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Arduino-enhanced guitar promises less typing, more shredding
It's far from the first Arduino-based mod we've seen for a guitar, but this one from David Neevel of the Wieden + Kennedy ad agency may well be the most unique. Apparently tired of having to drop his guitar and pick up a keyboard every time he wanted to send an email, he decided to make the guitar the keyboard, and replace the dull drone of keystrokes with an extended solo. As you might expect, the project comes with a fairly high degree of difficulty, but those interested in trying their hand can find the basics to get started at the source link below, and get a look at what's possible in the video after the break. You're on your own with the moustache.
Guitar maker Gibson buys majority stake in TEAC, develops taste for electronica
That gruff American rocker, Gibson Guitar Corp., has gotten tired of its old life. Instead of just suing copycats and putting out the occasional robot axe, it's now looking to diversify, having spent $52 million on a 54 percent stake in Japanese firm TEAC. The last we heard from TEAC, it was making things like headphones and retro-styled radios, which maybe gives us a hint as to where this new partnership is headed. After all, it's not like the path between music brand and consumer electronics hasn't been trodden to a pulp already.
Review: ChordMate for Mac, a powerful tool for guitarists
ChordMate for Mac, available from the Mac App Store for US$51.99, is a guitar chord library that makes learning, identifying and building custom chords to play on the guitar easy. If you already play guitar, ChordMate will encourage you to learn and play new and different chord voicings and inversions on the guitar that you might not normally play. In essence, ChordMate is a vast and complete digital chord book for your Mac. I spent a bit of time with ChordMate, and discovered some real advantages to investing in it, particularly if you're learning guitar, teaching guitar, or looking to increase the variety of your chord repertoire. Or even make a chord sheet for a song. Functionality Say you're learning the guitar and there's a chord from a song you want to play. Let's say this chord is C. With ChordMate, simply enter "C" into the search box and a variety of different ways to play a C chord will appear in tablature form, specifically showing you where to place your fingers on the guitar neck and which notes you will be playing. Because there are so many different ways to play C, with so many different voicings, ChordMate has a filter system to help narrow down what you're looking for depending on whether the chord is open, barred or a root position, etc. This can be a bit complicated for beginners, but the filters go even further to break down the results. There's 'quality' (for the purest voicing), 'ease of play' (for the easiest voicing) and 'fret' (depending on where you want to play the chord on the neck). %Gallery-179448% When you click on a chord, ChordMate plays the sound of that chord (with a classical, electric or acoustic guitar sample). Hearing the chord helps you know what kind of sound you're looking to achieve in playing. For teachers, ChordMate lets you easily export, copy and paste chord diagrams as image, PDF or text, making it really easy to put a selection of chords together, perhaps for a song to study and practice. Additionally, if you've discovered a chord on the guitar, but you don't know what it is, ChordMate lets you draw in the notes, identifying what the chord is as well as giving you an audio sample. This is a great tool for songwriters. How many times have you made up a chord, but had no clue as to what kind of chord it is? This tool solves that problem! Furthermore, ChordMate allows you to place different chords together in a chord progression and then play audio samples of them, so you can hear what different chords voicings sound like one after the other. One really nice feature of ChordMate is custom tuning. Say you like to play with different string tunings, like drop D or open G. Just choose your string tuning from a list of presets or add a new tuning, and ChordMate will show you how to play any chord in that tuning. Design Design wise, ChordMate is simple, but it does have Retina display support. In terms of use, ChordMate can be a little overwhelming to the novice user because it has so much to offer. There are so many different options, short cut keys and filters, it can be hard to know where to start. But once you get your head around it, and with a little knowledge about playing the guitar, it becomes extremely easy to use. Conclusion ChordMate is an invaluable tool for guitar players, particularly students and teachers. However, at $51.99, it's certainly not cheap. But considering the enormous depth it has -- with many filters and parameters when searching for and identifying chords -- you surely won't ever need another chord book. Simply put, if you're looking for a complete chord library app with enhanced features, you need not look further than ChordMate. ChordMate is available now on the Mac App Store.
Roland Cube Lite mini amplifier allows you to control guitar licks, aux input independently (video)
At the start of NAMM 2013, Roland announced two new models in its Cube line and an iOS app to complete the trio. Both the Cube Lite and Cube Lite Monitor are on display in all of their dual-connecting glory, but we're far more interested in the former for its guitar amp wares. The 10W compact unit touts built-in JC Clean, Crunch and Extreme tones alongside Chorus and Reverb controls. We were pleasantly surprised with how well these on-board sounds came across at the strings of a Stratocaster during the booth demos we witnessed. Usually included presets can be really hit or miss, but these are quite serviceable -- especially in a portable unit. As you might expect, all of the usual controls are here including volume, treble, bass and drive and the requisite 1/4-inch input graces the backside. That's all quite nice, but the real story here is the iOS software and aux connectivity. That iOS app, Cube Jam, allows you to record and play along with tunes from your iDevice and connects via the i-Cube Link stereo auxiliary input from the headphone jack of a slate or handset. We were a bit disappointed that the connection didn't come at the hands of a 30-pin jack or Lightning port, but overall the unit worked quite nicely in our limited time with it. The separate volume control for the aux port is quite nice and allows the user to adjust levels of the amp and the accompanying track independently to keep things just so. We'd surmize that you'd be able to connect an Android, BB10 or WP8 device for playback, if you're willing give up the Cube Jam software. Cube Lite also requires a tethered power supply and doesn't support Bluetooth connectivity like we saw on the iLoud from IK Multimedia. If you don't have a need for the guitar functionality, the Cube Lite Monitor wields the same 1/8-inch input, but offers stereo 1/4-inch jacks instead and tosses the in-built tones. Head on past the break for a quick tour and a closer look awaits in the gallery just below.
iRig HD will soon support Lightning iOS devices
We've told you about IK Multimedia's myriad music-making accessories, but those of you that are musically inclined and have an iPhone 5, iPad 4 or iPad mini might want to take note now (get it?). IK Multimedia has announced the iRig HD. The plug-and-play, high-quality digital guitar/bass/instrument interface features a 24-bit A/D ultra-transparent converter that the company says is capable of preserving all the nuances of your instrument. Best of all, it comes with a native Lightning to 1/4" Hi-Z instrument input jack cable so it's compatible with all the latest iOS devices. The iRig HD also ships with 30-pin and USB to 1/4" input jack cables so it's also compatible with older iOS devices and Macs. Currently, however, there is no pricing details and no firm launch date. Check out the press release below for all the details. [Via Engadget] Show full PR text CES: iRig HD Announced The sequel to the most popular guitar interface of all time 8 January 2013 The new iRig HD, the sequel to iRig – the most popular guitar interface of all time – is now being shown at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, at the IK Multimedia booth (located at North Hall, Booth 5625). Just one day after the show floor opened, iLounge awarded it Best of Show 2013! With over half a million units sold worldwide, iRig has revolutionized the way guitar players jam and record, allowing them to play anywhere using their iPhone or iPad and the virtual effects and amplifiers of the range of AmpliTube apps. AmpliTube is the all-time bestseller when it comes to guitar sound processing, and includes dozens of legendary pieces of gear from world-class brands such Fender®, Ampeg®, Soldano®, and T-Rex®, as well as the sounds of iconic artists like Slash and Jimi Hendrix. iRig HD improves on the characteristics that have made iRig the standard for connecting your guitar or bass to the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad and rocking out. Together with its ease of use, plug-and-play convenience, ultra-portability and universal compatibility, iRig HD offers a superior digital sound quality that's comparable to that of high-end interfaces used in computer-based studios.
Jamstik portable MIDI guitar lets you play and learn on the iPad wirelessly
We heard from our friends over at TechCrunch (thanks, John Biggs!) that a company called Zivix has been showing off a cool little MIDI guitar at CES, so here it is! Dubbed the Jamstik, this digital instrument serves the same purpose as the already-available You Rock, except this one comes with real guitar strings, works wirelessly over WiFi, features a lower latency (under 10ms instead of about 20ms, according to Zivix's lab test), and it also has a shorter neck plus a much smaller body for the sake of portability -- even for some casual plucking on the plane. The Jamstik also supports string bending thanks to the way it detects finger movement on the neck -- the rows of infrared lights and sensors under the strings make the magic happen. Of course, you'd need a PC or an iOS device (with CoreMIDI-compatible apps like GarageBand and Animoog) to get the audio, and for the latter, Zivix will be offering three apps: JamTutor guitar teaching suite, JamHero game (very much like Guitar Hero and Rock Band) and Jam Live music remixer. We had a go using a wired prototype Jamstik, and apart from the slight delay between our strumming and the audio output (which will be further fine-tuned before going retail), we had a lot of fun with it. Check out the demo videos after the break, and expect to see the Jamstik hit the market this summer for somewhere around $249 to $299.
All-Star Guitar gets loaded with Lightning connector compatibility
If you caught Ion's All-Star Guitar in our holiday gift guide, but didn't find it under the Festivus pole since it lacked support for Apple's Lightning connector, there could be hope for next year's holiday haul. The faux guitar is getting refreshed with a Lightning connector and has kept the same form factor, complete with light-up fret buttons and built-in speaker. For the uninitiated, the rig above can accommodate an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch and allows users to learn notes and chords via a companion app. As of now, there's no word on when you'll be able to rock out with the axe or how many simoleons it'll set you back. Update: The refreshed faux-instrument is geared for a June release and will set aspiring musicians back $99. Follow all the latest CES 2013 news at our event hub.
MechBass robot nails bass guitar sounds with Arduino and a stone cold groove (video)
End-of-year engineering school projects often pique our interest for their creativity. It's not every day that they can carry a bassline, however. James McVay's robot project for his honors year at the Victoria University of Wellington, the supremely well-named MechBass, wouldn't have much trouble keeping up with a favorite band. It centers on a custom, Arduino-compatible board that controls the plucking, fretting and damping of four strings to faithfully recreate bass guitar sounds from MIDI input. The design even accounts for the unwanted noises of actuators and motors, while virtually everything was either 3D-printed or laser-cut just for the task at hand. Sounds good? There's more in the pipeline: an upcoming Swivel robot will experiment with different playing techniques, and McVay ultimately sees his work teaching us about robotic music's interaction with human performers. For now, we'll be happy with the video after the break and hope that MechBass takes requests.
Fender Squier Stratocaster USB guitar available exclusively at Apple Store
Apple and Fender are working together to bring a USB version of the Squier Stratocaster guitar to Apple users. The Stratocaster is available for US$199 and is sold exclusively through the Apple store. The guitar is chock full of features that'll appeal to both the traditional and the digital musician. The guitar includes an analog output so you can use it with an amp and a stereo headphone jack for private playing. It also has a mini-USB connector that offers bi-directional audio streaming and lets you pipe your music directly to your Mac or iOS device without the need for additional hardware. The USB Stratocaster works with Mac OS X 10.7 or later and iOS devices with a 30-pin adapter, which include the iPhone 4/4S, the iPod touch third and fourth generation and the iPad 1/2. It'll also work with Lightning-equipped devices like the iPhone 5 when paired with a Lightning to 30-pin Adapter. [Via 9to5 Mac]
Fender unveils Squier USB Stratocaster that talks to iOS, lends cred to iPad jam sessions (video)
There's no shortage of instruments and peripherals to make GarageBand sing on iOS gear. Anyone jonesing for well-known instruments has had few options, however, which makes Fender's launch of a USB-capable Squier Stratocaster something of a watershed moment. While it can plug into any quarter-inch jack or a computer's full USB port, the extremely familiar electric guitar will strum its notes directly into any older iPad, iPhone or iPod touch through a pre-supplied 30-pin cable; yes, you'll need a pricey adapter to rock out on an iPad mini. All the familiar controls and outputs you'd anticipate are present, including a 3.5mm headphone jack for some quiet practice in the den. Fender's $200 price puts the USB Squier well within reach of mobile musicians -- we just wish other guitar makers would follow suit.
Moog's LEV-96 sensoriactuator prototype wields touch control of 96 simultaneous harmonics, we go eyes-on (video)
Late last week, Moog outed its LEV-96 sensoriactuator prototype and offered a glimpse at its latest R&D unit. Even though it's still in the early phases of beta-testing, we were able to stop by the Moog Music factory for a closer look and a brief glimpse of the gear in action ahead of its appearance at Moogfest. While the unit is installed on acoustic guitars for the time being, the company says that similar tech can be used on other acoustic instruments and eventually to other surfaces -- this is just the current manifestation. Since the tech modifies the guitar's natural harmonics and string vibrations, the LEV-96 is getting cozy on both traditional acoustic guitars and those outfitted with pickups in its present state. As far as controls go, the entire unit is capacitive touch-enabled from the moment a finger swipe powers it on. Sliders allow for adjusting the intensity, harmonics and note duration while the other buttons enable arpeggio presets and modulation that includes tremolo and random harmonic tweaks. Those sliders remain in play when a preset is activated, serving to enable further adjustments on selected There is a lock button, too, so that you don't accidentally make a switch mid-strum. All of these finger-friendly surfaces work alongside two pairs of electromagnetic pickup channels per string to wrangle the 96 simultaneous harmonics. Magnets work to either increase of decrease the string's motion, bringing out vibrational modes that have always been in-play on acoustic instruments, but have never been offered the power needed to make 'em sing. The folks at Moog are quick to remind us that the LEV-96 is still in its infancy, but you can rest assured we'll be keeping an eye our for what develops. For a peek at the tech in action, head on past the break for a really quick demo that we kept brief due to that fact that this is an early prototype.%Gallery-169322%
Moog shows off LEV-96 sensoriactuator prototype on an acoustic guitar
Moogfest isn't happening for another week, but the synth-maker couldn't wait to take the wraps off of its latest bit of technology. Still in the early days of beta-testing ,the LEV-96 is a far cry from the classic analog instruments we've come to associate with Moog. The company is showing off the sensoriactuator in its early stages by affixing it to a guitar, with two pickup channels beneath each of the acoustic's strings. The strings' vibrations trigger the sound, with the device "bring[ing] out hidden modes of vibration that have always been there, but were never energized in a direct manner," according to the company -- in all, the system is capable of managing up to 96 simultaneous harmonics. On the LEV-96, you'll find touch-based control sliders, which let the player adjust intensity, harmonics and note duration. Additional triggers let you change arpeggio presets and modulation (tremolo and random harmonics), while a lock button makes sure you don't adjust anything by accident. Moog is careful to point out that the LEV-96 we're seeing (still being referred to as a "concept project") is just the tip of the iceberg, and "could easily be affixed to any surface or material." The company has promised to show the concept in action soon, including an appearance at Moogfest on October 26th and 27th in the company's home of Asheville, North Carolina. For more info consult the source link below.
Rocksmith's Bass Expansion comes to PC on October 16
Ubisoft has announced that the Bass Expansion for its educational guitar game, Rocksmith, is arriving on the PC on October 16. The DLC pack, which includes bass tracks and teaching functions for either a standard 6-string guitar or a 4-string bass guitar, hit Xbox 360 and PS3 earlier this August.In addition to content for the game's current songs, the Bass Expansion allows you to access bass information for any DLC songs in the future, so it's quite an investment. The Bass Expansion will be available for $29.99, the same initial price as the console versions. One important bass-playing thing it won't teach you is how to look cooler than the lead guitarist while you play. Better get started working on that right now.
Vox jams guitar amps into Audio-Technica headphones, dubs them Amphones (ears-on)
Guitarists and Bassists have many tools at their disposal for practicing fresh news licks without disturbing others around them. One of our favorites is Vox's AmPlug -- a guitar amp-modeling dongle that plugs into your instrument's 1/4-inch jack, allowing you to connect headphones and an MP3 player to practice privately. Building on the idea, Vox worked with Audio-Technica to simply embed the AmPlug in a new line of headphones, dubbing them Amphones. The company quietly put the cans up on its site recently, and it's now officially ready to shout out loud about them. Guitarists can choose from AC-30 (British crunch), Lead (hi-gain) and Twin (clean) variants, and bassists can snag the Bass version, which is based on Vox's AC100. Just like the AmPlug, each Amphone features volume dials -- sadly, these don't go to 11 -- for setting gain, volume and tone, along with a fourth for a built-in effect (compression for the Bass and reverb with the AC30, for example). A duo of triple AAs power the cans and, as you'd expect, the 'phones have a 3.5mm jack for hooking in external sources as well as a 1/4 adapter to plug into your axe. These Vox-styled units will be available in the US sometime in October for $100 a pop (double the cost of an AmPlug). Hungering for more already? We were able to give a pre-production version of the AC30 model a brief run, and you'll find our initial impressions after the break.
Focusrite launches iTrack Solo, a two channel interface for iOS and desktops (video)
There's a stack of different plugs, cables and connectors aimed at piping sound into your iPad, but when studio-stalwart Focusrite makes one, we pay attention. The iTrack Solo is a two channel interface compatible with the iPad, as well as your Mac or PC, offering mobile recording all the way up to 24-bit / 96kHz. The onboard preamp is the same as used in the brand's flagship Liquid Saffire 56 interface, and there's phantom power for microphones. As well as the mic-in there's a quarter-inch input for guitars etc., as well as a chunky volume control for monitoring. Front "halo" indicators change from green to red if your recording levels go too high, and the aluminum casing should prevent it from getting damaged at the bottom of any gig bag. Once you've created a masterpiece in Garageband (or other recording app), you can use the line-level phono outputs to run it through your sound system of choice. Sound like something you can get down to? You'll be able to get your hands on the iTrack Solo starting next month, and it'll set you back $160 at your local dealer -- in the meantime, you can jam on the PR after the break.
Marshall's Hanwell HiFi speaker is bred from guitar amps, at-home with your PMP (update)
It's been a year since the legendary guitar amp and speaker makers at Marshall Amplification made a splash in consumer audio with its Marshall Headphones spin-off (Zound / Urbanears). In commemorence of the amplification division's 50th anniversary, both have announced the Hanwell: Marshall's first speaker rig that's made for a counter-top instead of a festival stage. The Hanwell's design essentially stems from that of a combo guitar amp / speaker, but you won't be able to plug in your guitar, however, as it's specifically made for pumping out the sounds of your music collection. Most anyone who plays guitar, or has seen the likes of Slash and Nigel Tufnel shredding it up, will immediately recognize the iconic Marshall design ethic down to its iconic plastic nameplate on the front grill and gold accents. There's no major tech at play inside of the system, but with looks this cool it's not like it matters -- hopefully, the sound quality will match. Up top there's a familiar panel housing a 3.5mm input, power toggle and knobs for bass, treble and volume, while internally you'll find a duo of long-throw woofers and tweeters. The cab itself is made from wood and wrapped in black vinyl tolex like its bigger JCM siblings -- heck, it even comes with a coiled audio cable. There's no specific information beyond all of that such as pricing and availability -- especially whether "these go to 11" -- but you'll find a press release and close-up shots after the break. Update: We've been informed that the Hanwell will be limited to a run of just 10,000 units -- expect this to be spendy when it's finally available.
Wings Over Atreia: Creating classes for Aion 4.0
The dust swirled in one single puff of wind, then settled along with the hush over the streets. The sudden peel of the bell as the clock struck noon shattered the silence. Eyes blazing and raven wings furled, the Daeva stared down her enemy, hands poised over her low-hung holsters. "Com'on, ya lily-livered varmint. Make my day!" OK, so maybe the O.K. Corral and the Wild West aren't en route to Atreia, but that is certainly the first image that sprang to my mind when NCsoft announced that one of the new classes coming to Aion is going to tote a gun. I mean, guns don't get better than a couple of six-shooters slung at the hips, right? If you missed last Friday's big announcement from Gamescom, here's the skinny: Aion's 4.0 patch is introducing three brand-spanking-new classes to the game. Obviously that patch is a long ways off (a date hasn't even been announced for Korea yet), but that doesn't stop us from looking forward to one of the most fundamental changes planned for the game since launch nearly three years ago. Unfortunately, NCsoft has given us little to go on right now; all we know is that one class will tote a gun and one will brandish an instrument. With so little information revealed, you have to wonder what these two classes will actually be like. With so many possibilities... Let the speculation commence!
Engadget tries on the gTar for iPhone
Engadget hopped over to TechCrunch Disrupt to check out gTar, a guitar accessory for the iPhone. If you've never heard of gTar, it's a learning guitar powered by the iPhone that's part Fender and part Guitar Hero. It'll help you learn the basics of finger placement and strumming using an LED-lighted fingerboard and other electronics inside the body of the guitar. The iPhone fits nicely into the guitar and lets you select songs and other effects for your music. Engadget spent some time with the gTar and has a quick hands-on review of the product. You can get a closer look at the gTar in the video below and head over to Engadget's website for all the details. The gTar is available as a Kickstarter project that'll ship in September 2012. It costs $350 as a Kickstarter project and will retail for $450 when it launches.
gTar iPhone guitar hands-on
When we first caught word of the gTar, it was a bit of a mystery, with an online presence amounting to little more than a low-res press shot, an enigmatic YouTube teaser and assorted specs coming out of South By Southwest and various investor sites. This week, however, brings TechCrunch Disrupt to town -- and Incident Technologies has braved some unseasonable New York City storms to come along for the ride. We managed to snag some time with the iPhone-docking instrument ahead of its debut on stage this afternoon. Details are still a little scarce -- but here's what we know: the company is looking for a summer release for the educational instrument. In the meantime, Incident has thrown up a Kickstarter page, so you can get in on the action. A limited number of investors can get their hands on a unit for the low, low donation price of $350, once it goes into production. That's $100 off the estimated $450 retail price point -- not cheap, sure, but there are a couple of things to note here. First, we played with the gTar for a bit and we can say, definitively, that this isn't just some cheap, plasticky toy -- this feels like a real, amateur-level electric guitar. Also, for whatever it's worth, that price also includes a backpack carrying case -- so that's something, right? Follow along after the break to get some fingers-on impressions.
Incident Tech's gTar gets teased, remains largely silent (video)
What you see above is the gTar, an upcoming electronic musical instrument from Bay Area-based startup, Incident Technologies. It's got what appears to be an iPhone docked in the pick-guard and it looks pretty cool lit up in the teaser video after the break. Beyond that, there's not a ton of information about the thing available online, but we did some digging and have pieced together a pretty good idea about the thing. The device made an appearance at South by Southwest earlier this month, and bits and pieces have made their way into the web by way of startup site AngelList and social networks like Facebook, Twitter and, of course, YouTube. A posting on the former describes it as "a consumer electronics device that enables an interactive music entertainment experience to anyone without any kind of previous musical knowledge."From the looks of it, the thing is a little bit Guitar Apprentice and a little bit Tabber. Unlike the plasticky Guitar Apprentice, however, this device looks like a genuine guitar (strings and all), albeit one with a light up fretboard for Tabber-like educational purposes and a "docked mobile device." The guitar also makes it possible to share music socially, though it's not entirely clear whether this is accomplished via the docked smartphone or an external output like a PC, though given the company's connections to the developer community, we suspect that both will be options, be it through built-in functionality or available APIs. The gTar is also being positioned as a music creation device, rather than simply an educational tool (à la Tabber) or a simple overblown Guitar Hero-style controller.Check out a flashy, if rather uninformative teaser after the break.
