Fender decided to mix up the guitar tuner industry norms with the Fender Automatic Guitar Tuner AG-6. We’ve all seen the tell-tale signs of a cheap guitar tuner, but Fender is covering its tracks with the AG-6 model. In fact, this model has a few innovative design features- a backlit display, for example. The first thing that will be noticed, however, is the glossy and sparkly surface that screams 1980’s glamour.
Read User's CommentsAlternate picking is said to provide more sustain and tone control, as stated by guitar legends such as Steve Morse. This type of picking pattern takes more time to learn than natural picking patterns such as directional picking. Most guitar players seek to use a hybrid of the two picking patterns instead, so the best of both worlds may be enjoyed.
Rhythm is one of the three building blocks of music theory. Without it, timing wouldn’t exist- much like the basic tablature system lacks timing and rhythm. For music theorists who take the time to learn the three building blocks of music theory- rhythm, harmony, and melody; the payout will be enormous in the long run.
Guitar players who are looking to record live sound for the first time will inevitably see a large amount of mistakes and errors along the way. Most beginners are simply satisfied with propping up a cheap microphone headset against the amplifier speaker and jamming away. Once the initial “cool” factor of being able to record music dies, guitarists looking to record their favorite riffs or songs will realize that a little more thought needs to go into the recording process.
Distortion is absolutely necessary if a guitar player is to play any type of rock or metal. Basic distortion seeks to “dirty up” a signal, and to make it sound more dynamic or “crunchy.” Out of the basic distortion family, there is overdriven, fuzz, crunch, high gain types of distortion.
Figure 1 - There are several basic types of distortion that guitar players should explore. Fuzz crunch, overdrive, and high-gain will be the most common.
Not everyone has the time or patience to learn how to read and write music with standard notation. Tablature, also called tabulature or tabs, is the world-renown solution that proves to be much faster in terms of learning, writing, or reading a song in standard notation. In fact, it is much more likely that a guitarist seeking to learn a song will find tablature long before standard notation is found.
Figure 1 - The top shows standard notation, while the bottom shows tablature. Notice how there is no rhythm or timing for tablature, as compared to standard notation.
Guitar FX Box claims to be a “real-time guitar/voice processor” with plenty of features. In this review, the voice processing feature wasn’t used, but the guitar distortion and recording features were taken complete advantage of. This small program surprises a lot of people with its cheap price of $20- and the wide range of features. This is well worth looking into if vocal or guitar recording is necessary for soloists or small bands.
Music theory is vital to any guitar player that is looking forward to a long-term hobby or even profession. The majority of young guitarists decide to skip music theory, and instead start learning tablature of idolized bands. This is often a bad idea for a number of reasons, and is usually better to learn music theory first- however “less fun” it might be, since it will be a phenomenal help in the long run.
Figure 1 - It might not look like a fretboard, but it is! Don’t worry if it looks confusing- it’s actually quite simple. Learning music theory is vital to the avid guitarist!
Alternate tuning might not seem like an easy task, but “Drop D” tuning is both easy and widely used. Modern rock, metal, and even jazz has used this tuning to make an easier playing method that gives a darker tone to music. A large number of songs, such as “Spoonman” by Soundgarden, take full advantage of the Drop D tuning method- allowing all power chords to be played with one finger!
Figure 1 - Drop D tuning is popular among many music types- such as grunge. Nirvana’s “Heart Shaped Box” used Drop D Tuning.
There are many myths floating around in the guitar community about amplifiers. Many myths claim that better tone can be achieved by certain “tricks of the trade”. Surprisingly, there are a great number of these myths that even the experts themselves sometimes believe- so it can often be hard to separate amplifier fact from fiction.
Figure 1 - The wealth of amplifier types, models, and effects have created a great deal of myths as to which particular way to go is best.
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