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.

Shopping For Gifts For Musicians

It’s that time of year again and I like to get my Christmas shopping done early so I can relax and enjoy the holiday season. For the live musician there are so many opportunities to be out playing gigs that shopping during December can just be crazy. One thing I’ve noticed about being a musician is that a lot of my friends are musicians too. It’s always tricky buying things for each other and it can be tough to think of new things to get for the players in your band year after year. I mean how many guitar picks and sets of strings can you give out before it all just becomes the same old boring routine?

That’s why I totally appreciate having a good musicians gift guide to use while I do my shopping. So today I’m going to give you links to 3 excellent gift guides from the top Internet music stores. I don’t know about you but I love ordering online and just waiting for the gifts to show up on my doorstep. It’s great to avoid all the crazy Christmas crowds at the stores. The only crazy Christmas crowds I like are the ones at the front of the stage cheering my live band on. So follow the links below for great musician gift guides.
The Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster – My Favorite Guitar

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.

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Hot Deals For Christmas From Musician’s Friend

Yup, it’s that time of year again and the best music equipment always sells out early around Christmas. Musician’s Friend has a Hot Deal for every live musician out there no matter what you play. Here are some links to help you find the best deals at Musician’s Friend.

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My Stage Amp – The Fender Cyber-Twin SE

Fender Cyber-Twin SE Front

My main onstage guitar amplifier for the last couple years is the Fender Cyber-Twin SE. As a live guitarist this amplifier has been invaluable to me. Because I play in a cover band as well as an original band, I needed an amplifier/effects setup that could cover a wide range of different guitar sounds. At a gig I will use sounds ranging from a country twang to hard rocking Marshall type distortion to full on saturated mid-scooped distortion.

I used to use a Digitech 2120 Valve Guitar System but it just didn’t have the punch and presence of an actual amplifier and it’s sound always left me wanting more power. When I was searching for a new amplifier I played a bunch of modeling effects units and amplifiers including the Line 6 POD, Boss GT-8 Effects Processor and the Line 6 Vetta 2 among others. None of those modeling devices gave me the playing response that the Fender Cyber-Twin SE did.

The biggest thing I noticed was on the other modeling devices, whether I played light or heavy, or when I turned the guitar down or up, the sound stayed the same. The Fender Cyber-Twin SE responded to my playing touch, guitar volume adjustments and my picking attack. It simply breathes more than a standard DSP modeling amplifier. There’s a secret to how Fender achieved this with the Cyber-Twin SE.
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Music123 Sale, 15% Off Your Entire Order

**This Offer Has Expired** Check out other great offers from Music123!

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: (more…)
Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder With Cutter And Tuner

$Planet Waves CT-03 Pro Winder\Tuner\Cutter$
Planet Waves CT-03 Pro WinderTunerCutter

One of the most essential tools you can have for your guitar and bass collection is a string winder. It’s a real challenge to hold the string in place while with one hand while having to reposition your other hand every time you want to give the tuning head a half turn. The other tools you need every time you change strings are a string cutter and a tuner. Well, the Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder\Tuner\Cutter is the tool for you. You can have all 3 tools right there in your hand while changing strings. The built-in tuner is so handy you’ll wonder how you lived without it before.

The Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder also has a built-in bridge pin puller. It’s nice to have that for pulling the bridge pins on your acoustic guitar. The string winder is a really handy tool and makes changing your strings so much easier. (more…)
Behringer Cable Tester CT100 – Essential Live Sound Accessory

Behringer Cable Tester CT100

There is one piece of equipment that no live sound man should be without and that’s a quality cable tester. In fact, no live musician should go to a gig without having a cable tester in the toolbox. Today I’m going to tell you about the Behringer CT100 Cable Tester. It’s one of the most affordable and most versatile cable testers I have ever found.

The Behringer Cable Tester is controlled by a microprocessor that intelligently checks cables in several different ways. (more…)
Get The Original Dunlop Crybaby Wah-Wah Pedal
Dunlop Original Crybaby Wah Pedal

Yes here it is, the original and still the best wah-wah pedal on the market. The Dunlop Crybabay Wah-Wah pedal. This pedal is the highest selling guitar pedal of all time and for good reason. It’s been used by some of the greatest artists in Rock-N-Roll history. Here’s a short list of artists who have used the original Dunlop Crybaby Wah-Wah pedal.
- David Gilmour of Pink Floyd
- Mick Ronson
- Kirk Hammett
- Jimmy Page
- Steve Howe
- Tom Morello
- Brian May
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Master Sony Acid Pro 6 With Power!: The Official Guide

Acid Pro 6 Power! The Official Guide

If you’ve been reading Live Musician Central for very long I’m sure you know I absolutely love Sony Acid Pro 6 Professional Music Workstation software. It’s extremely powerful and can be the heart of your own home recording studio. Sony Acid Pro 6 is a very capable and deep program which is easy to learn but can be a challenge to master. Today I want to turn you on to an excellent guide written by D. Erik Franks called “ACID Pro 6 Power!: The Official Guide“.

Acid Pro 6 Power is a deep, detailed look at the capabilities of Sony Acid Pro 6. The users manual that comes with Sony Acid Pro 6 will tell you the basic features of Acid but it doesn’t take you very deep into how to get the full benefit of those features. That’s where “Acid Pro 6 Power!” comes in handy to fill all those missing details. There is something for every skill level in “Acid Pro 6 Power!” and it can take your music productions to the very highest quality possible with Sony Acid. (more…)
A Simple, Effective Accessory – Velcro Cable Ties

Velcro Cable Ties

   After wrangling with tangled cables for years and years I finally found a fantastic solution. They’re really a no-brainer and something that you should have on every single one of your cables. I’m talking about the accessory that every live musician needs, Velcro Cable Ties!

   I honestly don’t know how I managed all those years without this simple accessory to keep my cables organized. Since I’ve been using velcro cable ties my cable last a lot longer. Without all the twisting and tangling that I used to deal with the cables don’t break down nearly as often as they used to.

   So make your life easier and pick up a pack of Velcro Cable Ties today!