More than ever before, guitarists are on the go. Finding time to sneak in a bit of practice is tougher than ever. Below are a handful of apps that will not only open your musical mind, but make more mundane tasks a bit easier.
SØLO
Cleverly designed by fusion guitarists Tom Quayle and David Beebee, this app helps you visualize how to navigate chord and scale tones all over the neck. It comes loaded with tons of progressions and challenges you to snake through by hitting the correct notes.
$14.99
IREAL PRO
This modern, tablet-friendly version of the famed "illegal" Real Book that sprouted up in the '70s is a treasure trove of changes to thousands of jazz, pop, rock, and country tunes. The app also allows you to choose style, tempo, key, and more to create customized play-alongs.
$14.99
1CHART
You don't have to be a session cat in Nashville to get the most out of this sleek app that aims to make your charts clean and easy to read. Using simple Nashville-style notation, you can create charts with either numbers or chord symbols, rhythmic figures, and much more.
$15.99
1chartapp.com
GUITAR NOTE ATLAS
Imagine this app is your handy travel guide to nearly every possible scale, chord, and arpeggio around. It features a bass mode, left-handed mode, and the ability to view both a single position and the entire fretboard at the same time.
$4.99
guitarnoteatlas.com
AMAZING SLOW DOWNER
If you're trying to get inside the licks of Vai, Satriani, Yngwie, or EVH, there will likely come a time when the notes are simply going by too fast. This app can tap into your streaming service and create customized loops, adjust the tempo, or even raise and lower the pitch of a tune.
$14.99
FENDER PLAY
The focus of Fender's instructional app is to get your favorite songs under your fingers quickly, while teaching the fundamentals of good technique. The extensive song library covers everyone from the Beatles to Billie Eilish, in addition to courses on bass and ukulele.
$44.99/year
GIBSON APP
Inside this all-in-one app is a deep collection of instructional materials, song tutorials, a tuner, and a progressive learning path that uses augmented reality to help you better recognize what you're doing right and wrong.
$14.99/month
ULTIMATE GUITAR TABS
This app serves as an extension of the largest collection of user-sourced guitar tab on the internet. Nearly every style of guitar is represented here, and the app also includes backing tracks, transposable chord charts, and much more.
$5.99/month
ultimateguitar.com
GUITAR PRO
One of the more popular guitar notation programs is available in a mobile version that will let you view pro-looking tab on the go. There are 19 available sounds, support for 4- to 8-stringed instruments, a mySongBook portal to learn your favorite songs, a metronome, and extensive looping controls.
$6.99
guitar-pro.com
HUMANOME
Only the mind of Wayne Krantz could come up with this twisted take on a metronome. It's designed to not only improve your internal clock, but help you adapt quickly to sudden changes in tempo. If you're feeling adventurous, then make sure to check out inhumanome mode.
waynekrantz.com
LR Baggs Align Reverb Acoustic Reverb Pedal
The Align Series Reverb was built from the ground up to complement the natural body dynamics and warmth of acoustic instruments that we love so much. The circuit seamlessly integrates the wet and dry signals with the effect in side chain so that it never overwhelms the original signal. We shaped the reverb with analog EQ to reflect the natural voice inherent in acoustic instruments. Additionally, the tone control adds versatility by sweeping from warm and muted to open and present. The result is an organic reverb that maintains the audiophile purity of the original signal with the controls set in any position.
Epiphone Firebird I
When Gibson debuted the Firebird I and Firebird V in 1963, the design was as innovative as it was radical. Like the Flying V and Explorer, the Firebird seemed Martian—or at least like a work of futurist art, with its offset body shape, extended lower and upper bouts, reverse headstock, and through-body neck.
Firebirds came in three versions: The single-pickup Firebird I, the two-humbucker Firebird V, and the three-pickup Firebird VII, with the latter two featuring a Vibrola tailpiece, trapezoid inlays, and neck binding. The first time I saw a Firebird in action, it was in the hands of Johnny Winter, who gave no quarter as he ripped conflagrant solos from its fretboard, but Brian Jones, Clapton, Allen Collins, Paul Stanley, and Phil Manzanera also helped make the model a legend. Original ’60s Firebird V’s sell for as much as $35,000, and reissues peak at nearly $10,000 for the Gibson Custom Shop’s ’63 Firebird V. That’s a lot of dough to look badass on stage. But now, Epiphone—in collaboration with Gibson’s Custom Shop—has taken high-quality reissues of the 1963 Firebird I and V into a more affordable realm. They’re still pricey for an Epi’, at $1,299 and $1,699, respectively, but undeniably brimming with panache.
“I was surprised by how sweet and heavy Gibson’s Firebird Mini Humbuckers sound. There is nothing mini about their tone.”
An’ a I, an’ a V
Our review Firebirds arrived impeccably set up, with action low enough for speed, but high enough for slide—my comfort zone, coincidentally. They are handsome guitars too. The I is finished in gleaming cherry, while the V is decked out in vintage sunburst and a shiny Vibrola tailpiece.
The necks are the not-so-secret weapons on these models. They are 9-ply mahogany and walnut (original Firebirds have a 5-ply neck), sandwiched between mahogany wings, but both guitars are still fairly light. The I is 7 1/2 pounds and the V weighs about 9 pounds due to the additional pickup and bridge hardware. There are 22 comfortable, medium-jumbo frets, which allow easy navigation and elegant bends, a Graph Tech nut, dot neck inlays on the I and trapezoids on the V, a classic Gibson-scale neck length of 24 3/4", and an Indian laurel fretboard. The banjo-style Kluson Planetary tuners, as well as the reverse headstock, take time to get to use to, but contribute to the instruments sleek, clean lines. The Firebird I’s electronics are simply a master volume and tone, with CTS pots and Mallory caps inside, in service of a warm-to-cutting single alnico 5 Gibson USA Firebird Mini Humbucker. The V offers more ways to shape your tone: The Vibrola is cool and vibey and there’s a classic four-dial Gibson control set (also routed through Mallory caps and CTS pots), a 3-way pickup switch on the lower bout, and a pair of those Gibson USA Firebird Mini Humbuckers.
Epiphone Firebird V
Trial by Firebird
I was sure I would prefer the Firebird V playing experience, because I am typically a neck-pickup player, but both guitars revealed sonic charms through Carr Vincent and Telstar amps running in stereo, my vintage Marshall Super Lead, and a Positive Grid Spark.
Low-action setups on both accommodate everything from campfire chords to screaming single-note playing past the 12th fret, with the perfectly smooth fret ends and comfortable neck making it all a pleasure. The neck broadens to 2 1/4" at the body, from 1 3/4" at the nut, making it easy to hit high notes accurately. But what really excited me, besides how artful these guitars look, is the power and sound of the pickups.
I was surprised by how sweet and heavy Gibson’s Firebird Mini Humbuckers sound. There is nothing mini about their tone, whether slashing and growling through the Marshall or pouring thick honey out of the Carrs. And through the Spark, a highly pleasing snarl and juicy warmth were all on tap. Despite my predilection for neck pickups, I became really excited by the Firebird I. The simplicity and elegance of its look, streamlined controls, clean surface, and light weight made the I a joy to play, especially with the treble rolled to near-zero. There, early Clapton-esque tone was a cinch to find, and for blues and pseudo-jazz-licks (the best I can muster in that genre), the warmth and clarity were delightful. Despite its basic construction, the Epiphone Firebird I is assuredly more than a rock machine.
Sure, having the addition of a neck pickup on the Firebird V provides a wider selection of tones, but the voices achievable on the I were no less winning and, honestly, I could not find any pickup-and-dial configuration on the V that sounded all that different or better than those available on the I. But, ah, a Vibrola is a very nice appointment—not just for its grand appearance, which is like some antiquarian treasure, but for the subtle bends its enables. If atmospheric guitar tones from the Ventures to Hermanos Gutiérrez are your passion, you’d want the Vibrola, which stays remarkably in tune, given its relatively primitive design.
The Verdict
Make no mistake: With their uncommonly proportioned offset bodies and reverse headstocks, guitars like the Epiphone Firebird I and V require time to get acquainted. But if you’re unafraid to stand out from the crowd, these instruments will serve you visually and sonically. Both play well and offer a good scope of vintage tones—from aggressive to dark maple sugar—with simple dial adjustments. And while many other Epiphone models sell for less, these well-crafted copies of original Gibson designs provide custom-shop or boutique-builder quality at a much lower price. PG
