Guitar World has come through with another great guitar gear walk through featuring Zach Blair of Rise Against. Zach joined Rise Against for the recording and touring support of the “Appeal to Reason” album. It’s loaded with amazing song writing and catchy guitar riffs, and their live performances are a must-see. This also marks the first time I’ve seen a punk guitarist using a Rivera Knucklehead amp in their live setup and it sounds pretty amazing. No big surprises in the guitar catalog, the standard Les Paul with Seymour Duncan pickups. Overall a great video specifically focusing on the bands guitar gear.
I’ve been recieving a lot of questions from the Online Guitar Tuner page asking about my opinion on the best guitar tuners on the market today. Rather than make up reviews for the thousands I haven’t used, I opted to show my favorites based on the price range.
Top of the Line Guitar Tuner – Peterson Strobe Tuners
Peterson Strobe Tuners are the most accurate and reliable tuners I’ve ever used. For the record, I’ve never been able to afford one so the only time I’ve seen them in action is at established guitar shops and on the racks of major touring bands. It’s hard to beat a strobe tuner for exact tuning, which is a very important part to performing the perfect guitar setup. Be prepared to fork over big bucks for a Peterson Tuner, the pro editions can easily run $500 – $1200 US. Luckily for the the less fortunate, Peterson makes pedal and handheld units that are much more affordable.
Rackmount Guitar Tuner – Korg DTR-1000 Digital Tuner
Every good guitar rack needs a trustworthy tuner that can be seen from a distance and be a precise as possible. My favorite has been the Korg DTR-1000 for some time now. Korg has newer models available now with new features like metronomes, strobes and alternate tuning modes but I’ve always been a low-maintanence guitarist. The DTR-1000 locks on to a note and doesn’t jump around like a lot of tuners I’ve used and I can see the note I’m at from 20 feet away on a dimly lit stage. For a little under $200 US, you can pick one of these up brand new and you’ll be glad you did.
Pedal Guitar Tuner – Boss TU-2
When it comes to affordablility, quality and durablity it’s hard to beat Boss pedals. So in the great tradition of indestructable guitar pedals, Boss gave us the TU-2 a few years back. This pedal is built like a tank with the internal workings of a laser guided missile. It has incredibly accurate tuning, super-bright LED’s, multiple tuning modes and it works as a great guitar signal mute when the footswitch is pushed. I’ve seen plenty of guitarists use these in combonation with a rack tuner to get quick tuning updates done in the middle of the stage rather than walking to their backline. Most stores sell for around $90 US and they’re worth every penny. Honorable mention goes to the Planet Waves PW-CT-04 Chromatic Pedal Stage Tuner. It’s new to the market, but a direct competitor that’s worthy of challenging Boss.
It’s always good to have a cheap chromatic tuner around for jam sessions or lonely songwriting in the bedroom. There’s a lot of competition in the $25 or less market for guitar tuners. Korg’s have always treated me well and have the basics that I need. Accurate, long battery life and quick note detection make the Korg GA-30 my pick. I’ve had one for years and it’s never failed me, and it’s cheap enough that I don’t have to hunt down my friends that borrow and forget to return them to me.
One of the best tools I’ve been introduced to in the last few years turned out to be one of the best self guitar lessons I’ve ever had, and one of the best ways to remember a cool riff as it develops. Teach yourself guitar by learning how to play your favorite songs. And there’s a world of downloads to keep you entertained.
Guitar Pro is essentially a program that will bring a guitar tab to life. It’s powered by a MIDI engine that will read and playback the notes while you follow along with the tab. For those of us who don’t always practice with a metronome, it breaks down the tough runs for us. Although the backup band isn’t that fantastic (come on, it’s a basic MIDI engine), it will still keep you in time and involved in the song. With multiple instruments and tracks playing simultaneously, you can just focus on the leads or solidify the rhythm track. It’s even pretty neat to go see the vocal or keyboard parts transcribed for guitar. Stare in amazement as you see your favorite Dragon Force song being shredded out by a computer.Once you’ve acquired the software, head over to a reputable guitar tab site. I recommend Ultimate-Guitar.com for its accurate tabs, constantly updated tab list and lack of “payment required” access. In other words, the guitar tabs are free as of this posting. Run a search for your favorite song (and don’t be afraid to challenge yourself!) You’ll see Guitar Pro files listed with ratings on song accuracy. Download, rock.
Guitar Pro is also an excellent arrangement tool for songwriters. With a little to no knowledge of written music, you can quickly pick it up and compose that masterpiece that’s been begging to be unleashed upon the masses. Use Guitar Pro to mesh your riffs into songs rather than random thoughts, and add accompanying instruments behind it. You might be surprised at how well a part sounds on piano rather than electric guitar. Or a vocal line played on a trumpet. What ever it is, it’s worth the time spent experimenting and amusing yourself. You can even transpose your songs into different keys to see if down-tuning really is the way to go, or write a song out in an alternate guitar tuning a la Kashmir. It even has guitar tricks like whammy (take it 3 octaves up if you’d like), artificial harmonics, slides, hammer-on’s and even pick scrapes.
So stop making excuses not to practice, or take up that New Year’s resolution before it’s forgotten about. Either way, Guitar Pro is going to be the tool to get you to the next step.
An internal debate I’ve been having recently revolves around the constant options guitar players have with effects, analog or digital? To explain further, digital processor/modeler or traditional pedal board?
I’ve used my trusty traditional pedal board for years. It’s been a constant revolving door of Dunlop , BOSS, Electro Harmonix, DOD, Digitech (almost every kind of guitar pedal) wiring configurations and power supplies. With all the knobs and dials a guitar tone freak could hope for. The upsides have always been similar. Great tone and dependability (and the flexibility wasn’t bad either). The downside has become a bit more apparent recently. The more pedals I add to my pedal board also means more space required, and I’m currently the proud owner of 2 decommissioned pedal boards. The current two-tier pedal board I’m using is one of the pieces of gear I’m most proud of. Until it comes time to remove it from the rehearsal studio into the real world of gigging on tiny stages made for a drummer and maybe three other performers. My pedal board has become the fifth wheel in this relationship. Aside from the massive amounts of room required for it now, the weight of the pedal board and case is closely approaching that of my Mesa Boogie 4×12 cabinet.
*I know at this point you may be thinking I should just remove pedals and my problem is solved. You will meet this with as much resistance as taking a baby panda from her mother. It just doesn’t happen with a guitar tone obsessed player such as myself.
To help with the issues mentioned above, I recently purchased aLine 6 POD XT Live Guitar Multi Effects Pedalboard. The reviews I’ve read rant about the ease of use, and the above average sound quality. In my experiences, Line 6 gear has always been a great performer and continues to be. I sat down over two different nights and set all of my presets to the standard configurations I am used to. The next rehearsal was the testing ground for the new unit. The sound was right on par with my expectations. With some tweaking, I was able to achieve a lot of the sounds from my old pedal board with ease.
With all sound and testing aside, I felt incomplete. My over three feet by two feet pedal board of tangled wires and endless knobs was no longer there to provide the confidence boost it always had. But to the unknowing listener, nothing had changed in my guitar tone. It was almost awkward to only press one button and call a preset that normally took me three taps on pedals in a fancy tap dancer move. It wasn’t the usual eye sore on the floor everyone noticed, and it didn’t have any of the hum the old pedal board did. This new Line 6 unit had to be the obvious winner right?
Yet I never felt right. Almost like I was cheating.
Has anyone else dealt with this? Do the withdraws ever end?!
Peterson Strobe Tuners are the most accurate and reliable tuners I’ve ever used. For the record, I’ve never been able to afford one so the only time I’ve seen them in action is at established guitar shops and on the racks of major touring bands. It’s hard to beat a strobe tuner for exact tuning, which is a very important part to performing the perfect guitar setup. Be prepared to fork over big bucks for a Peterson Tuner, the pro editions can easily run $500 – $1200 US. Luckily for the the less fortunate, Peterson makes pedal and handheld units that are much more affordable.
Every good guitar rack needs a trustworthy tuner that can be seen from a distance and be a precise as possible. My favorite has been the Korg DTR-1000 for some time now. Korg has newer models available now with new features like metronomes, strobes and alternate tuning modes but I’ve always been a low-maintanence guitarist. The DTR-1000 locks on to a note and doesn’t jump around like a lot of tuners I’ve used and I can see the note I’m at from 20 feet away on a dimly lit stage. For a little under $200 US, you can pick one of these up brand new and you’ll be glad you did.
When it comes to affordablility, quality and durablity it’s hard to beat Boss pedals. So in the great tradition of indestructable guitar pedals, Boss gave us the TU-2 a few years back. This pedal is built like a tank with the internal workings of a laser guided missile. It has incredibly accurate tuning, super-bright LED’s, multiple tuning modes and it works as a great guitar signal mute when the footswitch is pushed. I’ve seen plenty of guitarists use these in combonation with a rack tuner to get quick tuning updates done in the middle of the stage rather than walking to their backline. Most stores sell for around $90 US and they’re worth every penny. Honorable mention goes to the Planet Waves PW-CT-04 Chromatic Pedal Stage Tuner. It’s new to the market, but a direct competitor that’s worthy of challenging Boss.
It’s always good to have a cheap chromatic tuner around for jam sessions or lonely songwriting in the bedroom. There’s a lot of competition in the $25 or less market for guitar tuners. Korg’s have always treated me well and have the basics that I need. Accurate, long battery life and quick note detection make the Korg GA-30 my pick. I’ve had one for years and it’s never failed me, and it’s cheap enough that I don’t have to hunt down my friends that borrow and forget to return them to me.
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