that you are completely satisfied with your new instrument purchase from day one onwards.
Stringed Instrument Performance Assurance Checklist
Unlike our free set-up, which is included within the first year of purchase, this process is done to have the instrument set to the factory specs rather than to each player's feel or preferences.
We look after the following:
- Inspect finish and hardware.
- Check electronics to make sure everything is in working order. Check batteries on active pickups.
- Inspect strings.
- Inspect frets and fretboard.
- Check truss rod. Adjust for bow and relief.
- Tune instrument to manufacturer’s specified tuning.
- Check/set action height.
- Stretch strings and re-tune instrument and ensure machine heads are working well.
- Check for fret buzz by playing every note.
- Check/set intonation.
- Check/set pickup height.
- Cleaning and professional repacking.
Band and Orchestral Performance Assurance Checklist
We look after the following:
- Proper lubrication of valves and keys.
- Inspect pads.
- Proper fit of tuning slides.
- Proper fit of tenon joints.
- Lubricating corks for ease of set up.
- Inspecting the case.
- Safe removal of any shipping corks.
- Ensuring all accessories function properly.
- Inspecting bow hair and test tension.
- Ensuring soundpost and bridge are set correctly.
- Testing tuning pegs.
- Tuning strings to correct pitch.
- Cleaning and professionally repacking.