ezGear's You Rock Guitar packs multi-touch and ultimate babe magnet

If ezGear's last guitar wasn't quite complex enough for you, check out it's latest product -- the You Rock Guitar. Compatible with both Guitar Hero 2 and Rock Band: World Tour for Wii, and your PC or Mac, the You Rock has a full multi-touch fretboard which simulates a "real" guitar with six strings instead of five buttons. You can hook this bad boy up with a standard .25-inch connection, or plug in your iPod or MP3 player through the mini-stereo jack to rock out to your own private collection of Metallica. The folks over at ezGear promise a SDK for even further expandability by Spring, and expect the $150 device to be available in either Q2 or Q3.

[Aaron @ Jan 8th 2009 4:49AM]

Or you could just learn to play a real guitar....

If I'm going to play this game, I'm not going to fool myself by using expensive peripherals such as this one; I'll stick to the standard controller.

[Darwin @ Jan 8th 2009 5:21AM]

Read the actual link. There are real strings, the fretboard is full-sized, and it interfaces with MIDI, among other things, so this thing is more like an actual musical instrument (no less so than, say, an electronic keyboard) that happens to interface to popular games.
If its performance and build quality is good, $150 is a fantastic bargain for something with so much functionality.

[Aaron @ Jan 8th 2009 5:23AM]

My bad, I didn't catch that part very well. Reading comprehension FTL, I guess.

I'll downrank myself for this...

[Charlie Calhoun @ Jan 8th 2009 5:33AM]

A noble one you are.

[Wodheila @ Jan 8th 2009 6:34AM]

FTA: "but unlike a conventional guitar, there are no fretboard strings."

What appear to be strings are raised bars to give the feel of a guitar.

[Expert Mode @ Feb 10th 2009 6:34PM]

I saw it at CES, the strings on the left hand feel real even though they are embossed. When you play it, you know where you are. You can pitch bend moving up the string or with the whammy bar (future version). But as a gaming device it will break new ground as I saw how to use the multiple picked strings on the right hand, much faster than you can toggle a switch. You can also bar chord or just touch the bottom of the frets for playing with GH or RB. Also note, that no MIDI guitar can play GH or RB because you can't pllay two notes at once, but you can on this.

The MIDI is fast and accurate. As simple as it is, I also think I would use the little iPod/MP3 audio mixer to jam along when I'm on the road. They said the sounds inside will be really nice, done by some top dude in LA.

[pp @ Jan 8th 2009 4:50AM]

this gives a totally new meaning to 'electric guitar'!

[mile453 @ Jan 8th 2009 4:51AM]

So I def hope you mean Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero: World Tour....lol.

[CapnShiner @ Jan 8th 2009 4:54AM]

Ya, that was a pretty big fail, considering the audience

[Nick @ Jan 8th 2009 5:16AM]

Wow, nice bit of journalism going on!

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 8th 2009 6:50AM]

I assumed that was done on purpose as a joke. I don't really get it, but it definitely looks like a joke to me.

[Acidox @ Jan 8th 2009 9:11AM]

Lololololololol

[Ignatius @ Jan 8th 2009 9:35AM]

The way they said it, it sounds exactly like the clueless parents walking in a game store. "Do y'all have ROCK BAND: WORLD TOUR!?"

[Hero @ Jan 8th 2009 11:06PM]

Hahah. Yeah. It's prolly a joke. I thought it was funny. xD

[Fernando G. @ Jan 8th 2009 4:57AM]

i'll stick to sounding like shit on my les paul custom

[v3xx @ Jan 8th 2009 5:31AM]

SG > LP

[EMoShunz @ Jan 8th 2009 12:00PM]

L5>SG>LP
but that's my opinion, because that's the style i play. tonnes of people will disagree with you, and me, because the les paul is a great guitar.

[Fernando G. @ Jan 8th 2009 3:40PM]

i was going to get an SG originally, and may stil

[gabe @ Jan 8th 2009 6:30AM]

never heard of Rock band world tour - is that only for the wii? or did they goof?

[Paul J @ Jan 8th 2009 7:40AM]

I assume you meant Rock Band 2 and Guitar Hero World Tour , as opposed to Guitar Hero 2 and Rock Band 2

[Jose Alvarez @ Jan 8th 2009 11:54AM]

I give you +1 for catching that error, but then -1 for screwing up your correction

[telepheedian @ Jan 8th 2009 8:19AM]

Potential applicants need to be able to play and complete only ONE of the following songs in order to apply for a Guitar Hero ® testing position:

On "Guitar Hero 3 ®" the song called "Raining Blood" played on Guitar, at the "expert" level / difficulty.

or

On "Guitar Hero World Tour ®", the song called "Hot for Teacher", played on Guitar, at the "expert" level / difficulty.

or

On "Guitar Hero World Tour ®", the song called "Damn It", played on Drums, at the "expert" level / difficulty.

or

On "Guitar Hero World Tour ®", the song called "Heartbreaker", sung on the Vocal Microphone, at the "expert" level / difficulty.

Best job application form ever.

[Galley @ Jan 8th 2009 8:30AM]

Reminds me of those digital guitars they made back in the early '80s.

[Magallanes @ Jan 8th 2009 10:06AM]

80's fashion disaster now on Guitar Hero.

[Information Central @ Jan 8th 2009 6:46PM]

The guy above you spelled '80s right. What happened?

[Brazell @ Jan 8th 2009 9:42AM]

I guess what I don't get is... they'd go so far as to add the fake strings and the fret board buttons to simulate the motions one would make while actually playing guitar... then why didn't they build a body that actually looks like a recognizable guitar, rather than this stupid back-packer look? Licensing fees aside, if I want to feel like I'm playing a real guitar while playing Rock Band, then it oughta look like a real guitar too ... rather than just the simulated strings and frets...

[Danielle Tomczewski @ Jan 8th 2009 9:55AM]

Yeah, my thoughts exactly. "Cool concept...but it looks way too stupid for me to actually want it."

[bandigolo @ Jan 8th 2009 12:21PM]

^ are you quoting yourself?

[AnyKey @ Jan 8th 2009 12:47PM]

The whole point is that you can use it as a midi controller, which is wonderful for people like me who love synthesizers and are good at guitar but can't play piano worth a damn.
That's just one use for it though, it's intended to be a simple platform for doing whatever.

[Stereobot @ Jan 8th 2009 10:30AM]

So it looks like a real guitar and you can play it like a real guitar? Then why not just get a real guitar??

I'm all for fun gadgets and toys, but I will stick with my PRS Custom 22 and my 15+ years of (REALLY real) guitar playing experience.

[Information Central @ Jan 8th 2009 6:48PM]

You're overlooking the potential instructional value of a guitar-like instrument that interfaces reliably with computers. MIDI guitar is still an expensive, finicky, niche market; this device could be a cheap alternative for beginners.

[JP @ Jan 8th 2009 11:34AM]

Looks more like a bass guitar to me.

[bandigolo @ Jan 8th 2009 12:20PM]

The only way a video game peripheral could be the ultimate babe magnet is if it was shaped like a 1982 Trans Am.

[Your Name @ Jan 9th 2009 12:46AM]

The thing looks phallic. Lots of potential, but what happens when someone walks in on you and it looks like you're stroking a big weiner? Yes, totally bottom drawer....I'm just sayin'....

[monkey @ Jan 9th 2009 3:54AM]

Interesting. There's a cult following for yamaha's discontinued guitar toys, the EZ-EG and EZ-AG, because they work great as $100 midi controllers. But the build quality and look are terrible, chew through batteries and/or need an awkward power adapter.

If this does what it says on the tin, it'll get picked up by a lot of musicians looking for a simple cheap midi controller. The alternatives like the roland midi pickup+adapter are around $1000 all told and have problems with tracking and mis-heard notes, and fancier alternatives go for much more.

Now if this could also get a USB interface to handle both power and data to your computer... hmmm...

[monkey @ Jan 9th 2009 3:55AM]

ah, it does have usb.

[Darfuria @ Jan 12th 2009 8:18PM]

I'm confused as to how it works with an iPod...

[Expert Mode @ Jan 18th 2009 2:21PM]

The press release says it has built in sounds 100? So I think you plug your iPod into it and can mix the level of the iPod and your playing. Simple may be best. Cool though for traveling. I like that it is a small device with full size frets. Good for learning songs on the road. I would like to see the neck removable so it has an even smaller "packing" size.

[george @ Jan 13th 2009 1:43PM]

From an article from gaming nexus, "The unit sports a unique fret board, which is a full 22 frets, that is string-less and is actually touch-based. In other words, when you strum it, if you slide your finger down the fret itself, the sound will change." My question is, is each fret essentially turned into a button capable of sending one midi sound, or does the sound actually change within each fret to the point where you can create twangy slide guitar action?

[Darfuria @ Jan 13th 2009 1:50PM]

That was always my issue with actual MIDI guitars, so lets hope it is as guitar like as it possibly can be.

[kevin @ Jan 31st 2009 3:14PM]

Every string, every fret, every note plays, just like a real guitar. It plays chords or you can solo with it. It also has a "You Rock" Mode where when playing its internal sequences it is set so you play all the right notes. Seems very smart. There is a control panel for the guitar part floating around the internet somewhere, I saw the actual guitar at a Play n Trade. It was plugged into a Mac using Garage Band and it sounded and played great. Playing a Les Paul sound one second and a Martin D10 the next, they were sounds coming out Note for Note.