Category: Reviews

Equipment, concert, album and movie reviews

Planet Waves Auto-Trim Locking Tuners For Gibson Les Paul

Planet Waves Locking Tuners For Gibson Les Paul

One of my favorite guitars is my Gibson Les Paul BFG and I use it in my live band regularly. It sounds great and has very unique tones for a Gibson. It’s also got fairly cheap parts on it thanks to Gibson building it as more of a budget Les Paul. Recently I was stringing it up and as I was putting on the low E-String the string windings lifted the post right out of the tuning machine! I couldn’t believe it because I had never had a problem with Grover Tuners before. Let’s just say I’m less than impressed with the Grover Tuners build quality. (more…)
83rd Annual Academy Awards Musical Performance Review
Florence Welch Arrives At The 83rd Annual Academy Awards

Ah yes, the Oscars are an annual tradition for all movie lovers. As for we musician’s the show represents another important avenue for using our craft. That’s why at Live Musician Central we will be reviewing the show’s live performances of the songs nominated for Best Original Song.

The four songs nominated for Best Original Song are:
- Coming Home – from the movie Country Strong
- I See The Light – from the movie Tangled
- If I Rise – from the movie 127 Hours
- We Belong Together – from the movie Toy Story 3
(more…)
53rd Annual Grammy Awards Show Review

Lady Gaga Dancing At The Grammy's 2011

I said I wasn’t going to watch the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards this year but I just couldn’t help myself. One of my favorite live musicians of all time, Mr. Jeff Beck, was up for a couple of awards so I tuned in to see if he won. It was held on Febuary 13, 2011 and I do have to say I DVR’d the whole show because I just couldn’t fathom sitting on my couch for three and a half hours watching lame acceptance speeches directed at people I neither know nor care about. As usual, I’m looking primarily at the live performances that were featured on the 2011 Grammy Awards show. (more…)
Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl XLV Halftime Review

Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl Press Conference

I know that everyone and their dog is reviewing the Black Eyed Peas Super Bowl performance but let’s face it, Live Musician Central is the place to get the definitive “musician’s” review. As you know, here at Live Musician Central we don’t just review how the perfomers looked or how well they danced. We review whether or not the performers actually were able to play their music effectively in a live performance. (more…)
Fishman FT-1 Digital Clip-On Guitar Tuner Review

Fishman FT-1 Digital Clip-On Guitar Tuner

One thing I’m always looking for is a way to make things more convenient in my live band. The Fishman FT-1 Digital tuner is a great tuner to use if you want a quick, easy and fast tune. While not as accurate as some other tuners such as my Peterson 490-ST Strobe Tuner, the FT-1 is a great tuner to use if you need a quick tune on the fly. It’s great for tuning before practice or mid-song at a gig and is easily clipped on and off the guitar. You can also use this tuner on both your acoustic guitar and your electric guitar. (more…)
Live Musician Central Top Posts Of 2010

Top 10 Posts Of 2010 On Live Musician Central

Well it’s that time to reflect on the past year and start making our top ten lists. For all you musician’s out there playing in a live band I hope you’ve found Live Musician Central useful. I’ve had more traffic than ever to the site this past year and there have been some very popular posts. So I’ve put together a list of the top ten posts of 2010 on Live Musician Central. I wasn’t too surprised that the Fender Cyber-Twin SE Amplifier preset downloads were so popular. I’ve had a lot of good feedback on those. I was surprised that my post on the Musician’s Friend Stupid Deal Of The Day got so much traffic though. Without further ado, here’s your top ten posts of 2010! (more…)
Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns Album Review

Linkin Park – A Thousand Suns

I was never a fan of Linkin Park’s early records. I’ve always hated Chester Bennington’s distorted screeching that ruins almost every song he’s used that irritating vocal style on. That being said, the bands last album Minutes To Midnight was a turning point in the bands style and creative flow. The songs were suddenly better, the screeching vocals less prominent with actual singing taking it’s place. I became a big fan of the band after listening to Minutes To Midnight over and over again. (Although I did have to edit out Bennington’s screeching, scratchy, distorted, awful vocal in one section of the song Given Up.) (more…)
Rush Time Machine Tour At USANA Amphitheatre Concert Review

Alex Lifeson's Time Machine Guitar Amplifiers

Rush, one of the greatest live bands of all time, is on tour this summer. The tour is called the “Time Machine” tour and I got the chance to catch their show at USANA Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City on August 5, 2010. I really hate the traffic and parking situation at USANA Amphitheatre and I avoid going to any concerts there because of that. It takes a special band like Rush to get me to brave the traffic nightmare of USANA Amphitheatre. (more…)
Jeff Beck – Emotion and Commotion Review

Jeff Beck – Emotion & Commotion

For as long as I’ve been playing live guitar I’ve had people come up to me and ask me who my favorite guitarist is. Ever since I began playing at age 13 my favorite guitarist has been Mr. Jeff Beck. I bring some of Jeff Beck’s influence with me into every live band that I’ve ever been a part of. I just love his phrasing and the adventurous way he coaxes a myriad of different and astonishing sounds out of his Fender Stratocaster. (more…)
Highway 6 Releases Love Songs To The Desert On iTunes

Heidi Nedreberg, Matt Rushton and Tom Nedreberg in Highway 6

I play in multiple live bands as well as record with these bands in the studio. One band I’m involved with is named Highway 6 and is headed up by my good friends Tom and Heidi Nedreberg. They are a Father-Daughter team who write and perform their own original music. I’ve been playing with Tom in various bands for the past 20 years or so. This past year they’ve recorded their debut album, Love Songs To The Desert. (more…)