Troy
Cracking the Code creator, responsible for setting instructional and business direction. Neologizer in chief for picking mechanics concepts and terms. Previously ran a tech recruiting firm. Before that, uncovered both the secrets of escape motion and little-known numerological patterns in the Divine Comedy as an Italian major. Proud descendant of the land of Joel, Vai, and Satriani.
Tommo
One part Physics PhD, one part physical explorer of the fretboard, Tommo’s position at Cracking the Code is… superposition. By day, he’s a quantum physics researcher; by night, he investigates the mysteries of stringed instrument technique and guides pedagogical direction on the instructor team. Tommo is a publishing fiend, with credits including numerous peer-reviewed papers and two of Cracking The Code’s advanced seminars.
João
João hails from the Brazilian state of Amazonas, where the sound in his videos occasionally includes wildlife in addition to world-class picking. A gifted player with an exceptional command of double escape motion and two-way pickslanting, he brings rare mechanical fluency to some of the most challenging material in our curriculum. João now works with students as part of the instructor team, contributing not just blazing technique but also a thoughtful and curious approach to understanding how all this stuff really works.
With his killer ear and fearless approach to improvisation, Roy Ziv makes the fretboard his playground
Roy is a social media juggernaut, earning follower counts knocking on the door of seven figures. But his viral appeal isn’t just about feed-scrolling junk food — it’s his deep sense of melody, effortless improvisational flow, and ability to make advanced concepts feel approachable that really impress.
His compositional instincts are immediately engaging. Whether crafting a solo over a pop hit or stretching out in his own compositions, he seems to constantly find hooky phrases that have you reaching for the rewind button.
In our conversation, Roy outlines his process for training spontaneity. Rather than drilling abstract exercises, Roy hones his skills by composing in real time, challenging himself to stumble across novel melodies and phrases in a kind of semi-controlled accident – and then etuding them to make them familiar. His philosophy embraces mistakes as learning opportunities, diving enthusiastically into unfamiliar territory until it becomes second nature.
The hour-long interview features 39 musical examples with tablature, including three extended improvisations showcasing Roy’s signature phrasing and fretboard mastery. The backing tracks are also included for your own creative woodshedding.
Presenting a collection of classic meetings with a pioneer of virtuoso guitar
Rusty Cooley is not just a pioneer of technical guitar playing, but also of guitar technique investigation. He occupies a special place in Cracking the Code history as the first player to test each generation of our slow-motion technology: the original computer-controlled ShredCam, and the earliest version of our smartphone-powered Magnet. On display throughout is Rusty’s rare combination of attributes: incredible technique and unflappably chill demeanor in the face of technical roadblocks.
The 2005 meeting was a test flight of our first high-speed video rig for filming musical interviews, and Rusty was its Chuck Yeager. He gamely navigated an awkward assembly of mounting arms and FireWire cables to find playable fretboard space. The 2014 session alleviated some of these challenges, and added new ones with an early, non-adjustable prototype of the Magnet. The new design offered more limited fretboard access, but added vastly more recording time, allowing more natural capture of unplanned moments.
Also included is a special collection of clips filmed with a point-and-shoot camera, amazingly, in 2003. This wasn’t a formal interview, and high-speed filming was still just an idea. But the inability to discern Rusty’s movements in these brief videos helped crystallize the need for more capable tools.
With their experimental equipment and numerous software crash interruptions, these meetings were more like prototype field tests than traditional interviews. The edits include extensive behind-the-scenes gear setup and troubleshooting conversations as a document of the early days of musical mechanics fieldwork.
Painstakingly reimported, edited, and transcribed from the original twenty-year-old footage, the collection is over two hours of interview time and a massive 190 musical examples with tablature.