The latest issue of Guitar Interactive, the free digital guitar magazine has been released and it’s loaded to the brim with new video interviews, interactive guitar lessons and reviews of all the latest guitars, amps and pedals. Also, after the success of last month’s offer, every Guitar Interactive subscriber can still claim a FREE copy of the brilliant TAB editing software package Guitar Pro 6!
American guitar virtuoso Richie Kotzen is this month’s cover star with an in-depth interview at his LA home studio and a special ‘Kotzen Masterclass’ lesson from Tom Quayle. Other interviews include Free bassist Andy Fraser and Guitar Interactive favourite Steve Hackett returns to talk with Michael Casswell about his new album ‘Genesis Revisited ll’ and to perform an exclusive live session!
There’s more exclusive material on offer as Guitar Interactive are invited to the annual LA Amp Show to sample the latest products and find out what’s new in the world of Amplifiers. Pedals and Guitars. With a whole host of interviews with the brains behind the gear you love including Fractal Audio, Matrix Amplification, Suhr Guitars, Eganter + More….
There’s lots of prizes up for grabs in the competitions section of the mag… Gi are giving away two Wampler pedals and two copies of the new Randy Rhoads biography + find out which lucky reader bagged the Ibanez Steve Vai JEM70V Guitar!
Don’t miss the column features as Andy James, Tom Quayle, Rick Graham, Michael Casswell and Giorgio Serci all continue their technique lessons including tips, tricks and licks to help make you a better guitarist and starting this month, Guitar Idol winner Don Alder joins the Guitar Interactive teaching team to begin his ‘Acoustic Percussion’ series.
Included in the magazine is full downloadable tab for all of the lessons in the usual PDF format and now our new Guitar Pro 6 format so you can start using your FREE software right away (For details on how to claim your copy, visit the downloads page in the magazine).
The rest of the issue is jam packed with reviews including the new Tony Iommi Signture T-100 Laney Amp, Washburn, Rickenbacker, PRS, Hiwatt, Wampler, TC Electronic, Danelectro, Stonebridge and an exclusive review of the new Ibanez Roadcore RC230 Guitar!
If that’s not enough, Gi brings you a Quiet Room special with the new ‘Rise Of The Super-Ukes’ feature – Ukelele expert John Howlett explains why the Ukelele is conquering the world and reviews the best models on the market.
All this is available now and it’s completely FREE! Visit http://www.iguitarmag.com/issue13 to read it now!
REVIEWS_GUITAR REVIEW
Traditionally the source of endless disappointment, MIDI guitars have promised
the earth - but few have delivered. Until now, says Tom Quayle. And what’s even
better - you can almost certainly afford this one!
At a first, albeit cursory, glance, the
YouRockGuitar, made by Inspired
Instruments, looks like a game controller for
your Xbox or PS3 console. It resembles a toy
and in fact fulfils this purpose very well in
all of your favourite music games. So why
are we reviewing it here? Because it is much,
much more than it appears and represents
a very affordable and impressive MIDI
controller for the guitarist who is looking to
use synth sounds in his or her music..
The YRG, in this case in its secondgeneration
form, ships in two pieces and
upon unpacking, the neck must be attached
to the body. This is a very simple process and
gives you a small form factor instrument that
resembles a traditional electric guitar in both
feel and design. Whilst being made entirely
from plastic, the unit feels solid and well built
and the controls function well, without feeling
cheap or tacky. The YRG Gen 2 features
ribbon like strings on the neck that act as fret
sensors allowing the unit to trigger MIDI
sounds from its onboard synthesiser and
external sounds via its MIDI and USB ports.
STAR RATING CHECK THE SPEC
84 Guitar Interactive Magazine Issue 14
The strings feel very good and while they
differ significantly from normal guitar
strings in that they are fixed in position, feel
comfortable and require very little in the
way of technical adaptation. The right hand
section of the YRG features six string triggers
that can be adjusted for a tighter or looser
feel depending on the user’s preference.
Strumming, finger-picking and plectrum
techniques can all be used very effectively
allowing you to play the YRG just as you
would a real guitar, albeit with out more
guitar-specific techniques such as vibrato,
palm muting and bends that would confuse
the MIDI control messages. All of these
techniques can be performed in alternative
ways, using the onboard whammy bar and
joystick controllers, sending pitch bend and
modulation data.
A small control panel on the top of the
guitar controls a whole swathe of parameters
that can be tailored to suit the users playing
style, such as hammer-on/pull off delay, slide
mode, string trigger sensitivity, tapping mode
and many more. From here, the on-board
backing tracks and synth/guitar sounds can
be selected and played, along with a very
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