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Ubisoft 'Jam Sessions' turns DS into guitar
Ubisoft has picked up the North American publishing rights to Hiite Utaeru DS Guitar M-06, simplifying the name to 'Jam Sessions' and adding a save feature. Guitar Hero this is not. Gone is the rock star play-along backdrop, replaced with bare chord cues and player-generated rhythms. Jam Sessions morphs your DS into a simulated acoustic guitar, meaning that "it's both cooler ... and potentially way more niche" than the Harmonix pastime. Picture it: Minibosses take the stage and rock an entire 'Unplugged' sesh on their DSs.Jam Sessions is scheduled to ship in June. See also: What if... you could learn real guitar through games?
Famicom electric guitar gives the NES Paul a run for its money
If you liked the NES Paul, you'll flip for the Family Computer Guitar, an impeccably hand-crafted working electric guitar done up in a retro-tastic Famicom style. You might take a look at the body and think, "Huh? Where'd the other controller go?" Check out the other end where you'll find the headstock, a.k.a. the other controller, cleverly placed as if it were removed from the console. Paper templates were used to ensure accuracy when shaping the controller and console parts, which were later painted and adorned with decals to yield a most authentic look. Anyone who gets to rock this axe better have a list of Famicom jams ready. (They should also give a listen to Paul Miller's Valentine's Day Gamecube smash single for inspiration.)[Via Engadget Japanese]
We must have it: the NES guitar
There's also one that is pictured lower that was made from a Sega Mega Drive (we've included all of the pictures past the post break, plus a video of one of the guitars in action), but we have to say our Nintendo love has us leaning toward the NES guitar ourselves. Could you imagine? Shredding some classic tunes from NES games such as the Mega Man 2 theme. We imagine under the flap is where the fellow keeps his guitar picks.
Tascam MP-GT1 DAP touts guitar input for gnarly play-alongs
Tiger Electronics' Power Tour instructional guitar is weak sauce compared to what TEAC's latest training tool can accomplish, as the Tascam-branded MP-GT1 offers up a whole lot more than just MP3 playback. Aside from boasting a monochrome 128 x 64 resolution screen, 1GB of internal storage, a rechargeable Li-ion lasting around eight hours, and MP3 / ID3 tag support, this pocket-friendly DAP also touts a line-in for your axe, built-in tuner / metronome, and a bevy of sweet controls as well. Users can queue up their favorite track, plug in their guitar, and begin to shred away while attempting to follow along, but for the more creative out there, this little box also features ten different effects to modify the sound of your instrument. To top things off, an internal algorithm sniffs out the guitar frequencies in whatever track you're listening to, and if you switch on the VSA function, it mutes (as best it can, we presume) the recorded guitar track so the only six-string you hear twanging is your own. TEAC's latest toy for guitar freaks should be landing in Japanese shops the last day of this month, and at just ¥20,000 ($166), we're deeming this a surefire bargain.
Fender's modeling VG Stratocaster gets inspected
A legend in the guitar industry pairing up with a heralded name in the modeling biz? No, it's not too good to be true, as Fender and Roland have teamed up to create the first modeling stratocaster. Just weeks after Gibson's own digital axe finally went on sale, the VG Stratocaster is built to look, feel, and play exactly like the strats of old always have, but a few subtle (albeit substantial) alterations open up a whole new world of riff creations. The six-string gurus over at GuitarGearCentral have taken the time to carefully inspect the changes, and it looks to us that even the purists could find something here to love. The thin Roland GK pickup mounted at the bridge provides the ability to emulate "37 Fender Stratocaster, Telecaster, humbucking, 12-string, and acoustic sounds,"while a pair of LED status lights provide a bit of flash and a new duo of knobs (Mode Control and Tuning Function) are used to further dictate the sounds. Dubbed a "Swiss Army knife of tone," this instrument allows you to dial-in alternate sounds and tunings on the fly, giving players the ability to add some chunk with Drop D tuning sans fiddling with the tuning head. Although the crew admired the simplicity Fender somehow managed to achieve with all the complex features that have been added, they still would test out a few more guitars to make sure this is your bag before throwing down the (admittedly reasonable) $1,699 required to take one home.
Guitar Hero rocks on Wii, maybe DS too
During yesterday's financial results conference call Activision president and CEO Mike Griffith made more specific confirmation of Guitar Hero on Wii. "[Activision] will aggressively target the Nintendo platforms consistent with our multi-platform strategy and Nintendo's expected growth. In fiscal 2008, we will double our offerings on the DS and the Wii, including Spider-Man, Shrek, Transformers, and Guitar Hero," Griffith told listeners. While this almost certainly indicates that Guitar Hero will arrive on Wii before March 2008, Griffith's somewhat vague statement still leaves open the possibility of a portable version on DS.You may recall that another Activision CEO, Robert Kotic, suggested as much last September when he stated that Guitar Hero would appear "on every significant new format." We assume that if Guitar Hero were to transition to DS, it would be a simple game of tap-the-dots, but on Wii there are some fresh possibilities for a guitar peripheral that might include attaching the Wii Remote for added motion and guitar position recognition. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Tiger Electronics' Power Tour guitar rocks out with lights and sensors
While your teenage daughter might prefer something a bit more sophisticated, and your male child is probably rippin' it up right now on Guitar Hero, Hasbro's Tiger Electronics is coming out with an axe designed to let little tykes learn their favorite tunes without all the complicated (and pricey) lessons. The Power Tour electric guitar will come with 12 pre-loaded songs, and the string-free instrument will rock a bevy of sensors on the fretboard and body, which will allow youngsters to play along as they follow the light patterns with the music. Additionally, it's slated to have an aux input, allowing users to plug in any song they choose and jam along, but there's no word on whether or not that sweet pictured amp comes along in the bundle. Nevertheless, this kid-friendly guitar could actually find its way into quite a few musically-challenged adult hands as well when it lands in August for a currently undisclosed price.[Via Yahoo, thanks Adam]
Gibson goes wild, unveils new consumer electronics lineup
While a company not typically associated with consumer electronics can make the leap at any point, it's usually a relatively modest entrance, but Gibson has apparently had a bit too much fun at NAMM, and has thrown its logo on just about every device it could think of in the process. You won't find much of anything new in Gibson's lineup of consumer electronics, but if you're a Gibson purist and live life one riff at a time, these goods are for you. The company announced its own line of USB 2.0 Gibson Signature Series Les Paul flash drives, which currently come in a 1GB flavor and mimics a 1959 Les Paul Standard, and the firm plans to roll out more collectible drives shaped like other classic instruments in the future. Additionally, a 500GB external HDD was released, boasting USB 2.0 and a glowing Gibson logo on the side, and it seems that the firm is looking to snag a bit of that high-end interconnect market by offering up "premium gold" versions of optical audio, USB, and HDMI cables. Also on tap was a 7.1 AV receiver with a built-in guitar input, XM capability, and HDMI 1.3 video switching, various forms of recordable media, a dual-layer DVD recorder, surge protectors, and a few home theater speakers to boot. Although pricing is still up in the air at this point, it looks like you'll have the opportunity to get your external storage, surround sound gear, and a few spare E-strings all at the same place here soon.[Via Macworld]
Roland kicks out trio of new audio gear at NAMM
While we certainly had our fun at this year's CES, Roland is off doing its own thang at NAMM this week, and the audio gurus have blessed us with a trio of new gear to tinker with, including a svelte guitar modeler. The VG-99 packs just about every guitar / amp model a player could ever find a use for, gives the owner full control over the dynamic controls, and provides alternate tuning on the fly for even more bizarre riffs. The device even features a guitar-to-MIDI converter for "direct connections to keyboards, sound modules, soft synths, computers, and other MIDI-compatible devices," which means it won't be too long before all these MIDI hacks get a dash of pickin' added to them. The MV-8800 "production studio" allows direct connection of an LCD and mouse for all-in-one mixing and producing action, and even boasts an internal hard drive, optical drive, and support for multitrack mastering / burning. Bringing up the rear is the V-Synth GT Elastic Audio Synthesizes, which looks to pull double-duty as a keyboard when you're creating tones to interact with the extraterrestrial. Although pricing information isn't yet available, all three of these units should be hitting showrooms (and sound rooms) real soon. Click on through for a few more snapshots.Read - Roland VG-99Read - Roland MV-8800Read - Roland V-Synth GT [Via MusicThing]
Today's action figuriest video: GH2 Toys - Thunderhorse
Imagine, if you will, Toy Story meets Robot Chicken meets YouTube ... and you'd have nothing like this video. Still, it's funny and features some pretty well-done impressions and Guitar Hero gaming. Thunderhorse on expert is one bitch of a song, and if the combined likes of Darth Vader, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others can't help you through it, then nothing will.Although a four-armed character like Goro sure would help. While we're at it, we'd also like to be imbued with the power of Steve Vai and have the ability to slow down time. You know, just as an edge.
Eight-year-old is better than you at Guitar Hero
We here at Joystiq have posted a lot of insane videos of people playing Guitar Hero and other rhythm games, even going so far as to declare one pizza-fueled shredfest as the best GH vid ever. Well we were wrong. This video of an eight-year old getting five stars on Guitar Hero II's Psychobilly Freakout on expert difficulty is, in fact, the best Guitar Hero video we've ever seen. While we can't confirm for sure that this performance isn't faked somehow, the video's frequent close-ups on the frets and consistent, unbroken point-of-view make it seem unlikely. The best part of the video is the way this kid disdainfully turns away from the screen during some of the hardest sections, essentially playing blind just because he can. Now that's rock and roll. So, to the anonymous little guitar god in this video, we salute you with the new title of best Guitar Hero video ever. Until the next one comes along, that is.
What if... you could learn real guitar through games?
When the New York Times wrote about the PC Recording Studio Guitar (a guitar that plugs in to a Mac or PC via USB), we wondered immediately whether the device could be used for a more authentic guitar-hero experience. Instead of mindless entertainment that does little to advance skills that are appreciated by the non-gaming public, game technology could be used to teach us skills that might help us climb the Maslovian pyramid to self actualization. If a capable game developer were to write a strong rhythm game that used a real guitar as a controller, we'd gladly slap down the 200 bones required to learn guitar. It'd be a steal, and an investment in the future.
Wiitar air guitar: has it gone too far?
The general consensus on the PS3 is that everybody is selling theirs on eBay, and now we're starting to wonder how anyone has time to put a Wiimote through a window or somebody's eye with all this hacking going on. On the musical front, it turns out the Wiimotes make for a great pair of drumsticks, and now after a couple weeks we learn that they make for a horrible guitar substitute. The Wiitar hack comes from an industrious J5892 on the WiiLi forums, and involves two Wiimotes, complicated angles and button pushes and some lame sounding MIDI noises to create amazingly bad music. We've gotta give this guy props for effort and all that crap, but seriously dude, ever think of giving up this whole hacking gig for a bit of Zelda? Peep the sexy music video after the break.[Via Joystiq]
Wii remote + air guitar = Wiitar
That Wii hacking community sure is a musical bunch. First came word of a drumming hack that turned Wii remotes into virtual drumsticks. Now comes another hack that turns a pair of remotes into a sort of air guitar.As described on the WiiLi.org discussion board and demonstrated in the below video, the simple PC program uses one remote to detect strumming and another to determine which frets are being held. Chords and arpeggios are also possible with some complex button combinations.While the setup is a little less than intuitive, this proof of concept should be all an enterprising hacker needs to set up a fully functioning air guitar game using the remote. Now all we need is a wii remote-controlled keyboard and bass to bring our dreams of a real (virtual) air band to fruition.[Thanks James]
Gibson's new HD.6X-Pro digital guitar hits the market
This one has been in the cooker for quite a while now, but Gibson has finally released its HD.6X-Pro Guitar System, known as the HD Les Paul amongst the cool kids. The new guitar marks quite a shift for Gibson, featuring an all digital setup, and uses a Cat5 cable instead of a regular guitar cord to transfer your musics to an amp or computer. Gibson calls this technology MaGIC, and it allows you to transfer string data from all six strings individually, along with a mic signal and a full-on six string signal (the normal kind). MaGIC also supports two channels of upstream, to offer a stereo monitor to the player. Most of the "MaGIC" happens inside "BoB" the Breakout Box, which converts the digital info into analog, and can send each string or combinations of strings to different amps. You can also plug the guitar straight into your computer, to record the digital signal directly, for which all necessary plugins are included, and the eventual plan is to allow for jamming over the internets in a low-latency form. Lastly, if you get bored of all this digital voodoo, you always switch the guitar to all analog mode, which bypasses the digital circuitry entirely and outputs a signal via a traditional 1/4-inch plug. The guitar is currently going for $4000, with 100 signed-by-Les-Paul models available for $8k. Sounds a bit steep, but that's the price you have to be willing to pay for the privilege of unadulterated face melting.[Via gizmag]
NES Paul, the Gibson for gamers
Guitars plus game consoles equals Guitar Hero, right? Wrong, at least if the person behind the NES Paul project has anything to say about it. No, your eyes are not deceiving you: what you're looking at here is really one man's original Nintendo console modded into a working electric guitar. Strangely, you sometimes have to blow into the cartridge bay to get it working, but we'd still take it over a Fender any day -- sharp NES-edges be damned![Via MAKE]
Guitar Sim for the DS
The DS is a veritable gateway to the professional world. Why, we've gained access to respected career choices such as a litigation, the culinary arts, and even high-stakes surgery. But why stop there? No, for the more romantic of us, a new application from Japan is allowing us yet one more: a guitar player.No, this isn't quite Guitar Hero for your DS. Instead, the game uses the touch screen to actually allow a player to "freestyle" notes, chords, and tunes, making their own creations as opposed to playing those pre-made. The stylus is used to pick the on-screen strings, and the d-pad allows for tonal switching. It will obviously require a passable knowledge of music, and though the chances are slim of it ever coming to the U.S., it's certainly worth a moment of your time to watch the demo video after the jump. Come on. Mom and Dad would never let you be in a band, but the dream never dies.
Dave Navarro & Guitar Hero II at Best Buy coverage [update 1]
Hot guitar strummin' and finger pickin' action collided with the corporate man at Best Buy in Los Angeles on Monday, with Dave Navarro (because real rockers love the game too) on hand to promote Guitar Hero II, and Joystiq was there. We lined up about half an hour early to get pix and vids, quietly slipping in amidst the obsessive fans of either Navarro or this game. After talking to about a dozen people, we realized that they could have sent James Taylor to plug this thing, and the same people would've shown up. Everyone was stoked for the midnight release of the game, and one hardcore fan even drove up from San Diego, just to get his axe signed.A representative from BB handed tickets out and told us that they were only giving out 50 so that you could get in line to have things signed. Once they finally opened the doors and let us flood in, we spent some time at the various demo stations they had set up (with pretty sweet speaker systems that looked like they were on loan from a K.I.S.S. concert), and then dutifully took our spot in the signing line. We grabbed a game en route to the table and pulled the guitar out of the box, got it signed by Navarro, and then -- surprise! We were told that Activision was buying the game for those first 50 tickets. Score! Big announcement about that guitar & game soon on Joystiq, so keep your eyes open.Pictures and video after the jump, but sadly no Carmen Electra since she and Dave went splitsville earlier in the summer.[Update: added some rockers]
Musicians and Nintendo mix well
Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's time to play name that game! The following three guitarists do a fantastic job of representing our favorite company. The question is, what games do you hear? We'd like to know. Feel free to post what you recognize! As usual, see the video after the jump. [Thanks emceenugget!]
Microsoft not allowing Red Octane to produce wireless guitar
Red Octane, publisher of Guitar Hero, says not to hold your breath for a wireless Xbox 360 guitar controller, because the Microsoft wireless technology is "proprietary." Hopes for wireless 360 thrashing were dashed a little over a month ago after it was discovered that the Xbox 360 guitar was tethered, and following the announcement last week that Red Octane would produce a wireless guitar for the PS2, it seemed only natural that one would show up for the Xbox 360. eToyschest asked Red Octane if they were going to produce a wireless Xbox 360 guitar, "Well, that's a Microsoft issue. Their wireless technology is proprietary ... so they aren't allowing third party manufacturers to make anything at the moment ... so until they allow us to do so, we aren't able to." So, a last-gen system will have a wireless controller, made by a company that we've come to trust (especially if you're a Guitar Hero freak and put yours through its paces -- and had it survive), but a next-gen system will need to be wired? Awkward.
