Live Musician Central

   One of the most interesting devices to come along for guitarists and bass guitarists is the Ebow. It’s a small handheld device that you hold just above your guitar string. The Ebow causes the string to vibrate using magnetic energy which gived the effect of a bowed cello string. It’s really an amazing little device and it’s been used on a lot of recordings over the years. The Ebow Plus is an updated version of the classic Ebow. The Ebow Plus gets the strings moving a lot easier than the old Ebow which required you to pick the string to get it moving.

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Save 15% On Hearos Ear Plugs

   There’s a couple of really good deals going on at Music123 that I wanted to make you aware of. Right now all the accessories ship free on orders over $49. That’s half the usual amount to get free shipping. You usually have to order $99 to get free shipping but for the accessories you only have to order $49 worth of stuff to get free shipping.

   Second, there’s a great coupon code that you can use to get a 15% discount on all accessories. You can save a bunch of money by entering this coupon code during checkout when ordering accessories. Just click this link: 15% Off All Accessories with Coupon Code: B2S15 at Music123.com That’s a great deal and it’s not going to last forever. So if you’re a live musician, now is the perfect time to pick up some much needed accessories for you and your band.

   Here’s a list of links to accessories that you can buy using the 15% discount code.

Horizon Concert Series 24-Channel/4-Return Stage Snake Standard

Mogami Gold High-Definition Neutrik 1/4″ Straight Instrument Cable 18 Foot

Mogami Silver Series Microphone Cable 50 Foot

Nova 12-Pair Hickory Drumsticks Wood Rock

Roc-N-Soc NRX Nitro Rider Drum Throne Black

Furman PM-8 II Power Conditioner with Digital Volt And Current Meters Standard

Yamaha Portable Keyboard Survival Kit B Standard

Drum One Shield Two Drum Shield Standard

Fingerease Guitar String Lubricant Standard

Fender Instrument Care Kit by Meguiar’s Standard

Big Bends Nut Sauce Tuning Lubricant Standard

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Pickup Black

EBow PlusEbow Electronic Bow for Guitar Standard

Clayton Acetal Standard Guitar Picks .80MM 1 Dozen

Dean Markley 2556 Blue Steel Regular Gauge Electric Guitar Strings Standard

M-Audio SP-2 Sustain Pedal Standard

   That’s just a small sampling of the types of accessories that you can get right now at Music123. With the combined discounts of 15% off the price of the accessory and free shipping on orders over $49.00 you can save a bundle. So make sure you get in on the sale while you still can!

Fender American Stratocaster

   This is a really good YouTube video of famous guitarist Carl Verheyen discussing what he looks for in a Stratocaster and why the Stratocaster is his favorite guitar. I agree with Carl that the Stratocaster is the best electric guitar ever designed. Carl is not only a world famous session player but is also a very accomplished live musician who has been a member of Supertramp as well as his own live performing groups. This video lets you see Carl in action.

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Planet Waves S.O.S. Strobe Tuner

   If you’ve read up on electronic tuners then I’m sure you know that strobe tuners are the most accurate tuners in the world. You can’t get any closer to perfect tuning electronically than with a strobe tuner. I have an excellent Peterson 490-ST Strobe Tuner that cost me around $750.00 to buy. I use that tuner at home to tune my piano and setup my guitars. I certainly don’t haul it around to gigs with me. What if I told you you could get a strobe tuner for $14.95?

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   I have to admit that I never really considered the Ukulele a very serious instrument. It seems so limited with only four strings and a two octave range. Of course, whenever an instrument can make music, it seems like someone comes along and masters it.

   I gained  a new appreciation for the Ukulele when I saw an amazing YouTube video by Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. His skill on the instrument is truly amazing and he has a rare talent for creating very moving arrangements of well loved songs. The video I have added to this post is of Jake playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” written by George Harrison of The Beatles. It’s an amazing video to watch and Jake performed this same version on the Conan O’Brien show. His performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was a huge hit on the Conan O’Brien show and prompted Conan to get up out of his chair and declare the performance as one of the best things he’s ever seen on the show.

   So enjoy the video of Jake Shimabukuro, I’ve also included a link to his website.

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Digitech Whammy Pedal

   One of the coolest effects I have purchased for my collection of guitar effects is the Whammy Pedal by Digitech. The Whammy Pedal was revolutionary when it was first released in 1991 and the new updated version can do even more than the original. It can be heard on recordings by The White Stripes, Buckethead, Radiohead, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, David Gilmour and Pink Floyd, Jimmy Page and many more. So what is it that this pedal does that has such famous and great guitarists using it?

   What this pedal does is change the pitch of the note that you play on guitar. You can play a note and then either raise the pitch up to 2 full octaves or drop the pitch down 3 full octaves. It’s quite a broad range of pitch bending. It’s very simple in theory and when you start using it you begin to understand the possibilities that the Whammy Pedal opens up. Have you ever been playing a guitar solo and wished you could play even higher notes? Read more »

Martin 00CXAE

   My first guitar was a Korean made acoustic guitar that wasn’t even branded. I loved that guitar and it was my first step into a lifelong endeavor of being a guitarist. So when I finally wore the frets down to the wood I decided to get myself another acoustic guitar. What I was looking for was an acoustic guitar with the following qualities:          Read more »

Guitar Chordbook at Chordbook.com

   When I was learning guitar one of my most valuable learning aids was a chord book. I had a Beatles songbook that didn’t have chord diagrams but it did have chord names above the music notation. So I had to turn to the chord book to learn how to finger the chords I wanted to play. It was a good way to do it because I memorized chords faster that way. Later on I got in Jazz Band in high school and had to learn all kinds of jazz chords on the guitar. Needless to say I used that chord book until the covers were falling off.

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Fender Bassman

   I recently had the opportunity to play a ‘59 Fender Bassman Reissue amplifier and I was really blown away with how amazing it sounded. As a guitarist you hear stories of the great amplifiers as you learn your craft and you hear the amplifiers on recordings. But there’s really nothing like playing the amps yourself and really being able to crank them all the way up. The thing about tube amplifiers is they give you more sweetness the harder you push them. Every tube amp I’ve played has had a sweet spot where the amplifier really sings.

   So I got to really push the ‘59 Fender Bassman Reissue and let me tell you, it’s loud. But it sounds so damn good that you don’t care how loud it is. It’s ecstasy because it’s a sound that you recognize from all the recordings that have been made with this amplifier. I love it when an amplifier roars when you really hit your guitar hard and then quiets down and softens as you play softer and roll down your guitar volume. Read more »

Matt With Les Paul Custom

   I’ve written before about how much I use and love Big Bends Nut Sauce Tuning Lubricant. My Stratocaster and Les Paul guitars stay in tune so much better when I use Big Bends Nut Sauce that I just can’t live without it. Big Bends also makes a great line of guitar care products I’d like to turn you on to.

   My Les Paul Custom has a nitrocellulose finish on it that looks fantastic but is also quite fragile. I used to grab a terry cloth towel and some polish to clean it up but it was always a lot of work using terry cloth. Then I tried a Big Bends AXS Wipe Microfiber Polish Cloth and I was amazed at how quickly and how well my nitrocellulose finish cleaned up. The Microfiber Polish Cloth is just fantastic at picking up dirt and grime with a minimum of rubbing. If you’ve never tried a Big Bends AXS Wipe Microfiber Polish Cloth you gotta get one and try it.         Read more »