Live Guitar Rocks! – Live Guitar Review

This is a guitar player's app, if there ever was one. I've tried a few other guitar apps (certainly not all though), and while some have a nice interface, they ultimately are not very playable. Live Guitar is surprisingly playable, given the limitations of the device that it is hosted on. Playing chords on the home view is easy and fun. I haven't tried downloading or uploading chord progressions to/from Twitter, but that is the kind of nuanced capability throughout this app. This is a well thought out feature, but doesn't scream at you, it simply waits for you to want to use it. Next, I'm struck by how expressive the fretboard view can be. Strings can be stretched and frets cause new notes as you slide up and down a string. Sure, grabbing a barre chord isn't as easy as on your trusty (rusty) six string, but with a minimal amount of effort, you can devise hand positions that allow you to play complex harmonic structures. And while all of these things are very well done, for me, the real brilliance of this app lies in it's MIDI controller aspect. As a guitar player, I've always felt like playing a keyboard was like learning a second language well into adulthood. It's just never comfortable or fully able to capture what you're trying to say. Live Guitar is so playable that, finally, I feel like I can be expressive with some of the amazing sounding apps to be found on iOS. This is because the MIDI notes Live Guitar sends out over Virtual and Core MIDI are fast and accurate. I have to admit, I'm having so much fun sending MIDI notes to other synths that I haven't even tried sending MIDI into Live Guitar, but I expect that to be just as solid as any other feature. Finally, I emailed the developer and received a response within hours. He is very approachable and clearly understands how to make this a great app for both new and experienced guitarists. He mentioned a few enhancements in his response to me that will make a great app even better. All in all, Live Guitar is a great app that really "plays" like a guitar, and has rock solid MIDI and AudioBus support. I've wasted most of this weekend playing with it!
Review by PropellerheadUSR on Live Guitar.