Live Musician Central

Category: Guitar Gear

Guitars, Effects, Accessories, Amps and more

  • Big Bends Guitar Care Products

    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.         (more…)

  • Equipment Protection – The Furman PL-Plus II Power Conditioner

    Furman PL-Plus II Power Conditioner with Voltmeter

       Being a guitar player and using very voltage sensitive amplifiers, I have always struggled with getting good clean power to my equipment. Bad power can cause all sorts of problems from strange noises to complete equipment failure. Today I’m going to recommend the power conditioner I use on my guitar rig, the
    Furman PL-Plus II Power Conditioner with Voltmeter    .

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  • Take Care Of Your Hearing With Musicians Earplugs

    Pete Townshend – Rock Induced Deafness

       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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  • The Gibson Robot Guitar

      There are a lot of people out there talking about the new Gibson Robot Guitar. If you’re unfamiliar with this guitar let me tell you a little bit about it. The Robot Guitar is essentially a Gibson Les Paul Studio model. From a distance it looks just like a plain old Les Paul. From the front, the only thing that really looks different is one of the tone knobs. Once you take a closer look you’ll notice that the tuners look normal from the front but from the rear they’re bigger. That’s because each tuner has its own motor that will tighten or loosen the strings automatically. What’s surprising is the tuners don’t actually weigh any more than a standard tuner. They’re controlled by a pair of CPU’s that are connected to tuning sensors built into the bridge. All these components work together to automatically tune the Gibson Robot Guitar.

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  • Korg Pandora PX5D Multi-Effect Processor For Bass And Guitar

    Korg Pandora PX5D
    Korg PX5D Pandora

       I previously reviewed the Korg ToneWorks PX4D and gave it my highest recommendation because of the many applications that it has in your gear arsenal. To read that review click here. The latest and greatest offering in the Korg Pandora line is the:
    Korg Pandora PX5D Guitar Multi Effects Processor Silver.

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  • Learn Songs The Easy Way, Tascam MP-GT1

    Tascam MP-GT1 Portable MP3 Guitar Trainer

       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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  • The Best Guitar Picks – Clayton Acetal Standard Picks

    Clayton Acetal Standard Guitar Picks

       I’ve used dozens of different types of guitar picks over the years in the quest to find a great guitar pick. I wanted a pick with the following qualities:

    • Non-slip, sweat resistant surface
    • Long lasting and break resistant
    • Good hardness for a sharp attack

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  • The Best Instrument Microphone – The Shure SM57

    Shure SM57 Microphone

       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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  • Guitar Collecting

    Fender American Deluxe 50th Anniversary Stratocaster
    50th Anniversary Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster

       I am a guitar player so it goes without saying that I love guitars. I have 14 guitars and I would still like to have more. It’s really hard to pick just one favorite because they all have certain things they do well and each guitar comes with its own special vibe.         (more…)

  • Keep Your Guitar In Tune with Locking Tuners

       I have 2 Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster guitars and they’re my favorite guitars out of the bunch that I own. Today I’m going to talk about the locking tuners on the guitars. They’ve made my life as a guitarist easier in so many ways. The main purpose for having locking tuners on your guitar is to help keep the guitar in tune. The locking tuners I have on my guitar are:
    Fender Schaller Locking Tuners     

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