Guitar War Time: 08:04 am
MEMBER QUOTE
"When I originally joined, I was anxious to improve in all aspects guitar, but nowadays I enjoy just hanging out with friends who have the same goals in musicianship that I do."
- SephQ, Member Since 2000
Heard enough? Join now!
If real, personal stuff scares you, then move along. For everyone else, read on.
The Guitar War community is packed with musicians of all stripes who have belonged as far back as 1999. While Guitar War is a lot of fun, it has also transformed scores of musical careers-and personal lives.
Musicians who have laid down their instruments find their interest recharged when they join Guitar War.
New musicians find the support and motivation in this community essential to their learning process.
And everyone in-between benefits from this one-of-a-kind place where individual musicians and teams compete to advance their musical ambitions.
Verifiably a "Better Musician" than Before
He goes on to say that competitions have forced him to listen better to his music, enabling him to put better mixes to them.
Now, Craig says he's a better guitar player, and just wants to keep on improving.
Not only that, because Guitar War allows musicians to try other types of competitions, Craig has expanded his horizons to song writing and recording.
"This site," says Craig, "helped give me the right direction and skills to bring it all together. I am now playing more guitar live in bands and really enjoy having that balance musically in my life."
Even though he's been playing bass for 30 years, Craig Radi aka Radman admits that his skill level upon joining the Guitar War community was just "average." At the time, this Windsor, Wisconsin resident wasn't sure what he was getting into with Guitar War-but he soon found out.
At the time, Craig had just picked up the guitar again. Originally a bass player, Craig got frustrated with writing songs but waiting for others to help him put the parts down.
He had a firm goal: to play and record all of his own music and not have to depend on another person to do it.
And what was the first thing that hit this self-styled semi-pro after he joined in 2005? "The incredible depth of musicians here," answers Craig.
"So Many Reasons that I Am a Member"
Ray also finds that Guitar War members are incredibly supportive—always happy to help with anything whether you are a beginner or a pro.
Ray is struck by the diversity of people and styles found on Guitar War. Even so, he finds that all musicians—whether in California or Australia—still have the same set of dreams and hopes, day-to-day worries and concerns.
And the support is phenomenal. If he has a question, he says, "…all I have to do is ask the musician that played it. If someone wants advice on something they have recorded they can post it in showcase or compete in melee…"
As a testament to the power of Guitar War, Ray says that some of the most incredible vocals, and guitar and synth playing he has ever heard has been on Guitar War.
"Some of the stuff is just so amazing," Ray concludes, "and it is stuff I would have never heard if it hadn't been for Guitar War."
Hailing from Modesto, California, Ray Thiessen humbly says that as a new member, he isn't sure that he's qualified to offer an opinion on Guitar War. We beg to differ.
Ray says that over the year he has belonged to the Guitar War family, he has learned so much that it literally "blows [him] away."
"Sounding Better and Better as I Go," says Ray
"You can read about how to record, how to write a song… in magazines or try to learn from watching a video," Ray says, "but on Guitar War after you read the 'how to' or watch the video you can ask questions and get the answers. It will take me many years to implement everything I have learned so far into my recordings but they are sounding better and better as I go."
Ray was at the point in his life where he was about to give up on recording his own songs. But then Guitar War came along and motivated him-and gave him the confidence-to record his own songs.
Says Ray: "[Guitar War] gives me the inspiration to keep trying and the information I need for my recordings to keep sounding better and better."
"In Awe of How Friendly and Helpful Everyone Is"
After he joined the community, Ross says that he was "amazed," because it didn't occur to him that there could be something like this out there.
Guitar War was a big reality check for Ross because, like a lot of us, he often feels that he is a bit better than he really is. In addition to helping him rapidly learn guitar, he says that Guitar War has been a giant "ego check."
When asked what the best thing about Guitar War is, Ross unequivocally answers:
Definitely the people, the world class musicians that are on [Guitar War are] ready and willing to dispense the advice and knowledge that they've built up over the years. And every new person brings something new or unexpected. Everyone is encouraged, and everyone brings something to the table.
"If it weren't for Guitar War, I'd have hung up the guitar a long time ago…"
Ross Pearson is probably a lot like you. One day, he was innocently Googling for a guitar tab, when he stumbled on the Guitar War site.
Because Guitar War has a generous number of public areas, this Perth, Australia resident was able to listen in on a number of competitions before deciding to become a member of the community.
For anyone nervous about joining Guitar War because of lack of experience, just listen to Ross:
Man, I was the amateur to end all amateurs. I cringe when I listen to the stuff I was posting when I started.
