The complete opposite is true. Because all acoustic guitars are shaped from individual sections of timber, and the various models and brands are often made from alternative types of wood, it means that every single acoustic guitar is unique and different.

Even mass-produced instruments from the budget-priced manufacturers can’t avoid slight variations in appearance, playing action and tone. Of course, electric guitars are the same, except that being solid-bodied and dependent on the various designs of the inbuilt electronics, choosing an electric guitar is another process again with different considerations. Well, if you are confused about what kind of Guitar to buy, you can check out our post on: Types of Guitar: Beginner’s Guide to Buying A Guitar and here is a complete guide to what kind of Guitar strings to use on your acoustic Guitar.

We at Uberchord (click to download the free guitar learning app) strongly recommend that it is always best if you can physically handle a new guitar and get a feel for the instrument, especially the neck and playing action, and listen to the tone. But as always, there are some great deals online that are hard to resist. While it’s impossible to choose the five best acoustic guitars without any hands-on experience, we’ll look at the five best examples of ideas and options for your new acoustic.

Fender Squier Acoustic Bundle

Do you want some great extra, extras?

Is sticking with a well-known brand important for you?

Price: $189.99

You’re paying a little more for this acoustic compared to some similar deals, but the added extras are worth it.

In particular the hard case and the guitar stand (see our blog on 5 Most Essential Guitar Products for Beginners). The hard case will keep your new instrument safe and snug from the elements, while the stand is invaluable since acoustic guitars are notorious for sliding off walls and stools they’ve been leaned against—and getting badly damaged. A solid stand avoids that.

Being a Fender, you’re buying a well-established brand with a great reputation, so build quality won’t be a problem. Going for known manufacturers is always a good thing. All the other accessories complete everything you’ll need.

Epiphone DR-212 Dreadnought 12 String Guitar

Do you want to stand out from the crowd?

Is a 12-string guitar different to learn?

Price: $229.00

Calling any 12-string guitar suitable for a beginner is maybe ambitious, however if you want to “begin” a 12-string journey that will definitely make you stand out from the crowd (either as your first-ever guitar or your next) then this Epiphone is well worth considering.

It’s a good price, but more important, Epiphone guitars are known for their slim, but strong neck and fret board designs, so getting to all twelve strings isn’t the handful other manufacturers’ guitars can be.

To be honest, 12-string guitars have fallen out of favour a little as acoustic-only stomp pedals and special effects can come close to reproducing the 12-string sound from a normal six-string. Still, it’s only close and not the real thing—only a true 12-string instrument does that and it’s a wonderful, rich tone you’ll fall in love with. Actually playing a twelve string guitar is no different to six strings. The theory and technique are the same. It’s just a little tougher on the fingertips at first!

Another reason to try a 12-string is that the cost of replacement strings is so much cheaper these days. This guitar is affordable and so are all the accessories.

Fender CD-60CE Dreadnought Acoustic with Pickup and Cutaway

Do you want the best of both worlds?

Do you buy effects pedals for acoustic guitars?

Price: $299.99

If your first acoustic is more than likely a step towards eventually playing an electric instrument too, then buying a model with a cutaway body that gives you access to the higher fret positions is a must. You can play electric solo scales on an acoustic guitar.

Cutaway bodies usually come on the better-quality designs—meaning more cost—but with some careful choices (like this Fender) you’ll also get the inbuilt pickups that allow you amplify the guitar on stage. Plus, not just amplification, but that pickup opens up the world of effects pedals like delay and reverb that can create exciting sounds for your acoustic—stomp pedals aren’t just for the metal and hard rocker players!

Have a look at our blogs about Learning Scale Patterns and the A Minor Pentatonic Scale and you’ll see how the cutaway body design is needed for the higher scale positions.

With practise, you’ll need it sooner than you think.

Yamaha C40 GigMaker Classical Guitar

Are you looking for a classical tone?

How important is a good design in classic guitars?

Price: $159.99

Classical guitars are often mistaken for a cheap, beginner’s instrument—and for sure, they are a lot of budget, poorly-made instruments available. But a proper classical guitar has a beautiful tone and unique sound that certainly has a place in modern music, too. Plenty of well-known rockers and steel-string players include classical guitar in their recordings.

The important thing to know is that even some of the better classical guitars still don’t have a truss-rod system in the neck, so it’s vital you buy a quality instrument that’s well-built to last a lifetime. That’s why I like this Yamaha guitar.

Yamaha has been manufacturing classical guitars for a long time and the company knows its stuff. Also, this is a full-sized guitar—beware of accidentally buying a three-quarter or half-size instrument designed for kids. Plus you get the padded gig bag and a tuner. This isn’t just a good beginner’s classical guitar, it’s also a good buy for anyone looking to add classical tones to their repertoire.

If you are keen on learning more about classical guitars, check out previous post: A Beginner’s Guide to Classical Guitar.

Martin Backpacker Travel Guitar

Are you travelling all the time?

Do you need a guitar that suits a small living space?

Price: $194.99

Some beginner players find themselves in unique situations that don’t lend themselves to carrying around a full-sized guitar all the time, so I figured it was worth looking for a good entry-level travel guitar.

Similar to quality classical guitars, travel guitars need to be well designed and built to provide good tone and durability, otherwise they sound just like guitar strings attached to a baseball bat!

The lack of a true guitar body means there’s less structure to support the tension of the fret board, and they can lack deeper tones. It’s why going for an established brand like this Martin (a famous, very old “name” in guitars), albeit a little more expensive, is your best bet for getting a good guitar. Beware though, even the best travel guitars, while they can sound cool, won’t sound like a full-bodied design.

If you can, have a listen before buying.

That’s my five best acoustic guitar ideas for beginners.

Remember, if you can, try to get your hands on any of these first or, if you can’t and have to buy online, pay careful attention to more thoughtful, considered reviews. And it’s always better to spend a little more on an established, well-known brand rather than focus on any “bang-for-your-buck” deal from lesser-known manufacturers.

Now that you had a good idea of what guitar to buy you should start finding out what you want to learn! Our team at Uberchord has catered many articles towards beginners who are overwhelmed by all the information out there and just want to get started. Search our site for whatever you may need or check out our latest articles like dancing in the moonlight chords no capo, jimmy page effects, and how to find the pentatonic scale in any key. 

The post 5 Best & Affordable Acoustic Guitars for Beginners: 2021 appeared first on Uberchord App.

To start with, there are some things that will come in handy from the very beginning. Here’s our top five recommendations of extra guitar gear you need now.

1. A Sturdy Guitar Stand

It never fails to amaze me when I see top-notch players with seriously expensive guitars that cost thousands of dollars—and they don’t spend twenty bucks on a guitar stand.

Instead, they lean the guitar neck against the amplifier or prop it on a stool. This is the best recipe for your precious guitar to slide sideways and usually snap off a machine head—if not the neck itself—when it hits the floor. The same goes at home. Do you lean your guitar against the wall? Drop it on the floor where someone might step on it? Guitars of any kind are really badly designed to stand by themselves. Avoid the risk and invest in a solid guitar stand.

Our recommendation: Musician’s Gear Electric, Acoustic and Bass Guitar Stand Black
Cost: $12.95 (approx)

2. A Strong Guitar Case

Lots of beginners believe they don’t need a case, because it’s going to be ages before they need to take the guitar anywhere. It’s staying at home until at least you can jam barre chords, right?

But a guitar case serves a more important purpose than just protecting your instrument on the road. Guitars are made of wood—and wood is very susceptible to temperature and humidity changes. Plus, leaving your strings exposed to the open air will significantly reduce their life and turn them dull.

When you’re not playing your guitar, storing it in a good, solid case is like putting it into a snug, warm bed where the temperature doesn’t change, the strings are sealed in and the lid of the case puts an even pressure down the length of the neck keeping it straight. Another bonus is the pockets and compartments built into guitar cases for stashing your other accessories. Everything in the one place—brilliant.

Our recommendation: CAHAYA Acoustic Guitar Case | Thick Padding Waterproof
Cost: $22 (approx)

3. A Quality Capo

Many new players make the mistake of regarding a capo as kind of cheating, like you’re avoiding learning how to play different chords in different keys by instead using familiar fingering and simply shifting a capo to suit. However, you will need to change the keys of many songs to find the right vocal pitch—and here’s the kicker.

Some tunes simply must be played with the original chords to maintain the unique sound of the song. The Eagles’ classic Hotel California is a great example. Try playing it in a different key, figuring out the alternative chords you’ll need (a good exercise, by the way), and the song will sound entirely different and wrong.

Some of the picking patterns just don’t work. This is where a quality capo is a must for changing pitch. “Quality” comes with a quick release, a firm pressure across the entire width of the fret board, and a slim design that won’t get in your way.

Our recommendation: The G7th Performance Capo 
Cost: $38 (approx)

4. Genuine String Cleaning Product

It’s one of the hardest habits to get into, yet it takes so little effort. Even by just quickly cleaning your guitar strings after each and every time you play, you’ll extend the life of your strings a lot and keep them bright and slick under your fingers for much longer.

Considering that playing guitar should be a lifetime thing you’re going to do, cleaning strings will save you heaps of money, because you’ll replace them less frequently. Over, let’s say forty years, you’ll probably save about… oh, maybe four million dollars—okay, perhaps not that much. But you know what I mean. It all adds up.

Choose a proper cleaning fluid and a clean cloth that you use for nothing else, so it doesn’t become contaminated with chemicals that damage your strings.

Our recommendation: GHS Fast Fret Guitar String Cleaner & Lubricant  
Cost: $10 (approx)

5. A Comfortable and Safe Guitar Strap

Okay, this depends on making the decision whether or not you prefer to play sitting down or standing up.

If you want to play on stage, chances are you’ll be standing, which means you need a good guitar strap and you should do a lot of practise on your feet—because the guitar’s position against your body changes and affects the angle of your wrist and fingers.

A good strap should be wide, distributing the weight on your shoulder. Also, quality straps come with locking fasteners on your guitar—you might want to ask a guitar technician to fit these, if drilling holes into the wood scares you. There’s nothing worse than a cheap strap fastener slipping off the guitar and it falling to your feet with a crash—not to mention embarrassing and expensive.

It is difficult to pick a single guitar strap since they can be customised to your requirement, type of guitar, comfort and preference.

Our recommendation: Ernie Ball PolyLock Guitar Strap Locks
Cost: $12 (approx)

Guitar Tuner?

Some of you will be asking, “Why not a tuner?” A good tuner that you can plug in is very handy, if you are playing in noisy environments. Otherwise, you’ve got the Uberchord app with its excellent inbuilt tuner—and it’s free.

The post 5 Most Essential Guitar Products For Beginners: 2021 appeared first on Uberchord App.

I taught myself how to play the guitar and I’ll admit this resulted in learning some very bad habits that are proving difficult to shake off, especially after all the random guitar learning tips I got. I didn’t have awesome apps like Uberchord (click for free download) to guide me. The common problem with novice guitar players is impatience — those how-to books and websites insist that you take things slowly, focus on the basics and get things right from the start, whereas you want to begin shredding solos and be leaping from a stack of Marshalls with every power chord within… oh, a few weeks would be nice.

If you watch any of the best players in the world, regardless of whether they play classical tunes or heavy rock, they all have one thing in common — good technique, meaning they’re properly applying all those basic guitar learning tips for playing great guitar. Have a look at someone like John Petrucci (Dream Theater). Sure, on first impressions he’s going to frighten the hell out of your grandmother, but check out his left hand as he performs. Those blistering solos and chord progressions are achieved with what seems effortless ease and minimal movement, all because Petrucci mastered how to play the guitar with good technique from the start. Good technique, in the final analysis, is the proven best and most proficient way to play, putting your hands and fingers in the right place at the right time.

Here are my best 10 guitar learning tips for how to play the guitar with good technique. Some of them are kind of obvious, while others are the result of long experience. I hope they help. By the way, let’s assume you’re right-handed player. Lefties can make the obvious adjustment.

1. Avoid The Left-Hand Death Grip

When you first start playing, straight away you’ll discover that pressing the strings against the fret board is hard work, hurts your fingers and makes your wrist ache. The natural way to combat this is by hooking your thumb over the top of the fret board to get leverage, which inadvertently causes you to press the strings more with the flat pad of your finger (where your fingerprint is) rather than the actual fingertip.

This is sometimes called the “death grip”, because you do end up with a fairly fierce grip on your neck and it restricts the reach of your fingers. The proper technique is to have your thumb on the back of the guitar’s neck. This forces your hand to use the fingertips, which is far better and more accurate when it comes to playing just the notes you want without accidentally muting adjacent strings. The trouble is — it feels kind of weird and difficult at first, and your wrist will lack strength. Stick with it and you’ll appreciate the benefits further down the track. Remember these guitar learning tips, and that the thumb should only be on the back of the neck.

2. Rehearse Standing Up And Sitting Down

Okay, things are hard enough as it is without expecting you to waltz around the room while you’re playing. The important thing is, if you’re going to take this dream all the way, one day you’ll be standing up in front of crowd. Playing with your guitar slung across your shoulder is a very different posture to sitting down.

On a chair, you tend to hunch over and try to see what your hands are doing (another bad habit you want to avoid). Then, when you’re standing up, everything changes. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. You’ll find it much harder to see your left hand, for a start. Make sure you have a good guitar strap, adjust it to a comfortable length (forget slinging it down around your knees — looks cool, but it’s a crap playing position) and regularly practice playing while you’re standing up.

3. No Need For Speed

Don’t ever bother trying to learn how to play fast. Really, don’t do it. This is one of the most important guitar learning tips you can take away from anyone! Good technique is about accurate fingering and hitting the right notes every time, especially when it comes to scales and playing tricky bar chords. Concentrate on precise fingering. The truth is, learn to play properly and speed will happen all by itself. The biggest obstacle to fast playing is poor technique. Learn good technique and fast fingering will be a chucked-in-for-free bonus. Always take your time and play slowly. Use Uberchord Guitar App, it is a free app that listens to you while you practice the guitar and corrects when you play wrong.

4. Always Use Correct Fingering

Over the centuries of guitar playing the experts have long figured out the best way to play certain chords and scales, meaning which fingers should be playing certain notes on the fret board.

Occasionally, you might discover an easier way of playing these — you’re a musical genius and never knew it. Don’t be tempted. Correct fingering isn’t just about playing that chord or scale properly. Adding variations is considered too, such as sevenths and ninths, and your custom style of fingering a chord might prove that those variations can’t be played (yep, this is one of the things I learned the hard way). Pay careful attention to the correct fingering of a chord and your hand’s position on the fret board for scales. Uberchord will show you exactly how to do it.

Another article filled with guitar learning tips that will help you with your fret hand fingerings is this article on 4 note guitar scales inspired by Allan Holdsworth. Holdsworth is one of the most celebrated masters of legato, which is a technique that’ll test how well you can fret notes using just your fret hand. Allan Holdsworth was so great at this technique that he could pick just a few notes at a time but sound out many more after. We mention this because there are some ideas in there that can help you practice correct left hand fingering no matter how high or low a level of player you are.

5. Silent Rehearsing

You want to watch your favourite TV show when you’re supposed to be rehearsing? Don’t panic, a lot can be achieved by holding your guitar and constantly swapping from one chord to another or playing scales without plucking the strings with your right hand. What you’re doing is still training your left hand to play — it’s all solid practice. Good technique is locked-in habits when you’re playing. With your thumb on the back of the neck, remember?

6. Use A Metronome!

Playing to a click track is really hard at first, but the advantages later on are immeasurable. Your sense of rhythm and timing will get an early boost, if you try using a metronome soon in your career. However, don’t stress about it too much and make sure you set the beats-per-minute (BPM) to something very slow. The idea is to get used to playing in time and at a steady tempo, but don’t rush this at the expense of learning technique. By the way, you’ll find heaps of metronome apps on the internet. And, here are some guitar learning tips about the 5 ways you can use a metronome to improve your guitar playing.

7. Don’t Shy Away From Difficult Chords

A few weeks ago in my studio, I was recording a friend called Mary, a singer-guitarist, who would move heaven and earth to avoid playing a B minor chord. She found the fingering too difficult and used capos and all manner of transpositions to dodge the dreaded bar chord. If anything, you should seek out these difficult bits and spend more time and energy on perfecting tricky chords, otherwise, you’ll find them a mental barrier to your playing for the rest of your days.

8. Be Disciplined With Your Practice

Nothing beats regularly putting your hands on the guitar and practicing the latest lessons. Even if it’s just for ten minutes on a day when you’re otherwise too busy. Good technique comes from your mind and your fingers remembering how it’s all supposed to work, particularly when it comes to those tricky fingerings. Try to set aside some time every day and develop good playing habits. It’ll also help to build up those calluses on your fingertips.

With the latest version of the Uberchord App you can create your profile and set daily or weekly goals. It tracks your progress and sends you reminders, if you are becoming lazy and losing focus.

9. Give Yourself A Break and Listen to Music

The other side of the equation is not to push yourself too hard in the beginning. When your muscles start to creak and the fingertips are stinging, take a break and relax for a while. You can easily strain something and do damage to tendons and ligaments if you ignore the danger signs that you need a rest.

10. Don’t Forget Your Right Hand Practice

Sometimes it’s good to simply mute the strings with your left hand and practice creating a percussive rhythm with your right-hand strumming. Uberchord app also features a strummer trainer to improve your rhythm and timings.

Alternatively, choose an easy chord (or no chord at all) and focus for a while on any finger-picking and plectrum style that you’re learning. The point is that your right-hand technique is often ignored in the effort to get those fingers on your left hand doing the correct thing. Don’t forget that learning how to play the guitar is a two-handed deal.

There you have it. Like I said earlier, a lot of these tips are obvious and common sense, but many new players still make simple mistakes in their enthusiasm to begin playing exciting stuff. Get the basics right, the proper technique happening from the very beginning when learning how to play the guitar, and you can be a great player rather than just a good one.

If you’re wanting to learn such things as the notes in f chords, the ins and outs of the key of am guitar, or how to figure out why the thunder imagine dragon chords work so well together….then you should read more of the free lessons we have available on our blog here at Uberchord. We not only cover lots of stuff about chords, but also some very common chord progressions and theory concepts too. Starting to learn music theory will only accelerate your learning speed. Hope these articles will help!

The post 10 Guitar Learning Tips To Help You Learn How to Play the Guitar appeared first on Uberchord App.

Here’s our list of ten things that any guitar player will find handy. We’re sure that one of these will fit the bill. Some, you’ll think, might be a little obvious and fall into the “already got one” category, but it’s surprising how many players never get around to buying the simpler things. A few others are definitely thinking outside of the square.

1. A Guitar Stand

Yes, you might think this is an obvious one — who on earth would own a guitar and not a guitar stand? Trust me, I’ve been a musician, a live sound operator and a recording engineer for a very long time and it still amazes me how many players will happily spend $4000 on a Les Paul Gibson and never get around to spending twenty bucks on a good stand. Their treasured axe is forever leaned against the wall, propped up on a chair, rested on the guitar amp… it’s a musical accident just waiting to happen.

Buying a guitar stand is pretty straightforward except that you need to beware of floor-cradle designs specifically for electric guitars. Most stand for acoustic guitars double-up on electric instruments no problems. The kinds of stands that suspend your guitar by the neck cater for all types, too. If your friend already has a stand, after all, don’t worry. Now they’ve got an excuse to buy another guitar! Brilliant!

Buy from Amazon.

2. A Guitar Slide

Playing slide guitar isn’t just for country music, lap-steel guitars and the blues. Plenty of hard-rocking players sneak some cool slide into their repertoire, too. Think David Gilmour of Pink Floyd and Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree fame. Still, it’s one of those things that novice players might wait years before trying it out, and a good slide is a must.

Jump the queue and buy them a nice slide now. You’ll have a choice of glass, steel or brass (to name just a few) and each one offers a different sound and playing experience. I’ll recommend brass, because it doesn’t move quite as smoothly and allows you to place it more easily — rather than over-run your target fret and be sliding all over the neck. If you want to spend a few more dollars, you can also get small hooks designed to hold a slide on a microphone stand. Buy from Amazon.

For further reading, here is a guide to guitar slides – an introduction for beginners.

3. A Headstock Tuner

A tuner is one of the first things a lot of players buy after a guitar. And don’t forget, Uberchord has an excellent and very accurate tuner built into the app. But when you’re playing live and need to tweak the tuning, it can be a pain disconnecting your guitar and plugging into a tuner. It might only take a minute or so, but it feels like a lifetime. The latest headstock tuners are a clever answer. These simply clamp onto your headstock and sense your strings via the vibrations transmitted through the wooden body of your guitar.

There are two great advantages. First, as I’ve already mentioned, you don’t have to unplug your instrument and risk your amplifier going nuts. Second, external sound hardly affects the tuner at all. The rest of the band can be smashing out a storm of heavy metal and you can still sneak in a quick tune-up. If someone already owns a standard tuner and, of course, they’re using the Uberchord app, a new headstock tuner will still be a welcome gadget. Download Uberchord.

4. A Fold-Up Stool

If you’re a sit-down kind of performer, it sucks to roll up to a gig and realise you’ve got to steal a decent stool from one of the drunken punters at the bar. A problem is that stools tend to take up a lot of room in the car. The good news is that a few microphone stand and guitar stand manufacturers also offer a range of musician’s stool with guitar players in mind.

These stools both fold up and break down completely, making them easy to fit the trunk. Most of the adjustments are by T-nuts and bolts, so there’s never any mistake about putting them back together exactly the same. You get a proper footrest for those players who don’t use a strap (hmm… there’s an idea) and importantly you’re rehearsing on the same stool, determining your posture, as when you play live. Normally the stools come in a choice of black, black or black. What other colour could you need? But on Amazon.

5. A Nice Rug

Right, a nice rug… maybe something with a cute floral pattern and — hey wait. Are we talking about a rug? Like, a piece of carpet? Isn’t this blog supposed to be about guitar stuff, not house furnishings?

Here’s the thing. Guitarists who start playing live soon gather lots of different gear around them. Like stomp pedals, guitar stands (that you bought them…), microphone stands and wah pedals. It’s really important to feel comfortable about where everything belongs and have a sense of familiarity no matter where you’re performing. The best way to do this is to have your favourite rug with the correct positions of everything marked out in white tape. That way, you can be playing in the smallest, gloomiest bar or be centre stage at the Royal Albert Hall and your playing setup will be exactly how it should be — you know precisely where everything goes.

Next time you check out a concert DVD or get to sneak on stage somewhere, now you won’t be surprised at how many of the performers have their own rugs to stand on. It’s not about keeping their toes warm or feeling at home, it’s because the rugs are marked out for their equipment (and sometimes the positions to stand for special lighting effects).

So a nice rug is a great present idea for a working musician. By the way, nothing too woolly or shaggy. The gaffa tape won’t stick! Buy on Amazon.

6. A Good Guitar Strap

Guitar straps always become really personal things over time, like a treasured T-shirt or hat (if you’re into country music). Check out photographs of your favourite players and often you’ll see that despite what guitar they’re playing, it’ll be the same strap. It can even get a bit superstitious.

A very basic leather strap, but over time the leather will wear, fray, stain and become a much-loved thing.

So if you buy somebody a guitar strap, it’ll be more than just an accessory to be used sometimes—it can be something they’ll keep for years, so it’s worth spending a bit more. Some straps need special, lockable tabs on the guitar and you might need to buy that hardware, too. And if in doubt, always choose something wide and made of leather. Some of those guitars can get heavy. Buy on Amazon.

7. A Solid Music Stand or Device Holder

Play it safe, if you want a tablet holder, and get a universal size design.

Some music stands are made of thin aluminium strips which—to be fair—folds up into something compact. But with a puff of wind and the weight from a collection of cheat-sheets, they’re the first to topple over. And they don’t last long. Instead, a heavier and solid music stand will work better and last for years.

Music stands always come in handy, no matter how much a guitarist believes they’ll learn everything by heart. And if they’re into using iPads or some kind of tablet, check out the various microphone stand-mounted products for holding these… or, like me, they can “hide” the tablet on—guess what? A good music stand. Buy on Amazon.

8. A Proper Guitar Polish and Cloth

The name says it all. “Luthier Grade” polish”

A lot of players don’t buy expensive, dedicated guitar polish because of the costs. Instead, it’s tempting to clean your guitar with any one of hundreds of household “polishing” products that promise a brilliant shine. But many of these polishes contain alcohol, citrus acids (like lemon oil) and other cleaners that might do a great job of the kitchen table, but will wreck your guitar finish.

You need the real thing. Also, you don’t want anyone polishing their guitar with the same rag they use to check the oil in the car, so a high-quality, dedicated cloth is a good idea, too. This is one of those obvious gifts, but you’ll be surprised how many people don’t have any. Buy on Amazon.

9. Some Serious Merchandise

We’ve all got our guitar heroes—or maybe the band—that inspire us to keep learning and playing. And while plenty of shops will sell generic, branded T-shirts, windcheaters and hoodies, nothing beats getting the real thing from the band’s own website. Sneak around, find the right size, and order some genuine merchandise from the band itself, and you’ll be on a Christmas winner for sure. Buy on Amazon.

10. A Gig Bag

So many pockets, not enough stuff to put in them all. A great excuse to buy more guitar accessories!

Guitar cases are great for carrying… well, guitars—and not much else. As a musician’s skills improve and they start to get out and about, maybe practising with a band somewhere, they begin to accumulate stuff they have to carry all the time. A tuner, that strap, spare strings, a capo, a couple of leads (one spare), cleaning cloths… it soon all adds up. A decent backpack with plenty of small pockets and pouches will become invaluable. You can buy branded bags from music stores, but any good rucksack is fine. Here’s a tip—carry bags for photographers have heaps of extra pockets and things for stashing lenses and such. Check those out.

There you have it, ten different gift ideas for the guitar player in your life. If you’ve got any other suggestions that are a little out of the ordinary, let us know in the comments. Buy on Amazon.

Don’t forget about our premium subscriptions to the Uberchord app too! There’s lessons on nearly everything that’s appropriate for players of all abilities, and there’s plenty of songs we teach too. Or if you just want to browse our blog for more info on gear or music knowledge, we’ve got plenty of that too like eb guitar chords, chords and lyrics to house of the rising sun, and flanger chords rnb. 

The post 10 Best Christmas Gifts for Guitar Players appeared first on Uberchord App.

It’s very common for acoustic guitars to have inbuilt pickups now and it’s wise to try and factor one into any guitar you buy. But some have no electronics simply to keep the cost down, while more expensive instruments acknowledge that players might prefer to choose and install their own type of pick-up to suit particular styles and situations.

You might have a favourite guitar that needs a pick-up put in. Straight up, I’m going to recommend you don’t go too cheap with your budget. That’s a recipe for hums, buzzes and poor tone. And for the sake of balance, I’ve included a couple of big-ticket items here. Before I show you a list of options, here’s a very quick lesson on the different kinds available. It’s important you know the difference.

Hint: “Feedback” can be anything from a very low rumble to a screeching, ear-piercing squeak. It’s when the signal from your pick-up comes out of an amplifier (or PA system) and is accidentally picked up again by your guitar—so it’s “feeding back” into your amplifier in an endless loop. Normally, you’d never want this. But you’ll often see rock musicians holding their electric guitars close to their amps to deliberately create screaming feedback. A lot of acoustic guitar feedback can be reduced by using a “feedback buster” or “sound hole cover”. See here.

Electro-magnetic Pick-ups

Electro-magnetic pick-ups are mounted across the sound hole of the guitar and create a signal by responding to the strings vibrating within the electro-magnetic field produced by the pick-up. The natural tone of the instrument—what you actually hear—has almost no impact on the signal produced by EM pick-ups, but the more you pay, the better these can sound and they’re less prone to feeding back. So they’re popular with guitarists using acoustic guitars in loud rock bands and such.

Piezo Pick-ups

Keeping things very simple, piezo-designed pick-ups are really a tiny microphone that “listens” to your guitar through the vibrations of the wood—so a good physical contact with the timber is needed. It means the natural tone of the instrument is a big factor in what signal the pick-up produces, and they create a “real” acoustic sound. However, it’s a design that by its very nature is prone to feedback.

Microphone Pick-ups

In the pursuit of a perfect, amplified acoustic tone some pick-up manufacturers have designed miniature, high-quality microphones that mount inside the body of your guitar. The natural tone of your instrument is very important—these pick-ups can only recreate what they acoustically hear. But again, they’re likely to feed back when things get loud.

Seymour Duncan Woody HC SA-3HC

Price: $69.00

This is a sound hole-mounted EM pick-up from a company well-known and respected for its products: Seymour Duncan, so you can be confident it’ll sound good. The internal electronics reduce unwanted hum, and the pick-up has an attached fourteen-foot cable with a standard, hard-wired ¼ inch plug on the end. You won’t need to drill any holes in your guitar.

Fishman Neo Buster Pickup

Price: $89.95

This is a great idea. Fishman has incorporated a feedback buster into the sound hole mount for this EM pick-up—and again, Fishman is a highly respected name in the pick-up world. Just make sure the sound hole of your guitar is a compatible size.

Dean Markly DM3001 Artist Acoustic Pick-up

Price: $29.99

This is the most basic kind of piezo pick-up by Dean Markly. The microphone comes with a supply of special adhesive that gives you plenty of use, removing and replacing it over and again. These sorts of pick-ups are really popular for instruments like violins and cellos where you definitely don’t want to damage the timber, and they sound great on guitars, too.

Pro Tip: This pick-up will sound very different, depending on where you place it. Experiment a lot for the best sound.

Fishman Undersaddle Piezo Pick-up

Price: $95.70

This is what’s considered a “standard” piezo pick-up design and configuration. These elements slip under the rear saddle and pick up the strings’ tone from directly underneath. All the guitars you’ll find in a music store with pre-mounted pick-ups use this design—so plainly it’s good. They usually have a preamp increasing the signal, but you can purchase preamp foot pedals instead. With an external preamp of some kind, these undersaddle piezos give you the best sound without cutting a big hole in your guitar body for the volume and tone controls. Note there are narrow and wide configurations.

LR Baggs Acoustic Guitar Microphone

Price: $199.00

No surprise, with this kind of technology, you’re starting to pay a lot more. But the advantage is a true acoustic sound. A small controller mounts on your sound hole to let you tweak volumes, so no damage there, and the microphone element needs to be fixed somewhere inside the body—use Bluetack at first to experiment for the best sound—but you will have to drill a hole for the cable jack. Check our LR Baggs.

LR Baggs Anthem Pick-Up

Price: $289.00

Yes, this will blow the budget, but to illustrate just how far these pick-ups can go… this system has an inbuilt microphone and a piezo element, and you balance between the two for the perfect, studio-quality sound. It needs a professional hand to install and plenty of trial-and-error to get the best placements, but the end result is awesome. If you’re serious about a great guitar sound, this is the kind of pick-up you should consider.

Shure SM57 Microphone

Price: $99.00

Hey… what the…? Isn’t this all about guitar pick-ups? Okay, here’s a real expert tip from yours truly—if the idea of mounting pick-ups to your precious guitar or cutting holes into the body scares you, a great solution is the good ol’ Shure SM57 instrument microphone instead. You’ll need to learn the technique of playing into a microphone, but then you’ll also figure out awesome tricks of changing the tone to suit different songs by adjusting your position slightly. Beware, Shure mic’s are very popular and fake products are everywhere.

That’s Just The Start.

So there you have it. The above pick-ups are just a small sample of what’s available in the various price ranges and designs. As always, if you can have a listen in a music shop, all the better. Otherwise, read the reviews carefully. If you have more ideas, products or tricks for great sounding guitar pickups, please share with us in the comments section below.

Our free blog here at Uberchord covers many more topics that can help you get set up playing and recording the guitar. Just take a quick search! Some of these articles include “what key is lost boy ruth b in?”, “what key is ain’t no sunshine in?”, and i’m never changing who i am chords. 

The post 7 Best Acoustic Guitar Pickups from Beginner to Expert Sound appeared first on Uberchord App.

So when we compiled this list of Five Good YouTube Channels For Beginner Guitarists an important factor was the level of production
achieved by the creators. A lot of YouTube channels can be very amateurish and suffer from poor video quality, muffled audio and presenters who don’t work well with a camera. And it doesn’t matter if the lesson is coming from someone in the same room or from a studio on the other side of the world, the guitar teacher needs to be good. Someone who communicates clearly and makes you feel welcome.

Here are our choices for the five best YouTube channels. We made sure they all have plenty of content for novice players, but you’ll find lots of videos for advanced musicians, too. Some of them are hosted by people who are simply passionate about playing the guitar and want to share that passion without trying to make a million bucks out of you. Don’t forget to show them support.

JUSTIN SANDERCOE (justinguitar.com)

YouTube Subscribers: 540, 773
YouTube Channel: Justin Guitar
Website: www.justinguitar.com
Facebook: Just Guitar Official

You have to admire a YouTube channel and accompanying website that’s taken one guy on his own over fifteen years to build and offers hundreds of different lessons at all the various levels. The great thing about Justin is he gives off a cool, enthusiastic vibe all the time whether he’s teaching a basic chord for beginners or taking seasoned players through a complex solo.

Justin actually has two YouTube channels, one for his guitar lessons and one for teaching particular songs. While his channels are excellent, you’re better off to access them from his website at www.justinguitar.com where you’ll find full, comprehensive menus and links to each video along with explanations of the content. You’ll have no problems of watching a full video, only to discover it doesn’t include what you wanted.

It’s the organised links between his website and the YouTube videos that are a step above the rest. With well-structured, common sense lessons at all levels, Justin is a great resource for everyone picking up a guitar. And it’s completely free — although we’d suggest you do the right thing and donate some dollars for all his hard work.

GUITARLESSONS.COM

YouTube Subscribers: 260, 537
YouTube Channel: GuitarLessons.com
Website: www.guitarlessons.com
Facebook: GuitarLessons.com

The first thing that strikes you about Nate Savage’s Guitar Lessons YouTube Channel is how well the structured, numbered lessons are organised on the YouTube Home page itself. Overlays on the opening titles screens and the names of the lessons make it very clear about the content and help you to choose exactly what you need, or let you skip over any unnecessary stuff. His complete beginner topics go right back to “How To Hold The Guitar” which might sound really basic, but Nate’s absolutely right to nip any bad habits in the bud at the very beginning and that particular video could the most important 3:26 of your career. And I have to make mention of the high production levels on Nate’s videos. The vision and audio are excellent, the lessons are well made, and Nate’s friendly, easy-going manner makes you feel like he’s your best friend and guitar tutor at the same time.

JAMPLAY

YouTube Subscribers: 197, 524
YouTube Channel: JamPlayDotCom
Website: www.jamplay.com
Facebook: JamPlay

Jamplay is a large YouTube Channel featuring all levels of guitar lessons from the very basic, beginners’ guides to expert levels and, of course, some videos that dissect popular songs or styles down to the last finger and fret. It has a big range of different players and “teachers”, so if you maybe find one guy a bit hard to understand or perhaps you don’t quite connect with his style, look around and you’ll soon find someone else.

There aren’t really any structured lessons—like, where you’re starting at the beginning and working your way sequentially through—you have to browse through the playlists and find what’s best, but the quality of the lessons and wide variety of topics will have everything covered. JamPlay is a sampler for the website, where you’re offered a subscription service to complete courses, which explains the kind of shotgun approach to the videos made available on YouTube. But the size and breadth of the topics you can access for free still makes it a great channel.

GUITAR JAMZ by MARTY SCHWARTZ

YouTube Subscribers: 1,695,681
YouTube Channel: Martyzsongs
Website: www.guitarjamz.com
Facebook: Guitar-Jamz

Marty is another player who’s built up his videos and YouTube Channels over a number of years and it’s become a vast resource for lessons at all levels. There’s a lot of stuff about how to play particular songs or how to mimic a certain musician’s style but mixed up with these are plenty of absolute beginners’ lessons that teach the basics. There are some guest artists explaining different techniques, but mostly Marty’s The Man. The good thing about Marty is his great patience during the videos—he takes plenty of time to explain things and demonstrates them nice and slow, so you hardly ever have to stop and rewind the videos. Marty has a quirky sense of humour, too. It takes the hassle out of the harder lessons to master. He has a good website linked from his YouTube channel and a few cool, free giveaways. Check that out at www.guitarjamz.com

ROCK ON GOOD PEOPLE (NEXTLEVELGUITAR.COM)

YouTube Subscribers: 305,592
YouTube Channel: RockOnGoodPeople
Website: www.nextlevelguitar.com
Facebook: Free-Guitar-Lessons-From-Next-Level-Guitar

Rock On Good People (it’s actually rockongoodpeople) is another YouTube channel really designed to funnel viewers towards the creator’s website, www.nextlevelguitar.com which—no surprise—has heaps of stuff you can buy. But that doesn’t mean that Rock On Good People doesn’t provide a long list of free videos ranging from lessons for beginners through to how-to-play-techniques aimed at experienced players. What I like about Rock On Good People is the cool vibe you get from all the presenters, no matter the style or subject of the lesson, and some of the videos take you further down the guitar-playing track with themes like “Tips For Improving Your Live Shows”. That might seem a long way off when you’re currently trying to get your head around playing basic barre chords, but these videos have hints and advice that are good seeds to plant in your mind early, even if you’re still some years off jumping off your first Marshall stack and into the mosh pit.

What Do You Think?

Have you used any great YouTube channels to help you figure out a tricky guitar piece? We’d like to know any more excellent sites that particularly support novice players. Leave a link in the comments section!

Some other topics we explore here on our blog besides youtube lessons includes porcelain guitar picks, zoom pedal board order, and angus young’s gibson sg special marshall amp. We love cover almost every sort of topic related to guitar like gear, music theory, and lead guitar. The Uberchord app is also a great resource for keeping up with and practicing new chords! We hope you’ll check it out. 

The post 5 Best YouTube Channels for Beginner Guitarists: JamPlay, Guitar Jamz, Justin Guitar & Others appeared first on Uberchord App.

The alternative is the monster digital multi-effects boards that in a single product model every guitar effect imaginable, plus lots of popular amplifiers, speaker cabinets and outboard effects (the kind you’d normally find in a studio rack), and provide a recording interface for your Digital Audio Workstation (DAW). Talk about one size fits all. But the professional multi-effects boards can be expensive and difficult to learn. They’re a serious overkill for the novice guitar player.

An excellent compromise is the much smaller, compact multi-FX pedals like I’ve listed below. They offer a lot of advantages at a much lower price. These still provide a good range of programmable, standard guitar effects without giving you an overwhelming choice—a great introduction to the world of building your own sounds. A headphone outlet lets you shred to your heart’s content and no one will complain. Many include some basic drum grooves to play along with and some have a USB computer interface. The USB port provides a digital connection to a DAW, but more important it allows you to tweak the multi-effects settings through a PC GUI that displays all the options much more clearly. In some pedals the software give you access to extra, deeper parameters for the effects.

Here’s a list of five of the best compact, multi-FX units I’ve found. They almost all have an expression pedal which, if you’re going to learn using effects, is a must even although it bumps the price up a little.

BOSS ME25 Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal
Price: $198.49

Boss is a huge name is guitar effects and stomp boxes, so it stands to reason it makes a cool multi-effects product by incorporating decades of experience and classic tones. What I especially like about the ME25 is the third “Solo” pedal which you program to give your presets that extra solo kick without having to leave your current sound.

The rotary knobs for tweaking sounds are much easier for quickly adjusting presets instead of cycling through menus, and the expression pedal for that all-important Wah-wah effect can be reassigned to different parameters such as volume. An auxiliary input lets you listen to a connected playback device like an MP3 player.

Pro Tip: The rotary buttons do a lot with just the smallest adjustment. There’s an old saying in audio, “A little is a lot”. Make tiny changes and hear the difference.

DigiTec Element XP Guitar Multi-Effects Pedal
Price: $99.95

For small multi-effects pedals, this DigiTec Element XP is about as basic as they go with an expression pedal included, but don’t believe that means you’re getting basic sounds. DigiTec is well-known for its high-quality products and the sounds available in the Element XP are still good—it’s all the other features left off this product that allows DigiTec to make this an entry-level pedal at a budget price. For instance, it doesn’t have any kind of computer interface port, so you have to program it using the buttons and single data knob. The output is only mono, which is fine for any guitar amplifier anyway, you get an auxiliary input, headphone jack and forty-five inbuilt drum patterns.

Yep, at first glance it’s not as fancy as the others listed here, but it’s still a DigiTec pedal and a great multi-effects unit to start with.

Pro Tip: Even though it’s a foot pedal, at first set this up on a table or somewhere you can easily reach the settings buttons. Bending over all the time will drive you nuts!

Zoom G3X Multi-effects Pedal
Price: $190.00

The Zoom G3 is the smallest of Zoom’s multi-effects units—but the Zoom G3X here adds an expression pedal for wah-wah. Otherwise they’re the same. Zoom was one of the first companies to design compact multi-effects pedals and it has a reputation for cramming lots of effects and features into a small box. Happily, Zoom helps you navigate all these choices with the three LCD readouts above each set of rotary controls making things much easier for creating your own sounds.

It has a USB interface and can even work for six hours on four AA batteries—the next power blackout with no internet, you know it’s time to pick up the guitar and get practising. Like many other pedals it has an inbuilt looper—an increasingly popular effect—and Zoom cleverly lets this synchronise with the integrated drum machine. It’s a typical Zoom design with heaps of sounds and effects to keep you busy for hours.

Pro Tip: If the chances are you’ll rarely use this on battery power, take the batteries out. The risk is you’ll forget them and eventually batteries can leak and damage the unit.

Vox Stomplab2G
Price: $89.99

When it comes to classic amplifiers Vox is right up there and associated with a British sound used by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones… you name it. The amplifiers were comparatively simple and relied on circuitry and design for their tone, rather than lots of buttons to tweak.

Likewise the Vox StompLab2G multi-effects pedal gives you only a few controllers and buttons to make selections with, and no USB for a PC GUI, but it’s all you need thanks to the secret sauce of Vox’s classic sounds included. You start with a smaller choice of presets, then customise these with just the two rotary controllers. I like the Vox, because it forces you to listen to how you’re building a sound, rather than encouraging blind faith in any factory presets. Plus if you’re using anything with “Vox” written on it, you’re naturally slightly cooler than anyone else in the band.

Pro Tip: Research and listen to the classic bands like the Beatles, the Shadows and the Rolling Stones who were influential in developing Vox amps. It will give you a better understand of what the pedal can do.

Line 6 Pod 2.0
Price: $536.55

You can’t blog about compact multi-effects pedals with mentioning the Line 6 Pod, which revolutionised the whole “guitar effects in a box” thing when it was first released back in 1998. No surprise, things have progressed since then and among the many Line 6 products you can still buy the Pod 2.0.

The Pod 2.0 is described as a “studio” device, because it doesn’t really have the connections or features to be used live on stage (although it has an Ethernet port for third-party controller pedals). Like the VoxLab2G, the Pod encourages you to create sounds for yourself instead of relying too much on presets and there’s no facility to switch from one to another while you’re playing. Really, the Pod 2.0 is a step up from the other multi-effects units listed here, but like I said, it has to be mentioned… and there is a Pocket Pod, by the way. Cheaper and smaller, but essentially the same configuration.

Pro Tip: The Pod 2.0 is definitely a studio device. Make sure you use good headphones or monitor speakers to really hear the subtle difference it can offer.

Summary

There a few things to be wary about when you buy multi-effects pedals. Some cut the costs by not providing a power supply—a sneaky and annoying way to get more money from you. Check that any pedal you’re interested in includes a PSU. Some of these pedals need a special “output mode” selected to make them sound good through guitar amplifiers. Otherwise they are too bright and brittle-sounding, designed for headphones and studio recording. A lot of users complain about the live, amplifier tones without digging deep into the settings to find the right output mode.

As with anything guitar-related, going to a store and actually listening to these pedals is by far the best way to choose. A final tip—make sure you take your own headphones.

The post 5 Best Multi Effects Pedals For Beginner Guitar Players | 2016 appeared first on Uberchord App.

What you need is some effects—or “stomp”—pedals. But what should you get?

There is a huge amount of effects pedals available. A lot of famous guitarists still prefer stomp boxes—it looks like they’re using multi-effects boards, but really they have dedicated switch boards that specialist technicians wire up to an array of pedals inside.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What are the best stomp pedals for a novice player? Here are five I recommend that will give you an excellent head-start. And I’ve taken into account that your guitar amplifier probably has a basic overdrive setting and maybe a spring reverb, so let’s not double-up on those. These aren’t budget-priced, but they’ll last a lifetime. Seriously, in twenty years they’ll be scratched, dented and stomped on a million times—and still work.

1 – Delay Pedal

Boss Digital Delay DD7
Price: $149.00

The trick with delay effects is not to have them too loud unless you’re deliberately playing along with the echo, creating a harmonising effect, a method pioneered by Brian May of Queen.

A delay effect is used by a lot of players, ranging from a very short “doubling” effect you hear on country music solos to long settings in metal and progressive rock. This is a digital pedal, not analogue (but it has an analogue mode).

Digital pedals let you set the delay times more accurately so you can synchronise with the BPM of a song or DAW, plus the quality of a digital delay’s echoes doesn’t change—it sounds the same as the original until the delays fade away. With an analogue delay pedal the echoes lose sound quality over the repeats, but this isn’t a bad thing. Some players don’t like the clean, bright sound of a digital pedal. This pedal can do heaps, it’s versatile and you’ll never need another delay pedal again.

PRO TIP: The trick with delay effects is not to have them too loud unless you’re deliberately playing along with the echo, creating a harmonising effect, a method pioneered by Brian May of Queen. Otherwise, keeping the delay subtle and in the background adds more body and sustain to your playing.

2 – Reverb

TC Electronics Hall of Fame Reverb Pedal
Price: $149.00

Putting a reverb at the end of your stomp pedal chain is usually best. You can create huge, atmospheric soundscapes with a big reverb.

I did say that I wouldn’t double-up on any effects you’ve probably got in your guitar amp—but that will be a Spring reverb, a classic sound from the very early amplifiers. A fully-featured reverb stomp pedal can give you very long, rich reverbs that are an excellent effect, rather than just a means to thicken up the sound. You can create huge, atmospheric soundscapes with a big reverb. At the same time, a short reverb will give you that full tone, too. Spring reverbs in amplifiers are only a vintage sound and can be harsh or brittle. The other types of reverbs offered by this pedal are different altogether and well worth getting the all-in-one effect.

PRO TIP: Putting a reverb at the end of your stomp pedal chain is usually best.

3 – Chorus

MXR M234 Analog Chorus Pedal
Price: $99.99

A chorus pedal adds a magical sound to clean tones, or combined with a distortion effect it can make a really full, heavy metal power-chord tone.

A chorus pedal adds a magical sound to clean tones, or combined with a distortion effect it can make a really full, heavy metal power-chord tone. But clean sounds are where a chorus effect really shines. Cranked up to full it makes a spacey, swirling effect that can be overdone, but it’s a good way to hear what a chorus is doing, before dialling it back a bit. A chorus pedal adds modulation and delay to one half of a split signal and sounds like a second guitar in the background. Some pedals let you add anything up to five “voices” (thus the name “chorus” like a choir of voices) and you can create some fantastic effects.

PRO TIP: If you have a pickup installed in an acoustic guitar, try the chorus pedal. It can sound awesome.

4 – Tube Screamer

Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer
Price: $99.99

Ibanez stopped making it for a while, then had to bring it back by popular demand.

There are countless distortion pedals around, but the Tube Screamer has a special place in electric guitar history. It became popular when transistor-designed amplifiers became available that didn’t have vacuum tubes in the circuitry—an essential ingredient in an over-driven sound from an amplifier head. The Tube Screamer added that grit and distortion back in, replacing the noise of tubes running into the red, and did it so well the effect earned a reputation all of its own.

Ibanez stopped making it for a while, then had to bring it back by popular demand. But it’s important to know that a Tube Screamer isn’t a heavy effect—it doesn’t create a wall of speaker-shredding metal mayhem. It creates a more subtle bite, an edgy distortion that can cut through without being overwhelming. That’s why it’s a good stomp pedal to include here. You can learn how to create distortion from very low levels to a smooth crunch, whereas a lot of true distortion pedals can’t be backed off from serious grunge even at minimum settings.

PRO TIP: A Tube Screamer with a small distortion setting and extra volume makes for a good, clean solo boost.

5 – Compressor

Boss CS-3 Compressor
Price: $98.49

In a nut shell, compressors can even out playing, making the soft notes louder and clamping down on loud ones.

They say—and it’s true—that the best compressor effect is one you can’t hear. Compressors do some pretty clever things, but it’s not an in-your-face effect and many new players quickly give up on them, because they don’t take the time to learn how compression works. You rarely want to use compressors at extreme settings, but again it’s a good way to hear what’s going on. In a nut shell, compressors can even out playing, making the soft notes louder and clamping down on loud ones. They also add sustain, keeping those hanging notes ringing a lot longer. And some compressors will add a nice distortion, if you overdrive the input. There are many different kinds of compressor, both digital and analogue, and with varying designs they create unique sounds. So you’ll see plenty of choice. For a basic stomp box compressor with individual controls—vital for learning—this pedal is great.

PRO TIP: A Compressor pedal works best at the beginning of the pedal chain, smoothing and sustaining the playing so the other pedals get a consistent signal.

All Together Now…

All kinds of exciting stuff starts to happen and you’ll notice that the order in which you have the pedals connected can make a big difference to the final tone.

Experiment and discover what each pedal has to offer by itself. Then later begin running more than one effect, which means the different pedals feed an effected signal into the next one, not a clean sound. All kinds of exciting stuff starts to happen and you’ll notice that the order in which you have the pedals connected can make a big difference to the final tone. Although I’ve made suggestions about what pedal should go first and last, these five pedals can be arranged any way you want. All together that’s twenty-five possible combinations—it’ll keep you busy for a while. Have fun and enjoy the noise.

PRO TIP: If you’re running your stomp pedals on battery, always disconnect the guitar cables when you’re not using them. The input plug “grounds” the power supply, so even turned off pedal uses a small amount of battery. Unplug the cables to save battery life.

Now that you feel more comfortable using your guitar pedals it’s time to find more places to use them! Our free blog has so many resources to help you find ways to be creative with your sounds and playing. Many topics range between lessons, theory, and gear topics like these including how to get hardcore guitar tone, what is travis picking, and cool beginner progressive riffs. 

The post 5 Guitar Stomp-Box Pedals Every Guitarist Needs | 2016 appeared first on Uberchord App.

But here at Uberchord (click to download the free guitar learning app) we get that your dream is maybe about playing electric guitar. And if that’s what you want to do, then starting out with a good electric instrument makes sense. But what makes a “good” guitar? Well, if you are confused about what kind of Guitar to buy, you can check out our post on: Types of Guitar: Beginner’s Guide to Buying A Guitar.

If you can afford to go to a store and drop $3000 on the latest, greatest Les Paul Gibson or vintage Fender Stratocaster, this is a very different question. But let’s assume your budget isn’t quite that big. Many affordable guitars are very similar, but come in a variety of packages that include lots of extras and even an amplifier. In case you are looking to buy the amp separately, here is an amazing list of 10 Best and Affordable Guitar Amps for Beginners: 2016 and while you are it, check out: Top 5 Guitar Plug-Ins You Need to Know: AmpliTube, Guitar Rig & Others.

Something else to understand is that different styles of guitars offer specific pickup and switching designs that define the guitar’s sound. Depending on what type of music you want to learn, some guitars will be good and suit you better than others. That frequent adjustment of the guitar’s electronics during a song will become a big part of your playing style and it’s worth learning from the outset. Read on, and you’ll see what I mean. Oh—and a word of warning. Some “beginners” guitar bundles are for kids. Make sure you’re buying a full-sized instrument.

Squier Affinity Strat pack with Fender Frontman 10G

Do you want that genuine Fender sound?

Everything you need in one bundle?

Price: $199.99

This deal leapt out of the page at me straight away. The Fender Squier series has been around a while and even though it’s a budget guitar, you can always rely on Fender for great quality. But what I like the most about this package is that everything you need is included (apart from a guitar stand) and the Frontman 10G amplifier has some extra features that are excellent. The amp has an input for a playback device to jam along to (like your iPad or Smart phone, or even a CD player) plus a headphone output for when the neighbours get too annoyed. A Gain control and Overdrive switch let you grunge everything up, or you can dial it back to a classic, clean Fender sound.

Importantly, the Fender Squier Strat has the same five-pole position pickup as any Strat. Like I said, if you’re going to be a “Fender player”, learning how to use those different positions and all the sounds they create is a big plus.

Epiphone Les Paul Special

Are you into classic rocks tones?

Check out this fret board for a different playing experience.

Price: $209.00

Just as there’s a big benefit in learning the different pickup sounds from a Fender Stratocaster, a Les Paul style of guitar has its own definitive pickup design and switching with a range of unique sounds that only a Gibson Les Paul can make—or the more economical Epiphone models.

So, if you’d like to emulate some of the guitar greats like Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin) or Slash, this Epiphone package again with all the extras you’ll need—but with an Epiphone guitar—is a great way to start. Also, it’s worth mentioning that Gibson/Epiphone Les Paul designs usually have a slightly rounded, more narrow fret board and, in my opinion, are a little easier to play compared to the flatter, wider Fender fret boards. But I strongly recommend you don’t take my word for that. Get into a music shop and try the two types of guitar for yourself.

Feel the difference!

Schecter C1 Guitar

If you like your music heavy, try this guitar.

Do you want lots of different tones from one instrument?

Price: $149.99

Getting away from guitar packages and looking at just instruments, what’s so special about this Schecter?

First of all, the pickup configuration is getting into the heavy metal side of things and, like the two previous recommendations, it offers a great introduction into changing your sounds on the fly. You know that expert players are constantly stomping on effects pedals to change the tone of the guitar, but they’re also tweaking the pickup positions, tones and volumes to create unique sounds, too.

This Schecter is an entry-level guitar into those kinds of tones that are an alternative to the standard Fender and Gibson sounds. Also, the arch top offers another kind of “feel” for playing that gives you slightly more accessible right-hand technique (it’s subtle, but it’s there), plus the body shape tucks the switches and controls out of the way.

Safer for furious thrashing!

Fender Squier Telecaster

Is modern country music your thing?

The master of the clean, edgy sound.

Price: $199.99

This beginner’s Fender Squier Telecaster gets a special mention because, if playing modern country music is your thing, then you need a Telecaster.

Telecasters give you an edgy, very clean sound that works well with any right-hand picking technique. Telecaster players are constantly slapping that three-position pickup switch back and forth between the mellow forward pickup and the solo rear pickup—and you will be, too.

A lot of blues players like the Telecaster as well, because combined with some of the vintage Fender tube amplifiers that clean sound still cuts through. Be aware that any Telecaster design should have that quite defined “Tele” tone.

Make sure it’s what you want.

Oscar Schmidt Semi-Hollow-body Guitar

Do you want to be a classic, country player?

A unique jazz sound that nothing else delivers?

Price: $229.88

This is a good example of a value-for-money, hollow-bodied guitar. Hollow-bodied guitars are very popular with jazz guitarists, but they’re also so classic “country” that any extras should include a bale of hay, cowboy boots and a ten-gallon hat.

Between the pickups designs and that special, hollow body these guitars have a very special sound indeed, so again make sure it’s what you’re after. Also know that hollow-body guitars are physically much larger and some beginner players might find them more than a handful.

But for pure country tones you can’t beat them.

So there you have five good beginner’s guitars. Bear in mind that while the quality of these instruments is good—it’s a fiercely competitive area—they’re at the bottom of the market. You get what you pay for (as they say). At the same time, “cheap” guitars like these have come a long way in the last ten years and they’re excellent for starting out, before deciding to mortgage your house on that expensive vintage Fender or Les Paul Gibson mentioned earlier.

These are cool online offers. But every guitar is different and if you can, try your local store and get a real feel for the instrument. It can be the start of a long journey together. Happy playing!

The post 5 Best & Affordable Electric Guitars for Beginners: 2016 appeared first on Uberchord App.

Straight away, seeing these, it’s obvious why the Minor scales are preferred by most guitarists. For a start, the positions and fingering are easier to memorise, plus the Minor scale will always be more forgiving whenever you’re thrown in the deep end and asked to chuck together an impromptu guitar solo.

However, looking at these patterns, they do a better job of illustrating how the different scale positions actually overlap. The higher notes on each string for each position become the lower notes (again on each string) for the next position.

The Minor scale will always be more forgiving whenever you’re thrown in the deep end and asked to chuck together an impromptu guitar solo

If I were to try and epitomise what kind of music suits using a Major Pentatonic scale (remembering that the Blues is strongly associated with the Minor Pentatonic scales) I’d have to say the more upbeat (as in mood) pop and rock songs, especially some of the very early rock and roll like Elvis and The Monkees.

But, a lot of modern tunes with a positive vibe and groove are written in Major keys and you can jam a lead riff over these using the Major Pentatonic patterns. The fourth and fifth positions suit harder, heavier music and, as you can see, have simpler patterns to learn.

Some guitar aficionados tell us that there is another “fifth” position for the A Major Pentatonic scale which is below the first position shown above. It’s a pattern covering the first five frets of the guitar. Rather than give you a diagram, it’s quite easy to work out and an interesting exercise to go through.

Sometimes it’s unofficially referred to as the “acoustic” fifth position. The reason is practical—on some acoustic guitars without a cutaway body playing the other fifth position starting on the 14th fret is a real finger-stretcher and just too hard—and it’s not really acoustic guitar territory either.

Remembering that these Pentatonic scales are mostly known for their lead solo applications, then playing a lead break on an acoustic guitar above the 14th fret is either brilliantly Tommy Emmanuelle-esque or you’ve had way too much coffee.

On an electric guitar another issue might become apparent when you’re practising the fourth and fifth positions. Your guitar might sound slightly out of tune and you’ll wonder if you’re doing something wrong.

The bottom line here is that if good ol’ reliable Minor Pentatonic scales aren’t doing the trick for you, try switching to a Major scale pattern and all your problems should go away

If your guitar isn’t really well set up by a technician, the electric guitar’s intonation will probably be the cause. The intonation is a combined and very precise adjustment of each string’s length and height using the moveable bridge points… it’s a subject for an entirely different blog, but all you need to know is that poor intonation can result in the guitar playing a little sharp or flat at the very high fret positions.

Most of the time solo players are bending the hell out of the strings at that point anyway, so it doesn’t really matter. But when you’re steadily plucking through these scales to learn them, you might hear it.

The bottom line here is that if good ol’ reliable Minor Pentatonic scales aren’t doing the trick for you, try switching to a Major scale pattern and all your problems should go away. At least learn the A Major Pentatonic scale at the first position—which by now you know will easily transpose up and down the neck—and you’ll have another neat guitar-playing trick to pull out of your hat when the pressure’s on.

Here at Uberchord’s blog we’ve got lots of articles to help you better use these scales and solo in any key. You should check out “when do i use 7 9 and 11 chords?“, happy songs with dark melodies, and oh thinking about our younger years chords. You’ll find lots of new ways to use these scales after browsing our blog! 

The post Play Guitar Solo in Any Key With 5 Major Pentatonic Scale Patterns appeared first on Uberchord App.