Hi, this is James and welcome to my guitar blog ZZGuitars!
I’ll kick things off with a post on some of the best guitar
apps for smartphone users. If you are a guitar player (which if why you’re on
this blog right now, right?), and have an iOS or Android based smartphone (like
an iPhone), you should definitely check some of these out! These are not full-length
reviews, but I’ll do my best to give you a little description of each app and
what it does. So without further ado…
1. GuitarToolkit
GuitarToolkit is like the swiss-army-knives of guitar apps
for smartphones. Available exclusively for the iOS right now, GuitarToolkit is
a collection of many different essential guitar tools – such as an accurate
chromatic tuner, a precision metronome, a collection of more than 2 million
guitar chords, scales and arpeggios, plus you get extra goodies if you upgrade
to GuitarToolkit+! There’s full support from different types of guitars
(acoustic, electric, bass, ukulele, banjo, mandolin, etc), different string
configurations and of course, a left-hand mode for everything.
$9.99 on iTunes | N/A on Google Play
2. Gibson’s Learn and Master
Great little app for beginners! Gibson’s Learn and Master makes
for a good app for anyone looking to pick up and learn the guitar. The app
comes with a number of useful guitar tools – such as a chromatic tuner, a
metronome, a library of chords and lessons – as well as a Learn and Master
Guitar course for beginners based on free video-based lessons. The latest
version of the app also incorporates StudioShare – a brilliant ‘mini-app’ that
lets users record and mix their own music right on the app! Which can then be
shared with anyone in the world. The app is totally free to download.
Free on iTunes | Free on Google Play
3. PocketGuitar
Away from your guitar, and itching to play? On a vacation or
a road-trip, and missing your guitar? PocketGuitar to the rescue! The name is a
dead give-away: this is an app which essentially puts a fully functional guitar
in your pocket! Simply download the app, and fire it up, and you’ll be playing
a virtual guitar right on your phone in no time. PocketGuitar lets you chooce
between acoustic, electric and bass guitars, and even add effects. The
touchscreen fretboard works really well too. Yes, it probably won’t feel like
the real thing, but it’s better than nothing right?
$0.99 on iTunes | N/A on Google Play
4. Ultimate Guitar Tabs
As the name implies Ultimate Guitar Tabs puts a huge library
of 300,000+ tabs right in your smartphone. It connects directly to the
Ultimate-Guitar.com tabs repository, which is one of the largest tab libraries
out there. What this means is that you have a ginormous selection of tabs right
in your phone, which can be accessed according to artist or song titles, instrument
type, difficulty, tuning, rating, or you could simply browse through the tabs
at will.
$2.99 on iTunes | $2.99 on Google Play
5. Guitarist
Guitarist is a very popular guitar app on the iPhone and iOS
platform. The app is quite similar in function to the PocketGuitar app we
looked at earlier; it is essentially a guitar simulator for your phone, that
puts a virtual fretboard right in your pocket. However unlike PocketGuitar,
Guitarist offers users the ability to record and save songs for later playback.
It has many applications; great for killing time, experimenting with chords,
riffs or solos on the road, impressing friends, and so on. One drawback of the
app though, is that it only works for right-handed guitar players.
$3.99 on iTunes |
N/A on Google Play
6. iShred
A pretty popular app on the iPhone that has received many
good reviews as well. iShred is perhaps the next best thing to a real electric
guitar! Like some of the other virtual guitar apps on this list, iShred puts an
electric guitar fretboard on your phone’s touchscreen. There are tons of amp
effects to choose from, and 2000 built-in chords, scales and fret positions
that can be accessed. The sounds are pretty good, and the app is easy to use,
even for total newbies. One of the best parts about the app is that it even
comes with a list of starter songs! There are tons of other goodies included
with the app as well so make sure that you check it out!
$4.99 in iTunes | N/A on Google Play
