Zivix's Headliner guitar lets you rock the real and virtual stage
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 9th 2009 2:39AM
posted March 9th 2009 2:39AM
Survey says: kids who pretend rock out in music videogames are more likely to want to learn to play those instruments for reals. For would-be strummers, that means a rather abrupt transition from cheapo plastic toy with buttons to hand-crafted wooden instrument with strings. That could change with the Zivix Headliner, a prototype guitar that also works in both the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series, featuring sensors on the neck to act like buttons and real strings that replace the plastic strum bar. It's not the first game-friendly guitar with strings we've seen, nor indeed is it the company's first stab at creating a hybrid instrument like this (they demo'ed something similar called the Hero Maker last year), but with a little more venture capital infusion Zivix hopes to have this model on sale by year's end for under $250 -- expensive for a game controller and not exactly cheap for an electric guitar. Any takers?[Via OhGizmo!]
"not exactly cheap for an electric guitar"...you kidding me? Most serious guitarists I know won't use anything that costs less than $1000
I second this motion
remember the target audience here. your basically saying you should get a Ferrari as your first car.
Expensive guitars don't make the music nor would it add much to the overall sound.
Engadget got that horribly wrong.
The average semi-decent brand guitar starter pack (Squier, which is the cheap low-end Fender range, pack with a tiny amp and a couple of leads, and a tuner) would cost $250.
So, $250 is VERY cheap for an electric guitar.
Most serious guitarists you know are not buying videogame/guitar hybrids to learn how to play guitar. If somebody needs Guitar Hero to get them into guitar, then they don't need to spend over $200 on their first guitar... which is generally what the starter packs run, $100 - $200, and as far as an introductory guitar to begin to learn the basics of playing, they're perfect.
All the kid is gonna do is go plug it in to his 360 and play "Guitar Queer-O" because it doesn't take the time and effort that learning to play for real does. Plus, how many guitarists are going to actually take this thing seriously???
agreed, my first guitar was more than 250, and i would scoff at using something in that price range now.
but still, anything trying to promote guitar and encourage newer and younger players into learning is okay in my books
Umm... Yea, expensive on the controller front, as fas a guitar, good luck finding any worth a damn below 500 bucks... I know you can fix up a squire to make it playable, but out the the box, 500 minimum...
Uhhm, I bought an Epiphone Les Paul Studio Guitar for $250 and it sounds great, I also bought a Baja Fender Strat for $300 , both new and sound excellent so there are really good quality guitars for less than $1000 guys. And this thing is kinda odd, the games did want to make me play real guitar and now I am learning REAL guitar, which now I don't even spend my time playing guitar hero, I am actually learning the songs in the game and it's more rewarding.
It's not just sound. What makes a guitar good is quality of the wood, quality of the fretboard, quality of the hardware, and the skill of the person doing the setup. I've played a few Epis, and some are good. Some aren't so good. Their quality control is all over the place. Play an expensive guitar that has been professionally set up and you'll notice an immediate difference.
I personally think cheap guitars discourage more players than they encourage. You don't need your first car to be a Ferrari, but you definitely can't learn to drive in a rusty pickup truck with no engine or tires. That's about what a cheap guitar is like.
Why would I want to buy a game controller or a guitar (or both) that are (is) named for what's on the inside ceiling of my car????
I wouldn't recommend any first guitarist buy something for much cheaper than $250 - a crap instrument to begin with can be very VERY frustrating.
Yeah, but on the other hand, you never know how long you gonna play your instrument and if you're playing for only a few month, spending $1000 wouldn't make too much sense, right? (This is especially true for kids).
Not so much with guitars anymore, although I have made that mistake. I wanted to learn mandolin two years ago and bought a crummy fender (first mistake), for like $180. I should have spent the extra $200 and just bought a solid Ovation.
Ovation guitars are decent, but once you try anything pricier (e.g. Taylor acoustic), it immediately becomes apparent that an expensive guitar is definitely going to sound better.
Wait for the shock on little Timmy's face when he can't *really* get 100% on "Through the Fire and Flames."
There are different types of electric guitars on the market, it is possible to buy simple one for 200USD.
250USD for toy kind guitar is quite steep.
http://technewsjapan.com
I'll agree with a lot of what's said already...I'm a pro, and I agree that at this point I don't use anything that isn't pretty expensive. That said, I've also been playing for 25 years and it's what I've gone to school for and make my living at. Just like guys who do graphic design for a living usually buy really nice expensive computers...
If you're a beginner, yeah, you can go and get a cheap $95 guitar, but that's always how it will sound, no matter how ridiculous you get at playing it. I tell my beginner students to expect to spend about $200-300 on their first guitar, because it's one that might cost a bit more than the absolute bottom end, but will not sound like shite when they get good and want other people to hear them play. Unfortunately, that's what a quality instrument costs.
I guess I'd want to see the guts of this guitar to know if it's worth the cash.
You know...I really think this is a great opportunity for people.
As a professional classical musician, paying $500 for a step-in-the-door instrument just to get your feet wet is quite common. I play trombone, a relatively inexpensive orchestral instrument) where professional level models cost at least $3500-$4000 and go upwards of $6k. Many, many of my colleagues in the string section cannot play on anything less than say a $70,000 instrument. That's a second mortgage!
I don't really have a lot of sympathy for the people complaining about expensive guitars. I do respect if one wants to get into making music. I'm highly jealous of the fact that guitars are so relatively inexpensive.
Instruments are funny. You can spend hundreds (or in some cases, thousands) of dollars on a guitar, and it may never feel or sound just right.But you could be in a shop, pick up a guitar that costs $300, and fall in love instantly. My bass was part of a $250 starter pack. A buddy of mine, who is in several bands as well as an active sessionist in the area has said that this bass sounds better than some basses he paid $1500 for. Would most professional guitarists play an inexpensive instrument? No, not really. But remember, Eddie Van Halen built his career on a guitar slapped together from $200 worth of spare and second-hand parts. Just because a guitar is expensive, it doesn't mean it'll fulfill your needs.Likewise, just because a guitar is inexpensive, it doesn't mean that it won't play like a dream.