Living the Vinyl Dream With 1ByOne

IMG_5489I was talking with my mom the other day and she was telling me that when she had her old record collection my dad wouldn’t even let her play her records without changing the needle first. I thought this was kinda mean, but also kinda funny considering my dad was a music nut ball. I can remember listening to records with him but having to be super careful not to jump around the living room causing the record to skip. He had a nice vinyl collection that we all enjoyed but unfortunately it was one of those things that didn’t make it through the flood of 93. A few survived but they eventually were faded out by CDs.

It is amazing to see the comeback vinyl has made on the music market these last few years. A lot of artists are now releasing their albums on vinyl along with digital downloads. I think this is a great trend that needs to keep moving forward. But what comes out of this trend is even cooler when it comes to devices to play these new and old vinyl records.

IMG_55101ByOne sent over an incredible belt driven vintage style turntable the other day for me to try out. Much like the rest of the 1ByOne products I have had the privileged to try out this turntable is made with the same high quality materials and has a very pleasing design that can stand the test of time. The nice wood finish compliments the rest of our furnishings perfectly. But how this device looks is just one piece of the puzzle. How it performs matters most. I took this thing through the ringer and threw all kinds of records at it. New and old. 45’s, 33’s. and 78’s and they all sounded great on the included 2 20 watt speakers. The included Bluetooth is nice. It allows you to play your bluetooth enabled devices audio through the turntables speakers. There is also the RCA output for stereo connection. But what is even cooler is the included USB port to record some of your favorite vinyl tracks to MP3. This can be very helpful for backing up your collection or even for the producer needing to get that certain sample off the record. I gave it a shot to see how difficult it would be to grab a song and it could not have been easier.

Testing out the 1byOne belt driven turntable. #1byone #vinyl #turntable #alabamashakes

A video posted by St. Louis Dad (@dadstl) on

For those already deep in a vinyl collection looking to upgrade their turntable, or someone just starting out, the 1ByOne turntable is definitely a great product worth a look. Since I started testing out this turntable, I haven’t stopped. It is very cool and has brought a new life to some of my favorite records. You can also check out some of 1ByOne’s other turntable related products like extra needles and vinyl record cases!

You can purchase a 1byone turntable at Amazon or Amazon UK. Also be sure to follow all of 1byOne’s social media accounts to stay up to date on their latest product offerings as well as other cool info!

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1byone.com provided St. Louis Dad with this product as compensation in exchange for an honest review. Please visit 1byone.com for more awesome products that can help make your life better!

StLouisDad.com Instrumentals Vol. 12

StLouisDad.com Instrumentals Vol. 12 - Cover

After a minor hiatus I am back with volume 12 of the St. Louis Dad Instrumentals! This batch of five includes a few of my favorites and a few that are just alright. I will be the first to admit not everything can be awesome, but maybe you can do something with them.

StLouisDad.com Instrumentals – Vol.12 will be released under a Creative Commons license. Read more about the specific license attached to these instrumentals here. If you have any questions about any of the instrumentals I can do my best to answer them, just send me an email.

Please comment below or email me with a link to your project if you use one of these instrumentals. I hope you enjoy these as much as I did making them and be sure to subscribe and follow me on TwitterInstagram, and Facebook to find out when Vol. 13 will be released!

Listen to a sample of this download!

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The St. Louis LEGO Wu-Cru Team Challenge

lego-wuAre you a fan of LEGO? How about LEGO Ninjago? It is time for the LEGO® NINJAGO™ Quest2NINJAGO™ WU-CRU Team Challenge! See large scale LEGO models of Master Wu and Lloyd standing at 80″ and 62″ tall! Show off your skills in the four challenge areas, Fire, Lightning, Energy and Earth, while competing in eight physical and mental challenges with your team to show off your physical and mental “ninja” skills. These challenges include mazes, puzzles, and a building challenge.

If only my kids were just a little bit older, then maybe they could show off their skills and participate in a highly visual and interactive obstacle-course this Saturday and Sunday (July 30th and 31st) here in St. Louis!

The competition course, anchored by large-scale LEGO brick models of two popular NINJAGO characters (Master Wu and Lloyd), invites children ages 7-12 in teams of two to compete in eight timed physical and mental challenges. The top team from St. Louis will be sent on an all-inclusive trip to LEGOLAND® California Resort to compete in the Finale!

WHERE: St. Louis Toys ”R” Us Parking Lot (6926 S. Lindbergh Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63129)
WHEN: July 30 & 31, 2016 from 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM

The event is FREE, but participants are highly encouraged to pre-register in advance on the Quest2NINJAGO tour website at LEGO.com/Quest2NINJAGO.

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A Toothbrush Review?

IMG_5485 Yes a toothbrush review. Why? Well I will tell you why, because your teeth are important and keeping them clean is a part of that importance. So when True Company contacted me asking if I would like to review one of their products I couldn’t agree fast enough.

They sent over a Mirai sonic care toothbrush for me to try out, review, and to see if it lived up to its hype. I’m not going to beat around the bush with a lengthy review of pros and cons of manual versus electronic dental care just to tell you if this toothbrush is any good at the end of this post. I’ll tell you now. It is just as cool as it claims it is.

Like most of the time when I see something too good to be true, I was skeptical about the Mirai toothbrush. I have used an electronic toothbrush in the past and to be honest I wasn’t thrilled. I have always liked my old school manual brush. So even the idea kind of put me off. But I figured why not. This is some state of the art stuff, so I gave it a go. After reading through the instructions I had a good idea of how the brush worked. You can use it like a regular electronic toothbrush but you could also use it to your advantage. Honestly, how often do you time yourself when you brush your teeth? One morning maybe it’s two minutes and another it’s only 90 seconds. The Mirai does a great job at helping you keep time. It will even let you know at specific intervals when to switch to a different area in your mouth. That’s pretty cool.

IMG_5481You can also increase or decrease the speed in which the brush vibrates. This is helpful if you have sensitive teeth or really need to get in there and give them a good scrubbing. The head of the brush is easy to remove and replace if necessary (once a year recommended) and made out of an innovative silicon so no bacteria will stick around! Charging is also very simple. You can use one of your cell phone usb outlets with the included usb charging cable.

After just a few days of use I am extremely happy with the Mirai toothbrush. It has given my mouth a new clean feeling. My trusty old manual toothbrush will still be around as a backup, but the Mirai is definitely my new go to brush.

So now that you have read about just how great this toothbrush is I have got a special offer only available for my St. Louis Dad readers. Subscribe and be sure to include your real email address. Once you subscribe, visit this link for an amazing offer from True Company and St. Louis Dad!

St. Louis Dad was provided a Mirai sonic care toothbrush in exchange for an honest review. Visit True-Company.com to learn more about their variety of products!