Category: 2. Live Band Equipment

What equipment do I need to play live concerts? What equipment should I use in my home studio? Find out here.

Download Free Fender Cyber-Twin SE Preset – 80’s Rock



Fender Cyber-Twin SE Front

Here’s another one of my custom Fender Cyber-Twin SE patch presets that I programmed for my Fender Cyber-Twin SE Amplifier. If you do any 80’s Hard Rock or Metal in your live band I programmed this patch specifically for that genre. It has some chorusing and some fairly heavy delay and reverb. As always I have the gain control on the continuous controller so you can easily crank it for the Metal stuff. I also put Chorus Depth control on the Expression Pedal so you can take the chorus all the way out or crank it up if you want to. It does sound nice and 80’s! I hope you like it.

   I used my ‘98 Jeff Beck Signature Stratocaster on this sound clip. It has a dual single coil in the bridge position and I have one Gold Lace Sensor and one Red Lace Sensor in those positions. I have both those pickups turned on together on this clip but the bulk of the guitar sound is coming from the Red Lace Sensor. It sounds like a bright humbucker. My Gibson Les Paul Custom sounds very similar to this clip. My 2005 American Deluxe Stratocaster sounds fantastic with this preset when I use the bridge pickup alone or the bridge and middle pickups running in series configuration using the S-1 switch.

LMC 80’s Rock

[flashvideo filename=http://livemusiciancentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/lmc-80s-rock.mp3 /]

Click the link-> Download LMC 80’s Rock MIDI Sysex

Click the link-> Download LMC 80’s Rock Text Format

   I have added this to the main Fender Cyber-Twin SE Preset Download page as well. If you don’t know how to use MIDI Sysex data I have written a tutorial here: How To Load and Save Presets On Your Fender Cyber-Twin SE.
Hot Deal On Gift Certificates From Musician’s Friend -EXPIRED-

The Gift Certificates Offer is over but you can always take advantage of the 45 day low price guarantee!

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How To Save And Load Presets On Your Fender Cyber-Twin SE With MIDI Sysex

Fender Cyber-Twin SE Front

I use the Fender Cyber-Twin SE Amplifier as my main amplifier and have programmed many custom patches for it. It would be catastrophic to say the least if I lost all my presets before or during a show. That’s why I have backed up all my presets in MIDI System Exclusive format and I keep a copy on our computer that we use at all shows. The best and easiest way to load patch presets onto your Fender Cyber-Twin SE Amplifier is by using MIDI System Exclusive data. The Cyber-Twin SE creates and communicates this type of MIDI data natively and it works flawlessly for backing up, sharing and loading your patches. It’s much easier than tediously entering in all the parameters by hand which would be very difficult at a gig. The beauty of using MIDI Sysex data is that it will save all your front panel EQ settings as well as all expression pedal settings and assignments for each preset as well.

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Save Money With Great Christmas Deals On Music Equipment

There are still some excellent deals on music equipment for the live musician on your shopping list. The best online music equipment retailers are really giving out some great deals that can save you a bunch of money. Another thing to remember is if you buy your equipment before the end of 2008, you can deduct your equipment expenses on your tax return this tax season. (Which reminds me, I have some cash from gigs that I still need to spend…) Anyway, check out the great deals going on right now at Musician’s Friend, Music123, ZZounds and iTunes.
The Guitar Player Repair Guide Review

Guitar Player Repair Guide by Dan Erlewine

The most beloved possession any live musician will own and take care of is their instrument. Playing in a live band over the years I’ve seen guys play on the most beat up and improperly setup instruments you could imagine. They still loved them but they loved them even more when they were setup correctly. I’ve been setting my own guitars up now for about 20 years and I have become extremely good at it. My guitars really play silky smooth. I take the time to properly set up the string height, pickup height, neck relief and intonation as well as maintain my guitars very methodically. I set my students guitars up for them and they often say “I didn’t know my guitar could be so easy to play!”.

Today I want to tell you about one of the most valuable books in my collection. It is by legendary guitar builder and repairman, Dan Erlewine. I bought his book “The Guitar Player Repair Guide” when I was about 19 years old and it has been very well used over the years. This book is packed with information about setting up, maintaining and repairing electric and acoustic guitars. It covers Fender style bridges, Floyd Rose style bridges and Les Paul style bridges. It goes in depth about how to setup each type of guitar as well. (more…)
Last Chance To Save $200 From Musicians Friend

So you want that Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster? Or maybe you’re really itching to buy the Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier that I’ve been talking about? Well, through December 2, 2008 you can save $200 on these items. Not only that, but you can get Free Shipping as well. I’m telling you, now is the time to buy those big ticket items. Hurry because this sale is ending December 2, 2008.

UPDATE! Well, you missed the $200 off sale, but Musician’s Friend is now offering fabulous holiday deals on all kinds of equipment. So you can still find great deals at Musician’s Friend. They’ve also broken down the categories into specific price ranges. Click on the banner below to see all the great deals at Musician’s Friend.
Download Free Fender Cyber-Twin SE Presets

Fender Cyber-Twin SE Front

As you know, I use the Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier in my live band and in the recording studio. I’ve spent many hours programming and perfecting my own custom patches for the presets on my Cyber-Twin SE. One feature that I love about the Cyber-Twin SE is the ability to transmit and store the presets to my computer as MIDI system exclusive data. That gives me a permanent backup of all my custom presets just in case anything happens to my amplifier. All my hours of programming aren’t lost if something catastrophic should happen.

Today I’m going to offer for download, two of my custom presets that I programmed.
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Get Ready For Christmas With Black Friday Deals

Here are some of the best deals for the live musician on your shopping list this Christmas. You can save a lot of money by using the following list of links to do your shopping. You can save 15%, 20% or even 89% on music equipment and accessories with some of these deals. There’s also a lot of chances to get free shipping on your orders, regardless of the weight and you know how heavy speakers and amps can be. You could save hundreds of dollars on shipping costs alone. There’s also a link to excellent equipment rebates and gift guides as well. Amazon’s Black Friday deals are huge this year too and they have a great selection of music and music equipment. (more…)
Perfect Club Speakers – JBL JRX125 Dual 15″ 2-Way Speaker

JBL JRX125 Speaker

NOTE: The updated JBL JRX125 is now called the JBL JRX225. It is essentially the same speaker with a new number designation.

Probably the most critical item that you will need to purchase as you become a performing live musician is a great pair of speakers. The success of your live band really depends on how well your sound is translating live and the speakers are the voicebox of your band. Today I’m going to tell you about my JBL JRX125 speakers and how well they have served my music.

I have owned my JBL JRX125’s for about 8 years now and have had no problems whatsoever with them. Visually the speakers are very nice looking with a rugged 18-guage steel mesh grille and a cloth covering. They have recessed handles on the sides and will accept both 1/4″ and Speakon connectors. The JBL nameplate on the grille and handles is nice and understated and keeps the speakers very professional looking.
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Fender Standard Jazz Bass Guitar Review

Fender Standard Jazz Bass – Midnight Wine

I recently helped one of my students purchase a Fender Standard Jazz Bass guitar. He is going to be using it in his live band. Even though the Standard Jazz Bass is made in Mexico I was very impressed with the quality of the build of the Bass that he purchased. The Standard Jazz Bass has all the components that made the Fender Jazz Bass famous. It has two single coil pickups each with their own volume control and a single master tone control. This gives you the ability to mix the sound of the two pickups together in a multitude of different ways. It gives the Jazz Bass a lot of tonal options that you wouldn’t get with the Fender Precision Bass.

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