Live Musician Central

   It’s that time of year again and I like to get my Christmas shopping done early so I can relax and enjoy the holiday season. For the live musician there are so many opportunities to be out playing gigs that shopping during December can just be crazy. One thing I’ve noticed about being a musician is that a lot of my friends are musicians too. It’s always tricky buying things for each other and it can be tough to think of new things to get for the players in your band year after year. I mean how many guitar picks and sets of strings can you give out before it all just becomes the same old boring routine?

   That’s why I totally appreciate having a good musicians gift guide to use while I do my shopping. So today I’m going to give you links to 3 excellent gift guides from the top Internet music stores. I don’t know about you but I love ordering online and just waiting for the gifts to show up on my doorstep. It’s great to avoid all the crazy Christmas crowds at the stores. The only crazy Christmas crowds I like are the ones at the front of the stage cheering my live band on. So follow the links below for great musician gift guides.

   Being a guitarist in a live band, I’m constantly asked “What guitar do you play?”. The truth is I have a modest guitar collection of about 12 guitars so I play a lot of different guitars. But there is one particular model that stands out above the rest. That is my beloved Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster. I actually have two American Deluxe Strats and A Jeff Beck Signature Strat that is very similar to an American Deluxe Stratocaster. The two I’d like to talk about today are my 2004 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Stratocaster and my 2005 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster. They are both very similar to each other and incredible guitars.

   I got the 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Stratocaster when it was released in 2004 because I had always wanted a collectible guitar and I love the Stratocaster. My Jeff Beck Signature Strat had been serving me well for about 9 years and I was looking for another good guitar. The reason I got the American Deluxe version rather than the American Standard version was because I absolutely love the feature set that is on the American Deluxe Stratocaster. I am not a traditionalist when it comes to electric guitars. I love cutting edge innovations and the 2004 and beyond versions of the Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster are loaded with Fenders latest Strat innovations. The most notable being the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless (SCN) pickup and the S-1 pickup switching system. I ended up buying the 2005 American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster to use as my main stage guitar since I fell so in love with playing the 50thAnniversary Strat but didn’t want to wear the anniversary Strat out using it onstage.

   I play a lot of high gain sounds with both of my bands and having a noiseless pickup is crucial to having an enjoyable live sound. I have other guitars with traditional single coil pickups in them and they are very good for certain situations but not as an all-around stage guitar primarily because of the nasty hum that comes with them. I wanted my American Deluxe to be my main onstage guitar so the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups really fit the bill. Do they sound like a traditional single coil pickup? I would say they sound similar to a traditional single coil but they are not identical sounding. I still get that famous Stratocaster twang out of them when I want it because the American Deluxe Strats have a no-load tone control on the bridge pickup. What this does is allow you to switch off the tone control and have a direct wired pickup-to-output sound from the guitar. It’s extremely bright and that’s the closest I can get to actual traditional single coil sound. The SCN pickups in general have a slightly darker sound than traditional singles but I like the way they sound and I love the uniqueness of the sound. I definitely don’t want to sound like everyone else and the SCN pickups really help me in that area. As for their ability to cancel hum, they’re just as quiet as the humbuckers on my Gibson Les Paul Custom. Fantastically quiet for a single coil pickup and they still have a ton of output.

   The second huge advantage of the American Deluxe Stratocaster is the revolutionary S-1 switching system. This is a simple push button in the middle of the master volume knob that when pressed gives you several different pickup combinations as well as new serial and parallel pickup wiring options. The S-1 switching system is used together with the traditional 5-way pickup selector that has been used on the Strat for years now. The tonal options that this switching system opens up is unprecedented on a factory produced guitar. Strat modifiers have been doing this sort of thing for years but now you can get it straight from Fender with full warranty support. I use every pickup combination over the course of a 4-hour gig. The tonal variations are pronounced and very useful. The sounds can be similar to a humbucker or single coil but in the end, they are unique to this guitar. I personally love the fact that the instrument is breaking new ground in the tone department. With the SCN pickups and the S-1 Switching sytem I can get pretty much any sound I want. When I use these guitars with my Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier the sounds I can produce are virtually unlimited.

   There are several other features I love about the American Deluxe Stratocaster. I love the rolled edges and glassy smooth fretwork on the edges of the neck. My fingers never get sore from bumping up and down the edges of the neck. On my 50th Anniversary Strat I have the C-Shaped neck and on my American Deluxe Ash StratI have the V-Shaped neck. I personally prefer the feel of the C-Shaped neck but there really isn’t a ton of difference between the two. They both fit the hand very well and each have the rolled edges and super-smooth fretwork. I also love the new contoured heel where the neck joins the guitar body. It fits the palm of my hand extremely well when I’m playing on the upper frets.

   Another thing I really love about the American Deluxe is the two-point synchronized tremolo. This tremolo works very well and combined with the staggered, locking tuners the guitar stays in tune amazingly well. The staggered tuners make it possible to use only one string-tree and that reduces string drag. The locking tuners make changing the strings on the Strat a breeze so I change them more often than I do on my double-locking tremelo guitars. Another thing about the bridge which is a big advantage over the American Standard is the fact that the American Deluxe uses solid steel bridge pieces under the strings. I much prefer these bridge pieces to the American Standards bent steel plates it uses for bridge pieces. I always use Big Bends Nut Sauce guitar lubricant in the string slots, on the string tree, on the bridge pieces and the two pivot points of the tremelo and my guitar never goes out of tune unless I really abuse it.

  

   As I mentioned before, I have the 50th Anniversary American Deluxe Stratocaster and the American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster. The only differences between these two guitars is the body wood and the shape of the neck. The 50th Anniversary Strat has an Alder body which is the most common wood for a Stratocaster. The Ash Strat has a a body made of Ash wood. I can’t hear a huge tonal difference between the two. Some people say that Ash gives you a brighter sound but I personally can’t tell. The biggest difference between the two is the visual aspect of the wood grain itself. The Ash Strat has a much more prominent and varied wood grain than the Alder Strat. I love the look of the ash wood grain. My Cherry Sunburst is semi-transparent so you can see this beautiful ash wood grain. I love to look at the guitar and recommend Ash simply for the visual aspect. Both of the guitars look incredible with the 50th Anniversary Strat having the gold hardware and the Ash Strat having the beautiful wood grain.

   You really can’t go wrong owning the Fender American Delxue Stratocatster. It’s the top of the Stratocaster model lineup for good reason. It really is the best and I wouldn’t change a thing about mine. If I could choose only one guitar to have, it would be the Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster especially when teamed up with my Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier. Make sure you check out my post of Carl Verhheyen discussing the Fender Stratocaster.

Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Electric Guitar 3-Tone Sunburst Maple FretboardThe Fender American Deluxe Stratocasteris instantly comfortable with irresistible tone and playability. You won’t believe your fingers and ears. The ultimate in high-performance, this premium Fender Stratmodel has an ultra-smooth, sweet neck withhand-rolled edges to make it play fast, smooth, and sweet. SCN (Samarium Cobalt Noiseless) pickups dish out vintage Strat sounds without the hum, while a hot bridge pickup provides extra punch and sustain. S-1 Switching delivers an extended range of tonal flavors. The classically contoured Stratocasteralder body fits like a glove.Other features include polished chrome hardware, locking machine heads, American Deluxe tremolo with polished steel saddles, highly detailed fret and nut work, abalone dot inlays, and aged plastic parts. Includes molded Fender Stratocaster hardshellcase.Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickups It’s no secret that pickup designers have been striving to develop the ultimate noise-free single-coil replacement pickup. In pursuit of as little 60-cycle hum and extraneous noise as possible and the classic bell-like tones and fidelity of the original Fender designs, Fender has poured their energy into discovering a new world-class pickup for the ages. Withopen minds and a willingness to seemingly question everything, Fender partnered with legendary pickup designer Bill Lawrence. The pickup that was birthed from this extraordinary partnership is the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickup. It has no hum, no microphonics, close to zero magnetic interruption of the string path; and the widest sonic parameters possible-from Fender classic single coils to tones not yet imagined. Truly a revolutionary design in guitar pickups.

Fender American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster Electric Guitar Butterscotch Blonde Maple FretboardThe Fender American Deluxe Ash StratocasterElectric Guitar is instantly comfortable, with irresistible tone and playability. You won’t believe your fingers and ears. The ultimate in high-performance electric guitars, this premium model has an ultrasmooth, sweet neck withhand-rolled edges to make it play fast, smooth, and sweet. SCN (Samarium Cobalt Noiseless) pickups dish out vintage Stratsounds without the hum, while a hot bridge pickup and S-1 switching provide versatility, extra punch, and sustain. Classically contoured ash body fits like a glove. Other features include polished chrome, locking machine heads, American Deluxe tremolo with polished steel saddles, highly detailed fret and nut work, abalone dot inlays, and aged plastic parts. Includes Fender hardshell case.Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickupsIt’sno secret that pickup designers have been striving to develop the ultimate noise-free single-coil replacement pickup. In pursuit of as little 60-cycle hum and extraneous noise as possible and the classic bell-like tones and fidelity of the original Fender designs, Fender has poured their energy into discovering a new world-class pickup for the ages. Withopen minds and a willingness to seemingly question everything, Fender partnered with legendary pickup designer Bill Lawrence. The pickup that was birthed from this extraordinary partnership is the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless pickup. It has no hum, no microphonics, close to zero magnetic interruption of the string path; and the widest sonic parameters possible-from Fender classic single coils to tones not yet imagined. Truly a revolutionary design in guitar pickups.

   Yup, it’s that time of year again and the best music equipment always sells out early around Christmas. Musician’s Friend has a Hot Deal for every live musician out there no matter what you play. Here are some links to help you find the best deals at Musician’s Friend.

   My main onstage guitar amplifier for the last couple years is the Fender Cyber-Twin SE. As a live musician guitarist this amplifier has been invaluable to me. Because I play in a cover band as well as an original band, I needed an amplifier\effects setup that could cover a wide range of different guitar sounds. At a gig I will use sounds ranging from a country twang to hard rocking Marshall type distortion to full on saturated mid-scooped distortion. I used to use a Digitech 2120 Valve Guitar System but it just didn’t have the punch and presence of an actual amplifier and it’s sound always left me wanting more power. When I was searching for a new amplifier I played a bunch of modeling effects units and amplifiers including the Line 6 POD, Boss GT-8 Effects Processor and the Line 6 Vetta 2 among others. None of those modeling devices gave me the playing response that the Fender Cyber-Twin SE did. The biggest thing I noticed was on the other modeling devices, whether I played light or heavy, or when I turned the guitar down or up, the sound stayed the same. The Fender Cyber-Twin SE responded to my playing touch, guitar volume adjustments and my picking attack. It simply breathes more than a standard DSP modeling amplifier. There’s a secret to how Fender achieved this with the Cyber-Twin SE.

   The Cyber-Twin SE is a 2×12 combo amp with a tube preamp and reconfigurable analog and digital circuitry. The secret to it’s amazing responsiveness is in it’s configurable analog circuitry. This is what sets it apart from other DSP amp modelers like the Line-6 products. The Cyber-Twin SE has a number of analog switches inside that are used to re-route the guitar signal into the various analog circuit configurations. You can actually hear the solenoids switching to the different analog circuits when you turn the control knob to different presets. The analog circuits are actual amplifier circuits made up of the tubes, resistors, capacitors, etc. of the original amplifier circuit that the Cyber-Twin SE is emulating. The Cyber-Twin SE has two 12AX7WC tubes that it uses in the analog circuit section. So when you switch the amp to a Fender Blackface amplifier, the circuit rewires itself to become a Fender Blackface. Because the amp models are actual wired amplifiers, you get actual amplifier response to your playing. That’s why the

Fender Cyber-Twin SE responds so well to your playing. Now you can actually play your amplifier as well as your guitar. Once you select an amp model on the Cyber-Twin SE, the built in DSP can radically increase your sonic pallete. The tubes are also easily accessible from the rear panel and can be replaced without the need to re-bias if you replace them with the same type of Fender Groove Tubes.

   The fact that the Cyber-Twin SE actually rewires the individual circuit components, resistors, tubes and capacitors makes it unique in the world of ultra-versatile amplifiers. It’s loaded with an array of vintage and modern amplifier tones. The amps that the Cyber-Twin SE can produce by rewiring it’s circuits are the Dyna-Touch, Blackface, Tweed, Modern and British amps (yes that means Marshall). It has 16 drive cuircuits, 12 tube types, 4 solid state types and some extreme types as well. You can combine these drive circuits in a number of different ways to get a large variety of amps. The distortion effect in the DSP section is also assignable and can be routed before or after the analog section. The Cyber-Twin SE uses two 12-inch, 8 ohm Celestion G12T-100 speakers that sound very, very good.

   There are a number of other innovative and extremely useful features built into the Fender Cyber-Twin SE. Here are some of my favorites.

   It has motorized knobs that turn automatically when you switch presets. This gives you an instant visual to how your amp is set when you switch to a new preset. You can also adjust the knobs on the fly for instant tweaking of the sound and if you want, you can save your adjustments to the same preset or a new one. This makes setting your amplifier equalization very quick and easy, just like a standard one-trick amplifier. I like being able to glance behind me when I’m playing and see exactly where my volume knob is at. Using the MIDI Foot Controller I can control the volume with the pedal, then glance at the amp to see where it moved the volume to by looking at the motorized volume knob that moves when I use the volume pedal. It’s really a great feature!

   Another thing I really like is the huge plethora of outputs on the back of the amplifier. It has an Effects Loop, Stereo Headphone Out which when engaged turns off the main speakers, Stereo XLR Outputs (which can be switched to Mono if you prefer), SPDIF Digital Out, and MIDI In/Out/Thru jacks. The XLR outputs are very handy to use for running a line to your PA system if you don’t want to mic the amplifier. They are EQ’d to simulate a mic’d speaker and the speaker simulation is very convincing. The rear panel of the amp also has Right/Left powered speaker outputs which put out 65 Watts RMS per channel, an Expression Pedal input, Rev/FX Bypass input and a Foot Switch input for the included 4-button footswitch.

   The Cyber-Twin SE has a built-in tuner that works really well for on-stage tuning. It’s not as accurate as my Peterson tuners but I do use it when I’m in a hurry. The Cyber-Twin SE also has a ton of pre-programmed presets that are what I consider to be a good starting point for programming your own sounds. Luckily there are 100 user locations to store your amp settings in. I currently use about 25 and I doubt I’d ever fill up the whole 100. With the Cyber-Twin SE being so programmable and easy to program it’s not hard at all to dial in some killer amplifier tones. I’m able to cover anything from Johnny Cash to Nine Inch Nails and the amp does it easily.

   The Cyber-Twin SE comes with a 4-button footswitch and a single footswitch. The 4-button switch is used to switch between four user assignable presets. So if you can narrow down your sounds to your 4 favorite then this switch will work fine for you. The single footswitch is for the Reverb/Effects Bypass input and allows you to toggle the reverb and effects on and off. So right out of the box the amp is stage ready. The Cyber-Twin SE also comes with an embroidered black amplifier cover that looks really sharp when it’s covering the amp. Another thing I really like about the amp, and I’ve never had an amp with this simple but so convenient feature, is the included casters on the amp. I love being able to roll this amp where I need it to go instead of having to lug it around by the handle. The amp isn’t super heavy but I love those wheels!

   There is one accessory that I feel is a must-have with the Cyber-Twin SE and that’s a MIDI foot controller. I use the Fender Cyber Foot Controller which was made specifically for the Cyber-Twin SE but there are many good MIDI foot controller options out there such as the Behringer FCB1010 MIDI Footcontroller. My Fender Cyber Foot Controller has 12 buttons that control the amplifiers presets, a Tap Tempo/Tuner button and an Effects On/Off button. It also has two expression pedals that I use to control Volume and Gain on the fly. You can assign the expression pedals to control almost any parameter on the Cyber-Twin SE. I highly recommend purchasing a MIDI Foot Controller when you buy the amp.

   The Fender Cyber-Twin SE is a fantastic amplifier for the money and haven’t regretted buying for a second since I’ve owned it. Please follow the links below to download the Cyber-Twin SE Owners Manual and Schematic Diagram. The Owners manual has in depth descriptions of the many features of the Cyber-Twin SE. On the Schematic, you can see the switching solenoids used for the analog circuits.
Fender Cyber-Twin SE Owners Manual
Fender Cyber-Twin SE Schematic

Fender Cyber Twin SE AmpThe Fender Cyber Twin SE Amp is Fender’s best guitar amp. A 2×12 combo with tube preamp, reconfigurable analog and digital circuitry, motorized knobs, and a 2×65W power amp. Includes two footswitches, wheels, and a cover. With new cosmetics, it does everything the original model did with new effects and effect combinations, models, timbre filters, and much more.

Behringer FCB1010 MIDI FootcontrollerIf you’ve got a MIDI rig you need to tame, you’ll find the Behringer FCB1010 MIDI Footcontroller indispensable. With 10 banks of 10 presets, you’ll have plenty of storage space. Each preset can send 5 MIDI program change commands and 2 MIDI control commands simultaneously so you can configure an entire synth rack with one stomp!2 expression pedals independently control any MIDI channel, controller number, and range. The footswitches can also be configured to send MIDI note numbers, perfect for tap-tempo functions. 2 programmable, relay-controlled footswitch jacks are great for switching guitar amp channels via MIDI!

  
   From now until November 26 you can get 15% off your entire order at Music123. Music123 is an online music store that caters to every type of musician whether you play live or just like to record. I’ve always had good experiences ordering from Music123. Here’s an experience I had recently when I ordered a product. I had ordered several different types of guitar picks to experiment with including the Jellifish Chorus Guitar Pick. Somehow, the Jellifish got crushed during shipping and all the wires on it got bent. I called Music123 and they sent me out a brand new one, completely free without making me return the damaged one. Now that’s customer service! So make sure you check out the great sale and excellent products at Music123.

   Now is the perfect time to get your big ticket items for Christmas. These top items sell out regularly and can be hard to get closer the Christmas. I recommend these top selling products from Music123: Read more »

  

One of the most essential tools you can have for your guitar and bass collection is a string winder. It’s a real challenge to hold the string in place while with one hand while having to reposition your other hand every time you want to give the tuning head a half turn. The other tools you need every time you change strings are a string cutter and a tuner. Well, the Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder\Tuner\Cutter is the tool for you. You can have all 3 tools right there in your hand while changing strings. The built-in tuner is so handy you’ll wonder how you lived without it before.

   The Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder also has a built-in bridge pin puller. It’s nice to have that for pulling the bridge pins on your acoustic guitar. The string winder is a really handy tool and makes changing your strings so much easier. Read more »

  

There is one piece of equipment that no live sound man should be without and that’s a quality cable tester. In fact, no live musician should go to a gig without having a cable tester in the toolbox. Today I’m going to tell you about the Behringer CT100 Cable Tester. It’s one of the most affordable and most versatile cable testers I have ever found.

   The Behringer Cable Tester is controlled by a microprocessor that intelligently checks cables in several different ways. Read more »

  Yes here it is, the original and still the best wah-wah pedal on the market. The Dunlop Crybabay Wah-Wah pedal. This pedal is the highest selling guitar pedal of all time and for good reason. It’s been used by some of the greatest artists in Rock-N-Roll history. Here’s a short list of artists who have used the original Dunlop Crybaby Wah-Wah pedal.

• David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
• Mick Ronson
• Kirk Hammett
• Jimmy Page
• Steve Howe
• Tom Morello
• Brian May

Read more »

  

If you’ve been reading Live Musician Central for very long I’m sure you know I absolutely love Sony Acid Pro 6 Professional Music Workstation software. It’s extremely powerful and can be the heart of your own home recording studio. Sony Acid Pro 6 is a very capable and deep program which is easy to learn but can be a challenge to master. Today I want to turn you on to an excellent guide written by D. Erik Franks called “ACID Pro 6 Power!: The Official Guide“.

   Acid Pro 6 Power is a deep, detailed look at the capabilities of Sony Acid Pro 6. The users manual that comes with Sony Acid Pro 6 will tell you the basic features of Acid but it doesn’t take you very deep into how to get the full benefit of those features. That’s where “Acid Pro 6 Power!” comes in handy to fill all those missing details. There is something for every skill level in “Acid Pro 6 Power!” and it can take your music productions to the very highest quality possible with Sony Acid. Read more »

   After wrangling with tangled cables for years and years I finally found a fantastic solution. They’re really a no-brainer and something that you should have on every single one of your cables. I’m talking about the accessory that every live musician needs, Velcro Cable Ties!

   I honestly don’t know how I managed all those years without this simple accessory to keep my cables organized. Since I’ve been using velcro cable ties my cable last a lot longer. Without all the twisting and tangling that I used to deal with the cables don’t break down nearly as often as they used to.

   So make your life easier and pick up a pack of Velcro Cable Ties today!