Planet Waves Chord Master
- reviewed by Todd Stuart Phillips 
I have little interest in accessorizing or compiling material abundance when it comes to my guitar playing. I am by no means a gearhead. I need a good capo and a good strap and that is about it. But I have acquired one accessory I value greatly beyond its cost, the Planet Waves ChordMaster. It is an easy to use, electronic chord library I feel any guitarist would be glad to own or receive as a gift.
I have seen a variety of methods for guitarists to learn or memorize guitar chords. There are pocket sized books, or at least ones small enough to fit into a case. There are websites that provide guitar chords and portable electronic devices that allow access to such information wherever one might end up needing it. The ChordMaster is just such a device, but one that is superior in its ease of use and so-fun-it's-cool touch screen technology.
This little chord caller-upper fills less than half of one's hand, but is itself filled with some 4500 guitar chord shapes. I can only take their word for it, as I have not come close to viewing that many. But it is nice to know they have that much data in this petite knowledge powerhouse.
The ChordMaster has very small learning curve. A player needs only to touch the appropriate point on the screen to pick what key; whether it is major or minor, dominant seventh or diminished and then scroll through a variety of voicings for that specific chord. The most common chords tend to offer seven different harmonic voicings. More obscure chords offer fewer varieties. I was familiar with most of the usual suspects, but even C Major provided a voicing I had never thought of before. And when it comes to inversions or cool and unusual chords it offers up a wealth of new music.
The fingering diagram appears on a small grid representing the fingerboard. It clearly shows which fret the chord starts on. Unplayed strings are marked at the top of the gird and the specific notes being played appear at the bottom under the corresponding string. A left and right scroll button is found at the bottom of the screen. Clicking on either will move through the menu currently selected. One can see which section they are going to scroll through because it blinks after they press it.
And it gets much better. If a player wishes to attempt obscure chords, say a Jazz chord like G diminished seventh add flat thirteen, it is easily accessible by selecting the Key and scrolling to G, then selecting the section under it to scroll to "dim" at which point a degree sign appears next to the large G. After that, one selects the variation section at the right of the Key and scrolls through it until the chord name reads "G o7add b13".
This unit is great for learning new chords when only the chord name is written at the top of sheet music or in a fake book. It is even better for coming up with interesting harmonic voicings, which is ideal for accompanying other guitarists. But I have had a great deal of fun just looking for the strangest chords I can find and trying them out to see where that takes me musically.
There is so much potential for new and better music in this portable device small enough to fit into a shirt pocket. It even has a belt clip so the information is always at one's fingertips.
In my testing of the ChordMaster I quickly learned that barre chords are represented as if the player is using five separate fingers to play all six strings. But it is pretty easy to recognize when a chord is played easier by barring. Also one common barre shape does not appear. It is the one that has a barre followed by fingering that mimics the basic C Major chord. Instead that shape is represented as a more difficult open fingering with the high and low E string not being played. I thought that rather odd. Otherwise the only feature I wish could be included in my ChordMaster would be the ability to place notes on the fingerboard grid and have the onboard computer tell what chord I configured. Another great idea for Planet Waves to consider would be a ChordMaster that included chords for common alternate tunings, like DADGAD or Open D and Open G, etc. Perhaps even a separate alternate tuning ChordMaster might be in works. I would certainly buy it if it was for sale.
But as it stands right now, the Planet Waves ChordMaster is a phenomenal value and tool of great, practical worth. Its well thought out format makes it a cinch to use and a wonderful accessory for guitarists of any level of skill. As a gift or for your own use, I can think of no better product like it.
Out of a possible 8 Notes on the T Spoon Scale of Guitaracity I give the Planet Waves ChordMaster an accessible and educational 6 Notes.
TSP, NYC
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