Hey Guys, time for something a little different: let's have a look at the best apps to help you to improve as a guitarist or have nifty tricks up your sleeve on the go. Here are my go to apps: (make sure to read the note at the end of this article :) )
First off, you need a good tuning app. You will use it more often than you would think as long as the app is reliable, simple and clean. And that's exactly wheregStrings steps up (this Play Store link contains the free version with ads): you can customize it all you want so it matches your will, it works great when set on auto tune. However I would suggest going into the settings, select 'Optimize for' the guitar, of course. If you get prompted to install the 'new' Waves tuner app by the same developer, you can try, but if I were you, I'd stick with gStrings. It's cleaner and easier in its interface. And most importantly, it gets the job done nice and fast. If you feel like supporting the developer or want to get rid of the ads, consider going for the 3€ pro version.
Next, you will need an app that adjusts its scales, backing tracks, etc. all to your will. However, these apps are difficult to find and are either not complete or pricey. In this case, I'd recommend Guitar Jam Tracks Scales Buddy, which is on sale right now, so you should be able to get it for 3$ . This app is available on both platforms, but costs more on the App Store. The app has an outdated interface, but is so powerful it is really worth the many MBs of storage. Hook it up with your practice amp (like I do with my Micro Cube) and you can have lots of hours of fun, while discovering new things. An absolute recommendation for any guitarist.
Guitar Amp Settings is an old and unknown app, but it might come in handy for a beginning artist, when you're not sure how to get that tone of one of your favourite songs. It gives you the amp settings for some of the most famous songs. Of course you need to keep in mind the neutral tone of your amp, but it steers you in the right direction.
AnySong Chord Recognition as the title says is made to recognize and display the chords played in a song stored on your device. The free app does it for the first 40 seconds, the full version does the same for entire songs. As always, try out the free versions before moving to the paid app, but it's a really nifty tool, so make sure to check it out! It's an 'old' app, but then again, the tool is so useful and unique, I don't mind and my guess is: neither will you. NOTE: This article will be updated regularly as I discover more great apps, and you suggest your favourites! Make sure to sure this article with your guitar playing friends and give feedback. Together we can make a great list of useful guitar apps!
Alright, everyone, I know it has been a while (I had finals this month) but I am going to try and make up for it. And I am going to do that by reviewing the very first pedal in order of my own pedal board. For those of you who aren't that experienced in the order of pedals in the pedal chain, I will upload the most common order soon, but you can always experiment a little bit and see what you like best.
Anyway, back to the pedal: The BC-108 Sunface is a fuzzface pedal made by Mike from Analogman.
Analogman is kind of similar to Keeley, it creates some pedals but is also well known for its modding of popular pedals. The BC-108 is one of their own pedals. They produce several types of fuzz pedals, using different circuits, transistors, etc. The silicon based BC-108 is a 70's style fuzz, which creates that typical David Gilmour and even Jimmi Hendix fuzz tone. As soon as you turn it on, you can start experimenting and there is lots of experimenting to do: just like most high-end fuzz pedals, it is extremely versatile. Change the amount of fuzz, and you can anywhere from that dirty sound, infinite-sustain like fuzz to a slight drive. Change the amount of volume and you get even more tones, ranging from a fat, to a thinner fuzz. Same goes when you touch your volume knobs on the guitar itself, it doesn't decrease the actual volume, but it does make your fuzz more or less fat, depending on in which direction you roll your volume knob. I'd recommend this pedal for anyone who plays Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd, Jimmi Hendrix and all similar artists from that era. If you are going to order one from Analogman's shop, I do highly recommend not saving on the LED and power jack options. The rest is up to you. One little tip however: if you do not own a tube amp, you might want to consider something else, because this thing really shines combined with (loud) tube amps. It creates the best and sweetest sound you'll ever hear combined with a tube driver, or a tube amp cracked all the way up. Another thing worth noting, even if you have a tube amp, is its relatively hefty price tag. I will tell you however, that this pedal has been in my board a long, long time, and I have never regretted buying it, even though it's not the cheapest of pedals. Quality comes at a cost, so they say, and in this case you'll end up paying 215 USD (more or less 180 euros after taxes).
For my last post of 2013, I wanted to write about the TC Electronic Ditto Looper. Not only has it become my favourite pedal on my pedal board, it was also a Christmas present from my girlfriend.
The Ditto Looper is - as the name says - a looper, but a very special one; in fact: it is the smallest looper out there, the easiest to operate and it is the best tone keeping looper the world has ever seen.
Dimensions
Width: 51 mm / 2,00 in
Lenght: 93 mm / 3,66 in
Height: 45 mm / 1,77 in
To give you an idea of these dimensions, it is only a bit longer than a credit card and it is just as wide.
Price
And not only the dimensions are impressive, so is the price tag. You should be able to pick it up for somewhere near 100 Euros or 130 USD, depending on where you live.
Review
Back to the pedal; to keep things that small TC Electronic have thrown out every unnecessary feature, and created an affordable pedal that keeps your tone, thanks to the analog dry-through and true-bypass the fitted it with. But the small casing makes us wonder what the Ditto Looper would be like in actual use.
Well, as it turns out, the only thing you might miss is the drum functionality its (more expensive) rival, the Boss RC-3, has to offer.. You don't get any of the fancy tap tempo or parallel loop functions the more premium loopers have either.
What you do get, however, is a very small and lightweight pedal that is incredibly easy to use and can record up to 5 minutes of loop. You can do an unlimited amount of overdubs and -again- all that without a loss of audio quality.
And to show you just what the power of the Ditto Looper has, I am going to list some of my favourite YouTube videos of the Ditto Looper at the end of this article, together with a link to the TC Electronic website, so you know where you can find your local dealer to give it a try.
I tried it myself a couple of times at my local dealer too. However, I was a little short on cash, since I had just bought the Epiphone Emperor Swingster Royale you might have read about.
But apparently, I have talked about it that much, that my girlfriend decided to buy it for me as a Christmas present. SInce then, I haven't been able not to mess around with it, just because its great for playing your favorite songs with some (self-made) backing tracks to it or just to exersice your scales and improvisation skills.
I truly believe that the TC Electronic Ditto Looper can help any guitar player -
beginner or advanced- pick up new tricks and scales very quickly while having a lot of fun, the way learning and jamming was meant to be.
To wrap things up, the Ditto Looper makes a great companion for any guitarist, to create tracks or cover them everywhere you go: easy and fun. And for the smaller price tag, it might be worth considering adding it to your pedalboard, because you will use it way more than you ever though you would.
I would like to thank my girlfriend for her support, not only for tolerating my guitar obsession, but also for encouraging me to play more often and to write about what I love.
I know I haven't got too many readers right now, which is why I would like to thank the readers I do have for taking the time to read my articles.
