Hey everyone! Welcome back to your regularly scheduled dose of guitar goodness. This week guitars went missing, and were found, we took a look at 10 future prog legends, learned about new gear like the Final Fantasy guitar, and so much more. I’m glad to be back with a full edition of the newsletter, after giving you a more bite size one last week.

Before we get into it, can you do me one favor? I’m looking to develop new and exciting lessons for Chasing Sound, so I’d love to know what you’re working on. Hit me up with a reply to this email or on Twitter if you’re reading this on the web - I’d appreciate it a bunch! Alright, let’s get into those links.

Paul Gilbert - Werewolves Of Portland (Music Video) - Paul Gilbert released the title track off his upcoming album, and it is just phenomenal. Paul is still having fun, all these years later. If this song and “Argument About Pie” are any indicators, this album is going to be great. Can’t wait for June!
Joe Bonamassa’s missing Fender “The Bludgeon” Nocaster signature guitar has been found - Earlier this week, Joe Bonamassa sent the word out that one of his signature guitars, which was on its way to Guitar World for review, had gone missing, and from the information he got from FedEx, it seemed like it never would return. Thankfully, someone helped Joe out, and the guitar was returned “discretely.” Check out the story for the full details.
11 Unique Electric Guitars Under $1,000 - In the market for something that isn’t just a Strat, LP or Tele? Reverb rounded up some great guitars, all under $1K, from companies like Sterling, Hagstrom, Eastwood and more. These are all really wild looking.
The top 10 reasons to play guitar - As if we needed any further encouragement - Guitar World breaks down 10 reasons why playing guitar is awesome. From being the life of the party, to learning to be “enlightened” through the “sublime language of music”, these are in the feel good category.
This Eric Johnson Shifting Hack Is Amazing! - Robert Baker is back to teach us an Eric Johnson hack, that’ll have you shifting all over the fretboard. Robert even gets real close to Eric’s tone while playing a killer sounding Strat.
Twitch Streaming Tips for Guitarists | Raquel Lily | Guitar Stories Live #39 - Raquel Lily has developed a big fanbase on Twitch, and the guys over at the Guitar Geek channel were able to catch up with her and get her best tips to doing well on the platform. If you’ve ever dreamed of creating a community through live-streaming, check this one out.
The Secrets to Social Media Success In Music - And speaking of community, Rick Beato came out with a short video this week focusing on how you can use social media as a musician. Come for the social media tips - like making videos to promote yourself and being a great storyteller, and stay for Rick getting hit in the head with Thor’s hammer (seriously, how cool is this guy?)
THE GREATEST TIP FOR PRACTICING GUITAR!! - I like this short and simple practice tip from Guitar Pilgrim. Using songs to get excited and learn guitar. How many times have I said this? A million! But it’s nice to hear someone else saying it too.
Three Things Guitarists Can Do to Sound Better Right Now - Let’s say you’re already excited, but just want to work on your tone. GP put out a great article this week with 3 simple things you can do to your guitar to sound better quick. These are simple hacks you can do with items you most likely already have in your house.
10 Future Prog Legends: Meet the Players Leading Guitar Towards a New Frontier - I love listening to new music. No joke, my Apple Music library is sitting at nearly 149 days of music. While I’ll never get to everything, I do love going through new releases each Friday, and checking out new bands. Which is why I really enjoyed this post, talking about 10 future prog legends. If you’ve never heard of Covet’s Yvette Young, Intervals’ Aaron Marshall, Thank You Scientist’s Tom Monda, and more, you owe it to yourself to check out these rising guitarists in the prog world.
The Most FUN Guitar Warmup Exercise I Know - Checking out this video is twofold - first you get to see Tyler Larson’s brand new custom shop PRS, and secondly, you get to learn some really great warm up exercises that’ll prepare you to play anything.
Unlock Guitar Sight Reading With These Key Fingerings - Master transcriber Levi Clay teaches us how to unlock sight reading on guitar by using shapes, circle of 5ths, neck location and more. There’s even a strong recommendation to use piano to visualize the theory.
3 Important Exercises for Jazz Guitar Beginners To Get Started- Jens Larsen gives us 3 great tips for beginning jazz guitar. You’ll learn going through changes, focusing on phrasing, and passing tones. Jens has a ton of great videos on jazz. If you’re just getting into the genre, you should check out his entire channel.
Use Impulses To Shape Your Guitar Tone! - Going the digital route when it comes to your tone? Check out this cool video from Fluff, which talks all about what makes impulse responses so exciting in shaping your tone.
Muse reveal 20th anniversary Origin of Symmetry remix album, debut raw, fuzz-heavy version of Citizen Erased - Muse’s ‘Origin of Symmetry’ is coming up on its 20th anniversary. I’m really looking forward to the special edition, which will have b-sides and more. The band just came out with an updated version of its “Citizen Erased” track. I love the 7 string, Fuzz Factory, and overall noisy solo on this track.
Metallica, Steve Vai, Paul Stanley, Joe Satriani and more donate signed guitars to raise money for Jason Becker - It’s been amazing to see the entire guitar community come together to help Jason Becker out. I’m so happy Jason is still with us, even after a recent scare that sent him to the hospital. If you want to help out, and also get an incredible guitar at the same time, check out Jason’s Reverb store, which features guitars donated from Metallica, Satch and more.
Fender unveils Final Fantasy XIV Stratocaster - Speaking of cool guitars - if you’re a fan of guitars and video games, you gotta check out the upcoming Final Fantasy Strat. The body is mostly all black, except two see through sections that are purple and blue, and look crystal-like. The guitar looks awesome, and will also be playable in-game.
Confessions Of A Hopeless Guitarist: All work & no play - Guitar.com is into a series about learning guitar for the first time. I love this journal type post, which talks about motivation, playing while having other responsibilities, and the struggles of finding time. I feel like no matter what stage we’re at on guitar, we’ve all been in similar spots from time to time.
“The human ear always needs to hear new things”: Mdou Moctar on blending Hendrix, Van Halen and the Tuareg guitar tradition - And finally, one of the musicians I’ve been keeping an eye on is Mdou Moctar. In a recent post, he talks about blending different styles to create something new. He also talks about building his own guitars (one from bike brake cables and sardine cans), and some fun recording experiences, whose sounds make an appearance on ‘Afrique Victime’, just released Friday.