PocketGuitar - Virtual Guitar in Your Pocket Reviews

by Tonechaser77

Thought this might be a cool app but it would never download. Checked other apps and all downloaded just fine. Kind of disappointed I wasted a $1.

by Halmummy

PocketGuitar could have gone far, the fact a user can move up and down the neck is terrific. I would rather see an app like this that anchors at nut where the head stock is and has frets sized respectively. Obviously you have to reduce size, but for heaven sake distances have to be proportional from fret to fret. Now that I would buy, I bought this piece of 2nd rate dev crap and I am actually amazed it still loads on current ios. Doubt that would still apply if implementation were par for the cours(e) and this app had been a playable iGuitarAPP.

Peace,
Halmummy

by Paradise Lost

I bought this on the strength of the reviews in here and can say honestly say that it is a neat toy, but does not even come close to replicating a guitar. For one thing, it is very difficult to finger chords and I always tend to accidentally nudge the volume control as I stretch my fingers into the proper position. One of the problems with playing chords is that you must keep your fingers directly on the virtual strings at all times. If you release pressure for a nanosecond, the string does not light up any further and you won't here that string. Kind of difficult when there is no tactile sensation like there is with real strings. Also, you are stuck in one position of the neck at a time which is limited to 3 or 4 frets depending on how you have it set up. I guess if you really fast and accurate with scrolling it might be possible to play in more than one position on the neck, but this is certainly beyond my dexterity. Having said all of that, I still enjoy this app for what it is: a 99 cent sound generating toy that costs less than a pack of Altoids. Just don't think you're getting a mini-guitar, 'cause you ain't.

by Dysamoria

This is a visually pretty guitar app with decent sounds and even some playability. I’m amazed it’s still on PocketGuitar Store and not broken by iOS updates.

However: It’s never going to be like a real guitar. You have to play with it from the perspective of knowing and accepting this. The menus are clumsy (tiny targets, and you have to hold & drag, like the behavior of classic Mac OS 7 and earlier menus).

Also, as of today (January 6th, 2020), I’m noticing note fluctuation bugs. I have to restart PocketGuitar to get it to stop doing this. It seems to be some mode that particular samples get stuck in where it flips back and forth between the normal sustained note sample and something else (maybe a different sample or playback rate). I assume this is due to iOS changes because it never did this to me before (though I don’t use PocketGuitar much at all, I think I would’ve noticed it years ago if it happens this quickly in a session of use).

It’s kind of an iOS classic, and it still works, but it could stand to be updated.

by Neumuzik

One of the very first guitar simulations I bought for iOS, which is still after all this time is only designed to run on the iPhone (app does not take advantage of the iPad size difference).

There are several other teriffic apps which could be called guitar simulations, for example "Steel Guitar" by Yonac, and "Pearl Guitar" (which has fallen into disrepair and is no longer updated by the developer). These were designed to take advantage of the larger format available on the iPad and both have many more options. Please update PocketGuitar and make funding the development part of an in-app purchase! Please!

by Marcos Dutra

The rating of PocketGuitar depends on what you expect from it. If you expect a toy, it is inexpensive and fun. It lets you play all the strings and the sounds and effects are great. For 99 cents, it is a bargain.
However, if you expect a guitar simulation app, you will be frustrated. It is totally impossible to play chords, unless you have fingers like twigs. This is also not to be compared with apps like GuitarToolKit, which are tuners and chords libraries. A totally different thing.
The developers could very well go ahead and develop a premium edition with sliding frets, a chord library, a selection of solos and scales to be practiced (maybe with leading lights pointing to the notes) and a way to really play chords, maybe with small programmed buttons at the bottom. Most songs have from 3 to 7 chords anyway, which could be available as buttons on screen. You touch them, they play. I would pay much more for an app like that, and it seems to me that 90% of the programming work has already been done.

by Complain Jane

I'm not a serious guitar player but I love PocketGuitar, it's the one I use the most out of the tons I have on my iPhone. It's fun and relaxing. It's probably too limiting for anyone who wants to really play songs on it since you only have a chunk of the fretboard at a time and it's kind of tricky to play chords, but still a great app with nice sound. *I just wish you could record!* "Guitarist" has the ability to record and a nice interface, but I thought the sound on PocketGuitar was MUCH better and this has more features. Love the way you can tilt the iPhone to simulate bending a note, shake the iPhone and simulate a whammy bar, and adjust what section of the fretboard you are using, and even adjust string spacing. Lots of fun. I showed PocketGuitar to an iPhone hater at work (PC guy) and thoroughly enjoyed the look on his face.

by Adelinesdad

This is a well-done app. I was pleasantly surprised that I could actually play chords and simple tunes. To those who say that "this is no replacement for a real guitar", I can just say "well duh". I didn't download it to replace my guitar. I downloaded it to have something to play around with when I don't have access to my guitar. As a songwriter, it comes in handy when trying to come up with tunes. But clearly I wouldn't play any gigs with it.:)

My only two qualms are the limited number of frets, which makes it hard to play chord progressions, and also the lack of string muting (muting a string next to the one you're holding down by touching it so that it doesn't play when you strum). But these are probably difficult to fix considering the platform, so those issues were expected. I wonder if you could find a way to make it easier to scroll up and down the fretboard with one touch.

by Rasroma

I’m a professional guitarist who teaches, and I have toured many countries, so it’s reasonable for the casual observer to assume I play the guitar a lot. It’s also reasonable to say that I think about the guitar a lot. In the same vein, one may correctly assume that I wish I could play the guitar all the time.

this app allows you to play guitar when one isn’t right next to you. Granted, I would advise against using this - or really, any other app while, say, driving. But if you want to run down an idea while waiting in line at the bank or the coffee shop, you can - thanks to PocketGuitar.

I should also mention that even though I have perfect pitch, this app is tremendously useful. Sometimes you need to see the grid, you know? That way, when you get back to a non-virtual instrument, the ideas are fresh in your mind.

I wish this app had been around when I was daydreaming in high school... actually, no. I’m fine with the way my grades turned out with fewer distractions.

Highly recommended!

by Synthesizeme

I have had PocketGuitar for many years - iPhone 4, iPhone 5s, and now, on my iPhone 7 Plus - it still works! What I like most is being able to change the tunings to experiment - especially open tunings and even “custom tuning”. With built- in effects, it can real wail (reverb, distortion)! You can hold and bend notes, etc. Great sustain. Fun to jam on - especially when you don’t have a guitar handy. You want chords? Play chords. This is for guitarists - not a “toy”. You have all 6 strings and 7 frets - strum or hammer-on or both. Seems to work well with the larger sized screen of my 7 plus. I hold it just like a guitar. Crazy!

by XX[][][]Xx

I can actually play guitar, so i bought PocketGuitar, thinking it might be OK. was i wrong. this is probably one of the best apps i have. i started trying to play the soothsayer (by buckethead) intro on a real guitar, but was still having some troubles. i was forced to be away from my guitar for a while, so i started practicing on this app for about a week, just for fun (ir so i thought). to my surprise, after i got back to my real guitar, all that this app practice payed off, and the fingering for the song seemed SO much easier!! if u dont have a guitar with u and want to practice fingering, set it for auto pluck, hold it sideways like a guitar, and practice! do it enough and it will help!! and ALSO for the guy who said u cant see the strings when u turn it sideways, how about u TILT UR HEAD FORWARD so u can see the strings? and im aware u cant scroll while playing, but the intro of the song i was talking about only covers four frets. seriously, calm down kemosabi

by ChrisKonizer

As a bass player of 22 years, this is one of the most useful apps that I have on my phone.

I purchased PocketGuitar late one night when I jumped out of bed with a song idea in my head. Instead of digging out my bass this time, I went to PocketGuitar store via my iPhone and found PocketGuitar. Within minutes, I had the instrument switched to the bass, tuned to drop D (for this idea) and had picked out the melody that I was hearing in my head. I made some quick notes, and brought them to rehearsal the following week.

I've also recently used PocketGuitar in conjunction with the iPod on the phone to learn some tunes, and work with scratch studio tracks when I can't get to my bass making my practice time much more productive.

It's certainly not a replacement for an actual instrument, and some additional features (a 6 string bass, and some basic recording functionality to name a few) would be nice - but for $0.99 this is a great buy!

Kudos to the developer!

by Dragoncqb

I give this 5 out of 5 like most of you I downloaded it and spent the next few hours playing with it. If you play or would like to play or have a intrest in guitar PocketGuitar is one you will enjoy, can not get over getting it for .99cents. I set it to classical set the first fx to delay and with a little time was playing a pretty nice wildwood flower PocketGuitar is a ball thank you. To those who have no sound, if you downloaded it straight to you device delete it try downloading it to your pc then sync up it might help, might not but it might. I hope it dose everyone should enjoy PocketGuitar it is now my all time fav it was Koi Pond but now its POCKET GUITAR !!! . Can not wait for the updates they sound like they will expand PocketGuitar to great hights. Just tried this if you start PocketGuitar before the headphones are pluged in on the Ipod Touch you will not have sound you must connect the headphones then start PocketGuitar try it.

by Erhosion

PocketGuitar reminds me a lot of PhoneSaber in the way that it can easily be used to show friends the kind of unique, creative and crazy things the iphone can do.

Yet, this app is endlessly a blast to "twiddle" around on during some free time, and really doesn't get old quickly because you are actually able to make realistic-sounding music. I was awfully surprised with PocketGuitar, because I really wasn't expecting much (it is only 99 cents) even as far as functionality, but it is quite enjoyable and has a nice "wow" factor.

I was also surprised with the added options and customization, such as using the accelerometer to change pitch, adding effects and changing instruments. You can even change the screen size/fretboard/neck.


The one noticeable glitch that I found was playing two strings with one finger... it simply can't be done. A small gripe, but perhaps it can be fixed.

****1/2 -- I would give PocketGuitar 4 1/2 stars --- great for make-shift music making with friends when you're in a lackluster situation

by Damanky

Easily the best and most realistic guitar app on PocketGuitar Store for the past many years. I see a lot of reviews expecting this to be a toy or game app. There are already a lot of those apps on the market, where you play a guitar hero-type game and play along with a song or solely an image of a guitar and you tap on the strings and they automatically play chords for you. This is app DOES NOT do this. PocketGuitar is a guitar simulator. I even saw reviews with 1 star stating that " PocketGuitar is broken, you press on a fret and it just mutes it"... If you have ever played a real guitar, strum it, and then lightly tap on the strings... Well they are muted. Anyways, PocketGuitar is wonderful. Obviously fret/screen size is an issue, so you cannot play a song that is all over the fret-board. But I can play many songs, all the way through, with fairly good accuracy with PocketGuitar and I definitely get a similar feeling to playing real guitar. It's great for plucking out chords or playing with simple melodies or scales. The honest truth: it's a great guitar simulator trying to deal with screen real-estate problems and you pretty much HAVE to be able to play guitar to use PocketGuitar because it's truly a guitar simulator.

by Weie

Here's the short n sweet.
Downloaded for my iPhone 3G

Chords - yes. 6 string polyphony

Bar chords - not really. Sometimes it will let you bar 2 strings with 1 finger, but it's very tricky

There's like a 15ms lag on all sounds when strumming continuously, but it isn't a big deal. Your brain compensates and you forget it's there.

There is a hammer-on setting that I haven't tried, but the pull-offs are intuitive and accurate.

If you palm or touch mute strings while playing chords on a guitar, you have to rethink your chords here - no muting

Small frets - They can be enlarged a bit, which helps, but still kinda tricky to master

A neat on-the-fly distortion toggle feature with a decent bank of additional effects

Ok so not so short like I intended, but this is stuff I wanted to know before buying

Conclusion - feature rich, ergonomic controls, can strum, finger pick, hammer-on, pull-off, change tuning. I can't imagine any way to make it more realistic other than to get a bigger iPhone (for fretboard size)

It's an advanced app - if you don't play guitar, you'll prolly spend 3 minutes trying and move on to something else like typical frustration when you don't know an instrument (like I feel in front of a piano - hopeless) but if you already have a clue, this is the one

Five stars easy

by First Dragster

very good

by Chubbycorn

Pretty good, nice work. More sounds would be cool

by Thisisart

I've gotten so many people turned onto PocketGuitar, I'm known as the dude that rocks the iphone guitar app.

I can shred the bass with my video-game style thumb tapping, just turn off strumming. Turn hammer notes off and stretch the frets. It's way easier for solos

by Joeshmock

I just wanted an app that allowed me to play on a guitar. You can't really play like you would be able to a real guitar, but I can write basic riffs on it. It also allows you to change the tuning you're playing in. You can change the strings individually too. It's got a guitar, bass, uke, and some pedals with effects like wah, distortion, and echo. If that's what you're looking for, PocketGuitar is perfect.