Live Musician Central

  
   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 »

   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!

   Mathias Hohner started making harmonicas in his kitchen in Trossingen, Germany. Amazingly, Hohner harmonicas are still made at a factory in Trossingen, Germany after all these years. I don’t think there’s any question that the Hohner Harmonica has had a profound influence on American music. The harmonica is one of the easiest and most fun instruments I have ever learned how to play.

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   I’ve played in all types of places from basements and living rooms to concert halls and stadiums. I’ve experienced all types of lighting along the way. I’ve played under a single lightbulb as well as rooms using only a lava lamp for lighting. I’ve also played on huge stages that had individual spotlights for each member of the band and full concert lighting. I’ll tell you, the concert lighting was a lot nicer.

   Most clubs that bands regularly play in have woefully inadequate lighting. They usually have a few dedicated stage lights and you’re lucky if more than half of them work. There are exceptions to that rule and I’ve played in some clubs with incredible stage and dance floor lighting. But like I said, those are exceptions and you’ll usually find yourself playing in dim light.

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   One of the most important pieces of advice I can give to young musicians is simply to take good care of your hearing. I was diagnosed with a hearing loss when I was 16 years old and had only been playing in a band a couple of years. I was still pretty careless with my hearing for much of my early career. Finally the hearing specialists started telling me I needed hearing aids. That got my attention and I’ve been very careful with my hearing the last 15 years or so.

   The best thing I’ve done for my hearing is to get a pair of custom molded, sonic filter type earplugs made specially for musicians. I have the Westone ES49 Custom Fit Earplugs. Mine are a light tan color and are barely visible from the audience. They sound fantastic and because they are custom molded to my ear they’re extremely comfortable.

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   When I was first learning how to play songs by ear from the original recordings it was a huge struggle for me. I was trained to read music from a young age and playing by ear was a whole new world for me. I remember sitting on my bed and working on a song for several hours before I finally had it down. The hardest thing of all was learining how to play the guitar solos. The notes flew by so fast that I couldn’t begin to pick them out.

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   If you’ve been in any recording studio or seen any band live with microphones on the guitar amps, you’ll have seen the Shure SM57 Instrument Microphone. This mic is a dandy! (and I don’t say “dandy” very often). My experience with the Shure SM57 has been nothing but positive. The microphone is tougher than nails and my guitar amp sounds fantastic with my pair of SM57’s on it.

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There are certain things you need when you play a Gig. The biggest and most important is a Public Address system. Without one you will not be able to amplify your singers properly. You just can’t get away with running the vocalist through a guitar amplifier.

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   I’m always on the lookout for good deals on products that you can use for multiple purposes. Today I’m going to tell you about the Phonic Helix Board MkI FireWire. It has been replaced by the MkII but is virtually the same board with a few cosmetic changes. I’m talking about the MkI because you can get a great deal on it right now on eBay.   Read more »

  I’ve been recording music on multi-track equipment for 21 years now. I’ve gotten some incredible vocal takes over the years but I always hear the little bits that are a touch out of tune, or a little off the beat. About 2 years ago I switched to Pro Tools LE for all my studio recordings and it has really opened up a whole new world for music production. This is the current version of the  system I own:
Digidesign Digi 003 Rack Factory Pro Tools LE System
Mine is actually the Digi 002 Rack but I just wanted you to have a reference on what my studio setup is like. [Click Here to Find Digidesign Digi 002 Rack on eBay]

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