Guitar

John Mayer is arguably one of the most influential guitarists of our time and has shown this through his technical ability, songwriting skills, and paying homage to the great blues players of previous generations. Recreating his sound is something that millions of guitarists like us try endlessly to perfect. I am sure you can now see how having the right guitar and amp may not get you sounding exactly like John Mayer, it’s all about paying equal attention to technique, sound, stylistic approach, and then of course–plugging this all into the right amp!  Now that we’ve covered John Mayer’s influences, … Read more

At the end of our previous article of this Blues series, we saw the beginning of the adoption of the term “blues” within the sheet music industry. The increased use of the term and popularity of songs such as “I Got The Blues” and “Dallas Blues” led to a rise in the popularity of the genre. Along with the increased use of the term “blues” in song titles, classic black female blues singers were also gaining fame which prompted the then budding recording industry to introduce a category of records known as “race records.” These race records were blues, R&B, … Read more

Without a doubt, modern music has come a long way since the first musical recordings made in the late 19th century, but certain forms of music from that time period still greatly influence modern compositions. One genre that has influenced nearly every genre of Western music since the 19th century is simply known as “the blues.” The blues has become an integral part of jazz, R&B, rock, soul, country music, and of course, modern day pop music. It is widely regarded as the foundation for nearly all American popular music that came after 1900.  The fact that the blues has … Read more

The Auto Wah effect is like the lazy younger brother of the standard Wah Wah. First of all, Auto Wah pedals come in much smaller casings than a Wah Wah pedal, and second, Auto Wahs don’t require any additional control with your foot, hence the name: Auto Wah.  If you’re not quite sure what a Wah Wah pedal does yet, feel free to check out our article on the most popular Wah Wah pedals currently in the market!  While the standard Wah Wah pedals’ envelope sweep is controlled with the position of the foot pedal, the Auto Wah reacts dynamically … Read more

In our series of articles for guitar pedals, we’ve looked at effects like Overdrive, Distortion, Delay, Fuzz, and many other fun effects. However, we’ve neglected to look at possibly the most important pedal on a guitarist’s pedal board–a tuner. Everything about your tone including your effects, amp, and pickups, will be negatively affected by an out-of-tune guitar. Someone with an awesome dirty tone (like Larry Carlton) will still sound bad regardless of playing skills if their strings are out of tune. So really, a great tone begins with having a guitar that is in tune. Guitar tuners usually come in … Read more

Looper pedals are some of the best tools or effects pedals available for guitarists as they can play many different roles. The most obvious use is to record and loop musical ideas. You can then record as many overdubs as you want over that original loop, resulting in complex and lush musical soundscapes. Using a looper pedal in this manner has helped many songwriters hash out their musical ideas before committing them to tape. Another way you can use a looper pedal is as a practice tool. While it’s always great to be able to play with other musicians, sometimes … Read more