BOSS Waza-Air Headphones - Bonus: Boomer generation music critique

[Marty Grass]

I bought these a few years ago. They worked well. For those who don't know, the system includes a program for your phone, tablet or PC that provides a lot of sound options. There is a wireless plug in that goes in the guitar jack. Lastly, there is a set of high-quality earphones with a built in "amp".

I stopped using them for about a year and the batteries drained. I tried to recharge them with a micro USB charger. The transmitter wouldn't charge. After a lot of frustration and looking up info, I found that the charger must be 5 volts, 1 mA to work. The charger that came with it is somewhere, but it is lost. I ordered another one from Amazon for $7.

My hope is that this message helps someone else.

Here's a good explanation of the Waza-Air system. It really does work well, but don't lose the wall charger.

Here's the bonus for those over 50. This is an intelligent viewpoint on nostalgic music. It's worth a listen. I stumbled on it because it was the next up on YouTube.

[nyc chaz]

I hope your headphones still work.Lithium batteries when drained to zero and uncharged for a long time will go bad and sometimes need to be replaced.Hope this isn't the case with yours.

[Stevebol]

I bought these a few years ago. They worked well. For those who don't know, the system includes a program for your phone, tablet or PC that provides a lot of sound options. There is a wireless plug in that goes in the guitar jack. Lastly, there is a set of high-quality earphones with a built in "amp".

I stopped using them for about a year and the batteries drained. I tried to recharge them with a micro USB charger. The transmitter wouldn't charge. After a lot of frustration and looking up info, I found that the charger must be 5 volts, 1 mA to work. The charger that came with it is somewhere, but it is lost. I ordered another one from Amazon for $7.

My hope is that this message helps someone else.

Here's a good explanation of the Waza-Air system. It really does work well, but don't lose the wall charger.

Here's the bonus for those over 50. This is an intelligent viewpoint on nostalgic music. It's worth a listen. I stumbled on it because it was the next up on YouTube.

Mary is 100% right about boomer nostalgia. We were all slaves to varied interests.
It's better now because you can bypass all the middlemen by using cyber-space.

[Marty Grass]

I hope your headphones still work.Lithium batteries when drained to zero and uncharged for a long time will go bad and sometimes need to be replaced.Hope this isn't the case with yours.

That's my fear if getting a higher output charger doesn't work.

[st.bede]

Here is my take on art… everything eventually balances itself out. Only time there is a shift is when a new technology come around, but in the end, it is all about the same.

[JazzWhiteBelt]

FWIW - I use these religiously and have never used the charger provided. I always use the USB charging ports on my power strip. Are you trying to use the regular USB ports on a PC?

[Stevebol]

Here is my take on art… everything eventually balances itself out. Only time there is a shift is when a new technology come around, but in the end, it is all about the same.

That would be A.I. The advances in the near future will be insane.

[st.bede]

That would be A.I. The advances in the near future will be insane.

I was thinking the same thing. What so far seems to typically happen, is at first there is an overuse of what ever is new, and then eventually it filters down to just another option.

… but, you never really know how things will change.

I was talking to someone last Sunday, who told me that they had started a new job that corrects language AI programs. My initial response was to state, “your training the future overlords”.

My concern is that human societies have not accepted the level of empathy to navigate what changes are taking place. Instead people who have power will happily let the rest of us suffer and die, as many are in denial of what is really happening.

[pcjazz]

Mine came without a charger, just one short mini usb cable although two are needed. I just plug it into a phone charger plug and it works fine.

[Marty Grass]

FWIW - I use these religiously and have never used the charger provided. I always use the USB charging ports on my power strip. Are you trying to use the regular USB ports on a PC?

I did try using the USB outlets on my PC and an AC plug in adapter for a micro USB cable. Neither worked. My guess, my hope, is that both have insufficient power for the job. For $7 I made sure I ordered something that should do the job. If not, I will pursue a new battery.

Thanks. I'm glad you found the headphones useful. I used to travel a lot and stay in motels. I brought my headless Steinberger with me. The headphones and the axe are compact and very playable.

[Spook410]

blah blah blah...

Boomers didn't have auto tune. Rest of discussion is just background noise from a civilization in decline propped up by the Visigoth analog we find in technology.

Get off my lawn...

[Doug B]

It's better now because you can bypass all the middlemen by using cyber-space.

Good examples are the Smalls/Mezzrow live nightly jazz broadcasts on the internet.

I'm 3000 miles away from NYC in Vancouver, but I can listen/watch live jazz every night .
How fantastic is that?!?

[Marty Grass]

That would be A.I. The advances in the near future will be insane.

We will soon have programs that will enjoy our music for us. We just have to feed them electricity.

[Christian Miller]

We will soon have programs that will enjoy our music for us. We just have to feed them electricity.

look technology is advanced, but it can’t work miracles :-)

[Spook410]

look technology is advanced, but it can’t work miracles :-)

Yea. I asked ChatGPT when and how I could become competent at chord melody. Gave me some links on AI hallucination and dividing by zero.

[nyc chaz]

Mary is 100% right about boomer nostalgia. We were all slaves to varied interests.
It's better now because you can bypass all the middlemen by using cyber-space.

It may be better for the consumer,but it is not better for the artist trying to make a living selling his/her recordings and making nothing from it because of the pitiful streaming revenue's and piracy.

[omphalopsychos]

I bought a pair of these when they came out. They do the trick and they actually can be made to sound quite good. Unfortunately they're heavy and the headset fits very, very tight. I don't have a big head or anything, they are just built that way so they don't slip. As a result I find them very uncomfortable to use for extended periods.


Onto the boomer thing. Honestly, anything a boomer says about millenial and gen z music is probably true. But also the same critique applies to a ton of boomer music. I'll avoid critiquing specific bands but a lot of the commercial pop of the 60s and 70s was absolute garbage. I think the problem is just that what gets the most exposure tends to be whatever has the most financial backing.


There is a quote from the 90s sitcom Frasier (yeah, I was too young to know that show when it was on the air) that summarizes the entertainment industry very accurately: "Popularity is the hallmark of mediocrity". There are exceptions, obviously, but you have to realize that its an industry that succeeds insofar as it appeals to a mass audience. Yes it sucks today, but it always sucked. Bebop was born in the darkness and secrecy of late night jam sessions, not in the recording studio.

[Christian Miller]

I bought a pair of these when they came out. They do the trick and they actually can be made to sound quite good. Unfortunately they're heavy and the headset fits very, very tight. I don't have a big head or anything, they are just built that way so they don't slip. As a result I find them very uncomfortable to use for extended periods.


Onto the boomer thing. Honestly, anything a boomer says about millenial and gen z music is probably true. But also the same critique applies to a ton of boomer music. I'll avoid critiquing specific bands but a lot of the commercial pop of the 60s and 70s was absolute garbage. I think the problem is just that what gets the most exposure tends to be whatever has the most financial backing.


There is a quote from the 90s sitcom Frasier (yeah, I was too young to know that show when it was on the air) that summarizes the entertainment industry very accurately: "Popularity is the hallmark of mediocrity". There are exceptions, obviously, but you have to realize that it’s an industry that succeeds insofar as it appeals to a mass audience. Yes it sucks today, but it always sucked. Bebop was born in the darkness and secrecy of late night jam sessions, not in the recording studio.

Given that that line would have been spoken by either Frasier or Niles, I’m not sure I’d be so keen to quote it haha

[omphalopsychos]

Was Niles and he was saying it sarcastically but it stuck with me.

[st.bede]

Art and craft do have a profound relationship, but it is difficult to understand. Same thing with art and expression, or art and emotion.

How much a person is beholden to their youth is also complex.

Most likely there is always a mix of bad, mediocre, and excellent art created in any given moment.

If an ad populum argument has any merit, in regards to quality of an artistic work, is suspect.

[Stevebol]

It may be better for the consumer,but it is not better for the artist trying to make a living selling his/her recordings and making nothing from it because of the pitiful streaming revenue's and piracy.

Our cyber-space was night clubs. There's no future in either one for musicians.
There are some exceptions in cyber-space for musicians.

If I want to be famous I'll get a cat and make cat videos. Or a dog.

[Cunamara]

It is unfortunately true that the options for making a living as a musician doing a live performance have narrowed dramatically. That's particularly true for jazz, which has a tiny audience. Back when I had a band, it was relatively easy to find gigs to work for tips and very hard to find gigs that actually paid an appropriate fee for the musicians. I haven't had a band or searched for a gig in the seven or eight years, probably. I don't imagine that the situation is any better post pandemic.

The local clubs primarily have DJs, a throwback to the early 60s in some ways DJ clubs are basically "American Bandstand" for the 21st century. But for the venues, DJs are much cheaper (in addition to not having to pay a band and PROs for live music licensing, all they need to provide is an electrical outlet and a raised stage as the DJ brings everything else) and for the audience, much easier to pander and keep them within their comfort zone while they party, get drunk and do silly things. And they play recordings by musicians and songwriters, etc., who don't get paid for their material being used.

And the few clubs hereabouts which do feature live music are, of necessity, amazingly expensive. By the time you've paid for a couple of tickets, had a couple drinks each, maybe a burger and fries, it's a $200 evening. But that's what it takes to keep the doors of the club open and to pay the musicians.

[Stevebol]

It is unfortunately true that the options for making a living as a musician doing a live performance have narrowed dramatically. That's particularly true for jazz, which has a tiny audience. Back when I had a band, it was relatively easy to find gigs to work for tips and very hard to find gigs that actually paid an appropriate fee for the musicians. I haven't had a band or searched for a gig in the seven or eight years, probably. I don't imagine that the situation is any better post pandemic.

The local clubs primarily have DJs, a throwback to the early 60s in some ways DJ clubs are basically "American Bandstand" for the 21st century. But for the venues, DJs are much cheaper (in addition to not having to pay a band and PROs for live music licensing, all they need to provide is an electrical outlet and a raised stage as the DJ brings everything else) and for the audience, much easier to pander and keep them within their comfort zone while they party, get drunk and do silly things. And they play recordings by musicians and songwriters, etc., who don't get paid for their material being used.

And the few clubs hereabouts which do feature live music are, of necessity, amazingly expensive. By the time you've paid for a couple of tickets, had a couple drinks each, maybe a burger and fries, it's a $200 evening. But that's what it takes to keep the doors of the club open and to pay the musicians.

I think my last gig was in 1999, or 2000. Blues gig.
If someone pointed a cell phone at me in a night club I'd pack up my guitar and leave.

[AllanAllen]

Bebop was born in the darkness and secrecy of late night jam sessions, not in the recording studio.

10 minutes in he brings up the bebop guys weren't on tour with big bands so they could go to Mintons and other stuff to get new sounds. Cool tidbit.

[Boss Man Zwiebelsohn]

10 minutes in he brings up the bebop guys weren't on tour with big bands so they could go to Mintons and other stuff to get new sounds. Cool tidbit.

Dizzy says he developed the tritone sub thing while being playing a big band ...

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/234728566.pdf

But Willie Thomas was born in 1931 and 11 years old in 1942 so he must have known.

EDIT: Mary Lou Williams, mentor of Diz, Monk and Tadd Dameron, wrote a lot of arrangements for e.g. Benny Goodman.

EDIT 2: Allan that is not meant against you. But ask those who were there. Well, they are all gone but there is e.g. "To Be Or Not To Bop", Dizzy's autobiography. There are a few copies in the lending library of the Internet Archive.

Willie Thomas was a great musicians who knew his jazz language inside out.