Have an iPhone? You need this...

It's called Guitar Toolkit, and it's an application you can install on an iPhone (or a second-generation iPod Touch). Fact is, I always have my iPhone with me, and this application takes the place of a bunch of other stuff that I used to have to pack around.

What is Guitar Toolkit? Well... put it on your iPhone and you have: a tuner (for standard and dozens of altered tunings), a notated fretboard (showing notes and note positions for all tunings), a metronome, a chord finder, and ... all of this for a 6-string, 12-string, and bass guitar.

This is a seriously cool application, and will change the way you think about your guitar. I mean it. Suddenly: it's easy to find a chord, a variation of a chord, tune your guitar, practice difficult runs with a metronome... and all of this: with the iPhone that's already in my pocket.

Ever spend a relaxed afternoon, learning new music with keyboard (or other) players, when they call you out and say "wait, stop... that should be a C#M7sus!" Which is... what? Like I had memorized those finger positions for a chord I've never heard or played? Yep: Guitar Toolkit will show you that goofy chord with the flick of a finger.

I used to have a 'Favorite Tuner' and chord charts and etc that I would move among the cases for my guitars. Which meant I would sometimes get somewhere, missing the tuner that was packed with another guitar. This Guitar Toolkit solves all of that and so much more, and YES you need one.

Go to the App Store and search on Guitar Toolkit, from Agile Partners. Or check their website at: http://www.agilepartners.com/apps/guitartoolkit/

Roger Kardinal at Guitar Player LIVE 2009

Roger Kardinal is a familiar face to fans of the acoustic guitar in California's Bay Area and Central Valley. Roger is another convert to the Voyage-Air guitar, and carries one with him wherever he performs.

Here, he opens and gets started with a Voyage-Air at his performance for the Guitar Player LIVE 2009 festival in Livermore, CA.



It's amazing. Those professional musicians who love the convenience of a folding travel guitar are also amazed by how good it sounds, and how easy it plays. Roger is no exception, and loves to brag about the Voyage-Air before each performance.

Pete Huttlinger - WOW - gets his hands on a Voyage-Air Guitar!

Pete Huttlinger... who? He's a National Fingerstyle Guitar Champion, and also a veteran of solo Carnegie Hall performances. He's on the short list of legendary guitar players who were invited to BOTH of Eric Clapton's 'Crossroads' concerts (2004, 2007) ...

Simply stated: Pete Huttlinger is Seriously Awesome on the guitar, okay? Okay.

Recently, Pete performed at the Guitar Player Live! 2009 event in Livermore, CA. New to the concept of a folding guitar that could actually sound GOOD... he was cornered by Wesley Lem of the Voyage-Air staff. Okay, Wes basically stuffed a guitar in his hands, but the following video shows the result:



Check out Pete Huttlinger's website at: www.petehuttlinger.com, or click here for his MySpace page (that has lots of his music and stuff).

Another Voyage-Air Traveler

One of the early adopters of the Voyage-Air guitar was Wes Lem, who recently had first-hand experience of traveling from San Jose to New York with his guitar. Wes took the time to write about it in his blog, and has allowed us to post excerpts of it here:

"I just got back from an extended trip to New York City which happened to be the first air travel trip I took with the Voyage-Air Guitar. I have to admit I was a little nervous as I waited to have my Voyage-Air VAOM-06 Songwriter to pass through the San Francisco airport X-RAY machines. Sure enough it passed through with no delays and it was onward to the departure gate.

"Once we got on board the plane I was able to find on overhead compartment just above my assigned seat in coach and carefully placed the VA Guitar Case horizontally in the overhead compartment. The Overhead Compartment door closed with plenty of room to spare and my anxiety went away as the plane taxied down the runway. I had heard that passengers have paid another seat fare just to get their stringed instrument stowed on board the plane and that checking the instrument in the cargo hold is on sure-fire way to commit instrument suicide and the baggage handlers will almost surely destroy any stringed instrument no matter how tough the carrying case is designed.

"After we landed in New York's JFK airport I retrieved the Voyage-Air Guitar from the overhead compartment and de-planed as easily as I boarded the aircraft. WOW! How easy was that? No extra baggage charges. Piece of mind knowing that the guitar is safely stowed in a protective case in the overhead storage compartment. No unwieldy heavy case to carry or handle while getting on or off the plane. This was a piece of cake. As easy as bringing a laptop computer on-board a plane...

"I un-folded the guitar as soon as I checked into the hotel and only the B string needed a minor tuning adjustment. I reassembled the guitar and was in tune in about a minute's time. Simply AMAZING... There you have it. A personal testimonial for the Voyage-Air guitar's AIR TRAVEL WORTHINESS."

You can find Wes' online blog at http://wlbloguno.blogspot.com/, where he talks about other interesting stuff.

Hey Wes: Thanks!

Bob K is Ready for Naples, Italy

Noted Christian composer, musician and minister Bob Kilpatrick has become a full-on Voyage-Air enthusiast over the past months. Why? Simple: there is no other guitar that plays great, sounds great, is a professional-quality instrument AND folds in half for travel! Click to watch this quick video:

Fitted with an LR Baggs pickup, the guitar you see in this video is the exact same one that Bob will be playing before a crowd of 100,000 in Naples, Italy later this month.

With his 3-times-per-day radio show on the K-LOVE radio network, Bob and his music reaches more than four-million listeners each and every day.

Check back for pictures, videos and more once we get those pics and videos of Bob in Italy!