Live Musician Central

Tag: Guitar

  • Introducing The EVH Wolfgang Electric Guitar

    EVH Wolfgang Guitar
    EVH Wolfgang Guitar

        If you’ve been reading Live Musician Central for long then you know I’m a certified Fender products junkie. Don’t get me wrong, I own a Gibson Les Paul Custom and I love it but not as much as I love my Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster. So I was really stoked when I read about Fender building a custom guitar for Eddie Van Halen. That guitar is branded and named the EVH Wolfgang. It’s got some really amazing specs and according to Eddie himself the EVH Wolfgang Guitar is exactly the same as the instrument he plays live. In an interview for Guitar World magazine, Eddie is quoted as saying “The Wolfgang is a culmination of my 35 years of experimenting with guitars. Everything that I’ve destroyed, stumbled onto, learned and experienced in my journey to get to where we are now is in this guitar.”

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  • Buy A Used Guitar On eBay

    Fender American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster
    Fender American Deluxe Ash Stratocaster

       Ask any live musician and we’ll all tell you we love a good bargain. Some of the best savings on music equipment can be found on eBay. There’s almost always a good deal to be found on eBay if you just take the time to search for it. There are tons of guitars for sale on eBay and if you search through them you can find some real bargains. Here are some basic tips for buying a guitar on eBay:    (more…)

  • Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert – Bass and Guitar Duel

    Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert
    Billy Sheehan and Paul Gilbert

       This clip is of bass playing genius Billy Sheehan and guitar virtuoso Paul Gilbert. These two great live musicians played together in their band, Mr. Big. One of the highlights of the show is when the two players took center stage and solo’d on their respective instruments.

       This clip is a great example of two extreme players going back and forth and doing some truly incredible stuff. It’s long, but worth the watch.  (more…)

  • Should I Get Guitar Lessons?

    Matt Plays Guitar Like A Keyboard

       I get asked this question all the time “Should I get guitar lessons?” and it’s a question that’s quite tricky to answer. As soon as people find out that I’m a performing live musician they ask if I had music lessons. The reason these questions are tricky is because I did take music lessons in general but I’ve only taken about 4 formal guitar lessons in my life and that was because it was required in my college music studies. I’m a self taught guitarist, it’s my best instrument and I play guitar professionally in two bands. So when I tell people, yes they should get guitar lessons, it’s hard to justify formal guitar lessons from my personal experience since I never really had them. I’m going to answer the, should I get guitar lessons, question today on the blog.

       The answer is different for everyone and it depends on what other musical training you’ve had. Let’s start off easy, if you’ve never had any musical training on any other instrument then yes, you should definitely get guitar lessons right now and hang in there taking the lessons until you have a good command of the guitar and a really good grasp of guitar theory and music theory. (more…)

  • Brian May Guitar Solo – Live At Wembley Stadium

       Yes it’s the great Brian May, one of the greatest live guitarists of all time. Brian has made some incredible recordings with Queen over the years but his live performance is simply off the charts. This guitar solo is from the Queen DVD “Live At Wembley Stadium“. Brian’s solo is really fun to listen to as he plays around with delay’s and harmonies.

       This is one of Queen’s most popular recorded live shows and the filming is excellent as well as the sound. The sound on this DVD is mixed in DTS Surround Sound and it’s expansive and full.  I highly recommend Queen – Live At Wembly Stadium and you can pick it up from the Live Musician Central Store for the incredibly low price of $12.99 .   (more…)

  • 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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  • My Favorite Guitarist, Jeff Beck, Plays ‘A Day In The Life’

    Jeff Beck

         People always ask me who my favorite guitar player is. Well my favorite guitar player is Jeff Beck and he’s been my favorite since I was a teenager. He is a supreme musician both live and in the studio. I just love the way he gets so much expression out of his Fender Stratocaster. He plays with his fingers almost exclusively although I’ve seen him grab a pick a time or two. His skill with the whammy bar is unparalleled for musicality.

       This clip is Jeff performing the classic Lennon/McCartney tune ‘A Day In The Life’. The way Jeff Beck interprets this song is absolutely stunning in its beauty. The emotion that Jeff gets out of his guitar really defies description, you just have to listen to understand. It also shows what a beautiful melody John Lennon wrote in ‘A Day In The Life’. I hope you enjoy this rendition as much as I do.  (more…)

  • My Stage Amp – The Fender Cyber-Twin SE

    Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier front view
    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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  • Stevie Ray Vaughan Interview And Guitar Lesson

    Stevie Ray Vaughan

       Stevie Ray Vaughan is a legendary live musician. His live performance was simply amazing and he was very much at home on the stage. In this video clip Stevie talks about his playing and you get to sit back and enjoy him riffing away on his Fender Stratocaster. The camera stays on Stevie’s hands so you can really take a good look at what he’s doing while he’s playing. If you’re like me, then you wish every concert DVD had a camera just on the guitarists hands so you can see and learn what they’re doing. The only downside of the clip is I wish he was playing more but he does have some sage words of wisdom for guitarists. Enjoy!

    Stevie Ray Vaughan Interview And Guitar Lesson

    Fender Artist Series Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster Electric Guitar 3-Tone Sunburst Fender Artist Series Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster Electric Guitar 3-Tone SunburstThe Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster Electric Guitar is made for Texas Blues – Stevie style – with the same features as Stevie’s number one Strat. Unique features include a special “oval” neck, pao ferro fingerboard with 21 jumbo frets, three Texas Special single-coil pickups, gold-plated vintage hardware with Stevie’s unique left-handed synchronized tremolo, and special engraved pickguard. Pay tribute to a master with every note you play.

  • Planet Waves CT-03 Pro String Winder With Cutter And Tuner

    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…)