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Compression will almost always be used on any instrument, regardless of whether it’s  guitar, bass, vocals, or strings. When it comes to mixing music for mass consumption, a compressor will also always be used on the overall music track to tame the peaks and dips in volume. However, this article will focus more on compression pedals for guitar. When it comes to guitar pedals, I tend to avoid ranking them in a top 10 list, or something akin to that, as guitar pedals are a very subjective topic. Instead, I will provide a list of five commonly used compressor pedals … Read more

Overdrive pedals are often the first guitar pedal that guitarists buy. I remember that my first guitar pedal was a Fulltone Full-Drive2 Overdrive and my second was a Paul Cochrane Timmy Overdrive. I’ve since bought and traded countless other overdrive pedals. You really can’t get enough of them, and I can say pretty confidently that overdrive pedals have the most number of different models on the market compared to the other categories of pedals. With such a large number of models on the market, it’s easy to get confused and overwhelmed when looking to buy your first overdrive pedal. In … Read more

Guitar effects pedals, also known as “stomp-boxes,” are yet another useful tool in the guitar player’s toolbox for tone shaping. They are foot-pedal boxes that provide sound effects for the guitar. The key to getting that guitar tone you strive for comes down to an effects unit of some sort, especially if you’re going for the kind of sound The Edge (David Howell Evans, the guitar player from U2) has. Many worship-music guitarists also use several effects pedals to achieve their lush soundscapes. It’s amazing how these pedals can make a single instrument sound so full. Other notable displays of … Read more

Here is a million dollar question that everyone gets asked once in awhile, “What would you tell your younger self if you could travel back in time?” To be honest, it’s not something I’ve really thought about before, but I suppose there would be quite a number of things I would tell my younger self. Just on the topic of music alone, there would probably be hundreds of tips and tricks I would tell myself to accelerate and enhance my musical abilities. Since such a time-machine does not exist, I guess the next best thing I can do is to … Read more

If you’re new to the guitar, changing your strings can seem like a complicated process. However, it’s a pretty straightforward task and, just like playing the guitar, it gets easier the more frequently you do it. Since so many of our students ask us how to change guitar strings, we’ve decided to provide you with a comprehensive guide to all things guitar string-related, including types of guitar strings, why & how to change guitar strings, how to tune your newly strung guitar and finally how to make your guitar strings last longer. Why Change Your Guitar Strings At All? As … Read more

Many beginning guitar players struggle to perform smooth and seamless chord changes. Without smooth transitions between chords, your rhythm guitar playing will sound choppy and stuttered. Chord changing stutters also cause problems when playing with other musicians because they throw off the rhythmic pulse. If you’re playing rhythm guitar with another musician, say a vocalist for example, the inability to play with a consistent tempo will make it very difficult for the vocalist to get comfortable and put on a good performance. Having a reliable rhythm section provides comfort to the musicians taking on lead roles.  So for those of … Read more

One of the first skills that all guitarists learn is how to read a chord diagram. These diagrams are very helpful when it comes to showing chord shapes and their fingerings. Fortunately for us, it’s also a very easy skill to pick up and you’ll be reading chord diagrams like a pro by the end of this article! What Does a Chord Diagram Look Like? Most chord diagrams will look very similar to the following image: Before getting into what all those numbers, dots, and letters mean, let’s take a look at a blank diagram and break that down first: … Read more