Top Ten Gigging Tips to avoid gigging disaster! FREE PDF Download

We have all had those gigs where everything goes wrong, where the unexpected becomes expected, where you think you are in Spinal Tap. So after years gigging I thought I would put together my my top ten list of tips to help you all be prepared for when gigging, hopefully so you can avoid some of the pitfalls!!! I decided to put all of these tips in a helpful PDF so you can download it an take it with you to gigs! In fact here is a bonus tip for you.

Bonus Tip

So the bonus tip is about using some of the amazing free apps that are out there such as Evernote or Dropbox to store your equipment manuals as PDFs, you can of course also store setlist, chords, charts, PL insurance documents, PAT testing documents, everything in one handy place which you can access on your Smart phone. Of course you can now add the top ten gigging tips as well.

Top Ten Gigging Tips

The gigging tips were to be a bonus chapter in my book, Guitar Creativity | A new way of thinking, but I thought it was slight of topic from the focus of the book, so I have decided to give it to you here as a FREE download, you don't have to sign up for anything, just download it and use it to your hearts content.FREE PDF Download Top ten gigging tips - Spencer Bruce MusicLove to hear your feedback!EnjoyPeaceNeil

Brucie's Extreme Guitar : Opinionated a New Lesson Series Introduction

So I have started a new guitar series of videos. The video below is an introduction to a new creativity and guitar lesson series I am going to be doing. The idea is that I will play devil's advocate on a number of issues that we all may hear about or know about. This is my opinion on the topic and I will also try and question that opinion as well.The main thing is asking the question, and seeing how I would answer and how you would answer, There is no right or wrong, and we all may learn something. Some of the topics might be controversial, some might wind you up a little bit, but please be part of the conversation and let's see where this goes.This lesson is about how to improve your phrasing by stealing rhythms from other melodic ideas. It is a great way to get our of a rut and find new meFor more in-depth information on maximising your practice time and finding your own voice on the instrument, check out my book Guitar Creativity - A new way of thinking https://gumroad.com/l/zCAXyFollow me onTwitter http://twitter.com/lightb4soundFacebook https://www.facebook.com/SpencerBruce...Instragram https://instagram.com/lightb4sound/LinkedIn http://uk.linkedin.com/in/neilbruceEnjoy!PeaceNeil

Light Before Sound New Album | Senescence

I am VERY happy to say that Light B4 Sound's new album Senescence is now released and on top of that you can listen to the whole piece in it's entirety, FREE, just a click away on YouTube (or click the video above).Senescence is an ambient cinematic electronic work exploring meaning in life, death and decay. The album tracks through the journey from conception to the ultimate ending. Ideally, the album should be listened to as one continuous piece, but each track features it's own unique message. It is hoped that the work gives those who listen a positive view and hope for the future. The album features guest appearances from vocalists Katie Muscat (Between the Lines) and Amanda-Rose Hill.Official premiere of Light Before Sound's new album "Senescence", Which is out out now!You can Download the whole album hereSubscribe: http://www.spencerbruce.com/lightbeforesoundStream on Spotify:Also available on Amazon, iTunes and all good online storesThe album consists of the following tracks :-

• Senescence I - Conception
• Senescence II - Memories : Day one
• Senescence III - My dream of life
• Senescence IV - Thoughts and changes
• Senescence V - You are a thing of beauty
• Senescence VI - One day, one chance
• Senescence VII - Day 22
• Senescence VIII - Reduction
• Senescence IX - Silence is present
• Senescence X - In between the silence
• Senescence XI - To try again
• Senescence XII - Who am I? No more
• Senescence XIII - In the end

Check out more music, videos, news and extras on: http://lightb4sound.spencerbruce.comFollow Light B4 Sound at:Facebook - facebook.com/lightb4soundTwitter - twitter.com/lightb4soundEnjoyPeaceNeil

Pedalboard Rundown : Atomic Amplifire Teaching board with Boss RC30 and Suhr Riot, EHX Nano POG

It is the already nearly August 2016 and whilst I have already posted a couple of different pedalboards recently this one is for a different purpose...teaching and demonstrating. So I have put together another pedalboard .....the teaching pedalboard!Not sure why but always seems like a good thing to do at the begining of the heavy gigging season and blog about it. I know how much you guys love to see pictures of pedals boards and read about them. So here firstly is the picture in action….. Atomic Amps Amplifire Pedalboard with Boss RC-30 for looping and teaching ideas, the EHX Nano POG for adding bass parts and the Suhr Riot for a bit of lovely distortion (The Amplifire has the third switch set to switch on the boost which is usually an OverDrive and switches 1 and 2 up and down on Patches), there is also the Jerry Cantrell Wah for when I feel like adding some interest.This now gives me the option to go directly to a PA, sound card, Roland Cube monitor or straight into an amp, depending on the gig or my mood. Just got a few different patches now to cater for bothFull review can be found hereEnjoyPeaceNeil

A song for Grimsby Football club

Sometimes you never know what job is going to come through the door! I was recently contacted by a very devoted fan of recently promoted Grimsby Football Club, whom currently wishes to remain anonymous, with the idea to record a song to celebrate their beloved clubs return to the football league!

Grimsby Football Club : A Song

This to me was a project with a difference, so I jumped at the chance!! There wasn't much time to get this project finished, as it had to be done before the first day of the season. The songwriter had most of the lyrics written and an idea for the style that they wanted it to be in, although we did try a few different styles during our writing evening. They also had a singer with them, and on the first meeting we came up with the style and made sure all the lyrics scanned.Due to my gigging schedule and their work schedule this only really left us with about 5 hours to fully record the song, yes....all 13 verses of it! So once we were decided on the style, I quickly found a basic drum pattern (thanks EZ Drummer!) and set to work recording a guide guitar track. Whilst the style leads it's self to a more live feel, given the amount of verses it would have been impossible to make it through the whole song in one take without and mistakes, or at least the ability to have options. So I recorded a guide and the vocally, we went through verse by verse doing a couple of takes of each....still a large undertaking on the singer, singing over 100 verses in all with all the takes! Everything was done in Logic, once we had all the song completed vocally, we all went through and using Logic's comping tool, made a few comps of the bits were there were on or two small issues.With the vocal track in place, I then went through and recorded a couple of different guitar parts which drop in through out to give some momentum to the piece, as well as creating a building drum part and bass part. Then after a couple of test mixes and fixed, it was mastered and stuck on to YouTube! All in all a very interesting little project and a reminder of how focused you can be when time is against you!It also got a mention in the local newspaper, so some fame at last!!EnjoyPeaceNeil

NPD JHS The AT (Andy Timmons) Overdrive pedal

JHS The AT (Andy Timmons) Overdrive pedal

So it is new pedal day today (NPD!) and my JHS Andy Timmons Signature overdrive has just arrived, so I thought I would do a video blog for no other reason than I am very excited!! I will be doing a review soon, but needless to say it sound AWESOME!!Some just asked me on Facebook...

What are the main differences between AT Overdrive and the Angry Charlie v3?

The main differences are the Angry Charlie has 3 band EQ which closely represents the overall tone stack in a Marshall JCM800. So it is very close to the Marshall Gov’ner pedal. THE AT Drive, has an over all EQ control, which acts a bit like a lowpass filter is used to adjust the overall tone of the pedal (so a bit like a mid control ish!) and the Air is a LP filter too but seems to adjust the HF response. The main difference though is the toggle switch! This give you 3 levels of headroom and is represents a 25W, 50W and 100W power stage. So at 25w you get a lot of compression and more distortion but at a lower level, 50W is a bit more biting Crunch/Distortion, and 100W is a really loud power amp type tone. I have it set at 50W currently and then over compress it by running the EHX soul food into it, this gives gain compression but a boost in the mids which makes it stand out on solos!Any more questions, just shout!EnjoyPeaceNeil

Boss TU-12H Tuner : Oldest Gear I own

>Boss TU-12H Chromatic TunerI thought I would share this picture post of one of the oldest pieces of gear I own, the Boss TU-12H Chromatic Tuner. I brought this when I first started getting into guitar seriously in 1988!! I saved a lot of pocket money to buy this Tuner, after having previously brought a Boss SD-1 Super Overdrive pedal and the thing is about these two items, gear has come and gone but I still have them, I still use them and they still work really really well!! I guess it goes to show, the tuner isn't the most exciting piece of gear you can ever buy, but it is a fundamentally important item. If not the most important item a musician might own!! No it isn't as sexy as an effect pedal, but it is vital to being able to play in tune and with other musicians. At the time, the TU-12H cost a lot of money and there wasn't much choice around at that time, and remember this was long before guitars went total mainstream and the influx of cheap imports!So the moral of this story for me, sometimes it is worth investing in good solid gear, it can in many cases last a lifetime!!What is your oldest piece of gear? EnjoyPeaceNeil