In this new video posted July 5 by Candyrat Records, guitarist Luca Stricagnoli—who has been featured on GuitarWorld.com several times in the past—plays his own arrangement of Guns N' Roses'"Sweet Child O' Mine."

As you can see, he's playing the song on two Davide Serracini guitars at once; one (featuring a DiMarzio The Black Angel pickup) is around his neck, and the other (a heavily modified model) is resting on a table in front of him.

As for the number of techniques being employed in this video, well, it's pretty freakin' insane. You'll notice he's using several different kinds of capos (Do I see a Spider Capo or two?), he's tapping, he's throwing in scores of percussive moves and much more.

Listeners can get this track for free when they buy Stricagnoli's debut album right here.

For more about Stricagnoli, follow him on Facebook.

The new Marshall Astoria Series of all-tube (3 or 4 x ECC83 (12AX7), 1 x GZ34 rectifier, 2 x KT66) amplifiers consists of three models—Classic, Custom and Dual—each available as a 30 Watt 1x12" combo or a 30 Watt head.

Each model also has a matching 1x12" cabinet option loaded with a custom-voiced, 75 Watt, Celestion Creamback speaker—the same speaker as in the combo.

All are craftsman-built with pride at the Marshall factory in Bletchley, England. The six amplifiers feature handwired, point to point, all-valve tone paths plus modern features and functionality. To achieve this innovative marriage of authentic tonal character and switching features the Astoria series uses turrets mounted on a PCB – allowing the handwiring and more complex switching circuitry to elegantly coexist on a single board.

The Astoria series drew a great deal of attention when it was “sneak-peeked” at Musikmesse in Frankfurt, Germany, earlier this year. It is now being sonically unveiled for the first time at Summer NAMM 2015 in Nashville.

ASTORIA CLASSIC

The Astoria Classic is a single channel, all-tube, 30 Watt amplifier that will appeal to tube purists and also to pedal enthusiasts who will find it the perfect foundation for their sound.

The amp features Power Reduction (30W or 6W) can be accessed via the Master Volume and Edge control for controlling how dark or bright the overall tone is, and Sensitivity control to find that perfect bite. The Classic combo, head and extension cabinet are all covered in green vinyl with a central white stripe, and also feature a color-coded version of Marshall’s legendary “block” logo badge.

Astoria Classic Features
• 30 Watt, all-tube amp (or 5 when Power Reduction is activated)
• 3 x ECC83, 1 x GZ34 (rectifier) & 2 x KT66 (power amp) tubes
• Contemporary handwired design
• Power Reduction switch (30W or 5W)
• Master Volume
• Edge control
• Bass, Middle, Treble controls
• Sensitivity Control
• Lo & Hi Sensitivity Inputs
• Contemporary handwired design
• Two-tone covering – green and white
• Color-coded Marshall “block” logo
• Brushed aluminum panel
• Custom-voiced, 75 Watt, Celestion 12” Creamback speaker in combo and extension cabinet
• Dustcover included

ASTORIA CUSTOM
The all-tube, Astoria Custom features a footswitchable, +20bB Boost switch which adds plenty of natural gain when needed. On top of that, there is an Edge control to make the overall tone brighter or darker, Master volume, plus push/pull switches for Power Reduction (30W or 6W), Bright (highs) and Body (lows). The rear panel boasts a footswitchable, valve-driven series FX Loop. The Classic combo, head and extension cabinet are all covered in red vinyl with a central white stripe, and also feature a color-coded version of Marshall’s legendary “block” logo badge.

Astoria Custom Features
• 30 Watt, all-tube amp (or 5 Watt when Power Reduction is activated)
• 4 x ECC83, 1 x GZ34 (rectifier) & 2 x KT66 (power amp) tubes
• Contemporary Handwired design
• Power Reduction switch (30W or 5W)
• Master Volume
• Edge Control
• Bass, Middle, Treble Controls
• Brightness Switch
• Boost Switch (footswitchable)
• Gain Control
• Body Switch
• Lo & Hi Sensitivity inputs
• Series, tube-driven FX Loop (footswitchable) with Level Control
• Footswitch included (for Boost & FX Loop)
• Contemporary Handwired design
• Two Tone Covering – red and white.
• Color-coded Marshall “block” logo
• Brushed Aluminum panel
• Custom-voiced, 75 Watt, Celestion 12” Creamback speaker in combo and extension cabinet
• Dustcover included
• 2-way Footswitch included

ASTORIA DUAL
As its name suggests, the all-tube Astoria Dual is a two channel amp—Clean and OD (footswitchable).
It also features Master Volume and Edge controls, plus push/pull switches for Power Reduction (from 30 Watts or 5 Watts) and Body, which broadens low end frequencies. On the rear panel of the Astoria Dual is a footswitchable, valve-driven, Series FX loop with Level control.

Astoria Dual Features
• 30 Watt, all-tube amp (or 5 Watt when Power Reduction is activated)
• 4 x ECC83, 1 x GZ34 (rectifier) & 2 x KT66 (power amp) tubes
• Two footswitchable channels – Clean and OD (footswitch included)
• Contemporary Handwired design
• Power Reduction switch (30W or 5W)
• Master Volume
• Edge Control
• Bass, Middle, Treble Controls
• OD Volume
• OD Gain
• Body Switch
• Clean Volume
• Channel Switch
• Lo & Hi Sensitivity inputs
• Footswitchable Tube-driven, Series FX Loop with Level control (footswitch included)
• Footswitch included (for Channel change & FX Loop)
• 30 Watt output
• 4 x ECC83 & 2 x KT66 valves
• Two-tone covering
• Color-coded Marshall logo
• Brushed aluminum panel
• Custom-voiced, 75 Watt, Celestion 12” Creamback speaker in combo and extension cabinet
• Dustcover included
• 2-way footswitch included

Astoria will be available in fall 2015.

To find out more about the Series, please visit the Marshall USA Summer NAMM booth: #1144 in Hall B or visit marshallamps.com.

Nineteen hundred and eighty-seven was a very special year for Marshall Amplification and its founder, Jim Marshall, because it marked 50 years in the music industry for Jim, and the 25th anniversary of his world-renowned company.

To celebrate these two momentous occasions, Marshall released the Silver Jubilee Series of amps, clad in silver vinyl. Of these critically acclaimed offerings, the 100 Watt 2555 stack quickly become one of Marshall’s most popular and significant products. It was adopted by countless artists, including Jore Bonamassa and Slash.

Due to incredible public demand, Marshall is offering a U.K.-made reissue of the highly soughtafter 2555 stack that exactly duplicates its features and legendary tones. The models are the 2555X head plus the angled-front 2551A and straight-front 2551BV 4x12” cabinets. These three models are shipping now.

The 2555X head features a black PCB with high voltage/high temperature resistant black wiring in a matte black chassis. For technician-friendly, service ease, the chassis boasts external bias points for the output tubes.

2555X 100/50 Watt valve Head Features
• 3 x ECC83 (12AX7) preamp valves and 4 x EL34 power valve
• Silver vinyl and silver front panel
• High/Low Output selection switch – this switches the power stage between Pentode operation (100 Watts) and Triode (50 Watts)
• 2 footswitchable channels – Rhythm and Lead.
• Presence, Bass, Middle and Treble EQ controls
• Output Master/Pull channel Control. This footswitchable push/pull control switches between Rhythm and Lead settings.
• Lead Master Control which sets the Lead mode volume.
• Input Gain/Pull Rhythm Clip Control. When pulled out if adds extra crunch to the Rhythm Mode of the 2555X.
• Series Effects Loop
• DI Output for PA or recording
• Footswitch included
• High voltage and high temperature resistant wiring
• External bias points on the chassis
• Made in Britain with Pride

2551AV and 2551BV Cabinet Features
• Angled (2551AV) and Straight (2551BV) fronted 4x12” versions available
• 4 x Celestion Vintage 30 speakers (70 Watts a piece)
• 280 Watts
• Silver vinyl
• Mono/Stereo Switching – 16 or 4 Ohms Mono; 8 Ohms per-side, Stereo
• Castor wheels included
• Made in Britain with Pride

The recommended retail price of the 2555X head is $2,580; the cabinets are $1,800 each. They are shipping now.

To find out more about the Series, please visit the Marshall USA Summer NAMM booth: #1144 in Hall B or visit marshallamps.com.

Due to the popular demand for lower-powered amps, Park introduces the Little Head 18, a smaller, lower-powered version of its high-quality, big tone, hand-wired amplifiers.

The Park Little Head 18 features the same preamp and cathode follower driven tone stack as the Park 45.

What’s different is the addition of a highly variable power amp capable of using a number of octal based power amp tubes and an octal based rectifier tube socket that can use various tube and solid state plug-in rectifiers, plus a Post Phase Inverter Master Volume control (PPIMV) built into in a smaller size head cabinet.

User changeable output tubes include 6V6, 6L6 and EL34 and since the power amp is cathode biased with separate resistors on each power tube, no user biasing is necessary. User changeable rectifiers include 5Y3, GZ34 and solid state plug-in. Overall tone and power level will change (from 15 to 23 clean watts) depending on the choice of tubes. It is capable of beautiful, sparkling clean tones, overdriven blues from a hint of overdrive to full-blown OD and classic rock tones; all at playing levels that are suitable for the bedroom, studio or small club.

The Little Head features oversized power and output transformers, full power supply with choke, full featured two channel Park preamp with the addition of a Post Phase Inverter Master Volume, meticulous hand wiring and a strong, lightweight welded aluminum chassis.

The Park Little Head offers professional musicians various power levels, full bodied sound with no low-end compromise, superior tonality and feel, all at any volume level.

Retail price: $2,500

For more information, visit parkamplifiers.com.

Due to the popular demand for channel switching amps, Park introduces the Rock Head 50, a channel-switching version of its high-quality, big tone, hand-wired amplifiers.

Based on the vintage Park Rock Head from the 1970s, the new Rock Head 50 offers what original 1970s Master Volume amps never offered; channel switching with both great clean and overdrive sounds with independent controls of levels.

The Rock Head 50 is capable of beautiful, sparkling clean tones, overdriven blues from a hint of OD to full-blown OD and classic rock sounds; all at any volume level. Belying its simple control layout, the RH50 has some clever circuitry which allows it to perform it’s magic.

Unlike most amps with a “high gain” OD channel, the Rock Head’s OD channel’s can be used as a second clean channel or produce bluesy overdrive to classic rock with just Gain and Master controls and no extra gain switches.

The Rock Head 50 features Volume, Bright Switch, Treble, Mid, Bass, Brightness, Gain, Master, EL34 power tubes, a 12AX7 driven preamp with switchable cascaded gain channel, cathode follower tone stack, passive series effects loop and overall post phase inverter master volume (PPIMV).

The Park Rock Head 50 offers professional musicians full bodied sound, superior tonality and feel with two foot switchable channels. Hand wiring offers ease of servicing, longest life and reliability, plus it’s welded chassis is strong and lightweight.

Retail price: $2,850

For more information, visit parkamplifiers.com.

Prior to Foo Fighters' 20th-anniversary show, which took place July 4 in Washington, D.C., Dave Grohl organized a Rally & Ride motorcycle event, which took place earlier that day at DC Brau Brewing.

The 9:30 a.m. party featured breakfast, coffee and a surprise show by Grohl, who fronted a group made up of former Pearl Jam drummer Dave Krusen, Blind Melon guitarist Christopher Thorn, singer-songwriter Jonny Kaplan and Foo Fighters keyboardist Rami Jaffee.

Grohl, whose broken leg was supported by folding chairs, and the band performed Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl" and the Rolling Stones'"Bitch." And he wore a Ross Halfin T-shirt the whole time.

Check it out below and tell us what you think in the comments or on Facebook.

Cordoba is pleased to introduce two new 55FCE models, a refreshed “blanca” and a limited edition “negra” featuring exotic woods.

Cordoba’s 55FCE Thinbody model has been a mainstay in its catalog for years, a stage-ready flamenco guitar popularized by the Gipsy Kings.

The standard 55FCE Thinbody features a solid European spruce top, flamed maple back and sides and a Honey Amber tinted finish that falls in line with the coloring of traditional Spanish flamenco guitars.

Featuring the same wood combination, the 55FCE Thinbody is now available in a Natural Blonde finish, a modern update that subtly highlights the flamed maple’s striking beauty. Just like its predecessor, this guitar offers a bright, snappy tone perfect for accompanying flamenco dancers.

The new 55FCE Limited features a solid European spruce top with striking Macassar ebony back and sides. Macassar ebony is a dense, dark wood often found with blonde streaks. It’s known for its remarkably clear, loud sound, and fantastic tonal balance. “Negra” guitars have become more popular in recent years, and tend to offer a deeper, bassier tone in comparison with “blanca” guitars, which are built with lighter colored and brighter sounding woods like cypress and maple. This limited run will cap off at approximately 30 instruments in 2015.

Both new models feature a soft cutaway, Indian rosewood bridge and binding, gloss polyurethane finish, Fishman Prefix Pro Blend pickup with 3-band EQ and built-in microphone, premium Savarez Cristal Corum strings in High Tension, and a HumiCase Thinbody Protégé case.

55FCE Natural Blonde: $1,399.99 (street)
55FCE Negra Limited – Macassar Ebony $1,699.99 (street)

Visit Cordoba Guitars’ exhibit at the 2015 Summer NAMM Show at Booth 910.

For more information, visit cordobaguitars.com.

Bummed now that the latest season of “Game of Thrones” is over?

So are we! That’s why this super cool cover of the theme from this epic show caught our eye. It’s performed on an oud by Ahmed Alshaiba.

A what? Yes, this clever multi-track cover has Alshaiba not only playing that traditional pear-shaped stringed instrument, but also percussion, guitar and keys.

Originally from Yeman and now in New York, Alshaiba has several smooth oud covers up on YouTube and is quite skilled at the instrument.

Find out more about him at facebook.com

Buddy Guy’s new album, Born to Play Guitar, will be released July 31, but he’s made the title track available for listening in advance of the disc’s release.

“I’ve got a reputation and everybody knows my name,” Guy sings on the tune. “I was born to play the guitar. People, I got blues runnin’ through my veins.”

Born to Play Guitar will be released via Silvertone/RCA Records and is the followup to Guy’s 2013 album, Rhythm & Blues. The new record includes collaborations with performers such as Fabulous Thunderbirds frontman Kim Wilson, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and Van Morrison, who appears on “Flesh & Bone,” a song dedicated to the late B.B. King.

The album is available for preorder from Amazon and iTunes.

Guitar World presents everything you need to turn your smartphone or tablet into an extension of your guitar, including apps that will advance your playing, improve your tone, record your songs and maybe teach you something along the way.


Guitar

GuitarToolkit

Everything you need to get playing is already on your phone or tablet. You just need the app to get it going. GuitarToolKit is that app.

It offers a tuner, an interactive and extensive chord chart, a drum-machine-like metronome and other features to get you on the right track.

It can be customized for seven- and 12-string instruments, basses, banjos, mandolins and more, making it a go-to resource for the building blocks of metal, country, jazz or beyond. It was even designed with lefties in mind.

Agile Partners, $2.99

TabToolKit

You’ve diligently learned Dimebag Darrell’s solo to “Cemetery Gates,” but a day before the big gig your singer finally admits he can’t actually reach the really, really high note Phil Anselmo sings toward the end of the song.

No worries. TabToolKit lets you upload and download tab files and transpose them to any key to suit the rest of your bandmates.

The beautifully designed app also offers standard and tab notation, MIDI multitrack playback for full scores, instrument guides (for learning fretboard placement) and more. No matter where you, you can be a Cowboy from Hell.

Agile Partners, $3.99

Guitar World Lessons

The recently released Guitar World Lessons app provides downloadable video guitar lessons—for purchase—in a host of genres—from blues to metal to bluegrass and jazz (and let's not forget shred!)—at the click of a button.

Guitar World Lessons offers immediate delivery of hundreds of lessons from the massive and impressive Guitar World catalog. The app is available at the iTunes store for the iPhone and iPad. Note that the app download itself is free; instructional guitar and bass lessons can be purchased and downloaded by individual lesson or full download of the instructional product.

The search function allows guitarists to search lessons and products by artist, song, genre or instructor. Some of Guitar World’s best-selling lesson products are featured, including Guitar World Senior Music Editor Jimmy Brown’s Mastering Fretboard Harmony and more.

You can learn from Brown, Paul Gilbert, Dale Turner, Michael Angelo Batio or Guitar World Associate Editor Andy Aledort—and go In Deep with Stevie Ray Vaughan, Play Rock Bass!, Learn Slide Guitar and much more.

New Bay Media, free

Ultimate-Guitar Tabs HD

Guitar Tabs are an essential part of learning, so it would only make sense that guitarists would want to access every single one of Ultimate-Guitar’s more than 600,000 tabs on a whim.

Better yet, the app can play the music to the site’s 150,000-plus Tab Pro offerings with loop and tempo control, and it offers a tuner, metronome and chord library.

Ultimate-Guitar USA, free

JamPlay

If you regularly visit JamPlay online for its video guitar lessons, you’ll love JamPlay, which brings hundreds of guitar lessons for beginning and experienced players of acoustic and electric guitar to your mobile device.

The app provides access to instructional videos and backing tracks, as well as utilities like chord and scale libraries, a metronome and a tuner. The chord library features thousands of chord voices with audio playback, while the scale library provides scales in all 12 keys, also with audio playback. Best of all, new lessons and backing tracks are added frequently, with no app updates or fees required.

JamPlay, LLC, free

Steel Guitar

Despite what your guitar teacher might have told you, your whammy bar will never let you sound exactly like Johnny & Santo playing “Sleepwalk” on a steel guitar (unless you happen to be Jeff Beck). But Steel Guitar will.

This fun app lets you simulate the experience with its easy-to-operate emulations of lap, eight-string, Nashville- and Texas-style steel guitars, as well as a number of distortion and effects options.

Yonac, free

Chord!

Although pricey by basic app standards, Chord! offers a comprehensive interactive chord encyclopedia based on interval relationships, giving users many different inversions and fingerings.

It also offers interactive scales with alternate fingering and optional piano displays. Next time your jazz-bo keyboard player starts jamming on a C major 13 chord, you can find the perfect scale in which to improvise.

Thomas Grapperon, $4.99

Guitar Jam Tracks

When it comes to practice, nothing beats playing with a full ensemble.

The Guitar Jam Tracks series of apps provide full-band backing tracks for rock, reggae, jazz, “humbucker blues” and acoustic blues, delivering the ultimate experience in woodshedding. App developer Ninebuzz also offers a Scale Trainer & Practice Buddy app for $4.99.

In addition to the five previously mentioned styles, it includes an in-app purchase option for Garage Rock and the ability to float in tracks you’ve written in GarageBand and other apps.

Ninebuzz, free

Amps, Effects, Recording and Tools

GarageBand

Since inspiration often strikes at inconvenient times, GarageBand can be a songwriter’s most invaluable tool, especially if you’re far away from your instrument.

With realistic-sounding virtual-guitar tones that can be strummed as chords, regimented into scales (including exotic-sounding Klezmer and “South-East Asian” scales) or played as standard fretted notes, GarageBand makes it easy to sketch out song ideas. It also offers amps and effects to suit practically any kind of music.

And because it offers simulated bass, drums, keyboards, strings, a sampler and even a virtual amp that you can plug into using an audio interface, you can write full demos and even smartly produced and mixed songs.

Apple, $4.99

Audiobus

Recording enthusiasts know the power of the “bus” on a console: it’s what keeps everything connected.

Now a recording-obsessed app developer has created a program that works like a bussing system between music apps, allowing users ostensibly to rout the signals from numerous apps—including AmpKit, Amplitube, StompBox and Animoog (see all below)—into GarageBand or other recording apps. Finally, your tone is always at your fingertips.

A Tasty Pixel, $4.99

AmpKit+

Guitarist Alex Skolnick told Guitar World that he uses AmpKit+ almost religiously for warm-ups, whether he’s running through the blazing solos and riffs that he’s co-written with Testament or the jazzy chordings and improv ideas he plays in his eponymous trio.

That’s because AmpKit+ replicates the sounds of four amps—the Peavey ValveKing and 3120, as well as vintage “British” and “Colonel” amps—and the effects of 10 stomp boxes, plus mic and cabinet options. In-app purchases include more options, such as the Peavey 6505+, but those on a budget can check out the free version of AmpKit, which offers the ValveKing and a pared-down selection of effects.

Either way, you’ll need Peavey’s AmpKit LiNK, which ranges from $19.99 to $99.99, depending on the model. Like other apps mentioned here, AmpKit+ has Audiobus support.

Agile Partners, $19.99

AmpliTube

Like the PC and Mac programs of the same name, IK Multimedia’s AmpliTube offers digital stomp boxes and selectable head, cab and mic options.

App users can mix and match 11 stomp boxes, five amps, five cabs and two mics in the full version and a more basic rig in the free edition of the app.

In-app purchase options include a handy four-track recorder and a few more effects for writing on the go. Also available are branded versions of AmpliTube that offer the unique sounds of Slash, Jimi Hendrix and Fender amps for $14.99. Like AmpKit, AmpliTube requires its own endemic interface, the iRig, which retails for $39.99, and it has Audiobus support

IK Multimedia Production, $9.99

DigiTech Stomp Shop

The DigiTech Stomp Shop app is the perfect companion to DigiTech’s iStomp stomp box.

The iStomp is a standard-size pedal that can be completely reconfigured by loading in any of DigiTech’s growing list of e-pedals, which include reverbs, choruses, delays, various DigiTech and DOD effects, and much more. The iStomp performs all of the effect processing internally and comes with 10 free e-pedals.

Of course, you’ll want to add more, which is where the Stomp Shop app comes in. Once you have it on your iPod, iPhone or iPad, simply connect the device to the iStomp with the DigiTech Smart Cable, and start buying and downloading new effects from the e-pedal store in about as long as it takes to purchase a song.

Harman International Industries, free

StompBox

This iPad-only app’s name is a bit deceptive.

While its graphics resemble a multi-effect pedal, they can also can replicate the look of rack-mountable gear, giving guitarists several approaches to dialing in the perfect tone and experimenting with the signal chain.

StompBox contains 17 effects, including seven types of distortion and a Whammy-style pedal, as well as tools like a four-track loop recorder, a metronome and a tuner.

You can chain up to 12 simultaneous effects, save 12 banks of six patches and do much more. Plus, StompBox works with various connectors, including the iRig and AmpKit LiNK, and has AudioBus support.

4Pockets, $19.99

Taylor EQ

Taylor EQ lets you enhance the sound of any Taylor guitar to get the most out of it.

Select from a range of EQ presets designed by Taylor Guitars engineers to optimize the tone of Taylor’s signature body shapes, including the GA, GS, GC, dreadnought, T5 and GS Mini.

The app is also customizable with a six-band parametric EQ and a useful compressor-limiter. It’s versatile, too, since it will work with many iOS guitar adapters, but developer Sonoma Wire Works offers its own GuitarJack for $149.

Sonoma Wire Works, free

Shredder

Why should keyboard players have all the fun? With Shredder, any guitarist can turn his ax into a synth, with no special pickup required.

The app boasts a true analog synth engine that’s fully programmable, with two oscillators, a three-pass resonant filter, dual individually configurable LFOs and much more.

Shredder includes several signature effect stomp boxes, a harmonizer that builds up to three intervals and, with the right connector, MIDI compatibility.

Yonac Inc., $4.99 for iPhone, $9.99 for iPad

FourTrack

FourTrack offers a portable recording studio on your iPad for less than what a block of cassettes would have cost you at the peak of four-track fever.

Better yet, it sounds better than your dad’s old Portastudio, since it records at CD quality, and offers a metronome as well as drum beats by Death Cab for Cutie’s Jason McGerr.

And since it’s made by the same developers who created Taylor EQ (see above), it offers that app’s functions (as well as those of GuitarTone, another amp and effects modeling app) and it interfaces with the company’s GuitarJack port.

Sonoma Wire Works, $5.79

Overdub

For those who enjoy multitracking at its most primal, Overdub lets you record sounds and get that fuzzy, vintage quality when overdubbing with them. It’s great for artists who work with loops and for indie-rockers who like a little grit in their recordings.

The app even feels like a recording relic, thanks to cassette imagery (with a Memorex tape on display!) and groovy fast-forward, eject and tracking sounds.

Kirill Edelman, free

iAmGuitar

Savageapps made a splash with iAmBeatBox, an app that lets you create loop-oriented tunes with an innovative “magic gem” interface.

iAmGuitar is a different sort of creature but no less interesting, turning your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad into a virtual guitar that you can pick and strum. Choose between an electric guitar or six- and 12-string acoustic variations, select the key in which you want to play and press the chord “buttons” on the virtual fretboard.

Strumming at the edges of the screen produces quieter tones, and velocity strumming allows for realistic playing dynamics. For on-the-go fun or songwriting, iAmGuitar is a player’s perfect companion.

savageApps, free

Other Instruments

The Art of Screaming

Admit it: You love playing guitar, but some part of you wishes you could add some killer back-up vocals to your band.

Or maybe even just kick your singer out altogether and take the reins.

For those of us still building confidence, vocal coaches Susan and Wolf Carr—whose client list has included members of Alice in Chains, Mastodon, Modest Mouse and Grizzly Bear—have developed an iPhone-only app that offers vocal warm-ups for practically every singing style that will set you on your path to the mic stand.

The Art of Screaming, $12.99

DM1–The Drum Machine

Drum machines have a long lineage in rock, having filled the drum stool at some point for artists like the Jesus and Mary Chain, Smashing Pumpkins, Big Black and Godflesh.

And while many guitarists might recoil from the idea of learning how a drum kit works, a drum machine, like the one replicated in the DM-1 app, makes for a workable alternative for people who cannot (or will not) work with a drummer.

This intuitive app is MIDI friendly and offers samples from 86 electronic kits, 21 vintage sets and 65 in-house-produced sounds, each with customizable effects for making full song sequences.

Fingerlab, $4.99

Animoog

Developed by Moog—the company that revolutionized sound in the Sixties with its commercially successful modular synthesizers—Animoog mimics the functions of a real Moog synthesizer.

You can create sounds from scratch using the graphical XY screen and sync what you play to MIDI (using an in-app purchase) and record right in the program. AudioBus support means you can direct Animoog’s sounds to other apps for even more mind-blowing sonic fun.

Moog Music, $29.99 for iPad, $9.99 for iPhone

Tachyon

Developed in association with Dream Theater keyboardist Jordan Rudess, Tachyon lets you blend the timbres of any two instruments—piano, electric guitar, industrial buzz-saw sounds and so on—in any octave range and then play the resulting hybrid.

Ever wanted to play a guitar-violin? Here’s your chance.

Even cooler, as you slide your fingers over the screen, a field of twinkling stars morphs into the shape of the instrument you’ve selected to play.

Wizdom Music, $1.99

Music Education

Met Guitars

Developed for the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Guitar Heroes exhibit in 2011, Met Guitars is a multimedia treasure trove of information on the history of our favorite instrument.

Video features focus on early guitars from Northern Italy and New York and go in-depth on the accomplishments of luthiers John D’Angelico, James D’Aquisto and John Monteleone. The app includes demonstrations that include audio of Chet Atkins playing a 1950 D’Angelico, and interviews with Monteleone.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, free

The Guitar Collection: George Harrison

Everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the Quiet Beatle’s gear gets a thorough examination in this app, licensed by the Harrison Estate.

Full 360-degree imaging allows you to see the Gretsch, Rickenbacker, Fender and other guitars Harrison used, as well as the dings and scratches.

Beatles enthusiasts will also marvel at audio introductions to the guitars by Harrison himself and at the nerdy, in-depth histories the developers included for each instrument and witty commentary by Conan O’Brien and insightful memories by George’s son, Dhani.

Bandwdth, $2.99

Jimi Hendrix: The Complete Experience

There’s nothing like a little Jimi Hendrix to inspire you. Now you can get a regular dose of his genius right on your phone, courtesy of The Complete Experience. The app provides succinct overviews of the six-string revolutionary’s biography, discography, studio life and more, and it plays some of his greatest recorded moments to give you the motivation you need.

Experience Hendrix, free

Epiphone has announced the all-new Epiphone Ltd. Ed. Tony Iommi Signature SG Custom, designed by the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" himself and featuring Gibson USA Tony Iommi Signature Humbuckers, a 24-fret Ebony fingerboard and a beautiful Ebony gloss color finish.

Iommi is every guitar player's hero. He's not just the "lead guitarist" of Black Sabbath. He is Black Sabbath. Black Sabbath was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, but he's been every shredder's idol since Black Sabbath's debut in 1970.

For 45 years as the band's heart and soul and the originator of dozens of all-time classic riffs, Tony Iommi has helped to make the "SG" the iconic guitar for hard rock and heavy metal. Now, Epiphone presents a one-of-a-kind SG designed exactly to Tony Iommi's specifications.

"This guitar sounds like I want it to sound on stage," Iommi said. "I play it at home in the studio as well. It uses my signature pickups, which we worked on for quite a while over the years. It's got a great fretboard with a really nice feel. And, it's just a really classy-looking guitar."

Legendary SG Power: The original SG dates back to 1960 when it was first released as a replacement for the Les Paul Standard, which went out of production for most of the 1960s. The SG's smooth frets, lightweight body, distinctive "horns" and long scale made it a must-have for lead guitarists like Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, and young Tony Iommi from Birmingham, England.

The Ltd. Ed. Tony Iommi Signature SG Custom: The Ltd. Ed. Tony Iommi Signature SG Custom has a classic-styled SG body made from Mahogany with a gloss Ebony color finish and a 3-layer black/white/black pickguard. The 24.75" scale Mahogany neck has white binding and our popular 1960s SlimTaper D-profile that's glued into the body with a deep-set neck joint with a smooth transition heel.

Tony also introduced another first for his all-new signature SG, an Ebony fingerboard with pearloid "Cross" inlays designed by Tony with 24 medium jumbo frets, an adjustable truss rod, and a black graphite nut. The headstock features the famous Epiphone script logo in pearloid along with a Sixties-era "pineapple" inlay. On the back of the headstock is Tony's signature reproduced in silver silkscreen as well as an Epiphone Limited Edition logo in gold. The truss rod cover is bell-shaped like all classic SGs and Les Pauls.

Gibson USA Tony Iommi Signature Humbuckers: For his new Ltd. Ed. signature Epiphone, the "Godfather of Heavy Metal" chose his own Gibson USA Tony Iommi Signature Humbuckers for both the lead and rhythm positions. The Tony Iommi Signature Humbucker was Gibson's first Signature Series pickup and features both Alnico II and Ceramic magnets with special windings for an incredible sustain and full-shred tone. Each pickup is fully wax-potted and epoxied for absolute protection against unwanted feedback. Both pickups are powered by SG-style controls with Black "Top Hat" knobs with metal inserts and an Epiphone all-metal 3-way pickup selector with a black toggle cap.

For more information about this guitar, watch the video below and visit its page on epiphone.com.

When learning how to play jazz, and other improvisational genres of music, learning how to play the seven modes of melodic minor is an essential skill any guitarist should have in their soloing tool belt.

While we know that learning the seven modes of melodic minor is important, sometimes it can seem like a tough task, and we feel we have to start from scratch when learning these seven modes.

But that doesn’t have to be the case.

In this lesson, you will learn how to simply change one note of each major mode in order to quickly learn all seven modes of the melodic minor scale.

If you are new to the major modes, check out my previous lesson, Major Modes Made Easy, for a refresher on these important melodic devices.

Melodic Minor Mode 1

To begin, let’s take a look at how you can alter one note from the Ionian mode to create the first mode of melodic minor, otherwise known as the melodic minor scale itself.

In order to do this, you play an Ionian mode but lower the third note of the fingering to form the first mode of melodic minor. Because of this alteration, you can think of the MM 1 fingering as being an Ionian b3 shape.

Here is how those two interval patterns compare.

Ionian: R 2 3 4 5 6 7
MM 1: R 2 b3 4 5 6 7

Here's how that interval pattern looks on the fretboard, with one note difference between the two being indicated by the blue highlight in the MM 1 shape.

Once you have learned the MM 1 shape, you can practice applying it to a minor family chord, such as m7, m6, m9, or mMaj7, in order to bring this shape to your improvisational practice as well as technical.

Melodic Minor Mode 2

Let’s now take a look at how you can alter one note from the Dorian mode to create the second mode of melodic minor. In order to do this, you play a Dorian mode but lower the 2nd note of the fingering to form the second mode of melodic minor.

Because of this alteration, you can think of the MM 2 fingering as being a Dorian b2 shape.

Here is how those two interval patterns compare.

Dorian: R 2 b3 4 5 6 b7
MM 2: R b2 b3 4 5 6 b7

Here's how that interval pattern looks on the fretboard, with one note difference between the two being indicated by the blue highlight in the MM 2 shape.

Once you've learned the MM 2 shape, you can practice soloing with this mode over a 7th chord, bringing out a 13susb9 sound, in order to apply this shape to your improvisational practice as well as technical.

Melodic Minor Mode 3

We’ll now move on to altering one note from the Phrygian mode to create the third mode of melodic minor, otherwise known as the Lydian augmented scale.

In order to do this, you play a Phrygian mode but lower the root note of the fingering to form the third mode of melodic minor. Because of this alteration, you can think of the MM 3 fingering as being a Phrygian b1 shape.

This may seem funny, lowering the root note, but it makes it very easy to turn a Phrygian mode into the third mode of melodic minor on the fretboard from a fingering standpoint.

Here's how those two interval patterns compare.

Phrygian: R b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
MM 3: R 2 3 #4 #5 6 7 (or bR b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7 when compard to Phrygian)

Here's how that interval pattern looks on the fretboard, with one note difference between the two being indicated by the blue highlight in the MM 3 shape.

Once you have learned the MM 3 shape you can practice soloing with this mode over a maj7th chord, bringing out a maj7#5 sound, in order to apply this shape to your improvisational practice as well as technical.

Melodic Minor Mode 4

Let’s now alter one note from the Lydian Mode to create the fourth mode of Melodic Minor, otherwise known as the Lydian dominant scale.

In order to do this, you play a Lydian mode but lower the seventh note of the fingering to form the fourth mode of melodic minor.
Because of this alteration, you can think of the MM 4 fingering as being a Lydian b7 shape.

Here's how those two interval patterns compare.

Lydian: R 2 3 #4 5 6 7
MM 4: R 2 3 #4 5 6 b7

Here's how that interval pattern looks on the fretboard, with one note difference between the two being indicated by the blue highlight in the MM 4 shape.

Once you've learned the MM 4 shape you can practice soloing with this mode over a dominant family chord such as 7th, 9th or 13th, bringing out a #11 sound, in order to apply this shape to your improvisational practice as well as technical.

Melodic Minor Mode 5

Moving on, you can now alter one note from the Mixolydian mode to create the fifth mode of melodic minor. In order to do this, you play a Mixolydian mode but lower the sixth note of the fingering to form the fifth mode of melodic minor.

Because of this alteration, you can think of the MM 5 fingering as being a Mixolydian b6 shape. Here's how those two interval patterns compare.

Mixolydian: R 2 3 4 5 6 b7
MM 5: R 2 3 4 5 b6 b7

Here's how that interval pattern looks on the fretboard, with one note difference between the two being indicated by the blue highlight in the MM 5 shape.

Once you've learned the MM 5 shape, you can practice soloing with this mode over a dominant family chord such as 7th, 9th or 13th, bringing out a b13 sound, in order to apply this shape to your improvisational practice as well as technical.

Melodic Minor Mode 6

Let’s now alter one note from the Aeolian mode to create the sixth mode of melodic minor, otherwise known as the Locrian Natural 2 scale. In order to do this, you play an Aeolian mode but lower the fifth note of the fingering to form the sixth mode of melodic minor.

Because of this alteration, you can think of the MM 6 fingering as being an Aeolian b5 shape.

Here's how those two interval patterns compare.

Aeolian: R 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7
MM 6: R 2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7

Here's how that interval pattern looks on the fretboard, with one note difference between the two being indicated by the blue highlight in the MM 6 shape.

Once you've learned the MM 6 shape, you can practice soloing with this mode over a m7b5 chord in order to apply this shape to your improvisational practice as well as technical.

Melodic Minor Mode 7

Lastly, you can alter one note from the Locrian mode to create the seventh mode of melodic minor, otherwise known as the altered scale. In order to do this, you play a Locrian mode but lower the 4th note of the fingering to form the seventh mode of melodic minor.

Because of this alteration, you can think of the MM 7 fingering as being a Locrian b4 shape.

Here's how those two interval patterns compare.

Locrian: R b2 b3 4 b5 b6 b7
MM 7: R b3 b3 b4 b5 b5 b7

Here's how that interval pattern looks on the fretboard, with one note difference between the two being indicated by the blue highlight in the MM 7 shape.

Matt Warnock is the owner of mattwarnockguitar.com, a free website that provides hundreds of lessons and resources designed to help guitarists of all experience levels meet their practice and performance goals. Matt lives in the U.K., where he teaches Skype guitar students all over the world, and is an examiner for the London College of Music (Registry of Guitar Tutors).

Saturday Night Live guitarist Jared Scharff has a new web series called Unnecessary Shredding.

In it, Scharff adds lots and lots of tasteful shredding to songs that are devoid of shredding—if not devoid of guitars, period.

In his latest video, posted to the interwebs July 6, Scharff adds some unnecessary shredding to "Bang Bang" by Jessie J featuring Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj.

"This song's got mega balls," Scharff writes. "Those vocals are ripping, and I had to jump in on the energy from them. These ladies are fierce. Another bit of genius from Max Martin.

"I'm playing my 1994 American Standard Black Strat into a Homebrew Electronics Germania pedal into an Orange Rockaverb head."

Thoughts?

Here's our final installment in our trio of excellent acoustic videos from the sisters of Larkin Poe. It's their original song "Stubborn Love."

With chops that have put them on stage and on tour with the likes of Elvis Costello, Conor Oberst and more, Larkin Poe share their substantial original talents on their latest album KIN.

We spent an hour or two filming some of their favorites. Here they combine acoustic guitar and lap steel along with killer vocal harmonies.

If you like this one, also check out our recording of "Hey Sinner" here and "Jailbreak" here.

Check them out below and then go to larkinpoe.com for more!

The editors of Guitar World bring you the 2016 Buyer's Guide special tattoo issue!

This year's Buyer's Guide features more brands and models than any other guide and more than 500 product photos!

As always, the Buyer's Guide offers a vast selection of the newest and most cutting edge gear, this time modeled by Brooklyn's most in-demand tattoo models, Chelsea Nyegaard, Sarah Ve, Jesse Lee D, Karla Lambert, Kat Livingston and Jennifer Lynn.

We've got reviews of all the gear:

• Electric Guitars: Get your six-, seven- and eight-string fix
• Acoustic Guitars: Take a peek at this collection of flattops, archtops and acoustic-electrics
• Bass Guitars: For those looking to go deep, we've got a bevy of heavy hitters
• Amplifiers: We've got what you need for any tone and every venue
• Effects: Spice up your sound with these weird, wacky and wonderful effects
• Accessories: Personalize your playtime with picks, straps, cables and more
• Strings:Looking to stay in tune and play longer? Check out these offerings!

... and many more!

Check out the behind-the-scenes video below—and head to the Guitar World Online Store right now!

Below, check out a new "John Page Classic Presents” video featuring lefty guitarist Eric Gales, who is backed by Living Colour'sDoug Wimbish (bass) and Will Calhoun (drums).

In the clip, which was shot at Nuthouse Recording in Hoboken, New Jersey, Gales, Wimbish and Calhoun are performing "Swamp," a new song written by Gales for his upcoming album.

Gales—an extremely talented guitarist and vocalist—is playing the new John Page Classic Ashburn. Gales, who often is compared to Jimi Hendrix, has developed a unique hybrid blues/rock sound of his own—a sound that also draws upon influences as diverse as Albert King and Eric Johnson.

“I’m not just a bass player, I’m a sound system,” Wimbish has said. That’s why he’s among the leading bass players in the business. Best known for his work in Living Colour, Wimbish has performed and recorded with the Rolling Stones, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), Depeche Mode, Madonna, Jeff Beck and many others.

Calhoun is acclaimed for his unique blend of improvisational and hard rock drumming on Living Colour's four Epic releases as well as his work with B.B. King, Mick Jagger, Jaco Pastorious, Paul Simon, the Allman Brothers Band, Lauryn Hill, Marcus Miller, Wayne Shorter, Run-DMC and more.

The Ashburn was designed by John Page, a Fender Custom Shop co-founder and one of the world's greatest custom luthiers. The Ashburn, which is built to spec, set up in the U.S. by John Page-authorized techs and backed by a lifetime performance guarantee, delivers elite custom design for only $1,499 MSRP.

John Page Classic is an HRS Unlimited brand.

For more information about John Page Classic and the Ashburn, visit johnpageclassic.com. For more Ashburn specs and photos, check out "John Page Classic Guitars Introduces the Ashburn."

Rarely can you point to a single musician and say, "he and his band mates practically invented a musical genre on their own."

But that description isn't much of a stretch for Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi, one of the most influential and oft-imitated guitarists in the history of music.

After losing the tips of the middle and ring fingers of his right hand in an industrial accident at age 17, Iommi began to tune his strings to lower pitches so that the homemade thimbles he'd fitted on the ends of his injured fingers could bend guitar strings more easily.

But along with making the strings easier to bend, these alternate tunings gave Iommi's riffs a more ominous, heavy sound; one that changed rock forever.

[[ Enter to Win a New Epiphone Tony Iommi Signature SG Guitar with Gibson USA Tony Iommi Pickups! ]]

Gibson SG in hand, Iommi merged the blues with gothic, minor-key riffing, creating the perfect foil for a carousel of remarkable frontmen, including the incorrigible Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary Ronnie James Dio and the stately Ian Gillan.

The sole constant member of Black Sabbath, Iommi's signature tone and riffs birthed heavy metal. Today, Guitar World pays tribute to one of rock's greatest axemen by revisiting 10 of his greatest riffs. Enjoy!

"Black Sabbath"

The riff that started it all. Dissonant, haunting and just plain scary, this was Iommi's mission statement for Black Sabbath.

“We were in the rehearsal room one day, and I came up with this riff,” Iommi said. “We all went, ‘Bloody hell! That’s really different!’ That riff pointed us in the direction that we thought we should be going. We wanted to do our own stuff, and this was a direction no one had tried before.”

"Wicked World"

While there's definitely a pronounced blues feel to the endlessly satisfying main riff from this somewhat rare track (it was included only in the U.S. version of Black Sabbath's self-titled debut), Iommi explores other influences as well.

A testament to Iommi’s creative genius is the interlude section that begins at 2:15, with unusual chordal arpeggiations doubled by the same track played backward and followed by an unaccompanied Iommi guitar solo.

"Paranoid"

Though it might be a stretch to associate Black Sabbath with the punk movement that would follow less than a decade after their debut, "Paranoid" certainly has many of the genre's characteristics. Aggressive and filled with attitude, Iommi's riff sets up this flattening, hard-charging, but tantalizingly brief Sabbath classic.

"Iron Man"

Though it's possibly more famous for Osbourne's vivid lyrics, describing a truly larger-than-life, superhero-like character, what would "Iron Man" be without its main riff? Working in tandem with Ozzy's vocals, Iommi stamps out any and all opposition with this classic.

"Supernaut"

Though "Supernaut" was allegedly conceived as a showcase for Bill Ward's concert drum solos, it has become a longtime favorite, mostly due to Iommi's monstrous riff. Chunky and mountainous, Iommi matches Ward's incredible percussive power blow for blow.

"Under the Sun/Every Day Comes"

Iommi's titanic riffing on this track might make you think the title is a reference to the sun's implosion. Its urgent tempo and flair for the dramatic not only forecast the speed of thrash metal but the theatrics of symphonic metal.

"Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"

Aside from being one of Black Sabbath's most iconic tracks in general, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" actually features a variety of classic Iommi riffs. While the verse riff lurches and lumbers along, the chorus explores Iommi's more jazzy side.

But it’s all just a warmup for the song’s centerpiece, the crushing “Where can you run to?” midsection, which is built around perhaps the most devastatingly heavy riff in the Sabbath catalog, and an unmistakable template setter for decades of metal to follow.

"Symptom of the Universe"

The first four minutes of “Symptom of the Universe” are truly the beginnings of thrash metal. It has all the quintessential musical elements of thrash, including flatted-fifth dissonance, half-step intervals, manic drumming and a vocal performance where Osbourne sounds like a demon possessed.

"Heaven & Hell"

"Heaven & Hell" loudly and proudly announced the beginning of a new era for Black Sabbath, one that didn't include its famous founding frontman. Though its production is a bit more welcoming than Sabbath's Osbourne-era material, Iommi sounds just as fierce. The opening riff to this track is the sound of floodgates being opened.

"The Mob Rules

With Ronnie James Dio's more operatic pipes, Black Sabbath's music took on a more arena-type, anthemic feel. The opening riff to "The Mob Rules," is almost ... dare we say it, fun! Though Dio's lyrics still focus on humanity's dark side, he has a levity that Iommi reflects in the song's opening riff. Though it was certainly different, it showed that Iommi was always versatile and willing to lead Sabbath into uncharted musical territory.

Supro is now shipping its 1622RT Tremo-verb amplifier worldwide.

This compact, all-tube powerhouse is physically the smallest amp in the current Supro lineup, cranking out 25 watts of pure vintage American Class-A tone through a single 10-inch speaker.

The Tremo-verb uses 6973 power tubes and features independent treble and bass controls, footswitchable all-tube reverb and output-tube tremolo. Compact enough to carry on the subway or throw in a cab, yet loud enough to share the stage with a full band, the Tremo-verb is a vintage-styled combo for guitarists on the go.

The all-new Supro Tremo-verb reissue tube amp is hand assembled in Port Jefferson, New York, and will hit the street at $1,299 USD.

The Tremo-verb's blue rhino hide tolex, vintage-correct cabinetry and fundamental circuit topology are all drawn from the original Supro Reverb combos of the mid-Sixties. Like its ancestors, the new Tremo-verb's power-tube tremolo comes after the reverb pan, lending an ethereal shake and wobble to the enveloping wash of tube-driven spring reverb.

The Supro Tremo-verb's four-spring, 17-inch long reverb pan and all-tube reverb drive and recovery stages provide warm and smooth 'verb that "surrounds the note" without getting in the way, even when the amplifier is cranked up all the way for maximum grind.

The Tremo-verb is the third in a series of Supro reverb amp reissues for 2015. It follows the award-winning Royal Reverb (NAMM Best in Show) and Saturn Reverb (Premier Gear Award), which were released early in the year.

The amp is being introduced to the world today at the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, which runs until Saturday.

For more about Supro amps, visit suprousa.com.

For more Summer NAMM Show news, bookmark GuitarWorld.com's dedicated Summer NAMM 2015 page. And don't forget to follow GW on Twitter for more "live on the NAMM Show floor" coverage.

PLATINUM AWARD WINNER

I love gadgets that make my life easier, and I can tell you that I don’t go anywhere without a clip-on tuner.

Since I already use TC Electronic’s famed PolyTune polyphonic pedal tuner, which features an intuitive display to let you see all six-strings simultaneously and quickly tune the ones that are sharp or flat, I knew it was only a matter of time before TC would incorporate that technology into a clip-on tuner.

So after receiving a slick white package that I thought came from Apple, I discovered to my delight that it was the brand-new TC Electronic PolyTune Clip. Featuring an extra slim profile and a stunningly clear LED display that allows for accurate polyphonic and chromatic tuning, the PolyTune Clip is by far the most elegant headstock tuner available.

I could go on and tell you the PolyTune Clip features an adaptive readout that automatically flips to the proper orientation no matter where you decide to attach its padded, stainless-steel clip.

And if that’s not enough, it also has a strobe tuner with +/- 0.02 cent accuracy, flat tunings and capo modes, along with MonoPoly technology that detects whether you play one or more strings and responds with the proper polyphonic or monophonic tuning mode. Plus, it allows you to commit your favorite tuning mode or pitch to its memory.

Like I said, I could go on, but what other innovative clip-on tuner does this much so seamlessly for under fifty bucks?

STREET PRICE $49.99
MANUFACTURER TC Electronic, tcelectronic.com