GuitarToolkit ($9.99)
Version – 1.3
REVIEW – “The tool that guitarists have always dreamed of!”
Have you ever wondered how to play an Am7b5 cord? Or have you ever picked up a flat guitar and then realized that you had no tuner handy? Well this app can 
handle both of those situations and more! GuitarToolkit is a collection of various tools that guitarists everywhere will find extremely helpful!
When you open up GuitarToolkit you will start at the “Tuner” screen. The tuner in this app is extremely accurate. I was actually very impressed 
with it. It gives you the option to tune based on the default string tunings for your currently selected instrument, or to tune in “chromatic” mode where you can tune to any notes that you wish. Now unless you come with a way to plug your instrument directly into the phone it will be difficult to tune if there is too much background noise, but this is normal even for dedicated tuners.
At the bottom of the screen you will see the menu. There are four other options besides the tuner which include 
a “fretboard,” “metronome,” list of chords and a button to select your current instrument. There is a fairly large list of instruments to choose from which include bass guitars, 6 strings, 12 strings, Mandolin and several others. Each instrument has a separate list of how to play all of the chords in the database.
The “fretboard” screen will allow you to view a variety of different scales. You look at and hear scales from major and minor Moxolydian and various 
blues scales. A reference like this is indispensable for someone that is trying to learn to play lead guitar, or to music students that are trying to familiarize themselves with a variety of unusual scales.
Although it is probably the simplest feature in this app, the one that I probably use the most is the “Metronome” feature. I have seen several different apps that all they were designed to do was be a metronome. Unfortunately most of them did a very poor job of keeping a steady tempo. That is not the case with 
this app though. The metronome is extremely accurate and offers a not only a large variety of sounds, but also a whole bunch of key signatures to choose from.
Finally, last but certainly not least, the chord tool in this app is amazing. It will show you multiple ways to play almost any chord you can imagine. Once you have found the chord you would like you will not only see the fingering for it, you will also be able to strum through it and hear it played.
As any avid guitarist would know, you can buy dedicated units for $20-30 that will do things like keep tempo, help you find the chord you’re looking for, or even tune your guitar. With that in mind you might think this app would be kind of expensive. Fortunately, the developer has priced it very reasonably at just $9.99. This is really a steal for someone that is need of these features on a regular basis. And the best thing about it is that you are never without it because this app runs on your phone! So what are you waiting for, go check it out in the App Store today. You won’t be disappointed!
- David H.
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Developer – Agile Partners
URL: http://agilepartners.com/apps/guitartoolkit/
DEVELOPERS NOTES
FEATURES
- Direct support for 6- and 12-string guitar, 4-, 5- and 6-string bass, banjo, mandolin, and ukulele with a full chord library, standard and alternate tunings for each instrument.
- Highly accurate chromatic tuner using the iPhone microphone (or iPod touch with microphone headset).
- Precisely accurate metronome with a visible flash option, tempo tap pad, 13 sound effects and 12 time signatures.
- Massive chord library (over 500,000 chords) for quick and easy reference: strum chords to hear what they sound like. Includes chords for alternate tunings.
- Chord finder: simply touch the notes on the fretboard that make up a chord, and GuitarToolkit tells you what that chord is! This is a lot of fun and a great way to learn about those great-sounding chords you’ve been playing.
- Scales references in standard or alternate tunings: use the interactive fretboard to touch each note and hear what it sounds like.
- Supports “lefty mode” which adjusts chords and scales to reflect a left-handed instrument.
Note: The original iPod touch does not have microphone capabilities, thus there is no tuner support. GuitarToolkit Lite is intended for those users. The tuner works great on all newer iPod touches using headphones with an integrated microphone.
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