Live Musician Central

Author: Live Musician Central

Steve Vai Demo Video For The Jemini Distortion Pedal

Jemini Distortion Pedal by Steve Vai and Ibanez

If you’re a guitarist playing in a live band, then no doubt you’ve searched high and low for killer distortion pedals. Today I’m posting up a video of Mr. Steve Vai himself doing a demonstration of his Signature Jemini Distortion Pedal which he designed with Ibanez. Get ready, because killer playing ensues on the video!

This video had me laughing out loud several times as Steve cracks jokes with himself. I’m not kidding you, there are two Steve Vai’s in this video and they even play an amazing guitar duet. I thought the “Jack Butler” reference from the movie “Crossroads” was pretty hilarious. Whoever did the video editing is a genius and Steve does a fantastic job interacting with himself in the video. So grab a snack, settle in and get ready to laugh and be blown away by Steve Vai’s incredible guitar (and acting?) skills! (more…)
Gibson Les Paul Studio Versus Gibson Les Paul Custom Guitar Review

Gibson Les Paul Studio – Faded Cherry Only $999

As you all know, I play primarily Fender Stratocasters in my live band. But I have to admit that I do own a Gibson Les Paul Custom but it’s current pricing is just outrageous and I can’t recommend it if you’re on a budget. I had the opportunity to play a Gibson Les Paul Studio just the other day and I was very impressed with the guitar. This is how I feel it compares to my Gibson Les Paul Custom. (more…)
Download Free Fender Cyber-Twin SE Preset Patch “LMC Matt’s Noise”

Fender Cyber-Twin SE Amplifier

Today on Live Musician Central I’m posting another of my custom programmed preset sound patches for the Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier. This patch is called “LMC Matt’s Noise” and is one of my ‘special effect’ sound patches. This preset is based on a British Tone Stack and the Backwards Delay effect. I personally feel that the Backwards Delay effect has to be one of the least musical effects in the Cyber-Twin SE effect bank. But, it still has it’s place in the sonic soundscape. (more…)
Sunday Funnies – Kiss Plays Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up”

It’s sad but true that Kiss has been accused repeatedly of “selling out”. Remember the “Music From The Elder”? This performance of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” is an example of Kiss, yet again, breaking ground and trying out new material. It’s amazing how well Kiss can cover other artists and I had no idea that they could do so well playing standard pop music. I hope you enjoy watching Kiss bust out some killer stage moves to this excellent cover.
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Live Musician Central – Weekend Album Picks 4-25-09

Live Musician Central brings you the weeks most heavily marketed new album releases. Each week we pick new releases based solely on the amount of music industry marketing hype they generate. Because these may not necessarily be the best albums out there, we do throw in a couple of certified classics for you to download and add to your personal music collection. We pick these albums so you can build your band’s setlist and break music selection. Like it or not, people in the clubs are going to know these songs because they’re going to be pushed hard on the Internet, radio and in the clubs.

There’s no better way to start your weekend than by downloading some brand new MP3’s from iTunes or even better, Amazon.com. Since iTunes has raised the prices on their music downloads you can save a bunch of money by downloading Amazon.com’s high quality MP3’s. The Amazon.com MP3’s are encoded at 256kbps and they sound extremely good! They’re DRM free and you can play them on every MP3 player in your house, car or portable. Today I’m putting up a couple of my personal favorite classics. I’m posting the Electric Light Orchestra album “Time” which heavily influenced me when I was young both in terms of composing music and lyric writing. I’m also putting up the classic Journey album “Frontiers”.
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What Can You Do If Your Live Band’s Volume Is Too Loud Onstage

A Drum Shield Will Help Control Stage Volume

One of the most common problems with playing in a live band is dealing with loud stage volume. High stage volumes can hurt you and your band in several different ways. The biggest problem with having a high stage volume is the terrible toll it takes on your hearing. You are literally destroying your hearing when you have things too loud onstage. It also doesn’t help your band at all when the clubs that book you are complaining about volume either. I’ve heard of many bands not being asked to play again because they were too loud. So what can you do to deal with high stage volumes? (more…)
Music Theory Explained In The Guitar Grimoire – A Notated Intervallic Study Of Scales

The Guitar Grimoire – A Notated Intervallic Study Of Scales

The ongoing quest for every live musician is to increase their knowledge and playing skills. When you play in a live band it’s really to your advantage to have a good grasp of general music theory. Every guitarist I know wants to be able to play blazing fast guitar licks but most of them fall short when it comes to knowing what scales or notes to play and when to play them. I’ve played with guys that were lightning fast but their playing wasn’t musical because of their poor note selection.

The other day I wrote about the excellent book “The Guitar Grimoire – Scales and Modes” which introduces you to the concept of music scales and modes as well as telling you which chords to play them over. The whole point to studying and learning the scales and modes is being able to put them into practice while your band plays the chordal harmony for them. Today I’m going to talk about the Scales and Modes companion book “The Guitar Grimoire – A Notated Intervallic Study Of Scales“. (more…)
Fender Cyber-Twin SE Amplifier Demo Video

For all you guitarists currently playing in a live band, Fender Musical just posted up this excellent demo video of the Fender Cyber-Twin SE Amplifier. I use and love the Fender Cyber-Twin SE and I highly recommend this amplifier for any gigging musician out there. Greg Koch is absolutely right about the Cyber-Twin SE saving you from having to haul tons of equipment to your gigs. That’s the main reason I began using the Cyber-Twin SE, so I wouldn’t have to haul so many different pieces of equipment to the gig.

The video features guitarists Greg Koch and Gary Hoey along with Fender amplifier marketing manager Shane Nicholas. Needless to say, you’re in for some excellent guitar playing in this video! This is by far the best demo video I’ve seen of the Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier and it’s worth watching simply for the incredible guitar playing by Gary Hoey in part 3 of the video. (more…)
Master Scales And Modes Music Theory With The Guitar Grimoire

The Guitar Grimoire – Scales & Modes

I’m always trying to increase my knowledge and skills on the guitar and keyboard so I can get better at playing in my live band. I’ve been playing guitar for about 28 years but it seems like there’s always something more to learn. I’ve got a good background of music theory but I’ve always wanted to be better at applying various scales and modes to different chord structures. Today I want to tell you about an excellent book I just picked up called The Guitar Grimoire – Scales & Modes by Adam Kadmon.

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In A Live Band, Multiple Skills Will Increase Your Value

Frank and Kyle Are Both Multi-Instrumentalists

One thing I’ve noticed in my years of playing in a live band is how important members are that can do multiple things in the band. I was in a band where we had a lead guitar player that was a good lead guitar player, but that’s all he did. He didn’t sing lead or sing backup, he only brought his guitar and his amp and he didn’t book any of the gigs. Yes he would have the songs all learned and he played his parts perfectly but he just didn’t seem to contribute as much as the other members of the band.

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