{ Lick That Riff! }

Hello, and welcome to the third and final instalment of the Decade Review. In the previous two reviews I covered the greatest riffs of the decade, the best albums of the decade and the death of some of the great guitarists of the decade.

Today I’m going to be looking at how technology has effected the way we listen, play, discuss, teach, record, share and buy guitars. So to start with I am going to look at probably the biggest technological advance to effect Guitars this decade. The Internet.

The Internet

Although the internet was around before this decade, it looked a far cry from the internet we see today. According to a 2007 Netcraft survey there are around 108 million active websites. And that was in 2007, imagine how big that is going to be in 2010! Most people in developed countries now have access to the internet, its become just like having a telephone or a television. But what effect has this had on the Guitar world?

A Massive Effect! Just think about all the new sites that are out there, Youtube, myspace, last.fm, chord sites, guitar blogs, lick library, guitar neck sites, guitar discount sites, Learn Guitar sites! There are thousands.

So lets start with youtube.

Youtube – If you think every hour around 10 hours of video are uploaded onto Youtube, this should give you some idea of the scale of the video sharing site. Now think about how many of those videos are guitar related. Must be quite a bit. In the past few years guitarists on youtube have been able to access some great guitar videos. I can now go onto Youtube and see videos from some of my favourite bands, For Example, I can now go onto Youtube and type “Jimi Hendrix Woodstock” and watch Jimi’s amazing woodstock performance. Guitarists can also upload themselves playing guitar songs, either their own, or covers, and it is a great way to get viewed and build a sense of community. But by far the best advance for guitarists on Youtube is the amount of video’s teaching people how to play a song. This is a great tool for beginners and intermediates alike. I wish I had this tool when I was a beginner as it would have sped up the process.

Myspace – On reflection, these two sites are very similar for music use. Myspace also lets bands share their music online with their fans, and it also lets users share their music. I would say that the main difference between the two sites for music use, is that one is geared more towards users uploading (Youtube) and the other is more compatible for bands uploading (Myspace) Although both, if used properly can be a great way to get your music heard.

Last.fm – Last is another site quite similar to the other two, although has some differences. Last.fm is primarily an internet radio site, where users can either pick an artists radio station or create their own playlist to listen to. This can be a great to listen to a playlist of your favourite tracks that you might not have on your computer.

Tab Sites – I remember tab sites being around when I started learning guitar although they have changed a lot over the years. The main tab site I use is Ultimate-Guitar. I think it has probably got the most tabs around and I quite like the amount of Guitar Pro tabs they have on there aswell. Tab sites have revolutionised the way that people learn guitar. Anyone can go on to a good tab site, find their favourite song, and try to learn it. For Free! Users upload versions of a song that they think are correct and then other users rate those versions. It is probably the biggest online guitar community on the internet.

Chord Dictionary Sites – There are loads of these sites around these days, but some are brilliant. There are lots of different types of site, some have the chords listed like triads, sevenths and so on. Others have them listed as to what key they are in. But my favourites are the sites that give you the neck of the guitar. This allows users to put a root note, and if they wish put all of the notes in a particular chord so that they can find out the chord name. This is very good if you want to sharpen up on your theory.

Guitar Warehouses – Since the advent of the internet, businesses have began to understand the importance of it to the customer. Businesses can now set up a website and sell online, with there being no need for premises or storage. This means that costs should decrease and more bargains can be found online. I have only ever used a website to buy a guitar once in the past. That was to buy my Epiphone SG. I used GAK as this has many good bargains and deals. To be honest I do like this new way of buying guitars, although nothing is ever going to beat going into a guitar shop, picking a guitar to play and then buying the one that feels right to you. I suppose though for people buying beginners kits, rare guitars and just people looking for bargains then online is the way to buy your guitars.

Other Sites – These are just a few of the guitar-related sites that are out there. Others include, Lick Library, Guitar-learning sites, Guitar Blogs, and much more. If you have a search around yourself I’m sure you are bound to find plenty of little goldmines.

Software

Now we move onto guitar software in general and how it has shaped, and is shaping the future of guitars. I suppose there is only one thing to start this topic off with, and that is, Robot Guitars.

Robot Guitars – This decade has seen the release of three generations of robot guitar from Gibson. The first was released in 2007 on a limited basis by Gibson. Widespread release had to wait for the second generation, the guitar called Gibson Dark Fire. With the Dark Fire, came Gibsons Chameleon technology. This allowed users to have an infinite of tonal possibilities within the guitar. There was also Acoustic capabilities and the guitar could tune itself, which I thought was the coolest aspect of the guitar. The next instalment was the Dusk Tiger. Visually, I don’t like this as much as the Dark Fire, and I have heard mixed reviews from people about robot guitars in general. The Dusk Tiger, is branded as “The Worlds Most Advanced Guitar.” But then is that what guitar is about? Some of the best songs ever recorded were from guitars as old as my Dad. So really Robot Guitars still have a long way to go to convince a lot of guitarists, I wouldn’t say no if someone bought me one though

Guitar Tab/Notation Software – With computers and the internet being so big in this decade it was only inevitable that guitar notation software would take off. I think that this has been one of the biggest technological advances to help me with guitar. I use Guitar Pro and it is brilliant. It not only notates the guitar tab, but also the drum tabs, bass tabs and any other instruments involved. Unlike reading usual tab aswell it is so much easier to notate and find both guitar parts to a song. I think that this is a must for any beginning band, because you can all look at the different bits, and using tab sites like Ultimate-guitar, it is easy to find a variety of songs to play.

Other Software Advances – Of course there have been many software advances in the guitar world over the past decade, but I can’t mention them all. Some notable advances, the Line 6 POD, Digital Guitar tuners.

Guitar Games

This has been a massive decade for gaming. And whats more an even bigger decade for gaming and the guitar. This decade has seen guitar and gaming come together like never before.

Guitar Hero – I’m sure you have all played on this game before, its an amazing game which really came into its own with Guitar Hero 3. The best part about Guitar Hero 3 was that it included a wireless guitar controller modelled on the Gibson Les Paul. This game received rave reviews and bought families all across the country together to rock to songs like the Paint It Black and Rock n’ Roll All Night. During the game in career mode the gamer played through different levels of the game and at the end of the last level they had to have a guitar duel against the computer. Artists that were picked to duel against included Slash and Tom Morello. There have been two other full versions since Guitar Hero 3, and they are Guitar Hero: World Tour and Guitar Hero 5.

The Beatles Rock Band – Now Rock Band was released as an individual title in 2007 and enabled gamers to buy a wireless guitar, drums and microphone so that they could play in a band. It is very similar to Guitar Hero but obviously gives you the ability to sing and play the drums. But then in 2009 they really pushed the boat out. Releasing a Beatles version of the game! I was so excited when this was being released as I’m a massive Beatles fan. With the Beatles Rock Band game gamers can purchase controllers like Lennons Rickenbacker, McCartneys Hofner, Harrisons Gretsch and Ringo’s Ludwig drums! This is really something I hope continues into the next decade.

Guitar Hero/Rock Band Iphone – With the release of the Iphone there has been thousands of applications made available. The good thing about these apps are that there have been a Guitar Hero and a Rock Band game produced for the Iphone. So gamers and guitarists can play whilst they are on the move.

So there we have it! A technology review of the decade for the guitar world. Hope you enjoyed it. Lets hope the next decade is just as good for technology and the guitar.

Other Decade Reviews:

• Part 1
• Part 2

Bye. Happy New Year!

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