technology

Playing Tips, EVH with a GoPro, & the new iRig

April 1, 2015 by Matthias Young Leave a Comment

Steve Lukather Playing Tips: If you’re a fan of Toto, then you already know his name. Even if you don’t, you can still learn some great guitar tips right now. Music Radar was able to interview Lukather and gain some insight into guitar playing by following these tips:

– Push Hard For The Best Performance
– Make Each Note Mean Something
– Learn to Laugh Off Criticism
– Do Your Own Thing
– Practice What You Don’t Know
– Train Your Ears Carefully
– Hit the Back Wall
– Try to Make It All Connect

Read the article by Jamie Dickson for more details and context!

Create a Playlist: Reddit user J_for_Jules also has a playing tip for you. As you learn new songs, add them to a playlist in iTunes, Spotify, etc. Practice with this regularly to work on playing through the whole song and playing in time. It’s also a good way to keep track of your achievements.

ZZ Top Style Solos: We have a discounted four lesson package by Jody Worrell that will teach you the soloing style of Billy Gibbons. Learn how to make the right tone and note choices to create this blues rock sound.

The GoPro View of EVH: In an effort to showcase his new 5150IIIS guitar amp, Eddie Van Halen strapped some GoPro cameras all over himself and his guitar. The end result is a close up view of his playing technique and gear.

iRig 2: Some of the most innovative products to come into the market recently have been those which allow guitarists to easily plug in and play—No heavy guitar amp required. IK Multimedia’s original iRig had been a huge success, and they’ve just introduced the iRig 2.

This time around they’ve added an adjustable input gain, more compatibility with Android devices, and a 1/4″ amplifier output so that you can use your smartphone or tablet as an effects processor in front of your amp.

In my opinion, software such as this won’t replace amplifiers altogether, but from both a practicing and instructional viewpoint, it really makes mobile playing very user-friendly.

How to Protect an Acoustic Guitar | Making Music on iOS

February 24, 2015 by Matthias Young Leave a Comment

Three simple rules can help you avoid any major issues with your acoustic guitar:

Keep your guitar in it’s case. While it’s easy to grab your guitar off its stand to play, with extreme changes in temperature and humidity, it’s best to keep it in it’s case.
Humidifiers really help. Maintaining a constant humidity level helps to keep your guitar in optimum playability.
Avoid the extremes. Too hot or too cold. If the temperature bothers you, your guitar doesn’t like it either.

You can get more information on this at the PRS blog.

Tape Saturation FX Unit Review

Looking for a new FX unit to play around with? Premier Guitar has just reviewed the Strymon Deco Tape Saturation & Doubletracker, and it has some really great features! It’s tape saturation is aimed to rival even the high-end DAW plugins. The double-tracking is a vintage delay-feature where you can create some cool chorusing and flanging effects.

A Guide to Using Your Guitar with an iPhone/iPad

MacStories has an extensive look at all the different ways you can have your guitar and iOS device work together. This detailed article contains reviews of different amp/effects/recording apps, devices for hooking your guitar up, and many more issues and ideas.

Willie Nelson and Trigger

Rolling Stone has a new documentary series that features an installment on Willie Nelson and his now famous Martin N-20 acoustic guitar. Watch the video to hear the backstory and tall tales on what’s become one of the most famous guitars on earth.

Nelson discovered Trigger at a crossroads in his career. By 1969, he had spent nearly a decade trying to become a clean-cut solo success in Nashville. After a drunk destroyed his Guild acoustic, he decided to look for a new guitar with a sound similar to his gypsy-jazz hero Django Reinhardt (“I think he was the best guitar player ever,” Nelson says). His buddy Shot Jackson suggested the Martin classical “gut-string” guitar; Nelson bought it sight-unseen and gave it a name. “I named my guitar Trigger because it’s kind of my horse,” he explains. “Roy Rogers had a horse called Trigger.”

Review: Pro Metronome App for iOS and Android

December 4, 2014 by Matthias Young Leave a Comment

There are hundreds, if not thousands of metronome apps available, and I’ve used quite a few. However, I’ve found one that stands out from the crowd—Pro Metronome by EUMLab. As with most metronomes, there’s a jog wheel and a tap tempo, but this one has a very cool feature (that I’m surprised others do not)—a numeric keypad for tempo. It’s available for iPhones, iPads and Android devices as a free app with an in app purchase for a pro version.

While the paid version ($2.99) unlocks all of the features, the free version has all of the basics of any metronome app, and a few more, such as adjusting accents on each beat. I really do recommend paying the three bucks for this app. Remember when metronomes cost ten times the price?

Pros:

Lots of subdivisions, plus polyrhythms!
13 different tones, including voice; but most importantly—cowbell!
Control dynamics for each beat
Tap tempo
Practice timer
App works in the background
Use in portrait or landscape mode, and combine with AirPlay for large-screen viewing
Visual modes for beats, including colored downbeat accents and pendulum mode
Audio can be routed directly into GarageBand
Create custom playlists

Cons:

None.

Overall, this is the best metronome app I’ve used, and I recommend both the free and paid versions.

To learn more about playing guitar, check out our Free Guitar Videos app for iOS and Android.

Review: Guitar Tuna App (Tuner & Metronome)

November 6, 2014 by Matthias Young 2 Comments

GuitarTuna is a free app for both iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android that’s designed for tuning your guitar and other stringed instruments.

At first glance, the main thing that differentiates this from other apps is the interface. It’s laid out as a 3+3 headstock, which can be very helpful for a beginner with an an acoustic guitar. Each of the “tuning machines” are labeled with the letter name of the string. In the upper left corner, there is a settings button where the string orientation can even be switched from right to left handed.

The AUTO function allows you to simply play a string on your instrument, and the corresponding string in the app will oscillate and become highlighted. For beginning players who have not established a great sense of pitch, the display even reads “too low” or “too high.”

AUTO mode can be turned off and the individual “tuning machines” tapped to sound a string tone.

Alternate tunings and different instruments are available via in-app purchases.

The Metronome speed can be adjusted either by Tap tempo, rotary dial, or +/- buttons. The speed ranges from 30-240 BPM. Different time signatures are available from a drop-down menu. Depending on the time signature, lighted subdivisions will activate at the bottom of the screen.

Also included with the app are several games for learning chords and ear training, which is another useful tool for beginners.

Pros:

Easy to use
Visual display is great for beginners
Includes metronome and games

Cons:

No chromatic mode
Cannot change A440 reference
display is only visual, does not display fine tuning in cents
In-app purchases a bit pricey

Overall, this is a basic, easy-to-use guitar tuner. But with all non-chromatic guitar tuners, if your guitar is already way out of tune, it can be difficult for the tuner to recognize the correct strings. The included metronome and games add great value to the free app, though the tuner is limited in the free version.

To learn more about playing guitar, check out our Free Guitar Videos app for iOS and Android.