Have you ever experienced a truth so evident that you barely have to practice what you’ve learned from the experience to make it a profoundly effective tool in your life? The team at Brainworx have thoroughly applied this concept to the creation of their release, Rock Rack avaiable June 15th, 2012. Rock Rack puts into software format a workflow pattern that most professional studios practice. That is to have 3 or 4 GREAT amps and cabinets to get effective results quickly. 

Nili Brosh hardly needs an introduction.

For those who haven’t yet seen any of the YouTube videos or numerous posts in both real and virtual press, let’s just say... Good morning. You have just awakened from a long, long sleep...

For the rest of us, let’s try to find out a little more about some less obvious aspects of this young rising star.

Hi and welcome to my 1st Lick of the Week. This lick is taken from the song called “Ride 'n Run”, from the album “Unconditioned” by Pavic. The full song is also available for free download. For this track tune down 1/2 step and tune down another whole step the low E string. From low to high strings you have: Db, Ab, Db, Gb, Bb, Eb (you won't use the low 6th string for the lead part, only for the rhythm). The solo is played over 2 chords, E and F major chords. The scale used for the solo is the E phrygian dominant (the 5th mode of the A harmonic minor scale) and the notes are: E, F, G#, A, B, C, D

The sound of the tube amp was always synonymous with a rock guitar tone. It is said that the sound of the tube amp is "warmer" compared to solid state amps like transistor or mosfet. The saturation of the tube increases gradually with the increase of the volume, this is something that doesn't happen with solid state amps, which by the way weren't even designed to produce distortion. In solid state amps the distortion is simulated with electronic circuits.

We are all used to seeing gorgeous girls posing with beautifully crafted, highly polished guitars on advertising posters and magazine covers. No doubt these are nice to look at, but do we expect these babes to be able to play? Perhaps not. Would we even give them time of the day?

Well...

Enter Nita Strauss...

Not only does this girl have the looks and the moves, but she has the skill and the acumen to make it, in what is almost exclusively, the man’s world.

Continuing from the previous article this one will look at using distorted guitar harmonies, firstly using riffs then for lead work.

This concludes this series of articles on guitar harmonies.

I believe as guitarists, we are living in one of the best times for tone accessibility and recording advancements. One piece of software that is pushing the boundaries of amplification simulation dynamics is Overloud’s TH2. TH2 is an intelligent and nuanced guitar amplification and effects suite that is also very accessible and user friendly. It’s very easy to jump right in and have inspirational tone in minutes no matter the style.

Gus G. is a guitar prodigy from Greece. Well known for his services as the axe man behind Ozzy Osbourne since 2010 and the mastermind behind the Greek heavy metal band Firewind. Endorsed and having signature models by the most prestigious companies of the 21st century including ESP guitars, Blackstar amps and Elixir strings to name a few, awarded with the "Best Shredder" award at Metal Hammer Golden Gods ceremony  in 2011, Gus is talking to us about his experience with Ozzy and the 7th Firewind studio album due to be released on May 21st in Europe and May 22nd in US and Canada.

The examples in these next two articles are all from my own work with my band Indighost. I chose to do this because since I wrote them I can give an insight into the writing process, rather than merely analyzing someone else’s work. In this article I will look at examples using clean sounds and the following one will use distorted guitars.

Hello and welcome to my first free lick of the week, taken from my complete lesson “Extended pentatonic licks”. This one is in the key of Em pentatonic and is in the style of Paul Gilbert, featuring combined picking and legato and using extended pentatonic shapes. Remember to warm up properly, as this will require stretch fingerings on your left hand.

Enjoy!