From Premier Guitar – Gear Nannies: The Life of a Guitar Tech – Part 2

Posted by Paul Schille at 8:58 pm Gear, How To's, Life on the Road

Nov 222011

In Premier Guitar’s followup article on guitar techs, the focus turns to gear and some of the tricks and tips that these seasoned professionals use to keep their employers (and their gear) happy and functional. All of the guitar techs I’ve met over the last couple of years have been total gear nerds and have been more than happy to talk with us about how they do their job and some of the crazy things they experience on a daily basis. These guys have seen it all, so have a look and see if there isn’t a new trick here that you might find helpful. Enjoy!

10 Tech Tips from Touring Pros

Nuvigil superiority over provigil

Enter All the Current Contests in One Place – The Gigging Musician.com

Posted by Paul Schille at 5:49 pm Contests

Nov 182011

Here at The Gigging Musician, we’re constantly combing through all the music sites out there and reading all the email blasts that come through on a daily basis, and lately there have been a ton of interesting contests with some great prizes. Consider it an early Christmas present to yourself, but if you’re the type that likes to enter contests we’ve compiled them all here so you can easily enter whichever ones look most interesting you you. So have at it, and make sure to let us know if you win something and we’ll be sure to post it here for everyone to see!

Good Luck!!!

Fender to Give Away a Custom Fender Coldplay Telecaster
http://www.fender.com/promos/2011/coldplay

Enter to Win a Roland Cube XL Amplifier
http://www.facebook.com/RolandCorpUS?sk=app_208195102528120

Win a Full Rig From Wild West Guitars
http://guitarsquid.com/Latest/enter-for-your-chance-to-win-a-full-rig-from-wild-west-guitars.html

Enter to Win an Ampeg GVT5-110 All Tube Guitar Combo
http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/Ampeg-GVT-Tube-Amp-Giveaway/6006

Win an Epiphone Robb Flynn Love/Death flying-V Guitar
http://www.craveonline.com/music/articles/178051-win-an-epiphone-robb-flynn-lovedeath-flying-v-guitar

Play the Guitar Picks Match Game from The Grand Old Opry and Win an Autographed Guitar
http://by161w.bay161.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=11330535!fid=1&pdir=NextPage&paid=ae80033c-0f10-11e1-bb17-00237de49116&pad=2011-11-14T22%3A33%3A37.010Z&pidx=2&fav=1&n=1080435861&mid=4c612acf-0b20-11e1-bbe6-002264c2089a&fv=1

Enter to Win a Creation Audio Labs Holy Fire OD, Powertrain 1250 Power Supply, and More
http://www.creationaudiolabs.com/gear-giveaway-oct-2011

Win a Jane’s Addiction Signed PRS 24
http://guitarsquid.com/newsletter/squidpick/win-a-janes-addiction-autographed-electric-guitar/5/

Win a George Harrison signature Gretsch Duo Jet
http://guitarsquid.com/Squid_Picks/Oct2011/contest-george-harrison.html

Enter to Win ‘The Rolling Stones-Inspired Prize Pack’ from HD Tracks
(Includes Custom Fender Telecaster with Let It Bleed Artwork, Custom Gretsch Drum Set with Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out Artwork, and more)
https://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?file=fender

Win an Ernie Ball Axis Guitar and Goodsell Unibox Amp package
http://www.vintageguitar.com/the-great-vg-25th-anniversary-giveaway/?utm_source=Vintage+Guitar%2C+Inc.+List&utm_campaign=b9bba89dd0-20111020A10_20_2011&utm_medium=email

Win an Egnater Tweaker 40 Head and Matching 1×12 Cabinets
http://www.vintageguitar.com/hall-of-fame/?utm_source=Vintage+Guitar%2C+Inc.+List&utm_campaign=b9bba89dd0-20111020A10_20_2011&utm_medium=email

Win a Planet Waves Tru-Strobe Tuner
http://www.premierguitar.com/Survey/362/survey.aspx

Jeff Beck Week Continued

Posted by Paul Schille at 6:00 am Gear, Life on the Road, Videos

Nov 052011

To round out the week of Jeff Beck adoration (by me), I thought I’d share this interview with his longtime guitar tech Steve Prior. As is usually the case, the best gear info always seems to come from the tech! One of the interesting tidbits here is the huge neck profile on the first run of Jeff Beck signature Strats. It turns out that Beck didn’t like that large neck profile either and had Fender make him a bunch of necks from which he picked his favorite.

And if anyone was able to get a better shot of Beck’s pedalboard than I did last week, I’d love if you could share it with all of us here. I took a bunch of pics from the front of the stage, but even from there it was impossible to tell what all was on there.

Video – Jeff Beck’s People Get Ready in Seattle, October 2011

Posted by Paul Schille at 6:00 am Reviews, Videos

Nov 042011

Jeff Beck - Seattle 10/28/11

As I mentioned in my last post, Jeff Beck was in Seattle last week and I was fortunate enough to have tickets in the 7th row (Special thanks to Don and Jeff for that bit of luck!). Jeff Beck has been my favorite guitarist for as long as I can remember and I’ve seen him a few time throughout the years. The first time was in 1976 on the Wired tour, and it was easily the best show I’d ever seen. I was in high school then and I still remember parts of that show as if it were yesterday. To this day it ranks up there as one of my favorite shows ever.

Last week’s show was equally amazing, though quite different. It seems that Beck is now the acknowledged master who is completely comfortable with where he’s at and what he’s accomplished. His band was phenomenal, and he went out of his way to acknowledge and spotlight them throughout the show. As tight as any band I’ve ever seen, this is probably his best band since the original Jeff Beck Group lineup, and that’s really saying something!

I won’t bore you with all the details as there are some great reviews out there of his recent shows. But I did want to share a short clip I got at the show. People Get Ready has long been my favorite song, and holds very special meaning to me. I was able to get the first half of the song before security tapped me on the shoulder and told me there was no video allowed! So while I apologize for the abrupt end of the clip, here’s a great version of People Get Ready!

Once Again: Jeff Beck’s Guitar Collection

Posted by Paul Schille at 3:05 pm Videos

Nov 032011

In honor of the fact that Jeff Beck just made it through the Northwest for a handful of shows, and I was fortunate enough to see the Seattle show, here once again is my favorite Jeff Beck interview. In this clip he runs through a portion of his guitar collection, and as cool as the guitars are, it’s his playing that’s mesmerizing. When he picks up his ES-175 or 1954 Tele, he begins to channel Scotty Moore or James Burton. And when he shows you the old Gretsch he immediately sounds like Cliff Gallup. Easily my favorite guitarist ever, Beck continues to amaze and inspire, and I hope you enjoy this clip!

From Premier Guitar – Gear Nannies: The Life of a Guitar Tech

Posted by Paul Schille at 8:05 pm Gear, How To's, Life on the Road

Nov 022011

Blake Shelton Tech Area

From the big boys who couldn’t live without them, to the rest of us who can only imagine how cool it would be to have one, I doubt if there’s a guitar player alive who at some point hasn’t thought about either having or being a guitar tech. And now Premier Guitar is giving us a glimpse of life behind the scenes with Gear Nannies: The Life of a Guitar Tech.

Dierks Bentley Tech Area

Ray and I have been fortunate enough to do a lot of opening gigs over the past couple of years, and the first guy I look for when I get to a show is the guitar tech for the headliner. As a group, these guys have proven to be the nicest, most helpful people you could ever have the good fortune to meet. From Jon who techs for Eddie Perez in Dwight Yoakam’s band, to Frank who techs for all the guitarist in Kenny Rogers band, to Rob from Gloriana, to the guys with Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley and Lynyrd Skynyrd, they have all gone out of their way to make us feel comfortable working with their acts, and have shared some great insights into how they do their job on a daily basis.

Kenny Rogers' Guitars

I’ve been loaned those silver, reflective blankets to cover my guitars on a roasting hot stage (a must-have if you’re doing outdoor shows I quickly learned!), sat at the side of the stage with the tech for some truly awesome performances, built up quite a guitar pick collection, and even gotten to play some beautiful guitars. As a guitar player, don’t ever pass up the opportunity to talk with these guys. They are total gear nerds like the rest of us, and love to talk about their craft. A special thanks to Premier Guitar for this article, enjoy!