IPhone App Review: Guitar Toolkit from Agile Partners

*Note: the following review comes from the writer's personal experience with the Agile Partners Guitar Toolkit app for the Apple iPhone.

Guitar-loving iPhone users of the world rejoice! There's a fantastic app available in the Apple app store and it was designed with you in mind. The official Guitar Toolkit app from Agile Partners (visit www.agilepartners.com/apps/guitartoolkit to learn more) boasts a wide array of useful features, including a chromatic tuner, scales, a diverse chord library, chord finder, metronome, customs tunings, support for multiple stringed instruments (including violin, mandolin, banjo, 4, 5, and 6-string bass, and even ukulele), and a transition mode for left-handed guitarists.

Although it is one of the more pricey apps available in the App Store, weighing in at a whopping $9.99, the Guitar Toolkit is worth every penny. Too many guitarists out there are familiar with that sinking feeling which accompanies the sudden realization that you have left your tuner at home. And now here you, ten minutes before a gig, about to have to tune by ear. But fear not! If you happen to have your iPhone handy, you've got a back up tuning system right at your fingertips.

The Guitar Toolkit app's chromatic tuner makes use of your iPhone's microphone, allowing you to "tune to any musical note or to a specific tuning," according to the app's official description at the Agile Partners web site. Once you've installed and opened the app on your iPhone, you will see a set of five icons at the bottom of the app's home screen. The tuner feature of the app is designated by a small guitar headstock icon, located at the far left. If you need to visually see your tuning contrasts, simply select the small "i" at the bottom of the tuner screen and switch the High Contrast Mode to "On." By tapping the guitar pick icon at the bottom of the tuner screen, you can change your tuning mode from "standard tuning" to "all notes."

The next icon (from left to right) is the Fretboard feature, designated by a musical note. Here, you will be greeted by a high-res, interactive 6-string guitar neck fret board, which you can even strum by swiping from left to right. By tapping the small "i" at the bottom of the Fretboard homescreen, you will have the option to turn on the Scales feature and to scroll through a wide range of scale setting options, everything from Pentatonic Major, Pentatonic Blues and Pentatonic Neutral all the way to Dorian, Ionian, Phrygian and countless others you have probably never even considered, much less heard of.

If, while in the Fretboard Settings, you were to select the "Auxiliary Diminished Blues" scale option and then tap "Done" in the top right corner, the app will show you every scale note along the guitar neck within the Auxiliary Diminished Blues Scale. You will be able to tap and/or strum every individual note within the scale to hear an authentic sound for that note. Slide down the neck to see every note.

Next on the icon list is the Metronome feature, designated by a small metronome silhouette. Your "i" options icon on this feature will grant you the opportunity to select the type of sound you want your metronome to exhibit. The metronome feature is equipped with a wide range of sound options, from bongos, chirp, hi-hat and kick drum to a muted bass, ping pong, shakers and even "the dreaded cowbell," just to name a few. The metronome feature is also equipped with a "visible flash" setting, which allow you to see the rhythmic light flashing in time with the beat, as well as a "tempo tap pad" option to manually set the tempo yourself. While in the metronome settings menu, you can also set the time signature: from the basic 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4, to more complex signature such as 6/8, 2+2+3/8, 3+3+1/8 and even 3+3+2+2+/8. Your Beats per Minute setting (designated by the large red BPM button) can be set as high as 300BPM.

The next icon, a small chord diagram, represent's the apps diverse Chord Library feature. Here, you can look up any guitar chord imaginable and instantly receive the proper fingering diagram on your hi-res, virtual, three dimensional guitar neck. Once the chord is diagramed, swipe-strum the guitar neck to hear an authentic sound replication of the chord. By tapping the left and right arrows, you can also view multiple fingers of that chord along the neck.

Finally, the guitar body icon at the far right will allow you to designate the type of instrument you wish the app as a whole, and the tuner, to recognize. Choose from: 6-string guitar, 7-string guitar, 12-string guitar, bass, 5-string bass, 6-string bass, banjo, mandolin and ukulele. While in this "Instrument" setting, you have the option of turning the "left handed" feature on. You can also access the "Help, News and Feedback" feature from here, where you will find news on all things Guitar Toolkit and all things Agile Partners, as well as a useful help menu and feedback option. By selecting "feedback" you will be able to choose from three actions: "I found a bug," "I've got a suggestion," and "I'd like the email newsletter."

These few features are but the tip of the iceberg for the Guitar Toolkit iPhone app. It comes as no surprise that the app has received four and a half out of five stars in user ratings. While it may be one of the most expensive apps by far, the price far outweighs the benefits and user-friendly features the app has to offer guitarists. It's not just a tuner; it really and truly does live up to its name as a tool kit. Install it to your iPhone, or if you're an iPad user check out the app's iPad version, and get started with its great features. From one guitarist to another, you won't regret it.