[Mint.Music.Journey] Listen To A Newly Written Song With The KaseSG UNIK Sound Sphere Speakers

Signing up for the WDA Song Writing Music Career Programme was one of the most important decisions in my life. 

= Meeting Like-minded Friends =

Within a short span of 3 months, I befriended a group of like-minded friends.

Our friendship continue to blossom even though the course has come to an end. 

We continue to meet up often and do funny videos, covers and write songs together.

Some of us even started forming bands of our own!

Watch this parody about Terrible Auditions a group of us did together in Dec last year:

Local band Mu Tou Ren with their original song about a geeky stalker.

This song came in as the 1st runner up in Impressario 2013.

Read about it HERE.

A jingle Stephen, Fif and I wrote and produced for the WDA Music Career Programme titled Will You Live Your Dream:

The list goes on...

There are endless videos and links to share, all done by my other classmates.

Covers, MVs, Originals, Soundtracks, Winning Song Contests…

I AM PROUD OF EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM.

*Law of attraction*

2 years ago,

I wish that my life would be surrounded by friends who is passionate about music, is involved in music projects, like to explore music-related projects together and voila, it is happening!

= Brand New Original Song Is In Progress =

It all started with a random conversation with Zhihao after our Christmas Carol gig last year. 

He shared that he had written a song about a relationship between an angel and a devil.

He felt that the lyrics could be improved.

I thought that the concept of this song was interesting, so I asked if I could help him with the lyrics and if there's a need, tweak the melody a bit.

We started drafting and recording raw demos (handphone recordings) for each other,

fine-tuning the song until we are at this stage where we were both agreeable with this version.

This is the first completed draft of our new song: Yao Wo Zen Me Shuo (要我怎么说).

The title of the song literally means 'How Do You Want Me To Say'.

2 weeks ago, 

Zhihao and I finally met up to record the vocal track of our song after he's done the guitar and piano soundtrack.

The sound coming out from the speakers of the Macbook is always so soft even at its maximum volume! Thank goodness for my new sphere speakers from The Kase, 

Zhihao and I could listen to and practise our song with ease.

The Kase UNIK Sound's Stereo Bluetooth Speakers On-The-Go 

The Kase Enters The Music Market With Latest Line, UNIK Sound.

This pair of bluetooth speakers is:

 Portable.

Stereo.

Has a built-in lithium battery.

Duo bluetooth connection.

Up to 5 hours of continuous playtime (for bluetooth connection)

= Gelish Nail Art By Lavishing Me =

Side track a bit here because I caught my rainbow-painted nail in the above shot: 

These #roomiesTV inspired nail art was painted by Lavishing Me.

They are having a promotion now at www.facebook.com/LavishingMe .

First 50 gets SUPER special promotion for your Gelish package.

*Good things must share*

OKAY.

Back to my hot pink speakers!

Easy-to-understand buttons: volume, pause and play.

The KASE bluetooth sphere speakers also come with an audio cable which allows plug in BOTH speakers to ONE audio jack directly. 

Convenient enough :D

Zhihao helping me to attach the micro USB cable to charge the speakers while I try to connect the speakers on bluetooth. 

Again, ONE micro USB cable can charges TWO speakers at the same time!

Pair up done.

WE ARE GOOD TO GO!

The soundtrack is also set up and ready for recording on Logic Pro:

We deliberately set up stereo setting for our soundtrack to test out the stereo function of the speakers.

(bottom left +63 button means the sound will be heard from the right speaker)

It works!

So cool to see hot pink sphere speakers on both sides of the laptop.

Makes me happy~

The Lyrics are downloaded onto my iPad Air for reference during the recording. 

Did I tell you how much I adore my customised iPad Air silicon casing?

I DID!

My iPad Air casing was customised at The Kase at ION Orchard (#B2-27).

They have another branch at Parkway Parade (#B1-150/151).

Go down and have fun customising your casings!

To my friends who've headed down to get them, 有眼光.

Read HERE about my visit to The Kase ION Orchard to get my mobile and tablet accessories customised.

The Bluetooth sphere speakers on-the-go are also available for sale at the outlets.

Available in Pink, Black, Green and Purple.

Retail price: S$159.90/ SET

= About The Kase =

The Kase is an international brand specialising in fashionable and customised mobile phone and tablet accessories. 

Launched in France in 2012, The Kase boutiques have appeared in all corners of the globe.

The Kase believes in being unique (or UNIK) and this has defined their brand concept of offering exclusive collections created by their community designers and in-store personalisation. 

The Kase’s mission is to make all your products UNIK by reflecting your personality, mood, or quite simply to make you look beautiful.

This can be done with The Kase ID, which offers you the chance to customise most smartphone or tablet cases. Each boutique has a customisation workshop consisting of a high-performance industrial machine, where you can see your UNIK creation come true in 15 minutes.

- Recording-in-progress -

shhhh…..

Check out behind-the-scenes of Zhihao and I practising our song with the Sphere Speakers and Bubble Leong disturbing us at the same time (or maybe it's me disturbing him). 

Too adorable!

Give us a thumbs up on the video please.

Whoever you are, 

Thank you for your support!

LIKE The KASE SG FACEBOOK 

by clicking on the image below)

Thank You The Kase SG for the sphere speakers.

Thank You Lavishing Me for my beautiful nails.

Thank you Zhihao for working on this song together and allowing me to post pictures/videos of you on my blog. 

Thank YOU for reading and supporting my blog, music and videos!

Without any of your support,

MintLeong.sg wouldn't have come this far.

Blessed be.

= #MintLeong Lifestyle & Music Blog Giveaway =

#MintLeong Blog is giving away ONE PAIR of (pink) Bluetooth Sphere Speakers On-The-Go by The Kase SG worth S$159.90!

How To WIN

Share this image via www.facebook.com/MintLeong

onto your facebook with message "#MintLeong Blog is giving away ONE pair of #TheKaseSG Sphere Speakers On-The-Go! worth S$159.90". 

You may also download the image on Mint Leong's Facebook page and share this image via your twitter/instagram with the same message. 

(Feel free to write the message in your own words but you MUST include hashtags #MintLeong and #TheKaseSG.

You are allowed to share the image on each platform(facebook/twitter/instagram) ONCE within the giveaway period.

Each share = ONE Chance of winning this set of pink speakers by #TheKaseSG

Sharing Period: 16 April 2014 - 20 April 2014.

Winner will be randomly drawn and announced on Mint Leong's Blog/Twittter/Instagram/Facebook Page on 

21st April 2014, Monday.

Good Luck and 

Happy Reading!

WINNER OF #MINTLEONG #TheKaseSG Blog Giveaway

 = drawn on 21st April 2014 =

Watch the instavideo of the draw HERE.

In case you are not able to, click on this link http://instagram.com/p/nCdSxxphp6/.

Congratulations Yiyang, sharing via MintLeong Facebook Page.

Will be contacting you personally on details to pass you your new #TheKaseSG Speakers!

Another Blog Giveaway is coming right up people,

thanks for joining this giveaway and will see you at the upcoming one~

[JBL Singapore] The JBL Flip portable speaker allows you to answer phone calls!

Each JBL portable speaker has its own special feature.



For the JBL Flip, it has a built-in microphone and a call answer button to answer your phone calls from the speaker. Convenient, isn't it?

My previous blog post was about the JBL Charge portable speaker and it's totally different from the JBL Flip. The JBL Charge acts as a USB charger for other USB devices like your mobile phone.



Instead of muting your ring tone like what the JBL Charge did, the JBL Flip will alert you when your phone is ringing by playing your ring tone.

An AC Adapter and Neoprene carrying pouch comes with it.




Versatile, portable design

Just like the JBL Charge, it has a versatile portable design where you can play your music either a vertical or horizontal position. You'll understand why this is so important to me when you see the next picture.


Photo courtesy of JBL Singapore

I have no more space on my table once i put my macbook there.



Use the JBL Flip to answer your phone calls!

The Built-in microphone and call answer button allows you answer your phone call from the speaker!
So how do we use the JBL Flip to speak to the caller/recipient on the other end?




*Ring Ring*

"Hello?"


NOPE.
You don't have to pick up the phone call like this!

Wuu, not like this?


Just leave it as where it is, press the answer button and speak normally into the speaker. The microphone is loud and clear enough for the person on the other side of the call. :)

Photo courtesy of JBL Singapore


Choose your privacy settings

Of course, you can choose your most preferred way to answer the call.
You can inter-changed the audio source anytime with your mobile.

I'll be using my iPhone as a reference for you.
To change the audio source, tap on "Audio source" which will prompt you to a list of speakers currently connected to your mobile phone.



I'm using the JBL Flip right now.
Just tap on 'iPhone' if I want my phone call to be made private.

Easy Peasy. :)



Choose ONE JBL Speaker to connect to at one time

Unless you're using the JBL micro wireless speakers which has the daisy-chain capability, you CAN connect to both the JBL Charge and JBL Flip BUT sound will only come out from the last portable speaker you connect to.

If you want to connect to the other speaker, you'll have to switch off the connected one first.



JBL Flip Colours

The JBL Flip speakers comes in black and white.


Photo courtesy of JBL Singapore.


Photo courtesy of JBL Singapore


Photo courtesy of JBL Singapore

I did a quick chart to compare all my 3 JBL speakers after 3 weeks of using.
Take your pick!

Once again, thank you JBL Singapore for giving me these 3 beautiful speakers for my music.

Hear The Truth.
Don't let the size of these compact speakers fool you.



Visit www.imssg.com for more information.

Read my first JBL post on the JBL Micro Wireless and watch my pet dog dance to Gwiyomi.
Read my previous JBL post on the JBL Charge and how I used to record my NEW song and Minuteman use it for his gaming sessions.

Would you like to win ONE of these JBL Charge Portable Speakers for yourself?

Vote for Mint Leong in the special category
JBL Best Pop/Music Blog Award.

=== Singapore Blog Awards 2013 ===




Register/Login here.
Vote here.




Voting Phase: 27 May to 23 Jun 2013
Read here to find out more about the Singapore Blog awards.
Everyone is allowed to vote ONCE A DAY.

Keep the LOVE coming people!

~Countdown to Last 3 Days Of Voting~

[JBL Singapore] Gaming With A Portable Speaker Which Can Also Charge Our Phones??? - JBL Charge

Dearest JBL Charge,

   Oh my JBL Charge…

Do you know that you brighten up my day/evening/night so much when I play my favourite music and the music just sounds so beautiful; whatever that's coming from you?: the voice of the singer, the music, the melody and even the bass sounds crystal clear!

PS: Can MinuteManSG stop using it to for his gaming sessions so often? :p


Love,
Mint


Hearing is believing.

The JBL Charge is a 10-watt PORTABLE stereo speaker with provides more than TWELVE HOURS of playback time from a single charge!

This baby is a S.T.E.R.E.O. speaker.

The box comes with a JBL portable stereo speaker with BLUETOOTH technology,
1 USB adapter
1 micro USB cable
1 neoprene carrying pouch
1 Quick-Start Guide
1 Safety Sheet

I've not had any proper speakers to do my music assignments.
It's to the extend even my current earphones can't support my hearing enough.
I wish I have better sound equipments.

Being shortlisted as one of the Singapore Blog Awards Best JBL Pop/Music Finalists, I'm extremely thankful as I received not ONE but THREE very very awesome JBL speakers which greatly helped me to produce better music and of course, score higher marks for my music assignments so far!

The thing about listening to music and sounds is that there is really a MAJOR difference when you have better speakers to listen to. One is able to make more accurate judgement.

Thank you JBL Singapore for this gifts.
It's a beautiful wish come true for me. :)

For my usual music assignments and casual listening, I would use my JBL micro wireless speakers.
Whereas for very detailed listening and to check my stereo recording playback, I couldn't have done it without my JBL Charge.



Here's a video of me in midst of doing my assignment and I thought I should seize the opportunity to share with you more about my JBL charge and test out the speakers for you:

JBL has more than 60 years of expertise producing high-quality sound in venues around the world. The JBL Charge uses this expertise and employs digital sound processing to generate room-filling audio with great bass from a compact speaker.

Hmmm… let me try to explain this to the best I can.
For music, you really have to listen to it to understand what I'm trying to say but still, here goes nothing.

If you listen carefully (just turn the volume up a little more) with the JBL Charge placed DIRECTLY in front of you, you'll be able to actually space out the types of instruments and voices you hear coming out from the speaker. The feeling is like a real band playing in front of you. More 'REAL':
The piano or guitar sound is coming more from your left, then you'll hear the vocals coming somewhere in the middle and the drums will be coming from your right etc.

You know for drums, you won't be able to hear the LOW thumpings for MOST portable speakers out there because there is very limited things you can built into such small products; they cannot support such low sound frequencies.

So i'm really very impressed with the JBL charge when I can even CLEARLY project and amplify the low sounds coming out from THIS PART OF THE SPEAKER:



Seriously, the built-in bass port which generates the strong bass beats totally blew me away.

It's like drinking a can of coke on a 39 degree celsius sunny afternoon.
Pure satisfaction.

I finally understand why the tagline for JBL is 'Hear The Truth'.

Just a recap from the video I posted, the JBL charge has 2 buttons.
The power button and the volume button, just like the JBL micro Wireless speaker.



But instead of 5 hours, the JBL Charge provides up to 12 hours of playback time due to its massive built-in 6,000 mAH Li-ion rechargeable battery!

The LED indicator shows the battery status of your battery clearly as well as letting you know whether the JBL Charge is in the Bluetooth listening or pairing mode.



If you're not sure what I'm talking about, please watch the video again!
I've showed you in the video how the speaker is being paired with my macbook pro with the Bluetooth technology.

Also in the video, I've specifically mentioned a SPECIAL FUNCTION which the JBL charge portable speaker supports:

It can CHARGE my mobile phone!

The USB port on the JBL Charge speaker lets you charge other USB devices right from the speaker. So you don’t need an extra charger to keep your devices powered up.




About how many times you can charge your phone with this speaker?

I've tested and proven with my iPhone:
THREE TIMES!


*SHIOK*



On the first day I brought my JBL Charge home, I got the BF to pair his mobile phone with it to 'test' the speaker.

In the end he got hooked.
The music is so clear, listen:



*Dumb ways to die… so many dumb ways to die…"
I love this song. :)

Then he asked me, do you think I can play DOTA 2 using this speaker?
So we tried.

And it works!
He can 'hear' the enemy from MILES away.
I meant in the game.

The water dripping noises, the cicadas calling in the forest, Roshan growling in the cave…




And so like me, he's also in love with the JBL charge.
If i'm not using it, he'll be.

Just in case you miss on how to pair your macbook with the JBL Charge,
Here are some screenshots:
























More Specs and Information of JBL Charge

Transducers:
2 x 1-1/2" (38mm)

Amplifier power:
2 x 5W

frequency response:
150Hz – 20kHz

signal-to-noise ratio:
 > 80dB

Battery type:
Li-ion rechargeable

Bluetooth transmitter frequency range: 2.402GHz – 2.480GHz
Bluetooth transmitter power: 0~20dBm (EIRP)
Bluetooth transmitter modulation: π/4-DQPSK, 8-DPSK

Listening time on battery power:
> 12 hours

Battery charge time:
3.5 hours

dimensions (d x h):
2-29/32" x 6-29/32" (74mm x 175mm)


I'm sure up by now, you'll be wondering why my JBL Charge changes colours from Blue to Green. Well that's because I'm hearing slight popping sounds from my first JBL charge and got it changed at the JBL Sound Gallery Showroom.

The place is beautiful, please drop by if you have time.



Enjoying a lot of 'me time' with my JBL speakers.



What happens if my phone rings whilst I'm listening to music on my phone,
Well basically the speaker will mute itself until my music is being played again.

I'm sure the JBL Charge would be very good for outdoors as well:
Beach outings, Dance rehearsals...

===== LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE =====



Hmmmm…



Is it just me or I think the JBL Charge speaker looks like a pint of beer? :p



Visit JBL Singapore for more information.

Would you like to win a JBL Charge Portable Speaker?

Vote for Mint Leong in the
JBL Best Pop/Music Blog Award.
=== Singapore Blog Awards 2013 ===




Register/Login here.
Vote here.



You stand to win a JBL Charge if you vote now!

Voting Phase: 27 May to 23 Jun 2013
Read here to find out more about the Singapore Blog awards.
Everyone is allowed to vote ONCE A DAY.

Keep the LOVE coming people!


Next Up, the JBL FLIP speaker.
Previous JBL speaker review you should read: JBL Micro Wireless