OK, here's another question from one of you readers out there...

Q: A lot of times I read about bands and the articles talk about different instruments that the bands use...some of the instruments are pretty obvious, like guitars and drums, but sometimes they talk about instruments like "farfisa organ" and "moog". What IS a moog and how does it work? I want to know what instruments a band needs...sometimes people use drum machines instead of a drummer...how does that work? I mean, does it sound as good?

A: You ask so much, young Jedi...

A "Farfisa Organ" and a "Moog" are brands of older keyboards. Farfisa made quite a few portable organs, most recognizable now as the organ sound used by Stereolab. It's got a nice haunting quality to it. Moog, on the other hand, is short for Robert Moog, a pioneering synthesizer designer. He alone designed too many synthesizers to list here, but suffice it to say the "Moog" brand synth lives to this day. An example: listen to almost any Dr. Dre or Snoop Dogg track - hear that high-pitched whistle/whine sound? That's a Minimoog synth. As for how a synthesizer works, basically it uses electronics to generate sound waves instead of what most instruments use: acoustic, physical energy.

The drum machine verses drummer argument could spawn it's own article - but to be short, it all depends on what style fits with your band's music best. A drum machine can be perfectly in time and have some great sounds, but a real drummer can't be yet matched for feel, impact, and strength. There are great examples of the combination of the two as well - Prince's drummer Bobby Z. often used a drum machine (the Akai MPC2000) alongside him when playing live. The cymbals and other basic rhythmic things were real, while all the drum machine sounds were started and stopped by him during the show.

Keep the questions coming, everyone!