"You can make a good idea sound good with a $99 Strat"

Plus, a guitarist's EDC

This week’s issue should be inspirational for anyone starting out. We’re kicking off the newsletter with two videos that show you don’t need a lot of money to get good tone. We also have some new impulse responses of cabs from John Petrucci, a Nashville guitarist’s everyday carry to sessions, and a list of the best solos of the 21st century.

In August I want to do a guitar book club for Chasing Sound. I already have a few books that I think would be perfect, but I’d like to hear your recommendations also! Reply to this post with your answer.

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This week’s guitar links

- A $99 Guitar Is All You Need - The first two videos in this week's issue should inspire you, especially if you're just starting out and worried about gear. Paul Davids caught up with Tom Strahle, who's written and recorded for Justin Bieber, Skrillex, worked on video games and more. The guitar he used on one of Bieber's hits? A $99 Squier Strat. Tom takes you through the recording process, showing off the guitar in Davids’ most recent video.

- This Old Acoustic Is a Vintage Martin Killer - Don't have the money for a Martin? Rhett Shull picked up a "lawsuit era" Takamine for around 400 bucks, and it sounds fantastic. Are these going to spark the next Bad Monkey craze on Reverb?

- John Petrucci IR Collection - The Dream Theater icon had been teasing his ToneMission brand for a while, and now they've released the first product, which is a set of impulse responses of various cabs John's used on his latest solo album, a Dream Theater album, and the latest Liquid Tension Experiment album too. I've heard a couple people like Ola Englund and Rabea demo these so far, and they sound great. If you don't already have some solid cabs in your IR arsenal, check these out.

- The Pro Guitarist's EDC – gear you NEED! - Friend of Chasing Sound, Simon Allaway linked up this video from Justin Ostrander, who's a session guy out in Nashville. If you're interested in some of the essential gear you might need when going on a session, this is a great video to start out with.

- The greatest guitar solos of the 21st century... so far - This list combines new and old, featuring players like Jason Becker, John Mayer, Vai and Satch, Guthrie Govan and more. For the top 30, GW also included a video so you can check out each solo. I was surprised to see some people getting their due, such as Ian Thornley and Wolfgang Van Halen. What's your favorite solo on this list?

- Turning Scales into Solos with Steve Stine - David Wallimann has been inviting some great guitar educators on to his channel for livestreams lately. The latest guitarist he's had on is Steve Stine. The stream focused on how to turn scales into actual solos, but there's also some great Q&A throughout.

- If You Know These 5 Chords, You’re good - Want to play "fancy pants" chords? Tyler from Music Is Win takes you from basic to fancy pants real quick in his latest video.

- The History of Seymour Duncan - Who better to talk about the history of Seymour Duncan, than the man himself? If you ever wanted to know the behind the scenes story about how Seymour Duncan came to be, check this video out.

- “I Did Not Dream That the 808 Would Become so Famous”: Tube Screamer Inventor Susumu Tamura Tells the Definitive Story of This Iconic Stompbox - Speaking of iconic gear, Guitar Player caught up with Susumu Tamura, better known as the creator of the legendary Ibanez TS808 tube screamer. Tamura couldn't believe that a pedal could become "vintage" or that his creation would ever be so famous. It was fun to hear his story of the pedal, and learn some tidbits about the builder, including that similar to Leo Fender, he never played guitar.

- 4 Sneaky Tips To QUICKLY Learn The Guitar Notes (#3 is Stupid...But It Works) - Whenever I want to do anything but doomscroll Twitter and TikTok, I try and find a good guitar video or theory video where I can actually learn something instead. Rickey Comiskey is great at making this videos. His latest talks about 4 tips to find notes throughout the fretboard.

- Gibson Names A New CEO! - When I want to veg out instead, and just look at nice things, I check out Trogly's Guitar Show channel. The channel talks about the news that Cesar Gueikian is now officially the CEO of Gibson. I feel like this is a long time coming, and that out of nearly anyone on the team, he's been doing a lot to make Gibson relevant in the modern era.

- Here’s What You Should Know About Replacing Guitar Amp Tubes (It Can Transform Your Sound!) - Before you have it done by an amp tech, changing tubes might seem like an absolute mystery to you. It's similar to bringing your car to the shop - you want to make sure you're choosing the right parts, and that the parts are doing what they need to be doing once you get the car back. GP has some helpful tips about output and preamp tubes in this helpful post.

- Develop Amazing Fretboard Skills Using These Simple Tips From Some of the Best Players in the Business - I love these types of lessons, where you have multiple guitarists from all different backgrounds and genres giving great advice. This post features players like Vai, Bonamassa, Malmsteen, and Tremonti. If you want a bunch of great ideas you can mess with this weekend, check this out.

- Creed to reunite for first live performances in over a decade - And I couldn't talk about Mark Tremonti, without mentioning that Creed will be reuniting next year on what sounds to be a really fun Summer of '99 Cruise. I hope we get a national tour, and even better, a new album. Let's see!

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