Live Musician Central » Top Posts Of 2009

Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone Guitar Compressor/Sustainer Review

Matt Rushton — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:00:57 +0000

Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Pedal

Last week I picked up the new effect pedal from Pigtronix called the Philosopher’s Tone. It’s an analog compressor/sustainer that gives you the ability to sustain your held notes for a very, very long time. I had the opportunity to use it in my live band at a gig this past weekend and figured I’d let you all know how the Philosopher’s Tone performed.

I picked up my Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone from a webstore called GuitarX. I worked with Gary and the customer service was excellent. E-mails were responded to very quickly, shipping was super fast and the pedal arrived in perfect condition. It was a very good buying experience.

I pulled the Philosopher’s Tone out of the box once it arrived and was surprised at how compact it was. This could be because it doesn’t run on an internal battery. It actually runs from an external 15V DC power supply. Setup was as simple as any guitar effect pedal. Just plug the guitar into the guitar jack and run a cord from the output to your amplifier.

The Philosopher’s Tone has 4 control knobs labeled Grit, Sustain, Blend, Treble and Volume. The Grit knob dials in some light distortion that was a bit too trebly for my tastes. It’s supposed to be used in advance of your distortion pedal or your amplifier to give your amp distortion an extra dose of Grit. I can say that the Grit control didn’t do much for my Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier and I’m pretty sure I won’t be using the Grit control. I personally didn’t like the sound of the Grit control.

The real place the Philosopher’s Tone shines is in it’s ability to sustain without adding additional noise to the signal. The Sustain and Blend knobs control control how much sustain you can get using the pedal. The Sustain knob is basically the compressor Threshold and the higher you turn the knob the lower the threshold. So if you crank it all the way up, the Philosopher’s Tone will amplify any signal it gets up to it’s set volume level. The Blend knob simply blends your original signal with the effected signal and on many compressors is called the “Ratio” control.

With the Sustain and Blend knobs turned all the way up I was able to hold notes pretty much as long as I wanted. With the amplifier turned up to a decent level the guitar fed back perfectly on the sustained notes which results in the ability to sustain infinitely. The true test for me is how well a compressor will sustain harmonics. The Philosopher’s Tone did very well sustaining harmonics beyond what my amp could do on its own.

The Treble control gives you the ability to boost or cut treble frequencies on the Philosopher’s Tone. I used it to restore some of the lost highs when cranking the compression all the way up. It’s nice to have but the pedal is well balanced tonally and I didn’t use the Treble control very much at all.

The Volume control sets the volume output level of the Philosopher’s Tone. With the volume set at about 1:00 I was able to match my guitars output volume. This gives plenty of room to turn the volume control up higher if you want to use the pedal to give yourself a clean volume boost for solo’s.

The Philosopher’s Tone is a very clean sounding pedal and it didn’t introduce any unwanted signal noise on its own. By the very nature of Compressor/Sustainers they will compress and raise the level of any exisiting signal noise from your guitar. The club I played in last weekend has very noisy RF interference which my guitars pick up and obviously, the Philosopher’s Tone raised the noise level when I employed it set to maximum. So even though the Philosopher’s Tone is fairly noiseless, it will kick up the noise level when you turn it on just like any other compressor/sustainer will.

I found that if I set the Sustain and Blend controls to between 2:00 and 3:00 positions that the signal noise increase was very acceptable. This also provided a very significant increase in the amount of sustain I could draw out of my guitar. It really sounded great on the clean settings as well as my extreme distortion settings that I use live. I was well pleased with how well the Philosopher’s Tone increased the sustain of my guitar.

Do you need this pedal to make your Fender Cyber-Twin SE sound great? No you don’t, the amp is plenty capable on it’s own but it did help the clean sounds a great deal. I really only used the pedal to give me some added sustain on distorted solos and kicked it in for some of the clean setting songs we play. It sounded great when we played “Wonderful Tonight” and “Wicked Game”. The Philosopher’s Tone really enhanced the sound of the tube compression on those two songs. I’m sure the Philosopher’s Tone would sound great on any tube amplifier.

Because the pedal is so affordable I do give it a high recommendation. You can use it on all your sounds if you want to and it can radically change your sound or just subtly enhance it. It’s this kind of control that I really appreciate in a pedal and the Philospher’s Tone by Pigtronix delivers what it advertises.

Pigtronix Philospher’s Tone Compressor Guitar Effects Pedal

The Philosopher’s Tone Compressor/Sustainer is an ideal front end to any guitar player’s pedalboard. It can also serve as the perfect companion to the Pigtronix Mothership Guitar Synthesizer or any other pitch-tracking musical equipment, delivering more accurate tracking and increased note duration. As a bonus, the Grit control mixes a layer of smooth, diode-clipping distortion into the effect.Unlike the many compressor clones and their variations that have become so popular in the past 10 years, the Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone is not based on a CA3080 chip. The result is more sustain and less noise. The dynamic range, touch sensitivity, overall transparency, and outright sustain of the Philosopher’s Tone is unparalleled in the crowded world of compressor pedals.

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Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone Guitar Compressor/Sustainer Review

Live Mixing Tips For Small Venues And Small Budget

Matt Rushton — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:00:28 +0000

In Stereo Plays A Small Room

In my live band we have a microphone on every drum and on every piece of equipment onstage and it’s all run through the main P.A.. It’s by far the best way to get a good mix and the best way to control your live sound level. Of course we have invested a lot of money in our live setup and we also play fairly big venues so having everything mic’ed up and mixed through the P.A. is not a problem for us. But there are times when we play a smaller room and we don’t need to mic everything up. There was even a time when all we could afford was a drumset, instruments and amplifiers and a microphone with a small P.A. for the singer. That’s when it can be tricky to get a decent live mix. So what’s the best way to get a good live mix without mic’ing everything? Here are some tips for you to help you with your small venue and and small budget live mixing.

The most important thing to remember is you should never be louder than your quietest instrument. If you have an underpowered guitar amplifier, then everyone in the band is going to have to set their volume levels to that amplifier or else it’s going to be totally lost in the overall mix. The most common instrument to mix to when you don’t have the ability to mic everything is the drumset. Nowadays, even the cheap amplifiers can get louder than the drumset. So how do you determine what your quietest instrument is? That brings us to tip number two, always record your mix.

The best thing to do is bring along a portable recorder such as the Zoom H2 Portable Stereo Recorder. Simply place the recorder somewhere out in the room and record a song. Listen to the playback of the mix and a lot of problems will become very obvious. You’ll be able to hear which instruments jump out and which instruments disappear in the mix. You’ll also be able to hear if there are too many high frequencies or if things sound muddy and muffled. The recording will be your most powerful tool in getting a decent live mix. Once you’re able to identify which instrument is the quietest it’s simply a matter of setting the volume levels on everything else to match it. Which brings us to tip number three, listen to your neighbor.

If you don’t have a soundman and are mixing by ear from the stage, it’s essential that you listen to the other instruments in the band. There is going to have to be a lot of compromise if you want to achieve a good live mix without mic’ing things through the P.A. and having a soundman. Just remember that it’s in your best interest to have the entire band sound good. All the players that can move around while they play should walk around onstage and listen to the mix. Remember to be fair in your evaluation. If the guitar seems too loud by the guitar amp, that’s because it should be loud in that spot and that’s okay onstage. Be sure to check your recording to make sure things are blending well out where the audience is. Just remember to listen to your band mates when you get things set so you know how things should sound onstage in relation to each other.

Finally, remember to EQ your amplifiers to compliment each other. That means backing down on the the bass frequencies on the guitar amp. It seems like guitar amps with too much bass are almost always the main offenders when it comes to muddy sound. Check out my posts on amplifier equalization and EQ Frequencies for more EQ’ing tips. Watch out for extremely loud cymbals or individual drums as well. Hopefully your drummer is skilled enough to control his touch to maintain a balanced sound on an out of balance drumset.

It is possible to get an excellent live mix using only onstage amplification if you’re willing to spend the time to get things set properly. Hopefully the tips in this post will help point you in the right direction.

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Live Mixing Tips For Small Venues And Small Budget

Fender Price Increase And How It Affects Working Musicians

Matt Rushton — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 14:00:33 +0000

Matt Plays His Gibson Les Paul Custom

Yes fellow musicians it’s true, Fender musical instruments has raised prices on their professional level instruments by approximately 25%. That means the American Deluxe Stratocaster you’ve been saving up to buy for $1249.00 is now going to cost you $1599.00. That’s quite a painful price increase when you’re saving up your hard earned gig money to buy a professional level Stratocaster. Is it fair for Fender to do this? Of course it is, this is America and you can charge whatever the market is willing to bear. As always, it’s the choice of the musician’s to buy or not to buy and it’s going to be very interesting to see how this is going to affect buying choices.

If you’ve been reading Live Musician Central for long then you know I’m a certified Fender junkie. I love the company and almost every instrument they produce. I’m a professional musician and Fenders professional line of American made instruments has always been within the buying reach of average working musicians. One thing I’ve always believed that Leo Fender set out to do was to produce professional quality instruments that all working musicians could afford to own. Can you still afford to own a top of the line Fender instrument? I believe that most people can still afford to own one but it will be even harder to justify owning these instruments and working with them in live performance situations. I know that the money I’m making playing gigs hasn’t increased in about 10 years and I’m playing less shows now than ever before.

Let me give you an interesting example from my personal experience. One of the guitars I own is a Gibson Les Paul Custom. I love that guitar and it plays beautifully. When I bought it in 2002 it cost me $2400 and I played it regularly at gigs even though I always worried about it getting dinged up. When prices on the Les Paul Custom shot up to $3400 I just couldn’t justify playing it live anymore. It’s just too risky in terms of wearing the instrument out let alone risking it getting stolen. So now my beautiful Gibson Les Paul Custom sits at home in its case about %95 of its life slowly increasing in value but not getting to live the life it was born for which is being played in front of a cheering audience. It’s sad because I’ve replaced it onstage with an Ibanez S-Prestige that people rave about and all I can say is “you should see my Les Paul Custom”. The only place my fans see the Les Paul is in the pictures on this website nowadays. I can testify the reason is because of Gibson’s crazy price increases on that instrument.

So now Fender appears to be following in Gibson’s footsteps which does indeed sadden me. I wanted Fender to be the leader and say “Hey Gibson, people are still buying American Deluxe Stratocasters in droves. How about that Les Paul Custom?” but now it looks like it will be a stretch to buy whatever your favorite instrument is. Will we get used to the price increase? I’m sure we will. Have we lived through price increases before? Yes we have. It just hurts to see it happen.

One final thing, I get asked for equipment recommendations all the time from students, friends, family and fellow guitarists. I play and recommend the Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster and Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier. I had a couple people ready to buy American Deluxe Strat/Cyber-Twin SE packages with their upcoming tax returns. I’m pretty sure that’s a pipe dream now. I do sincerely hope that Fender knows what they’re doing and that they come out of this recession as the best American guitar manufacturer. I will continue to play and recommend Fender without their official endorsement just as I always have. -Matt-

Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Electric Guitar 3-Tone Sunburst Rosewood FretboardThe Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster is instantly comfortable with irresistible tone and playability. You won’t believe your fingers and ears. The ultimate in high-performance, this premium Fender Strat model has an ultra-smooth, sweet neck with hand-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 Stratocaster alder 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 hardshell case.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. With open 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.

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Fender Price Increase And How It Affects Working Musicians

Sennheiser HD 380 Pro Headphones Review

Matt Rushton — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 14:00:31 +0000

Sennheiser HD380 Pro Headphones

I’m not only a live performing musician but a studio musician and producer as well. I have tried dozens of different headphones over the years and almost invariably breathed a sigh of relief when an old pair died just so I would have an excuse to buy another pair. It seemed like finding the perfect pair of headphones was like searching for the holy grail. To be honest, I still haven’t found that perfect pair of headphones but I have found a couple headphone solutions that have kept me satisfied for a while now.

In an earlier post I told you about my Shure E530PTH sound isolating earbuds which I use with my live in-ear monitor system. I really like the Shures but they make it difficult to communicate in the studio because they are difficult to keep taking out of my ears to talk to the other musicians I’m working with. I really need a great pair of closed-back headphones to use in the studio simply because of the years of using that type of headphone in studio situations has made me used to being able to take them off when I need to communicate. When my last pair of Sony studio headphones came to an untimely demise (the cord got tangled and tripped over) I had another excuse to go looking for a great pair of studio headphones.

While doing head to head comparisons at the local audio shop of several different types of headphones from various manufacturers I finally tried the Sennheiser HD380 Pro headphones and I was taken aback by how rich and full they sounded! The first thing that hit me was how good the bass sounded. The bass response of the HD380 Pro headphones is deep but not mushy. You can hear the attack of the bass drum very well and then a full blossoming of bass frequencies behind it. It’s really hard to describe in words as it’s just something you have to hear. The overall sound of the headphones is warm without being overly bright or crisp. I hate it when headphones have too much sizzle to them which other headphones are prone to do with cheap drivers. The HD380 Pro’s have very smooth frequency response and seem to slightly favor bass frequencies but in a well balanced way. They do seem to be more suited to rock and electronic music than orchestral or classical music. That makes them perfect for the rock music that I love.

The next thing I noticed right off was how comfortable the earpieces are. They enclose my entire ear and are padded with a pillowy foam cushion that never makes my head sore even after a 3-hour recording session. The entire design of the HD380 Pro’s allows you take the headphones completely apart, piece by piece if you want. This makes it easy to replace worn out parts like the cable or earpads. Remember the cord tripping incident that killed my Sony headphones? Well the same thing happened to the Sennheisers but the cord just popped out of the Sennheiser headphones and I was able to plug it in and keep my headphones going without any grief. I did wear one cable out because I rolled a studio chair over it too many times but I like these headphones so much that I just bought a replacement cable for them. Replacing the cable was as easy as unplugging the old cable and plugging in the new one. You can also replace the headband cushion and driver elements as well.

Another thing I really like about the HD380 Pro’s is their sound isolating capability. When you put some music through them the pads really seal out all external sounds. It’s really surprising how well they sound isolate from the microphones as well. I can crank them up as much as I want and I don’t ever pick them up through the microphone. They are rated at 32dB of external sound attenuation which is about as much as those yellow foam earplugs you see at concerts. The Sennheiser HD380 Pro headphones come with a 3.2 foot single-sided coil cable which extends up to 9.8 feet, a 3.5 mm stereo mini jack with a screw-on 1/4″ adapter as well as a very nice carrying case to store them in or take them with you. With a frequency response of 8Hz to 27KHz and and Sound Pressure Level of 110 dB they truly do sound fabulous. I highly recommend the Sennheiser HD380 Pro headphones for your studio or just casual listening whenever you want the best sound.

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Sennheiser HD 380 Pro Headphones Review

Propellerhead Reason 4 Music Production Software Review

Matt Rushton — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 14:00:18 +0000

Reason 4.0 Rack Front

When I started playing in live bands the hottest synthesizer on the market was the Yamaha DX7. Back then it was great to have a keyboard that could play lots of notes simultaneously and do a decent job of sounding like the instrument it was emulating. Most keyboard players brought multiple keyboards to the gigs and there was a lot of setup time involved. I remember spending hours working on the perfect soundpatches for my Roland keyboards. The thing about playing keyboards is you can never have too many sound options. It was an expensive proposition to be a keyboard player as it would cost the player thousands of dollars to get the necessary equipment to play in a live band. The dream was to have racks of synthesizer modules at your disposal to create the incredible soundscapes that you could hear in your head. But only the top paid musicians could afford to live that dream. The rest of us had to make do with whatever synthesizer equipment we could afford. It’s amazing how times have changed with the development of incredibly powerful, software based synthesizers like those found in Reason 4.0.

If you’ve never heard of Reason which is developed by Propellerhead it’s basically a virtual studio rack into which you can load mixers, effects and synthesizer modules. If the equipment that you have access to in Reason 4.0 was sitting in a rack in your studio it would cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. You can place multiple copies of the same equipment into the rack to work with for sound creation. So if you want 15 analog synthesizers to work with, you got it. The virtual rack is infinitely expandable as long as your computer is powerful enough to run all the devices you can load into it. What types of devices can you load? Reason 4.0 comes with synthesizers, samplers, drum machines, REX file loop player, mixers, vocoder, studio effects, mastering tools, pattern sequencers and more! It’s amazing how many devices come in this software package. If you have the urge to load 11 compressors and 10 samplers with 5 synthesizers, you can do it. You can chain as many mixers together as you wish to mix all of your devices. You can keep adding gear until your computer chokes but it will take a lot to do that as Reason 4.0 is quite conservative on your system.

You can control each device in your virtual rack from it’s own individual front panel controls. You can twist knobs, slide sliders and turn filters on and off with the push of a button. Reason also has a powerful built-in sequencer that will record all of your knob and slider tweaking in real-time. If you’re using this software while playing live you can do the same thing on the fly. One of the best aspects of jamming is changing the sounds around on your keyboard by tweaking filters and you can do that easily in Reason 4.0.

Another extremely cool feature is the way you control signal routing using Reason. With a single keypress you can turn the entire rack around and look at the back of all your devices. Everything is routed using virtual patch cables between the devices and you can grab a plug with a mouse click and move it wherever you want. If you want to patch the output of one device to the input of another it’s as easy as dragging the cable from the output to the input. It’s so convenient to be able to trace patch cables between the devices to see how everything is wired up. You can move cables around on the mixer to whatever mixer channels make the most sense to you for mixing your music.

Reason is really a dream come true for keyboard players. All that equipment that almost nobody could afford together in an affordable software package. I’m telling you it’s almost endless hours of fun just playing with the sounds alone. To use Reason in a live setting all you need is a controller keyboard, a computer and a MIDI interface. If you get a MIDI keyboard controller like the M-Audio Keystation 88ES all you’ll need to do is plug it into the USB port of your computer and it will fully interface with Reason. If you have Reason, a laptop and a keyboard controller then you’re ready to play some keyboards. This is an extremely affordable way to get out and playing live with a world of keyboard sounds at your fingertips. If you’re looking for a sound solution for your keyboard needs then look no further as Reason will supply you with everything you need.

I use Reason extensively in my home studio as it interfaces seamlessly with Pro Tools. The sequencer that’s included in Reason 4.0 is very capable and handles all the keyboard parts easily. Reason 4.0 also works perfectly with Sony Acid 6.0 which I also use in my home studio. The sounds in Reason 4.0 are simply amazing and the sounds you can create by tweaking parameters and mixing and matching devices is pretty much limitless. The only limitation I’ve found with Reason 4.0 is my imagination. It’s honestly one of the best pieces of software I have ever used in my life and I highly recommend it to anyone that wants to make music with a keyboard.

Make sure you check out the Reason 4.0 introductory videos as well as the excellent M-Audio Keystation 88es MIDI controller which integrates perfectly with Reason 4.0. The documentation that comes with Reason 4.0 will get you started but to really get a good grasp on the software, make sure you pick up the Reason 4 Power comprehensive guide to this powerful software.

Propellerhead REASON 4.0 Music Production SoftwareStronger, swifter, and smoother to work with, Reason 4 music production software will alter the way you create your music. It comes in the familiar shape of a classic studio rack, packed with all the gear you could possibly need: samplers, analog synths, graintable synth, vocoder, mixer, step-time drum machine, arpeggiator, compressors, EQ, and effects. A realtime multitrack sequencer provides full control over every detail, letting you create and edit your music quickly and intuitively. Reason 4.0 also has a massive sound bank full of sounds, loops, and patches for all possible styles of music. The devices and features added to Reason 4 software will not only inspire you to produce great tracks, they will provide you with new ways of doing so.Sequencer Dedicated to turning your ideas into great music, Reason 4′s sequencer is swifter, stronger, and more intuitive than ever with a whole new look, tons of fresh features and a completely new way of handling sequencer data. The key word here is workflow. A sequencer device or instrument now gets its own dedicated track, with separate lanes for note, performance, and automation data, opting for a better overview and less clutter. All sequencer data-notes, automation, the works-is now housed in clips, musical building blocks that can be opened, sliced, or moved. When a clip is moved to a new location, all its internal data follows right along with it, ending up exactly where you intended for safe, speedy sequencing. The Tool window is an ever-present floating window that provides lightning fast access to those detailed editing functions you use all the time; quantize, transpose, note velocity, note length, and legato.RG-8 Arpeggiator Reason 4 ships with RPG-8, a unit dedicated to the art of arpeggiation.

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Propellerhead Reason 4 Music Production Software Review

Advanced Vocal Pitch Correction With Celemony Melodyne Studio

Matt Rushton — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 14:00:27 +0000

Celemony Melodyne Studio 3 Screenshot Collage

A while ago I wrote a post on Live Musician Central about working with Celemony Melodyne Uno to pitch correct your vocal recordings. Melodyne Uno has been a great tool for fixing out of tune notes on my studio recordings. I have really enjoyed working with Melodyne Uno but I finally decided I wanted more features and the ability to work with multiple tracks simultaneously. So I went ahead and upgraded to Celemony Melodyne Studio 3.

Melodyne Studio 3 has been fantastic to work with. As I said, my main motivation for upgrading was the ability to work with multiple tracks simultaneously. It does this perfectly and the ability to work with multiple tracks at the same time means that my recording projects get completed a lot faster. It’s so nice to be able to compare two, three or more harmonies together while having the ability to shift individual notes in any of the lines. Being able to bounce between tracks instantly and then being able to hear how the harmonies play back is really a huge time saver.

Another thing Melodyne is world famous for it’s incredible sound quality. It’s ability to shift and transpose pitches without sacrificing sound quality is unparalleled. With Celemony Melodyne Studio 3 you get the added ability of being able to work with harmonic material such as rhythm guitar or piano parts. You can now transpose, speed up, slow down and quantize full chords! All with the incredible Melodyne sound quality.

A feature that I’ve really enjoyed as well is the ability to take a standard melody line and have Melodyne automatically harmonize it. You can have Melodyne Studio 3 harmonize it into multiple harmony lines as well. There are powerful macros built into Melodyne3 that will make correcting intonation and timing errors a snap. I have been really happy with my upgrade to Celemony Melodyne 3 Studio. It’s one upgrade that has been worth every penny!

Celemony Melodyne studio bundle Software

This Melodyne studio bundle offers 2 great Celemony products in one: studio and editor. Melodyne studio helps in the correction, shaping, and arranging of digital audio on multiple tracks—as many tracks as you want. editor refashions the music in your recordings and samples intuitively—with outstanding sound quality—all the way down to the individual notes.studio Melodyne studio gives you all the functions that have made Melodyne one of the most valued tools in professional music production. Enthusiastic users, euphoric test reports, and numerous awards all attest to the uniquely powerful, intuitive, and musical editing possibilities it possesses — no matter if you're using it for the correction of errors or the creative refashioning of your audio material.

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Advanced Vocal Pitch Correction With Celemony Melodyne Studio

The Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster – My Favorite Guitar

Matt Rushton — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:00:23 +0000

Matt With American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster

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.

Fender American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster

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 V Neck Electric Guitar Candy Apple Red

Fender’s new American Deluxe Stratocaster V Neck has all the modern features today’s guitarists demand, with some vintage flavor thrown in. All the cool specs of the new American Deluxe Stratocaster are here, plus a classic tinted maple neck with a ’50s V-shape and compound radius fretboard that allows exhilaratingly effortless string bending anywhere along the neck. New N3 noiseless pickups supercharge your sound with improved Stratocaster tones for sparkling bell-like chime with no hum, and reconfigured S-1 switching offers even more knockout tonal options. Additional key features include staggered locking tuners, two point synchronized American Deluxe tremolo bridge with pop-in arm, and beveled neck heel. Comes with a new molded Fender-exclusive/SKB case with glass-reinforced latches and TSA locks, cable, and strap locks.

FENDER AMERICAN DELUXE STRATOCASTER SUNSET METALLIC MN
US $1,499.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 3:42:32 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar Amber Maple Neck
US $1,549.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:36:53 PST
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Fender Left-Handed American Deluxe Stratocaster Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst
US $1,499.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:36:56 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Electric Guitar Olympic Pearl Maple Neck
US $1,499.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:37:04 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Electric Guitar Amber Maple Neck
US $1,499.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:37:13 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster V Neck Electric Guitar Black
US $1,499.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:37:13 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst
US $1,549.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:37:19 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster HSS Electric Guitar Tungsten Rosewood
US $1,549.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:37:20 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Electric Guitar Tungsten Maple Neck
US $1,499.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:37:20 PST
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Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster Electric Guitar 3-Color Sunburst Maple Neck
US $1,499.99
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 7:37:22 PST
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The Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster – My Favorite Guitar

You Need A P.A. System To Play A Gig

Matt Rushton — Tue, 27 May 2008 14:00:16 +0000

Behringer PMP6000/B1520 Pro Mains And Monitors P.A. Package

In a live band 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.

You can build a PA System from the ground up or you can purchase a PA Package that will include everything you need to get your band out there and playing gigs. I’m going to tell you about 2 starter packages that will get you out there ready to play. The first system I would like to tell you about is the Behringer PMP6000/B1520 PRO Mains & Monitors PA Package.
This PA package has a 1600 Watt powered 20-channel mixer, 4 speakers with 2 intended for use a monitors, 4 microphones, 2 speaker stands and all the cables you need to get everything hooked up. It’s a nice package especially for the extremely low price. I like the fact that you get 4 full sized 2-way PA Speakers with this system. The intended use is to use 2 of the speakers as monitors. This will work although these types of speakers can be prone to feedback when you point them at your band. The upside is you could always pick up a couple of floor wedge monitors and then use all 4 speakers to point at the audience. The mixer also has a Feedback Detection system that makes it easy to adjust the equalizer to remove frequencies that are feeding back. The mixer also features two studio grade 24-bit stereo effects processors to enhance your band’s sound. It’s really a great deal for all that equipment. As always with Behringer equipment, make sure you register for the warranty.

Yamaha EMX512SC/S115V P.A. System Package

The next complete PA system I would like to point out for you is the
Yamaha EMX512SC/S115V PA System. The Yamaha system is very similar to the Behringer system with a few major advantages. It comes with 2 main PA Speaker and 2 floor wedge monitors, 2 speaker stands, 8 channel powered mixer, 4 microphones and all the cables you need to get hooked up. First of all, I really like floor monitors. They work really well and the way they are angled when they sit on the floor removes a lot of feedback problems associated with monitor. One advantage that you get with the Yamaha mixer is the built in compression on the first 4 channels. This really tames down singers that haven’t quite gotten the hang of moving away from the mic when they’re singing loud. It also really helps when you mic your drumset. The Yamaha mixer also has a feedback channel locator system which is great when you’re fighting feedback on the microphones. It makes life a heck of a lot easier when your mixer is showing where your feedback is coming from so you can make the necessary adjustments. The price for the Yamaha system is about the same as the Behringer system and you do lose some channels with the Yamaha system. Still, you get Yamaha’s excellent build quality. Both of these PA Systems will get you out in the clubs and gigging. They are very essential equipment for playing live music and will be a worthwhile investment. So get a PA, and get gigging!

Motorola System 9000 HLN1185B PA Amplifier Cable & Unit Complete / New
US $99.95
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 9:17:01 PST
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Carvin RX1200L-PM153 Lightweight Stereo 1600W 12 Channel Complete PA System NEW
US $1,249.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 15:10:10 PST
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Carvin C2040-PM15 Complete PA System 20 Channel Mixer Amp and 15" Speakers NEW
US $1,339.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 15:11:03 PST
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CARVIN C1240-PM12A 12 CHANNEL MIXER 12 " POWERED SPEAKERS COMPLETE PA SYSTEM
US $979.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 15:51:09 PST
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Carvin RX1200L-2153 Lightweight Stereo 1600W 12 Channel Complete PA System New
US $1,269.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 15:51:27 PST
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Carvin C2040-PM153 Complete PA System 20 Channel Mixer Amp and 15" Speakers NEW
US $1,449.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 16:11:38 PST
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Carvin C1648P-2153 Complete PA System 16 Channel Mixer and LS2153 Speakers NEW
US $1,649.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 16:38:52 PST
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Carvin C1240-PM15 12 Channel Complete PA System Mixer Amplifier & Speakers NEW
US $1,199.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 17:09:17 PST
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CARVIN S400D-1 COMPLETE STAGEMATE SYSTEM WITH DIGITAL EFFECTS PA MIXER / SPEAKER
US $579.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 17:37:59 PST
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Carvin C2040-PM15A Complete PA System 20 Channel Mixer & 15" Powered Speakers
US $1,199.00
Auction Ends: Thursday Feb-09-2012 19:11:07 PST
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You Need A P.A. System To Play A Gig