Gear Reviews & Tone

Understand pickups, tone controls, amps and drive pedals, then compare Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, SGs, semi-hollows and acoustics by ear.

What you will be able to play

• Explain how single-coil, humbucker and hollow-body guitars differ and choose the neck or bridge pickup for rhythm or lead.
• Get a warmer lead sound by rolling back the tone control on the bridge pickup with some drive.
• Tell a boost, an overdrive, a distortion and a fuzz apart and stack a boost under an overdrive.
• Plan a simple pedalboard with drives, a tuner, a wah, delays, modulation and a proper power supply.
• Record, layer, erase and save loops on a looper pedal and practise over them.
• Compare Strats, Teles, Les Pauls, SGs, semi-hollows and acoustic body sizes by sound and feel.
• Judge a guitar in a shop by tone, playability, craftsmanship and how well it stays in tune.

Is it for you?

For any guitarist who wants to understand gear and tone: what the pickups, knobs, amp controls and pedals on your rig actually do, and how classic guitar types differ before you spend money. Beginners are welcome, because nothing here asks you to play anything difficult; it helps to own a guitar so you can try the settings. It is not a playing course, it does not teach you to set up or wire your own gear step by step, and it is not a current buying guide: most reviews are dated shop visits with old prices.

What you get

• 70 video lessons in teaching order
• Taught by Marty Schwartz, Gino Matteo, Brett Papa, Tony Brucco, Zach Miller, Lewin
• Level: Beginner
• Watch on the web or in the GuitarJamz app, on any device, with your progress kept
• Yours to keep: one payment, no subscription
• Backed by our money-back guarantee

After checkout, sign in at members.guitarjamz.com with the email you bought with. Your access is ready within minutes, on the web and in the GuitarJamz app.