Our Holiday Event surges forward with the 2016 Guitarist Toolkit.

The ideal guitar tone is out there somewhere. We have all chased it. Elusive, evolving, and never just right. While lots of tone is "in the fingers", understanding how to properly setup your signal chain is a huge part of being a legit guitarist.

Knowing how to utilize these tools will help you make better music, period. This guide discusses everything you need to get up to speed, or refine your signal to begin dialing in more interesting, and more pure tones from your gear. We also provide 10 setups you can mimic as a shortcut.. from the grit of SRV to the spacial delay of the Edge!

Go from stiff to fluid with twenty of the most recognizable strumming patterns from the past four decades. From the contagious groove of Bo Diddley, to the classic Oasis-style grooves of the 1990s, these patterns are sure to challenge your rhythm sense and reward your efforts.

Some players are able to groove with the best of them while they manage to make strumming look effortless. The key, as always, is practice. Learning a variety of patterns will transform your static strumming into a more dynamic, "in the pocket" groove and feel. Download and enjoy 20 grooves equipped with audio tracks and notation in Guitar Pro and PDF formats.

We asked our teachers and artists a simple, but important question: "What was the biggest 'ah-ha' moment you had in the history of your playing?" As guitar players, we tend to wonder what we are missing... and often think: What piece of information do the professionals have that I don't?

The feedback was surprising. Not only are the answers very mixed in music topics, but also the time in their career these moments happened. This was interesting to put together, and sheds a little more light into the mindset needed to breakthrough as an artist or career musician.

There are some absolute gems in this guide. This is a must-read article and very well could change your approach as a guitarist.

Just like every human has a unique speaking voice, every guitarist has a unique style. Along the same vein as our last article, we thought it would be interesting to poll our staff with another question: "You are on stage in a jam band and it's your turn... what is your go to lick?"

As predicted, the results were eclectic.

From the ominous Flameco lick from Marcelo Berestovoy, to the paddle-shred lick from Phil Demmel (Machinehead), to the spine numbing "robot" lick from Allen Van Wert.. there is a surprise after each page. Explore, enjoy, and download the full guide with tabs and audio files for each lick.