As I was getting links together for this week’s issue, I couldn’t help but be excited. We have so much cool stuff to check out - new performances and reissues of albums, brand new and exciting lessons, new gear, and so much more.

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It’s been a blast hearing from you guys, and trying to answer everyone’s questions. If you ever have a question about guitar, recording, mixing or anything else music related, send it my way. Let’s get into this week’s links!

Eugene's trickbag Guitar Lesson Standard Tuning - If you haven’t seen the classic guitar movie Crossroads, where Ralph Macchio goes up against the devil’s guitarist (aka Steve Vai), you need to check it out! At least hit up YouTube for the head cuttin’ duel. In Alex Hutchings latest video, he breaks down some of the coolest parts from the battle.
Crazy Whammy Bar Tricks! - Speaking of cool shred ideas, if you want to learn some whammy bar tricks, you should check out Cam Cooper’s latest video. He covers everything from the standard dive bomb, to very Vai-esque flutters and more.
Freak Audio Lab - Sneaky Tapping - Mattias Eklundh is always pushing himself. If you want to dig in to some interesting, advanced tapping exercises, check out his latest vid.
Playing up and down one string for greater musical expression and variation with Andy Timmons - If you’ve read the Advanced Guitarist, you’re likely to have seen the author harp on what Andy Timmons is talking about in this video he did for Guitar World - the importance of playing across one string. So many guitarists forget to practice this, and I’ll be the first to admit I’m part of that group! Try this out in your next practice session.
Social Media is Toxic For Musicians | Honest UnFiltered Opinions #21 - We talked last week about Mateus Asato quitting Instagram, and since then, I’ve seen a number of posts/videos talking about social media’s effect on musicians. I really enjoyed Steve’s opinion on this topic, smashing guitars, and other recent guitar related news. Skip ahead to 3:34 if you want his take on social media.
Why comparing yourself to other guitarists is bad news for your playing, creativity and mental health - Guitar World also had a great post about why comparing yourself is bad to others for your guitar playing. To be honest, this is great advice for comparing yourself to anyone, for ANY reason.
Teenage Wrist – Taste of Gasoline playthrough - I just started listening to the band Teenage Wrist, and was excited to see that guitarist Marshall Gallagher did a recent play through of the band’s song “Taste of Gasoline”.
Guitar Cloud Symposium Chat With Special Surprise Guests! - David Wallimann recently did an awesome Guitar Symposium with a lot of great guests - Jennifer Batten, Gretchen Menn, and more. Lots of great discussion on this video.
McRocklin & Hutch | Writing a song from scratch - The “shredwave” band McRocklin & Hutch did a cool, 2 hour livestream where they showed viewers how to write a song from scratch. If you’re into shred and 80’s synth style music, you should check this out. It’s always cool to see how different musicians put songs together.
5 Killer Licks over Sultans of Swing (Dire Straits) - Martin Miller Session Band Cover - So happy to see Martin Miller making videos again. This time he shows us 5 licks from the cover version he did of Dire Straits’ “Sultans of Swing”. This is is the song on a whole ‘nother level!
The NEW Pentatonic Scales! To Impress Your Friends With - I have to imagine the pentatonic scale is the most widely learned, maybe aside from the major/minor scale. We’re always looking to do new stuff with just 5 notes. Rick Beato talks about his take on getting together “new” pentatonic scales. Skip ahead to 1 min to get started.
Astral Destiny - EQD At Home Ep. 1: Nels Cline (Wilco) | EarthQuaker Devices - I’m a big Wilco fan, and love most of what Nels Cline does on guitar. Here he’s playing the latest EarthQuaker Devices pedal, the Astral Destiny. From beautiful chords, to noisy/warbly harmonics, it’s all here.
4 Tips for Better Vibrato NOW! W/ Ben Eller - Having great vibrato will add worlds of feeling to your lead lines. I loved this video with Ben Eller where he gives us 4 different tips on getting your vibrato to sound a lot more musical.
Greg Koch- Winter Inspired Sonic Deviance - Greg Koch always amazes me with his playing. Check out this eerie clip he made using a looper. And in more Greg Koch news, he just re-released his Radio Free Gristle album to streaming again! This version of the album gets rid of his funny interludes, but still keeps all the incredible songs. I hit Greg up on Twitter to see if he’d do the same for his album ‘The Grip’ and he said that’s coming soon too!
Ariel Posen - Coming Back (FDV 2021) - Ariel Posen’s new album comes out in March, and to hold us over for now, he recently released this “live” version of the song “Coming Back”. The song is part of an online festival he participated in, called Festival du Voyageur. You can check out his full set, and sets from Small Glories and Red Moon Road, here.
Mary Spender Interviews Mark Lettieri (Snarky Puppy, Fearless Flyers, PRS Guitars Signature) - I dug this short interview that Mary Spender did with Mark Lettieri. Mark seems to be everywhere in recent years (Snarky Puppy, Fearless Flyers, and countless other side projects). Mary talks about how Mark first got into guitar, his new PRS signature model, and lots more.
Eddie Van Halen vs Randy Rhoads vs George Lynch | Guitar Gladiators | L.A. Trinity! [Episode 3] - Jay Parmar’s Guitar Gladiators series is back, and this time he pits the L.A. Trinity against each other. We’re talking about Randy Rhoads, EVH and George Lynch - and the cool thing is Jay has all the right guitars too! Who’s your favorite of the 3?
5 Minute Licks - Django x Marty Friedman - Leon Todd brings two names together that I wouldn’t have thought of putting together - Django Reinhardt and Marty Friedman. Check out this awesome combo lick in Leon’s latest installment of 5 minute licks.
Want To Nail Gilmour's Tone? Before Effects Pedals & Amps, Understand His Phrasing - The Pedal Show gives us a really in depth video on how to nail David Gilmour’s tone. Of course most of David’s tone is in his fingers, but having the right gear will also get you part of the way there.
This Acoustic Cover of Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir" Will Loosen Your Jaw - This very Rodrigo y Gabriella-esque version of Zep’s “Kashmir” is making the rounds this week. Marcin Patrzalek’s Instagram is filled with great guitar playing you should go check out.
John Myung: “Every song, every album, every musician is a potential teacher. It’s just a matter of whether you’re open enough to see it that way“ - While not a straight up guitar link, I loved all this smart advice from Dream Theater’s longtime bassist, John Myung. The guy knows a thing or two about longevity in the instrumental rock scene and how to become a better musician!
10 great guitars for kids 2021: our pick of the best electric and acoustic guitars for children - And finally, we’ve been talking about getting our kids into guitars and what to buy in our Discord chat. Like clockwork, Guitar World just put up a new post on the top 10 guitars for kids. The post gives recommendations for acoustics, electrics, and what you should be looking for, when buying a guitar for a young kid.