Every guitar, catalogued.

The shop — hardware

What you play.

Everything physical in the archive, by department. This is the hardware half of the site.

• Electric Guitars — solidbody, semi-hollow and signature models288
• Acoustic Guitars — steel-string and nylon-string83
• Bass Guitars — four, five and six-string32
• Ukuleles — soprano, concert, tenor, baritone and bass25
• Amps — tube, solid-state and modelers142
• Effects — overdrive, delay, reverb, modulation156
• Accessories — strings, picks, straps, cases, hardware95
• Makers — every brand in the archive, indexed107

Learn — software

How to play it.

Playing is a separate thing from owning. This half is shapes, movement and routine — no parts lists, no wood, no circuit diagrams.

• 01Chords — every shape, every key, drawn from the fingering47
• 02Technique — picking, fretting, barre, power chords, timing
• 03Practice — what to do in the first month, and in the first year
• 04Skills index — the index to everything in this half

Start here — pick your path

Why are you looking at guitars?

Three reasons cover almost everyone, and they want different things. Pick the one that is actually you.

• I am just starting — what to buy on a budget, and what to ignorebudget
• I collect — vintage, discontinued, oddities and the ones that hold valuetaste
• I chase new gear — the newest effects, modelers and digital ahead of everyone elsenew

Reference — how gear works

The hardware, explained.

Not technique: what a part does and what the numbers mean. Read this when you want to understand what you are buying.

• 01ElectronicsA pickup is a filter with a magnet in it.
• 02WoodsThe back and sides are a filter, not a voice.
• 03ConstructionFeel is a set of measurements.
• 04JournalNotes, each one a claim.

The archive

820 specimens, 107 makers.

Instruments, amplifiers, effects and accessories, indexed by maker and by measurement. No prices, no stock counts, no ratings.

Open the whole archive →