Guitarist's Reference vs Solo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Guitarist's Reference
This comprehensive suite offers a vast collection of guitar chords, scales, and arpeggios with clear diagrams and detailed theory. It includes tools for finding chord-scale relationships, exploring alternate tunings, and even a virtual guitar for practice.
- 3000+ guitar chords with diagrams
- 42 scale types including modes and pentatonics
- Arpeggio finder
- 36 alternate tunings
- Chord-scale relationship guide
- Virtual guitar
- Guitar tuner
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Introducing the Ultimate Guitarist's Companion - Your All-in-One Solution for Mastering the Fretboard: - Comprehensive Package: Elevate your guitar journey with an all-encompassing suite of tools and knowledge. Explore Guitar Chords, Chord Progressions, Scales, Triads, Arpeggios, Fretboard Note Mastery, Reverse Chord & Scale Finder, Chord Quizzes, Alternate Tunings, Guitar Tuner, Virtual Guitar and the intricate web of Chord-Scale Relationships. - Guitar Chord Encyclopedia: Unleash the potential of over 3000 commonly used guitar chords. Dive into chord theory and find clarity through easy-reference diagrams. Test your prowess with the Chord Quiz feature – a true test of your skills. - Mastering Guitar Scales: Demystify the realm of guitar scales fearlessly. From the basics to the sublime, our comprehensive scale reference transforms your fretboard knowledge. With 42 scale types spanning major, minor, pentatonic, modes, and more, you'll command all keys with confidence. - Unveiling Chord-Scale Relationships: Say goodbye to chord change anxiety. Our guide deciphers the intricate dance between chords and scales. Elevate your playing by understanding which scales harmonize with each chord, empowering you to navigate complex progressions effortlessly. - Modern Guitarist's Arpeggios: Seamlessly locate any arpeggio, regardless of your reading ability. Presented in intuitive diagram form, this feature benefits both beginners seeking structured guidance and professionals requiring arpeggio references for any musical scenario. - Alternate Tunings Explored: Dive deep into 36 of the most popular alternate tunings, expanding your creative horizons. Whether you're in Standard or Alternate Tuning, access Scales, Arpeggios, and Fretboard Notes effortlessly. Guitar Tuner: Our improved tuning feature now allows you to tune your guitar by ear across a wide range of preset alternate tunings. - Reverse Chord/Scale Finder Tool: Transform your musical ideas into named chords/scales effortlessly. Struggling to name a chord/scale you've crafted? This ingenious tool deciphers your fretboard inputs, revealing the chord/scale's identity. - Virtual Guitar: Immerse yourself in the guitar-playing experience right from your device. Our virtual guitar feature enables you to strum, pluck, and navigate the fretboard with a variety of alternate tunings. Whether you're a seasoned guitarist or a beginner, this feature provides a platform for practice, chord and scale experimentation, and the joy of guitar sounds without requiring a physical instrument. Take hold of virtual strings and let your musical creativity flow. Experience an unparalleled guitar journey, where knowledge meets practice in perfect harmony. Unleash your true potential with our All-in-One Guitarist's Package.
Solo
Master your guitar fretboard with this interactive trainer. Learn note names, intervals, chord changes, and scales through guided exercises. Designed by professional guitarists, it offers customizable workouts for all skill levels.
- Fretboard visualization
- Note name trainer
- Interval shape memorization
- Chord change outlining
- Scale practice
- Interactive fretboards
- Customizable workouts
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Solo is the ultimate practice App for mastering fretboard visualization, designed by world renowned guitarists Tom Quayle and David Beebee. Four powerful fretboard trainers allow you to work intuitively on each aspect of the visualization process; learning note names, memorising interval shapes, outlining chord changes, and practicing scales. Solo asks you to find intervallic functions against one root note, chord symbol or scale at a time, listens to the notes you play, and doesn’t move on until you’ve correctly found each note by its intervallic function in the specified order. Practice with Solo and finally learn your note names, master interval shapes, confidently play through chord changes and break out of scale boxes with intervallic functions. Start transforming your playing and confidence on the fretboard today! NOTE TRAINER The Note Trainer is perfect for beginner and intermediate players getting to grips with note names on the neck - the foundation of solid fretboard knowledge. ‣ Solo shows you random root notes to find and listens, waiting for you to get it correct. ‣ Slide on the interactive fretboards for helpful diagrams and to study alternative options. Choose from 6 string guitar (standard and 4ths tuning), 7 string guitar, 4 string bass & 5 string bass. ‣ Optional practice suggestions offer challenging ways to limit and test yourself. ‣ Duration based workouts allow you to craft the perfect practice session. INTERVAL TRAINER The Interval Trainer will help players at all levels work on interval shapes with intervallic functions - the key to unlocking true freedom on the fretboard. ‣ Choose any combination of intervallic functions to practice. ‣ Create custom interval groups or choose the intervals for ANY chord type or scale. ‣ The Interval Trainer will randomise your chosen intervals and ask you to find them against either a fixed or random root note. ‣ Slide on the interactive fretboards for helpful diagrams, showing you where all of the interval shapes are across the neck, and to study alternative options. Choose from 6 string guitar (standard and 4ths tuning), 7 string guitar, 4 string bass & 5 string bass. ‣ Duration based workouts allow you to craft the perfect practice session. CHANGES TRAINER In the Changes Trainer you find intervallic functions, using single notes to outline different chord types or sets of chord changes, a key skill for learning to improvise through chord changes. ‣ Practice outlining intervallic functions through over 100 common chord progressions and single chord exercises. ‣ 50 intervallic function levels. Go from simple chord tones to complex melodic structures and scales. ‣ Solo intelligently maps out the correct intervals over each chord and listens for you to play each intervallic function in the specified order. ‣ Powerful workout options provide almost limitless ways to challenge yourself. ‣ Transpose the key of any progression or exercise. ‣ Choose to randomly transpose the progression (or single chord exercise) each time it repeats. ‣ Work on voice leading chord tones through single note lines. SCALE TRAINER The Scale Trainer contains a vast array of scales and powerful workout options, allowing you to finally break out of the box and develop a much deeper understanding of how scales are constructed on the fretboard. ‣ Practice finding scales on the fretboard using intervallic functions. ‣ Over 50+ Scales and modes. ‣ Powerful workout options provide almost limitless ways to challenge yourself. ‣ Melodic sequence options let you focus on starting from any chord tone within the scale. ‣ Duration based workouts allow you to craft the perfect practice session.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Guitarist's Reference at none against Solo's 2. Guitarist's Reference also leads on device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 16.0). Solo's advantage is review sentiment (83% vs 62%) and ratings volume (653 vs 16). On rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Guitarist's Reference costs $19.99 and Solo $17.99 up front. Solo sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. Guitarist's Reference asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Guitarist's Reference against 4.7 for Solo. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Solo has 653 ratings behind it against 16, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 62% of Guitarist's Reference's written reviews are positive against 83% of Solo's.
Guitarist's Reference ships an update every 3 weeks, Solo monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 17, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Guitarist's Reference | Solo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $19.99 | $17.99 — better |
| Rating | 4.8 (16 ratings) — better | 4.7 (653 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 62.0% of reviews | 83.3% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 16 | 653 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | — | #83 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 12.0 — better | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 79 MB | 231 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | My App Catalog LLC | Trio Software Ltd |
Customer experience
Guitarist's Reference
Solo
User reviews
Guitarist's Reference
From 16 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Comprehensive guitar reference
- 👍 Intuitive and easy to use
- 💡 Reverse chord finder
- 🚀 Detailed chord, scale, and arpeggio information
- 👍 Great for beginners and advanced players
Room to improve
- 🐛 Occasional crashes and freezes
- 🔧 Missing some common chord and scale voicings
- 🔧 Chord playback implementation could be improved
- 🔧 Outdated or lacking support for newer iOS versions
- 🔧 Interface could use a more modern design
Solo
From 653 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Excellent practice tool
- 👍 Helps improve fretboard knowledge
- 👍 Versatile and configurable
- 👍 Detailed video tutorials
- 👍 Accurate note detection
Room to improve
- 🐛 Note detection issues
- 🐛 App crashes
- 🐛 Lack of customization options
- 🐛 Unintuitive for beginners
- 🐛 Limited functionality for the price
Bugs and requests
Guitarist's Reference
Reported bugs
3 issues- Chord finder not detecting all chord inversions
- Issues with alternate tuning functionality
- Compatibility problems with newer iOS versions
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to overlay multiple scales
- Customizable chord/scale display options
- Integrated tuner functionality
- Support for more alternate tunings
- Improved chord/scale audio playback
Solo
Reported bugs
3 issues- Crashes when launching the app
- Inconsistent note detection
- Inability to save progress or settings
Requested features
8 requests- Add ability to create custom chord progressions
- Integrate metronome functionality
- Provide visual representation of intervals on staff
- Add option to practice natural notes only
- Implement option to hear chord tones in the background
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- Allow randomization of scale order
- Add support for non-standard tunings
- Implement sound feedback when finding the correct note
In-app purchases
Guitarist's Reference
No in-app purchases
Solo
- Custom Tunings$1.99
- Custom Chord Progressions$5.99
Questions
Is Guitarist's Reference free?
Is Solo free?
Which has better reviews, Guitarist's Reference or Solo?
Do Guitarist's Reference or Solo have ads?
Which is updated more often, Guitarist's Reference or Solo?
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