The gTar sports a full guitar body with an iPhone dock to communicate with the free gTar app and an LED sensor fitted fretboard to guide users as the play. (via gTar)
An engineering example to note. We all can learn from some obvious innovation.
iOS devices, old and new, have proven to be highly flexible in their wide range of applications: from a streamlined productivity suite gadget, to a full- fledged musical rocking machine. Incident Technologies, the casual music entertainment company, has taken the latter road with the introduction of its iOS device based guitar learning tool - the gTar!
The gTar was originally being developed to assist computer musicians in the production of music with an easy to work with guitar. Incident Tech, now headquartered in San Francisco, grew as a company as the gTar also grew into the learning tool it is today: The company states: “By empowering anybody with the tools to enjoy, create, and perform music naturally and intuitively, we seek to keep music core to the human experience for everyone.” The device works much like a standard guitar: a full-bodied guitar with a neck, fretboard, headstock, bridge, steel strings. However, a few glaring differences will catch the eyes immediately: the front of the body is fitted with an iPhone dock and the fretboard is lined with LED markers for every possible string/fret combination.
To use the gTar, players can select songs from the gTar iPhone app to play along with or allow the device to act similar to a real guitar in “Free Play” mode. When playing along with a song, the app sends information to the LED sensors that let users know what they should be playing. Sound is generated digitally (MIDI output) through the gTar app, so a wide range of sounds to strum to are available, such as the “warm synth” and “booming grand piano” medleys. Users can also use the gTar’s auxiliary output to pump sound out of larger speakers, or its USB output to connect the gTar to a computer recording program, such as GarageBand.
The Incident group plans on releasing a software development kit for the gTar which should prove promising in expanding its use to a larger spectrum of digital audio apps. Incident Tech’s gTar is currently priced at $450, though early-bird packages are available through their Kickstarter page for a pledge of $399.
C
See more news at: