Fender Deluxe Player’s Stratocaster – Transparent Blue Finish
Even though I’m a skilled keyboard and bass player, I play electric guitar in my live band and the guitar is my main instrument. If I could, I’d buy a new guitar about every month. I can’t afford that so I get out and shop for them always looking for that next great instrument. The Fender Deluxe Player’s Stratocaster really caught my eye!
I like brand new guitars and I certainly haven’t bought into this whole “vintage instrument” craze. I believe that new guitars are being built better than ever before. It’s a lot more fun for me to get a new guitar and play it than to collect a vintage guitar and keep it in it’s case, un-played.
Today I’m posting a couple videos from YouTube that were posted by user “walkintheseshoes”. He is demonstrating the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB pickup in the bridge position and the Seymour Duncan SH-2 in the neck position. It’s a very well done demo video because he plays the same riff with the pickups set in their various configurations so you can really guage how the pickup sounds.
In the video he demonstrates each pickup alone, then combined and finally with the coil tap engaged. This is really an excellent example of how the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB pickup sounds. It’s also a great demonstration of how versatile this pickup is. (more…)
One of the best (if not THE best) humbucker pickups I have ever owned is my Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB pickup. I have been playing in my live band using the SH-4 in my custom built Stratocaster for quite a few years now. I have had this pickup in my guitar since 1986 and I have always loved the way it sounds. (more…)
I’m always looking for interesting and innovative products to try and and possibly use when playing in my live band. So I took a great interest in the the Jellifish Chorus Guitar Pick. The sales material says that you can get 3 trademark sounds from this guitar pick. Chorus, which generates a 12-string like effect. Pluck, which is like a hammered dulcimer. Bow, which sounds like a cello. So naturally I had to order one and give it a try.
I’ve got a great story about my experience with ordering the Jellifish from Music123. I ordered several different picks from Music123 that I had been wanting to try out including the Jellifish Chorus Guitar Pick. When my order arrived, the Jellifish pick had been damaged in shipping and the metal tines had become bent which put a serious damper on the picks intended uses. So I called Music123 to request a return authorization and the simply said, keep the damaged one and we’ll send you a new Jellifish pick free of charge. That, in my opinion, was excellent customer service. I didn’t have to go through the hassle of returning the damaged pick and I got 2 picks for the price of one. I was able to bend the damaged pick straight enough that it would work even though it didn’t work as well as the undamaged one. (more…)
If there’s one live band that changed the whole world of Rock-N-Roll it was Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen is one of the most legendary live guitarists of all time and he is also a guitar building guru. From his earliest day’s as a guitarist he was experimenting with his guitars and changing up their designs. Just the replica of his legendary Van Halen Frankenstein guitar is sought after by collectors and lusted after by fans.
The new EVH Wolfgang Guitar by Fender is the latest and greatest culmination of Eddie’s relentless quest for guitar design perfection. In this video, Eddie himself talks about the the design process and unique qualites that went into creating the new EVH Wolfgang guitar. (more…)
In celebration of Earth Day 2009, (yes I know it was April 22nd) Musician’s Friend is featuring manufacturers who exemplify eco-friendly manufacturing practices. They’re also highlighting manufacturers that show and extraordinary commitment to humanitarian issues. What does this mean to those of us who play in a live band? The chance to score some very unique music equipment and do our part to help save the planet.
Martin SWDGT Drednought Acoustic Guitar
Some of the top music equipment manufacturers feature very creative ways to help keep their manufacturing footprint to a minimum. Martin Guitar company uses wood from well-managed forests as well as using earth-friendly woods such as birch and cherry wood. I’ve seen some truly beautiful instruments made from Cherry wood such as the Martin SWDGT Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar which has solid cherry wood back and sides.
Make sure you check out the full list of enviromentally conscious products from top manufacturers such as DW Drums, JBL, Laguna and QSC. Just click on the green banners in this post to see the excellent products presented by Musician’s Friend.
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…)
This week on Live Musician Central I’ve been doing several posts on the recent Fender price increase. In case you weren’t aware, Fender musical instruments increased prices by as much as 30% at the beginning of March, 2009. This will have a big effect on all live performing musicians who use Fender products. I wrote a post earlier this week about how the Fender price increase affects working musicians. These instruments are the tools of our trade and I personally like using good tools but I don’t want to spend every penny of my earnings on them. That’s why I’ve been putting up posts this week with links for buying Fender guitars and Fender amplifiers on eBay. Buying used instruments on eBay is a great way to pick up some excellent instruments for decent prices. I’ve bought and sold a lot of equipment on eBay over the years and I’ve learned some tips and tricks for getting decent deals from good sellers on eBay. Today we’re going to discuss some tips and guidelines for buying used instruments on eBay.
Let’s face it, as a group we live musicians are hurting just as much as anyone else during this economic crisis. The number of available gigs are going down because people just aren’t going out to the clubs and spending like they used to. I don’t know about you but my pay for gigs hasn’t increased in quite a few years. The only way to make more money is to have a smaller band and as much as I like playing in a trio, I much prefer playing in a 4-piece band.
So with Fender’s painful price increase in full effect, I thought it would be nice to dedicate a post to some of the great deals you can find on eBay on used and new Fender equipment. Feel free to browse the listings below and then get out there and bid on some auctions. Maybe you’ll score a great deal on the guitar of your dreams!
[phpbay]Fender american deluxe, 10[/phpbay]
I have a decent collection of guitars that I use with my live band. I use some of them regularly whenever my band plays and some I just keep to use in the studio. Today I’m going to talk a little bit about my Gibson Les Paul Custom. My Les Paul Custom has a beautiful Wine Red finish with gold hardware and it plays like butter. It’s a really great guitar and I have to say it’s almost as good as my Fender Stratocasters. I use the Les Paul Custom a lot when I play live and it has quite a bit of playing hours on it. I had been using it for about a year when it developed a severe problem with string breakage.
