Ian Williamson asked:


Guitars are the most common instruments played by many music lovers of all ages. Even kids can easily learn to play the guitar. Choosing the right guitar is very easy. There are many types of guitars that can go along with any kind of music. All a guitar player needs to do is identify the kind of music he prefers to know which type of guitar is best for him.
The following are the most common types of guitars.
Classical Guitars
Classical guitars are the father of all guitars. They have been used for many genres and all kinds of music. Classical guitars come with nylon strings which give the guitar a unique and colorful sound. The sizes of classical guitars have been standard for many years. Classical guitars that are of the finest quality are made with spruce or cedar tops. The guitar is able to produce various sounds even with the use of fingernails.
Electric Guitars
Electric guitars are the next most common guitar especially in the 20th century. Electric guitars are known as the main attraction of rock music. These guitars have been famous since rock music was introduced and blend very well with jazz, pop and even blues music. The main difference between other guitars and electric guitars is that they are played with amplifiers because they are unable to produce sound without amplification.
Steel Guitars
Steel guitars acquired their name because they are literally made of steel. These types of guitars are played horizontally. A guitar player may place the guitar across his knees or legs or on a stand. The pedal steels of these guitars are the ones responsible for their unique sounds.
Bass Guitars
Bass guitars are similar to electric guitars. However, there are also variations in these guitars such as the acoustic bass guitars. Although bass guitars fall under the family of guitars, the sounds they produce are very distinctive and separate from any other guitar. The reason is that bass guitars usually have four strings unlike standard guitars that have six to twelve strings.
Many other guitars may be found on the market. There are also the archtop guitars, twelve strings guitars, solid body guitars and the resonator guitars. All these types of guitars produce different kinds of music that can satisfy the taste of many music lovers. All a person has to do is identify his taste for music to be able to decide which guitar is perfect for him and his music.

Mesa Boogie

Ian Williamson asked:


The guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments today. Most of the music that you hear on the radio uses guitars in many different ways: pop, rock, reggae, blues, ballads and everything else is influenced by the guitar.
The guitar, together with the drums and the piano compose the modern music scene equipment set. The playability of the guitar has made it one popular instrument. A guitar can be played by a learning child or an experienced guitar player. It’s not “picky” about its players.
Today, the electric type of guitar is most often used in musical production. The guitar has been enhanced with a very good accompaniment in the form of the effects box. Today, guitars can emulate the sounds of a piano, a violin, even the sounds of the human voice and is continuously widening its horizons.
With the functions and features of the modern electric guitar, one can’t help thinking about the beginnings of the instrument. Where did the guitar come from? This article tries to give a brief history of the wonderful musical instrument, which is the guitar.
The creation of the guitar cannot be traced to a single person. The guitar came about through the evolution of its predecessors. Its image has also undergone change throughout the centuries. Today, playing the guitar is a symbol of talent and musical prowess, but during the early times, the guitar was actually a symbol of being poor and it was refuted by most classical musicians.
Predecessors
There have been many guitar-like musical instruments in the ancient times, up to as many as 5,000 years ago. Instruments which look like the guitar were seen in statues which were recovered in archeological expeditions in the Iranian region of Susa. However, the very first documented mention of the instrument dates back to the fourteenth century. At that time the guitar-ancestor had three pairs of strings (usually referred to as double courses) and a single string with the highest tone.
Some say that the word “guitar” came from the word “qitara”. Qitara is an Arabic name for the different kinds of lutes during the early times.
Evolution
The guitar, as we know it, is said to originate in Spain. It is believed that the people of Malaga invented the instrument. The guitar evolved from having three pairs of strings to four pairs of strings and eventually six single strings.
The guitar began to become popular in the 16th century. It was played by the lower and middle classes as a counterpart for the vihuela which was played by the aristocrats. The vihuela was tuned like a lute but had a body similar to that of the guitar.
The guitar made a serious evolution during the 18th century: the double strings where replaced by single strings and a sixth string was added. In the 1800s, Antonio Torres de Jurado gave birth to the classical guitar. Basically, he increased the size of the body of the guitar. The guitar still struggled because it was considered as an instrument for the taverns - an instrument which could not be used for classical music. In Spain, where people hated the piano, the guitar found refuge. However, it was also tainted by the views that guitars were for gypsies and for no-good bums who asked for loose change in bars.
Electric guitar
The modern electric guitar was invented in 1931. The electric guitar uses electronic “pick-ups” to enable it to produce sound. The pick-ups convert the vibrations from the strings into electric signals. The body of the electric guitar is semi-solid or solid, depending on the design. The structure of the guitar took a great leap when the electric guitar was born, no longer did its sound depend on the structure and construction of the body, but on the quality of the pick-ups and soundboard.
The sounds of the electric guitar can also be altered to be able to achieve a desired tone. The use of the guitar effects box has given the guitar a wide array of sounds. I is continuing to garner popularity in all fields of music, even in classical music.
The guitar is a very dynamic musical instrument. Through evolution, the guitar has made its mark on the modern music scene. From crude instruments with many variations, the guitar has become a real and much-sought after instrument.

Mesa Boogie

Gaskell Guitars asked:


Randy Rhoads was a young American guitarist who rose to fame after becoming the guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne at the very beginning of Ozzy’s solo career. This was 1979. Randy Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne along with Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake formed the band that was to put Ozzy firmly on the map again as a performer in his own right, following his departure from the hugely successful Black Sabbath.

Randy Rhoads was a classical guitar teacher. In collaboration with Bob Daisley, he and Bob composed some of the greatest music of Ozzy’s career many songs of which Ozzy still plays today in his live set.

Randy Rhoads is also famous for the “Randy Rhoads V” guitar, a guitar Randy designed and had built by Charvel back in 1981 and 1982. The CEO of Charvel at that time, Grover Jackson, went on to produce Randy’s guitar under the brand name Jackson (apparently the reason for choosing the Jackson branding was that Grover had thought that the Randy Rhoads model might be too radical and didn’t want to risk branding it as a Charvel.)

The Randy Rhoads V guitar was the guitar that put Jackson fully on the map. It was Jackson’s first production model. Prior to this time Charvel was a parts supplier for a few retail musical instrument shops, and they made the odd guitar here and there.

Tragically Randy’s career ended on a fateful day in 1982 when the plane he was a passenger in crashed, killing all on board. Further, he never actually saw the final production model of his design, what would come to be known as the “Randy Rhoads V” by Jackson Guitars.

Charvel and Jackson guitars were built in the same factory until 1986 and then the company was sold to Japanese manufacturer AMIC in 1989. Charvel’s ended up being exclusively made in Japan until 1991 while Jacksons continued to be made in California Although the Charvel name had faded away by the end of the century, Jackson/Charvel would see new light when it was purchased by Fender Music Corporation in 2002.

Today, the Randy Rhoads V is still produced by Jackson Guitars, but now that Jackson is part of Fender, all Jacksons are manufactured in the Fender plant in Corona, Ca and Jackson is of course, now subject to the company directions of the parent company, Fender Musical Instruments. It appears from spending some time on the new Charvel website, that Grover is indeed alive and well and lending his wisdom and hand to the revival of Charvel guitars and in a video clip credits Fender for aiding in these new directions.

The Randy Rhoads V guitar available from Jackson comes in various colours and schemes and there are models which are variations of the original. Some of these variants were brought about by later artists who have released their own signature variations of the Randy Rhoads V. One thing though… the left handed option of the Randy Rhoads V is very, very limited. A few colours, and that is it. One model only. Jackson’s budget range of guitars (made in Asia) don’t even allow for one left handed Randy Rhoads V.

At Gaskell Guitars (http://www.gaskellguitars.com) , located in Sydney Australia, we make only left handed guitars. We make a Randy Rhoads V model as a production model. We offer all colours through our custom options AT NO EXTRA COST. Our stock, production model comes in black and the original Randy Rhoads White and Gold scheme. We only cater for the left handed guitarist. We are trying to prevent the left hand guitarist from “always getting the short end of the stick.” Check us out. In many cases, what we offer make dreams come true!

Guitars Amps Reviews

Victor Epand asked:


An acoustic guitar is a guitar that produces an acoustic sound through the vibration of its six strings. When we talk about guitar, the first thing that comes in our mind is Spanish guitar.

Acoustic guitars have a rich history. It had changed its design many times. Acoustic guitars are 5000 years old. Spain has a big contribution in its development.

The earliest form of modern acoustic guitar is the Cithara. Romans introduced this instrument in Hispania. After this, Moors developed the shape and made it a four-string instrument. But in Europe, the six-string lute guitar was very popular.

A Spanish guitar like instrument called Vihuela was introduced later in the 16th century. It’s body looked like guitar, but it had to be tuned like Lute.

Modern acoustic guitars are of various types. Like, twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, still guitar etc.

Given below are some of the popular names and description of acoustic guitars.

- Renaissance and Baroque guitars: These guitars are very similar to the classical guitar. But they are smaller and quieter than classical guitar. Their strings are paired up like twelve string guitar. But they do not have six courses of strings like twelve string guitar. They have only four or five courses of them.

- Classical guitars: Classical guitars are made of nylon strings. That’s why they are also known as nylon string guitar. Playing system of the classical guitar is somehow different. Fingers play it. Plectrum has no role in this specific playing process.

- Portuguese Guitar: This guitar is used in Portugal. This guitar is playing their traditional Fado song. This is guitar is a Portuguese twelve string guitar.

- Flat top guitar: This guitar is almost like classical guitar. But it is larger than classical guitar. It has got still strings. Still string produces louder sound. This guitar is used with varied kind of music like, jazz, bluegrass etc.

- Arch top guitar: This instrument is very much inspired from violin. This too is a still stringed guitar. Lloyd Lure invented this guitar this guitar is very much popular among the jazz guitarists.

- Twelve string guitar: Twelve-string guitar is a still stringed guitar. This guitar is made of six courses of paired up strings. This guitar is very popular in rock and roll, folk and blues music.

- Russian guitars: This is a seven-string guitar. It is a Russian guitar. This guitar is tuned in open G Major.

- Acoustic Bass Guitar: Strings are made of steel. Have only four strings.

- Guitar battente: have four or five metal string. Smaller than classical guitar. Used to accompany with voice in Calabria (Southern Italian region).

Apart from these there are other sorts of acoustic guitars also. Like, Extended range guitars, Harp guitars, Tenor guitars, Dobro guitars etc.

Acoustic guitars are very interesting instrument. The best thing about them is, they are absolutely hassling free. They are very easy to carry. And you can create magic with them in a family gathering also.

Mesa Boogie

Luciano Figallo asked:


Tuners are vital for guitarists. Whether tuning by ear or using computer software or a pedal, tuning is necessary before one can maximize performance of his/her instrument and perform at his/her best. Normally, if you play your guitar only on a daily basis your strings will not get out of tone. But if your guitar is rarely used or is in a bad condition or your playing is extremely hard, then most likely you’ll need to tune your guitar always. Tip: TUNE your guitar EVERY TIME you pick it up.

For professional tuning, you MUST use electronic guitar tuners. These devices allow tuning with the use of pedals, little boxes, or rack mounted units. There are a number of manufacturers who specialize in these sophisticated gadgets

ELECTRONIC GUITAR TUNERS

• Boss, a division of the Roland Corporation (big japanese company), employs its proven technology in musical equipment and accessories to develop sophisticated tuners - known for their accuracy and superb functionality. One of its renowned inventions is the TU - Series tuners technology, which incorporates tuning accuracy in an ultra convenient tompbox design…ideal to take them into the guitar case everywhere.

• Korg. This world’s favorite tuner started introducing excellent tuners in 1999. It came out with the DT-7 GUITAR/BASS chromatic tuner, the first guitar tuner to feature the legendary Buzz Feiten Tuning System. The critically acclaimed DT-7 could be one of the most accurate tuners in the market ever, featuring an ultra - wide tuning range. Later on, Korg introduced the extremely flexible GT-12 GUITAR & BASS chromatic tuner and the OT-12 designed for Orchestra.

Other models that came out were Korg GA30 Guitar & Bass Tuner which features a pitch reference tone and quinta-flat tuning while maintaining functionality and convenient tuning functions in Ultra - Compact bodies.

The Korg CA30 Chromatic Tuner and the Korg TM40 Chromatic Tuner/Metronome; Tuner with Metronome which can function simultaneously or independently, its large LCD-type needle delivers both the accuracy of an LCD and the excellent visibility of a needle indicator. It also has LED indicators that show pitch deviation or blink to indicate the tempo, thus, making the TM-40 a highly visual tool. The superb functionality and the highest accuracy have made Korg tuners a worldwide favorite.

• String Master, is another respected manufacturer. String Master produced the world’s first motorized guitar tuner featured in the Guitar One and Guitar Player Magazines. This guitar tuner is very innovative, convenient and could be the friendliest tuner ever invented

• The Qwik Tune QT-11 is the next generation’s automatic guitar tuner. Featuring an electronic pitch pipe with an internal speaker it plays E, A, D, G, B, and E tones for tuning reference. It also includes an Off-Meter tuning mode, which detects the string which the user is trying to tune (even if the guitar is severely out of tune). This portable battery operated Guitar or Bass tuner features an ‘electric pitch pipe’ that plays the note for the user. The user can tune each individual string while the display tells her/him which string is being tuning and whether the note is sharp or flat. The highly sensitive built-in microphone & spèed metering allow easy tuning.

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TUNING WITH COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Tuning via use of software abounds. Free or for a fee you can find various guitar tuners in the internet. These softwares eliminate the need to tune a guitar with an instrument or the conventional tuning by ear. All you have to do is to listen to the sound from the software, play it on your guitar and adjust the tuning machines tension until your guitar produces the same note as the tuner software.Keep in mind that the basic requirement in tuning is to get the same note as the tuner, not the sound because the difference in thickness of strings may cause varying frequencies and sound…just listen to the pitch.

Listen to the tuner and tune your guitar until you hear almost the same sound, though, it might be deeper. This is specially true when you get new strings and tune your guitar immediately after putting them on. Your stings have to adjust to the pressure applied to them so initially your guitar will not make the right tuning, it will sound detuned. But after exposure to a certain limit of stretch, they will hold on to a certain tone. Tip: Tune your guitar and leave it alone for a few hours then tune again and…that’s it. After each playing session the strings tend to mantain the pitch with better accuracy and stability.

One of the common (and free) tuners available in the internet is the DGT or digital guitar tuner. DGT is windows software, which allows you to accurately tune your guitar using direct input or microphone. Another free software is AP Tuner3 which supports an improved detection algorithm for low notes for bass and piano. It has a helpful Harmonics Graph window to see the harmonic content of any note. PitchPerfect can also be downloaded for free. It also provides a highly accurate professional tuner with a very simple to use interface. There is more flexibility in the PitchPerfect software because it automatically detects the note you’re playing and therefore, you’re not limited by standard tunings.

Apart from free downloads on your personal computer,you can also download tuners on your pocket PC or on your ipod. An example of this is the 4Pockets Guitar Tuner. Because it can be downloaded on your pocket PC, you can take the 4Pockets Guitar Tuner with you on your gigs . A high precision real - time guitar tuner,this Guitar Tuner can accurately determine the frequency,musical note and octave for each of your strings. The ability to estimate the note and octave makes this a very useful tool in musical notation and musical learning.

The iRocker is another convenient set of tools for guitarists which you can load on your iPod. iRocker is produced by Talking Panda,the makers of iBar.A great help for beginners, the iRocker includes not only a virtual book with 200 chords and fingerings but likewise a guide to scales. It also provides 5 different chord progressions/riffs that you can play along. Moreover, it contains a set of guitar tuning recordings with a variety of tunings and a basic 10 - speed metronome.

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WICH TUNER IS RIGHT FOR ME?

Your choice of tuner would depend on your needs – amateur or professional use. You might use a tuner for practicing at home or gigs with friends or you might need the tuner for a larger audience - like performing in a big concert. Regardless of your need, convenience and accuracy, tuners are of foremost importance…you can avail of a wide range of guitar tuners, free or for a fee.

Alternatives to eBay

Gaskell Guitars asked:


Left Hand guitar players the world over have always had a problem with availability of left handed guitars.

Many left handed people newly learning to play guitar end up learning to play right handed out of frustration. Many experienced left handed guitarists have simply become apathetic and given up looking for that which is abundant for right handed players. Not only is there a limited range of guitars, but the resources for learning are also pretty limited. This situation is the same in every country in the world.

It is not hard to understand. Of the world’s population, left handed people are a minority compared to right handed people. Within this minority there is a further minority of left handed people who play guitar left handed. Despite the small percentage of left handed guitarists, there have been a number of iconic left handed players who have made a huge impact on the music scene. These include Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, Tony Iommi, and Kurt Cobain.

Many of the big guitar manufacturers do not offer left hand versions of some of their popular guitars. to be fair, US guitar manufacturers, have been facing harder and harder times, year after year. We all know that ALL industry (that is trying to do the right thing and being honest) is suffering and this is proportional to the decline of education (kids can’t learn, can’t hold jobs), the rise of drugs (thank you psychiatrists for getting rich by doping a whole generation into a state of useless-ness while brainwashing parents into believing frying kids brains with drugs is good) and increase of social hardship due to the world economic crash that’s going on (thanks Oil companies, banks, and government suppression) So it is tough for all.

Some guitar manufacturers offer left handed versions of their guitars through their Custom Shop. And although this is an attempt at service, the costs and waiting times can be quite painful.

Well, not any more! GASKELL GUITARS is a small Australian guitar manufacturer that makes only left hand guitars. Gaskell guitars are high quality, yet affordable instruments, that can be gigged with as they are or further upgraded or modified and still come in well under the cost of a custom shop order for the same kind of instrument!

Being situated at the “bottom of the world” and to some degree away from the noise of the collapse happening in other continents, we are able to operate intelligently and with focus on producing well-made, high quality left handed guitars that are not available as left hand models by original manufacturers.

Go to : http://www.gaskellguitars.com

You will find left handed guitars that you have not seen before in left hand and probably never thought you would! Some dreams do become reality.

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Gaskell Guitars asked:


This is an interview with Kevin Gaskell, designer and founder of GASKELL GUITARS from Australia. This is from January 2008.
Name of your company?
Gaskell Guitars
Your name?
Kevin Gaskell (I am the designer)
Your Location (city, etc)
Alexandria, Sydney. Australia
Please give us a short summary of your company?
Gaskell Guitars is the only guitar manufacturer in the world that makes ONLY left handed guitars. Based in Australia, Gaskell Guitars is attempting to provide popular guitars not otherwise available as left handed models to the LEFT HANDED GUITAR PLAYERS of this world. I started this 10 years ago. I got it fully together at the end of 2006.
What inspired you to launch your own website?
To get the message out: Left hand guitarists need not feel left out in the dark, or penalized, or ignored for simply being a left handed guitar player.
When did you launch your first website, and what was it?
We have been in business since the beginning of 2007 but did not launch our website until mid 2007. There is still some work to be done but the most important thing is getting high quality guitars into the hands of left hand guitar players who have often given up ever finding the guitars we make!
How did you decide on a name for your website?
Brand name
What makes it different from other, similar offerings?
We are the only company in the world that provides left handed guitars exclusively despite it apparently being a small market. No one else is doing this because no one else really cares about left handed guitar players unless they have a lot of CASH to flash around and have something made in a Custom Shop.
What is your eventual goal?
Corner the market. Internationally. Our brand name recognition is growing. People like our products and they ARE good. I am a left handed guitar player myself so I talk the talk and walk the walk.
How does your investment of time and money balance against your success?
Still to make a profit! Heavily driven by passion, as any purpose that someone is dedicated to.
If you had an unlimited development budget for development, how would things change?
We’d be able to make more guitars faster and satisfy even more left handed guitarists - e.g bass players. Demand is greater than supply at the moment. It costs money to take another step and then another step.
If your business site got really big, really quickly, would you be able to keep up with the demand?
Already struggling with keeping up with product demand! Left Handed guitarists are a passionate lot. And they should be! They’ve been kicked in the teeth for many years. All lefty players know this.
What unexpected costs and headaches have you had to deal with?
The first model is always the most expensive. All our guitars had to be redesigned from scratch and are largely hand made. Tooling (CNC Machines) in factories is designed for making right handed guitars. It’s been “interesting” to set this up shall we say. It would never have been this tough to make right handed guitars and try and break into a saturated market there. It is much much cheaper to make right handed guitars.
What has been your biggest challenge?
Making the guitars affordable while still making a profit. We don’t make a lot on our guitars. We could’ve charged ridiculous prices since no one else makes our models but then that’s called “greed” and that’s not where we are at. Left Handed guitarists have been betrayed bad enough as it is. The other thing we struggle with is shipping costs. This is beyond our control. Costs to USA and Europe from Australia are pretty ridiculous in the post-9/11 world.
What method has been most successful for promoting your website?
Classified Ads
How has running your website differed from your expectations?
I’m not a website builder or hoster. Every little change or improvement costs money! Good news comes at a price!
How long have you run the site already, and how long will you continue to keep it up if you don’t enjoy big gains in traffic, income or popularity?
Since about mid 2007. We intend to keep it going for as long as left hand guitarists want our guitars - hopefully forever!
Why are you doing this?
I was born in New Zealand. I have been playing guitar for 25 years. I always wanted to own a Gibson Explorer. In 25 years I never saw one and Gibson only ever made them at one time, in the 1980s when I didn’t have the money to buy one. Many other guitars didn’t come in left hand at that time. 25 years later NOT MUCH HAD CHANGED. I decided that if we are going to be essentially “overlooked” by the big guitar manufacturers then I will fill this void. I made my first guitar in 1992 and it’s developed from there. Customers who have bought Gaskell guitars are routinely delighted and grateful for these instruments, not just because the price is good, but because they are EXCELLENT, high quality guitars which has always been and always will be our intention. We don’t do “cheap” except in price.
What is your website address?
Gaskell Guitars

eBay Alternatives

Victor Epand asked:


The list for popular types of guitars can be endless. Guitars come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors and types. There are acoustic guitars, electric acoustic guitars, semi hollow guitars, electric guitars, twelve string guitars, four string bass guitars, five string bass guitars; the catalog goes on and on.

Acoustic guitars

Acoustic guitar is independent of any external device to be heard. The acoustic guitar is more sober than other instruments commonly found in bands and orchestras. To play within such groups the sound is often externally amplified. Acoustic guitars, which are available today, feature a variety of pickups. This enables the player to increase and adjust the raw guitar sound.

Prominent subcategories feature within the acoustic guitar group

Classical and flamenco guitars; steel string guitars, that comprise the folk or flat top guitar; arch top guitar and the twelve string guitars. There are unamplified guitars also in the acoustic guitar group.

Such types are designed to play in various registers such as the acoustic bass guitar. The tuning of the acoustic bass guitar is similar to that of the electric bass guitar.

Classical guitars
These are normally strung with nylon strings, to be played in a seated pose and are used to play a variety of musical styles together with classical music. The classical guitar is designed in such a way that it allows the execution of solo polyphonic arrangements of music

Portuguese guitar
The Portuguese guitar is a 12 string guitar used in Portugal for the customary Fado songs.

Archtop guitars
Steel string instruments feature a violin inspired f hole design where the top (and often the back) of the instrument are engraved in a curved rather than a flat shape.

Flat top (steel string) guitars
Here the body dimension is typically considerably larger than a classical guitar and it has a narrower, resistant neck and stronger structural design

Resonator, resophonic or Dobro guitars
The hum of the resonator guitar is created by a metal resonator fitted in the middle of the top.

Tenor guitars
Some classical guitarists call the Niibori prime guitar a Tenor Guitar on the grounds that it sits in pitch between the alto and the bass.

Harp guitars
This consists of a usual guitar, with additional harp strings strung on top of the six normal strings. The instrument is generally acoustic and the harp strings are adjusted to lower notes than the guitar strings, for an added bass range.

Acoustic bass guitars
This type has steel strings or guts strings in it and often has the same tuning as an electric bass guitar.

12 string guitars
Instead of having only six strings, the 12 string guitar has six courses made up of two strings each, like a mandolin or f lute.

Electric guitars
Electric guitars are the types, which have solid, semi hollow, or hollow bodies, and generate minute sound without amplification. The electromagnetic vibrations of the strings are converted into electrical signals, which are supplied to an amplifier via a cable or radio transmitter. Sound outputted is regularly modified by other electronic instruments or the natural distortion of valves (vacuum tubes) in the amplifier.

Vintge Guitars