Hey there! Thanks for checking out Audio Listed. And a big special welcome to everyone visiting from Nashville, which is near where we got our start. This site was born out of a love of all types of music and learning new musical instruments.
Though it is a fun hobby, sometimes you end up buying gear that is not so great. That is where this site come in and helps you out. In order to avoid buying really crappy musical gear, I started this site as a way to catalog all the great musical instruments and other gear that I come across.
Since then, it has expanded to cover lots of other audio gear instead of just musical instruments.
While you will find information on more than one type of instrument, this site is not designed to include everything. It would be a disservice to you if it did as I am not well versed on all instruments and instead stick to talking about those that I have a bit of knowledge or experience with instead.
For the topics that I don’t have experience with, I rely on contributors who do have that experience. You can learn more about our team, including current and past contributors, below.
I hope that you gain some value from the content here on Audio Listed and that you end up with some great new gear after your visit here and maybe some recommendations for some cool new music to listen to on your morning commute.
Keep playing on!
~Shawna
Our Team
Here’s a look at your audio-loving guides here at Audio Listed.
Newman, founder & editor-in-chief
Growing up in the Nashville area, I was able to get an internship at a Giant Records when I was just 15 years old. While my three-year internship was in the music publishing department, I sometimes shadowed people in other departments and learned a lot about how record labels work.
After that, I got an internship (that ended up as a paid job for a while) at the Country Music Association. I was in the Communications department, where I spent some of my time interviewing artists and writing articles for their members-only magazine. On my lunch breaks, I often went into the conference room and watched the archive copies of old CMA Awards shows. (I wish everyone could see Dolly’s original performance of “Jolene” in that gothesque black spiderweb gown.)
During that time I also attended (and worked) pretty much every event that CMA puts on (Fan Fair, the CMA Awards) as well as other industry events (CRS, album launch parties, songwriting showcases, etc).
My favorite moment from that period? Being backstage at the CMA Awards when my (then) favorite singer, Trisha Yearwood, won her first CMA for Female Vocalist of the Year.
Worst moment? A toss-up between turning down the chance to go to Tammy Wynette’s house and meet her (I didn’t want to meet her like that…she died shortly thereafter) or turning down a gig with Reba McEntire’s Starstruck Entertainment for a bucket full of empty promises from my boss at CMA.
Though I started in country music, I’m a fan of lots of different genres and I currently don’t listen to new country much. Some of my favorite artists right now are The Corrs, Laura Pausini, Kasey Chambers, Shawn Mendes, and Mavis Staples.
Riley, contributor
At 18, I headed off to study music business in college with the intention of becoming a recording artist. That didn’t happen, but it did give me greater insight into the music industry.
As a filmmaker and amateur singer-songwriter, I use a lot of recording equipment in a variety of settings and scenarios. I play guitar very badly, ukulele worse, and am an admirer (occasional purchaser) of unusual instruments.
A million years ago, I was a runner-up in a songwriting contest.
Favorite artists: The Corrs, Kasey Chambers, Mavis Staples, David Ford, Beth Hart, Amanda Marshall, Michael Franti & Spearhead, Kathy Mattea, Linda Eder
Brandon, contributor
I’m Brandon, and I have been playing guitar for about 20 years (as of 2018). Over that time I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about the guitar and music in general.
I was inspired to play guitar ever since I was young. I remember hearing “Eruption” from Eddie Van Halen for the first time and being in awe of how mind-blowing his playing was. The speed and aggression was incredible. I wanted to be able to do that some day. I have always loved music, and that’s what inspired me to ask for a guitar for Christmas when I was 17.
I started playing on an Epiphone acoustic guitar back in the late 90s. I learned the basic “cowboy chords” (G, C, D, A, E, etc.), which allowed me to play many beginner friendly songs. Lots of Neil Young and Allman Brothers back in those days.
Then one day a friend of mine brought over his electric guitar and amp. After that, it was a matter of weeks before I owned my own electric guitar with amp. I then progressed into the phase of learning a few scales, and stumbled into blues/rock improvisation. This is when it got really fun!
Since then, I’ve played with many friends, and I have recently been playing lead guitar at my church, playing solos and lead melodies when the songs call for them.
I’ve also gone down the road of learning a bit of jazz. Jazz if fun to say the least, but challenging, especially when coming from a rock background.
After going down the jazz path for a while, I’ve shifted gears and gotten back to my roots of rock, and especially metal. These days I’m listening, and trying to emulate a lot of the rock/metal virtuosos like Eddie Van Halen, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, and my two favorites…Joe Satriani and Paul Gilbert. Yeah, I admit, I’m trying to become a shredding virtuoso!
I hope to share with you much of the knowledge I’ve gained in the 20 or so years I’ve been playing. I’m not just a “guy who plays guitar.” I’m absolutely passionate about music and guitars, and I want to be good! Hopefully with my articles and resources here, you can pick up some valuable information that will help you do the same.