From the category archives:

Music

World’s Most Expensive Electric Violins

August 5, 2010

When you think of electric string instruments, the guitar is probably the first thing that comes to mind. To the electric rock string duo known as Fuse, however, it’s the electric violin that tops the charts. The act, now the face of C Music TV, is comprised of virtuoso musicians Linzi Stoppard and Ben Lee. [...]

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World’s Most Expensive T-Shirts

July 30, 2010

T-shirts, so called due to their ‘T’ shape, were originally considered undergarments. Nowadays, of course, these ubiquitous shirts are commonly used to express the wearer’s taste in art or music, their political views or their fondness for bad jokes. While T-shirts are usually relatively cheap, sometimes they become collector’s items and enter the ranks of [...]

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World’s Most Expensive Violins

July 6, 2010

The violin is probably the most popular bowed and stringed musical instrument. It comes from 16th century Italy and the oldest surviving violin dates to 1564. Antonio Stradivari (1644-1737), the well-known master luthier, is believed to have created 1,100 violins in Cremona, Italy, and 650 of those are believed to still exist. One such violin, [...]

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World’s Most Expensive Speakers

December 24, 2009

with help from Connor Willemsen Sometimes it seems like there’s no limit to the amount of money audiophiles will pay to have the ultimate audio experience. For those of you with bottomless pockets and seasoned ears, here are the most expensive speakers in the world. 7. ADAM Audio’s Olympic Sound System $325,000 Featuring sixty drives, [...]

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World’s Most Expensive Harmonica

December 10, 2009

While reed instruments had been popular in Asia for centuries, the first harmonica wasn’t produced until 1821. Hohner Musikinstrumente, once the world’s most prominent manufacturer of harmonicas, was founded less than forty years later. In the 1930s, the company awarded Pope Pius XI with the most expensive harmonica in the world. Pius XI was a [...]

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Most Expensive Party

February 11, 2009

Luxury resort Atlantis, The Palm was the first resort to open on one of Dubai’s infamous artificial islands, The Palm Jumeirah. Of course, no grand opening would be complete without a party and, since it’s in Dubai, it just had to be the most expensive party in the world. The luxurious beach party was set [...]

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Most Expensive Broadway Musical

October 27, 2008

Broadway theatre has its roots in the very end of the 18th century, when New York’s first theatre companies were formed. Nowadays, Broadway audiences can expect to see a mixture of well known television and movie stars and stage actors who only play bit parts outside of theatre. Considering the salaries commanded by film actors, [...]

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Most Expensive Guitar Picks

May 20, 2008

If you’re looking for a guitar pick, there’s no shortage of different shapes, styles and materials available for you to choose from. Customized picks have been prevalent since the days when Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick would throw hundreds of them out into the audience. In fact, most famous guitarists have their own custom guitar [...]

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Most Expensive Bass Guitar

May 20, 2008

A financially endowed bass player might look at any one of Jens Ritter’s bass guitars, which start at $6,000, and be content. After all, the German luthier’s expensive basses are made with some of the same techniques used to make Stradivarius violins. One customer, however, wasn’t satisfied with one of Ritter’s “normal” guitars and we’re [...]

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Most Expensive Compact Disc

March 20, 2008

(via Luxist) Universal Music has unveiled the world’s most expensive compact disc at a Japanese department store. The disc, entitled “Woman: Sweet 10 Diamond,” features eighteen songs by female recording artists including Mariah Carey, Rihanna, Mary J. Blige and Nelly Furtado. The disc’s real draw, though, is its case. Designed in Tokyo by Japanese jeweler [...]

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Most Expensive Car Audio System

March 18, 2008

Looking for a top of the line audio system to put in your spacious new SUV? Why not try the world’s most expensive car audio system? Up and coming luxury audio system creators Rogue Acoustics made a splash when they unveiled their premiere car audio system, the RA:1K. While the RA:1K is highly customizable, the [...]

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Most Expensive Private Musical Performances

December 11, 2007

Hiring a band is a great way to ensure that yours is a memorable party, but only if the band suits the attendees. How, then, do you impress a party that includes the social elite? You could try hiring one of the performers (or groups thereof) who have put on the most expensive private musical [...]

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Most Expensive Stereo System

September 18, 2007

As one of the world’s largest consumer electronics trade shows, the IFA show in Berlin has certainly been host to some startlingly expensive electronic marvels. IFA 2007, which opened its doors on the last day of August, was no disappointment. Among the 1,212 exhibitors present at this year’s show was the aptly-named Audio magazine, there [...]

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Most Expensive Drum Kit

March 26, 2007

by Hunter Davis Becoming popular in the late 1800′s, drum kits were revolutionized by the invention of the bass drum pedal that allowed a drummer to play on several percussion instruments at once like the snare, bass, and cymbals. Drum kits were popularized in the roaring twenties when their deep sounds and bright tones became [...]

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Most Expensive Flute

March 1, 2007

by Hunter Davis Flutes fall into the category of woodwinds and unlike other similar instruments produce their sound without using a reed. Flutes produce sound using the flow of air against an edge. Generally called a flautist or flutist, the flute is known for its pleasant and sweet sounding tones that easily blend with various [...]

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Most Expensive Pianos

December 18, 2006

Have you ever tried to imagine what the world’s most expensive piano might be? Imagine no further. The most expensive piano in the world belonged to the Beatle’s John Lennon and was auctioned off to British pop-singer George Michael in 2000. When the topic of expensive pianos comes to mind you might think somewhere along [...]

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Most Expensive MP3 Player

April 3, 2006

Portable digital audio players, more commonly referred to as MP3 players, have taken the world by storm since Apple released their original 1.8” 5 GB iPod in 2001. The iPod wasn’t the first MP3 player, though. The first of the modern successors to portable tape and CD players was produced in 1997 by SaeHan Information [...]

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Most Expensive Guitar in the World

January 18, 2006

by Heather Strobel “Blackie”, Eric Clapton’s favorite mid-career modified Strat has been surpassed in value and is no longer the most expensive guitar ever, despite that it was bought for $950,000 USD in 2004 by a guitar archaeologist. The latest most expensive electric guitar in the world dethroned its predecessor at an auction in Doha, [...]

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Most Expensive Turntable in the World

January 13, 2006

The turntable started out as a device used to play music by rotating a phonograph record on a a circular horizontal platform, but it has evolved into a music instrument itself and some models now are just as much as the costliest instrument. The record player was the most popular device for playing sound from [...]

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Most Expensive iPod Speakers

January 1, 2006

iPods are an expensive and ever more popular electronic device. As the iPod has spread, so have the attachments and systems designed to interact with the iPod. But here is probably the most expensive iPod accessory, and definitely the most expensive speakers being marketed for iPods. The most expensive iPod speakers are Hammacher Schlemmer Studio-Quality [...]

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Most Expensive Music Video Ever

December 20, 2005

When MTV first went on air in 1981, music videos became an important part of promoting an artist. Nowadays, hardcore fans will even buy DVDs featuring all of their favorite artists’ videos. The most memorable music videos, of course, are usually the most expensive. These are the most expensive music videos in the world. 5. [...]

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